Lyn Heaysman never planned to provide financial advice.
More than 16 years ago, she was a corporate accountant, living in Victoria’s idyllic Sunraysia region near Mildura on a horticultural property.
But when her husband had a farming accident, the value of insurance became apparent to her.
“We had income protection and trauma insurance and it was because we had this insurance in place that we were able to keep things afloat,” Heaysman says.
“When we got him well again, I needed to go back to work and my insurance man said, ‘Come do what I do’.”
Heaysman was initially hesitant to get involved in the industry, joking that she once compared insurance brokers to “used car salesmen”. Real life experience had changed her mind, however, and brought home the importance of insurance to her.
“It was at the time when all of thereforms were taking place,” she says.
“I met my insurer’s state manager and I was convinced this was a good occupation to get involved in – and he was absolutely spot on. So I had that passion right from the beginning and
insurance was the way I started.”
Jumping right in, Heaysman studied for her Diploma of Financial Planning and decided to purchase the business that would eventually become Harvest Wealth.
While she has been in the industry since 1997, her inspiration for entering financial planning remains front and centre.
“To put it in a real nutshell, it’s all about the client,” she says. “We just care about their position and what their objectives are and we try to work with them. We live in a rural community so reputation is everything to us.”
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