Melissa Gollan
Melissa Gollan is an absolutely amazing woman with a tonne of focus and energy that she’s channelled to take on the challenge of developing a a disruptive and innovative new business. One that can genuinely help busy people and business owners get their time back by easily dealing with expense reporting and bookkeeping. Having founded her business, RIP Global, Melissa entered the fintech market, and has gotten incredible responses from clients, experts and government gurus so far.
She believes that ‘work’ and ‘life’ are blended and that more support around family management for staff is a must. Have we got you hooked yet? Because we got to sit down with her and cannot wait to share it with you!
Melissa always wanted to be a police woman and worked hard to be in the best position to achieve this. However, when she was 19, an incident occurred that rocked her to the core and this resulted in her re-assessing and deciding the Police wasn’t right for her after all. This change, after all those years of working towards it, meant suddenly Mel was left without any real direction on where to go or what to do.
At the time Mel was working several different jobs, one of which gave her valuable experience at the coal face which allowed her to build her financial know-how. Without clear direction, Melissa was doing what was needed, and wondering ‘what next’, but in hindsight, it prepared Melissa for what she is doing now. As Steve Jobs always said, we always join the dots look backwards so its important to always show up and you’re your best in any job as you never know what it may lead to! Like many of us, Mel found it hard to put her finger on that next big career goal, and she says that it was such an advantage taking a 5-year break to have her family, as this time was wonderful for personal reasons (she’s a kick ass Rugby coach too!), and it allowed her to re-access her situation, and really look at her options when deciding what to do next.
She believes that ‘work’ and ‘life’ are blended and that more support around family management for staff is a must. Have we got you hooked yet? Because we got to sit down with her and cannot wait to share it with you!
Melissa always wanted to be a police woman and worked hard to be in the best position to achieve this. However, when she was 19, an incident occurred that rocked her to the core and this resulted in her re-assessing and deciding the Police wasn’t right for her after all. This change, after all those years of working towards it, meant suddenly Mel was left without any real direction on where to go or what to do.
At the time Mel was working several different jobs, one of which gave her valuable experience at the coal face which allowed her to build her financial know-how. Without clear direction, Melissa was doing what was needed, and wondering ‘what next’, but in hindsight, it prepared Melissa for what she is doing now. As Steve Jobs always said, we always join the dots look backwards so its important to always show up and you’re your best in any job as you never know what it may lead to! Like many of us, Mel found it hard to put her finger on that next big career goal, and she says that it was such an advantage taking a 5-year break to have her family, as this time was wonderful for personal reasons (she’s a kick ass Rugby coach too!), and it allowed her to re-access her situation, and really look at her options when deciding what to do next.
One common challenge for Melissa, and many others of us, is that women are too harsh on themselves and most of us are having the internal challenge of ensuring to look after ourselves. Even for these smart, savvy dynamos, it is a hard slog. Having to balance a career and family is challenging and rewarding, but if we start to believe in ourselves more, and start thinking about the bigger picture, it will give us the confidence and energy we need. A great support system around us can certainly help too.
“Believe in what you are doing and make it happen.”
and
“If you want success, hunt it. Don’t be afraid to compete.”
Mel really encourages us all to have each other’s backs - it would help to celebrate women, even before they become ‘successful’, as the journey can be tough, and it’s in those dips that a supportive crew and a kind word mean so much. So rather than observing, we should take those leaps of faith, be encouraging, invest where we can, risk something, and keep the innovative companies here in New Zealand to realise their potential. It would serve our country and our home talent much more and strengthen our ecosystem, and create a lot more opportunities and entrepreneurs!
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We ask every interviewee what their biggest wins were and it gives them such a good opportunity to reflect on their accomplishments. For Melissa, signing up clients for her expense reporting and bookkeeping software is a big win, as well as gaining legal patents globally, further validating that she has created something of use, of value and that really is a helpful solution to many.
A crucial element in achieving these things was to focus on and gain confidence, and to believe in herself, especially when the going gets tough. Furthermore, trust yourself - no one else can judge how much work you are putting into it and what your rewards should be. Melissa reminds us: remember this when going into pay negotiations! When she’s looking for talent, the drive and willingness of someone is much more important than qualifications. You all know the old saying, hire talent and attitude, and train skills! |
Family is a big focus in Melissa’s life and she believes that a decentralisation of work stations and offices to the more urban area, being closer to schools will be a future work trend. Having a home, the school and workplace all within a 5-minute radius is of advantage when wanting to attend school plays, sports days or similar, and if you value these things, having access to them and making time for them is essential to your own wellbeing.
At RIP Global, Melissa walks the talk – she offers her staff two hours of paid community service per week, to allow other parents to be coaches of sports teams or help in the community. It’s all about give and take, and working with great people and she’s proud of the team, and knows that on the other hand, if there is a big project on or work just needs to get done, employees are there without question.
Integrity is a big value for RIP Global and an example for many other businesses on how to support each other. Before moving to Wellington to realise her ideas, Mel and her family lived in Gisborne and Melissa was very active in the community, hoping to be more involved in her current community again rather sooner than later. A Master of Business Administration is on the cards for the near future, allowing Melissa to dive more deeply into the theories and practices around business management.
“If you don’t know where you are going, how do you know how to get there?” - Goals are such an important thing for us all, we love having a place to aim for. We really benefit when we take time every now and then to reflect on how far we have gotten, whether we are happy with what we have accomplished so far and if we need to adjust certain things to stay on the path, or maybe even adjust the goal itself in light of recent developments. Life throws many things at us and it is up to us how we handle them.
A top tip from Melissa on juggling everyday life pressures is to “not sweat the small stuff.” If you have a busy week at work, or university, leave the washing (if you can afford to!) a few more days. But always make sure to allow enough time to rest and sleep, your wellbeing is so important.
We would like to finish this amazing experience of getting to know Melissa with a few of her finishing words that we wanna put up in flashing lights and remind you all:
Integrity is a big value for RIP Global and an example for many other businesses on how to support each other. Before moving to Wellington to realise her ideas, Mel and her family lived in Gisborne and Melissa was very active in the community, hoping to be more involved in her current community again rather sooner than later. A Master of Business Administration is on the cards for the near future, allowing Melissa to dive more deeply into the theories and practices around business management.
“If you don’t know where you are going, how do you know how to get there?” - Goals are such an important thing for us all, we love having a place to aim for. We really benefit when we take time every now and then to reflect on how far we have gotten, whether we are happy with what we have accomplished so far and if we need to adjust certain things to stay on the path, or maybe even adjust the goal itself in light of recent developments. Life throws many things at us and it is up to us how we handle them.
A top tip from Melissa on juggling everyday life pressures is to “not sweat the small stuff.” If you have a busy week at work, or university, leave the washing (if you can afford to!) a few more days. But always make sure to allow enough time to rest and sleep, your wellbeing is so important.
We would like to finish this amazing experience of getting to know Melissa with a few of her finishing words that we wanna put up in flashing lights and remind you all:
Summer 2017/2018
Watch this space! There's a tonne of content being moulded for you which will make it's way here in the coming months so be sure to flick us a LIKE on Facebook to keep up with the latest and greatest.
If you are a cool chick with a great story, we'd love to hear from you. Feel free to send us deets of other amazing ladies you know too, and we will reach out.
Tēnā rawa atu koe.
If you are a cool chick with a great story, we'd love to hear from you. Feel free to send us deets of other amazing ladies you know too, and we will reach out.
Tēnā rawa atu koe.