40under40 Winner - Joanne Salim

Joanne Salim is a director of Global Dial, a telecommunications carrier she runs in partnership with her husband, Patrick Ng.

Ms Salim, who started her working life as a lawyer, joined the fledgling business in 1996 when it experienced a surge in customer numbers.

She set about putting some structure into the company, by implementing a formal accounting system, a billing process, a payroll system and staff recruitment process as well as organising the customer service contracts.

Ms Salim now has responsibility for the daily operations of Global Dial, which has 34 staff, annual turnover of $6.5 million and offices in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.

Its customers range from households up to companies, schools and other educational institutions.

Ms Salim has a particular focus on its financial results and the implementation of new strategies.

As a mother of two young children, Ms Salim says her greatest challenge is to balance work and family, and to be successful in both.

She believes that running her own company puts her in a fortunate position, as it gives her more capacity to accommodate the needs of working mothers.

As a survivor from the dot.com crash, Ms Salim has learned many business lessons.

She does her own marketing research, rather than relying on ‘experts’, and keeps a tight rein on the finances, never assuming that money will come in quickly or easily.