HEATHER FLACK is the very proud owner of Flair Accounting, an accounting practice based in Morningside, which is celebrating 20 years in business.


She says that when thinking about her achievements in business and community, the first one is that they made it to 20 years, which she never thought they would. “I distinctly remembered been told that most businesses don’t survive their first three years and if we could just get past that point …, and here we are, on the cusp of a twentieth birthday.”


Heather added that she would say the greatest achievement to date is being recognised by Standard Bank Top Women and ranked as one of South Africa’s Top Gender Empowerment Companies in the financial sector for 2022/2023.


As far as their community service goes, this is something that has been exceptionally important to Heather and the company over the years. Flair Accounting has always been involved in outreach projects, and Heather has sat on various boards for various charities, mostly women based. One of those being HOLAH (Home of Love and Hope), which is a baby house for children in crisis here in Durban, and Makaranga Charitable Trust is another.


DRIVEN TO ACHIEVE

“When thinking about what has inspired her over the years, Heather would have to say the ability to defy the answer no. “I think being told I couldn’t achieve something, or I couldn’t do something, inspired me even more to go harder, faster to really drive to achieve it. And not just that, I am really inspired by our country, I love the people of this country and I am very passionate about helping business owners in South Africa.”


One of the challenges that Heather had to face, was being 23 when she started the business. Trying to get people to take her seriously at the time and have faith in her ability and her service was her greatest challenge. Heather said, “I had to get creative, often offering to do the work for free and see where it went from there. I’ve always just found that the biggest challenge that businesses face, is that people want value for what they are paying for. But mostly, people want to deal with people, not with a machine, not with a corporation and not with a business, but with the people.”


BUILT A BRAND

When thinking of what the future holds for Flair Accounting, Heather thinks that she is very proud of the fact that they have built a brand far greater than the individual that is her, over the last twenty years. She says that through those twenty years so many amazing women have come through their doors, have grown as individuals, have moved onto greater places, and achieved wonderful things.


At the same time, she says, they have helped many businesses to steer their ships the right way, to look at all aspects of finance. When looking at the future, Heather says that needs to remain the core goal, to serve the businesses who have put their trust in them.


NOTHING GOOD COMES EASY

“The advice I would give to younger women is work hard. Nothing good comes easy. If you put in the time, if you put in the effort, if you do the yards, if you show up every day no matter what, you will achieve your dreams. You will aspire to great things. Never ever lose faith in yourself. There’s that famous saying that when a door closes a window opens, but it is up to us to look for the window.”


A GREAT GIFT

Heather is very happily married, and she has four children. They keep her very busy, but she says that they are a great gift in her life. She would say to unwind, that family is first and foremost in her life. They spend a lot of time outdoors, on the beach out in the sun, enjoying all the wonderful things that our country has to offer.


In closing, Heather said, ‘I would like to thank Grant and the KZN Top Business team for this amazing nomination and opportunity. I am very honoured to know that my dream to change the world one business at a time has been recognised by our greater stakeholders and I thank you very much for the opportunity.”