Meet the business advisor and strategic partner, Irena Kvesic. Irena is an Australian entrepreneur and founder of IKCA PTY. LTD., providing professional accounting, taxation and consulting services to entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes.
With over 2 decades of experience in corporate, professional and small business settings, Irena is a publicly practising Chartered Accountant, Registered Tax Agent, UK VAT Agent and ASIC Agent, who goes well beyond ticking boxes and tax compliance to give her clients the tools, advice and guidance they need to grow, prosper and succeed in their business.
Since the launch of IKCA in 2017, IKCA has consistently supported entrepreneurs and small businesses to grow, excel and reach their goals. IKCA has supported hundreds of clients in Australia and globally in the pursuit of their business dreams and continues to do so.
For more information on IKCA PTY. LTD. visit www.ikca.com.au.
Here we sit down with Irena, to know a bit more about her journey as an entrepreneur.
Q. Tell us a little more about your journey as an entrepreneur – how did you get started? What inspired you?
Irena: Inspiringly, I bet the odds to achieve success. I came to Australia as a refugee, a young girl with one suitcase full of memories and big dreams. I was so happy to enrol into a university, complete my business degree and get a job in a large global firm. All within the 3 years of coming to Australia. From there on, I qualified as a chartered accountant, worked in professional and global corporate organizations for 20 years and I thought I had fulfilled my childhood dreams, building a successful career from the ground up.
But deep inside, a sense of peace and fulfilment was missing.
First and foremost, I wanted to be a mum, to be there for my kids when they need me, but also to feel fulfilled and to contribute to society and those around me. I knew this was one thing I did not want to compromise on. This was my inspiration.
It was not until a family holiday in Europe, that I realised that it is time for me to start my own little venture. It was a scary thought, but I decided to give it a go and see where it takes me. I did not want to grow old and regret not trying it.
I had the skill, the expertise, the know-how, and most importantly, I had the passion to help those in need. I love numbers, taxes, and anything with money and finances, and I find it interesting in how money works, economics, and world trade. I’m passionate about helping others who do not understand numbers or are just not good with numbers. It’s my way of helping others and making a difference.
So I have started my own business. Exactly that. I simply started helping others. I enjoyed being home, spending time with my family, and doing things I have not had time to do before when I was in corporate and working for large multimillion-dollar corporates. I have created a profile on Upwork – a global platform, and things started rolling. This was a turning point for me. Upwork is the world’s freelancing platform that connects businesses with independent professionals around the globe. It’s such an incredible platform.
Before I knew it, I was getting job offers on Upwork. And my journey began.
Q. What’s one thing in your routine that you do consistently that has made a huge difference in your personal or business life?
Irena: One thing that I consistently do that has made a huge difference in my personal and business life is my personal determination and desire to do well, being an optimist and believing in goodness in this world.
I enjoy what I am doing and living life to the fullest. These values are instilled in me, and in everything I do.
You never know what life will throw at you, but it is the way you deal with those challenges that make a huge difference.
I like to help people, always strive for excellence, and I am dedicated to helping others succeed and do well, whatever their goals may be. People can see and recognise my hard work, my knowledge and my desire to help which truly keeps me going. It’s a great sense of achievement and excellence, I feel excellent when my clients show their appreciation and thank me for my work well done. There is no better reward.
Q. Who are your mentors and inspiration? and what knowledge or insight did they give to you that was valuable?
Irena: My inspiration is my parents. They were immigrants and encouraged me to prioritise education as a path to stability and happiness. They had a challenging time coming to Australia in their 40s and not being able to speak the language, yet having to work and raise two kids. I admire them! It was my parents who gave me the drive, and the determination to do well and make them proud.
My personal experiences taught me that our destiny is in our own hands. I came to Australia to be happy and lead a safe and fulfilling life, and this was a catalyst when I was starting my entrepreneurship. Everything is possible, you just have to put your mind to it and believe in yourself! These are the valuable insights I got from my parents.
I also would like to mention Ernst and Young, my first employer in Australia. I started working for Ernst and Young as a graduate. I completed my Professional Year while working with Ernst and Young, and got my accreditation as a Chartered Accountant, which set the foundations for professional work etiquette, ethical behaviours, business acumen, knowledge and skill across various aspects of accounting. I can truly say ‘thank you’ to Ernst & Young, in relation to my professional development. Such a great global firm with an excellent graduate program and incredible professional development program.
It is with great pleasure that I thank both my parents, for their ongoing support and belief in me, and Ernst and Young, for providing me with excellent career development and business values. I firmly believe this has moulded me into the person and the professional accountant I am today.
Q. What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Irena: My most memorable moment/success story is when I started IKCA Business School and designed IKCA signature online tax course ‘Learn tax using the IKCA method’. It is designed for business owners ready to breathe life and grow their profits, to learn how to maximise profits and minimise taxes they need to pay. It is designed to be supportive, practical, encouraging and even a little bit fun! A comprehensive and ultimate online tax course, teaching tax basics and more, increasing tax literacy! 4.5 hours of tax learning goodness jam-packed in this course.
IKCA Business School now offers a range of courses, and all IKCA courses are packed with helpful tools, reflections, smart tax strategies, inspiration and resources business owners need to build their tax literacy and habits that will help them reach their dreams.
The IKCA courses I am creating are really the chance for me to pass along a few of those lessons learned that will be of service and use to business owners. It is the best gift I can give to my clients and business owners – the gift of financial and tax literacy. This will pay them dividends for years to come.
Q. How do you market your business, and which tactics have been most successful?
Irena: Years ago, you had to pay for TV, radio or newspaper ads to market a business.
We live in a different world today, where you can literally grow a brand using your phone. I am big on organic marketing strategies. Here is how I market my business for free:
• Word of mouth and client referrals
• Strategic and industry partnerships
• Social media posting and engaging
• Online presence, through the IKCA business website, IKCA business school, a profile on the global freelance professional platform, Xero advisory listing, etc.
Organic strategies work best for me. It is about being genuine with your offering, delivering on client expectations, keeping communication open and regular with your clients and providing customer excellence. My business has grown and continues to grow predominantly through word of mouth and client referrals. I nurture and value my client relationships. I see these marketing tactics as a great way to connect with people, and provide educational material and practical tips to business owners. I now enjoy all the freedom that comes with being a business owner, and I get to be creative every day. My business venture, IKCA, is thriving and continuously growing.
Q. What has been your biggest failures or challenges?
Irena: My biggest challenge has been managing my business growth. Over a period of about 10 months, my business has gone from 0 to 6 figures! When I started my business, I was very realistic with my goals, and suddenly I had an influx of client referrals, and I truly wanted to help them.
Even though I had it somewhere in the back of my mind that this could happen, I did not expect business growth to be so sudden. This period took some adjusting, as I was not planning for it.
Yet, I never compromised on quality. The key to navigating successfully through this period was keeping open communication channels, explaining the process and final deliverables, and making sure clients felt comfortable and supported during this period.
While onboarding new clients I was being thorough, completing comprehensive finance health checks, identifying errors, opportunities for improvement and process inefficiencies. With this approach, clients felt value immediately; they experienced growth in their business and were confident in their numbers. Most importantly, I built trust with them and showed them that I was there to help them grow.
To manage the steep business growth, I’ve used the following strategies:
- regular and clear communication with clients
- listening to client needs and providing advice and alternatives, explaining the costs and benefits of each option, so that clients can make informed business decisions
- working for myself allows me to manage my time – so having regular breaks, time with family doing sports, music or watching a movie; also having regular walks with my dog, the chief happiness officer at IKCA headquarters, and using this time to relax and energise.
Q. How did this failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?
Irena: As with anything, I have learned that patience is a great virtue. Some clients needed more support and hand-holding than others. And that is expected. The key for me in this whole experience was being a great listener and having the patience to work through the backlogs, put processes in place and help clients steer towards their goals.
With time, I have learned to manage my business growth better, and to only take new clients when I have the capacity to do so.
I have also opened myself to the possibility of outsourcing so that I can continue to deliver the best results and quality outcomes to my clients while keeping a healthy work-life balance. And, I can see great benefits in this approach.
Q. If someone was to create a TV show about you, what would it be about and what would it be called?
Irena: I believe it would be a truly inspiring story, of a young girl who came from a war-torn country into a big western world, with big dreams, and nothing but a great desire to do well, to do something she is passionate about and to make a difference in this world.
Strangely enough, I did not know what I wanted to do when I came to Australia, but I knew I wanted to further my studies and do something meaningful and rewarding with my life. And here I stand, I run my own business consulting and accounting/tax/advisory practice, and I am so passionate about helping those who are in need to grow their business, understand their numbers and feel in control of their business.
What would the show be called – Hmm, it could be called:
• ‘The Dream: A Guide for the Aspiring Entrepreneur’;
• ‘Passion-Powered: The 30 Secrets of Successful Business Women
• ‘The Girl with Big Dreams: A story of success and a dream
• ‘Follow your passion’; ‘Never give up’, ‘Little girl with big dreams’; ‘Anything is possible’.
To keep up to date with Irena and her journey, connect with her on Facebook, and Instagram.
