Niluka spearheads Global Bookkeeping Solutions
Success stories and inspiring lives sometimes are the ones where the script was written different to that of others. Rising to shine ahead of others when all else seemed hopeless is the story of a woman of courage and commitment from Anuradhapura, Ms. Niluka Jayasinghe.
Raised by a single mother who had no hopes on her youngest daughter it was a surprise to her family when Niluka passed the exams with 3As and was selected to the university. That’s when she came to Colombo.
Coming to Colombo
Ms. Niluka Jayasinghe and her family.
“I had no idea about anything,” Niluka explained reminiscing her early years and recounted her struggles in picking the right career path. Due to lower grades in university she opted to study marketing and not accountancy. But the job market was not inviting. She found out the cruel nature of how one gets selected for a job in Sri Lanka: It was important to be fluent in English.
Later she studied accountancy and round about the same time she got married to her boyfriend who was her main source of encouragement and guidance through the years.
He wanted her to continue in practical training for chartered for three years and by the time she sat for her finals she was pregnant with her first baby.
Having worked with Ernst and Young she gained a wide experience and went onto working with a BPO firm and an Australian accounting firm.
Niluka found herself surrounded by family and friends who were in top positions drawing high salaries and it bothered her that at her age she was nowhere.
Soon she moved to another Australian accounting firm where she would work for over 12 hours and as a result she hardly had any time to spend with her little one.
“I used to work like a machine,” she said adding that it was at that time she found out about Upwork – the freelancing website.
“This helped to connect to all the global markets and then I thought this is the place for me to grow,” she said.
Gradually she found work and boosted her profile and received better reviews as a result of which she used to get calls while on her way home from work at 2.00 am.
This meant that she started to receive more work than she could handle alone and at the same time earn more than her current permanent job.
Moving Out, moving on
“So, my husband said why not set up a company and so I resigned from there and set up office in a small space and later my nephew also joined me.”
With two kids 11 and 7 years, Niluka was able to now forge ahead with more time on her hands. She was able to give jobs to 20 and later 50 persons and got over 450 clients from a number of different countries like Australia, UK and Canada.
Her best motivation factor is her “very supportive husband” and a “very understanding mother-in-law.” Back then I only earned around Rs.100, 000 but now my employees are earning more than that.”
In 2023 Niluka’s husband stepped down from his top job at Fonterra and started to work with her at their new office. With his strategic thinking and experience they were able to grow. As a result in 2024 Niluka bagged the Gold for the Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur Award from the Western Province by the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WCCI).
Coming full circle
Today Niluka is looking beyond just running a company; she wants to help others who she has met over the years that joined her company like her and help them find success as well. She has plans to expand out of Sri Lanka and enter Australia.
In August this year she started a website called Simply Tax and registered a company in Australia and the aim is to establish there with prospects of obtaining more opportunities through that platform as well.
With her nephew moving to Australia for higher studies she will be partnering with him to expand her company and promoting it as well. Niluka will also be going there to carry out some promotion work for the company “so that I can take it to the next level.”
She is hoping to expand to the US where Niluka has more clients “and the clientele are satisfied about outsourcing from Sri Lanka.” Moving to the UK she is currently looking for a partner to start operations there as well.
Getting recognised
She pointed out that having the right qualifications is also vital since going international means they require professional qualifications that are accepted worldwide.
Niluka has been training those working with her and helped them gain their qualifications as well. She believes in doing so it would be possible for her to start her own training academy as well in the future. “I’m happy to get people to grow in their careers.”
If someone wants to work with international clients they should equip themselves with the required professional qualifications.
The main competitor markets are India and Philippines that are said to be grabbing more work from the international market.
Niluka is now looking for a partner to build her company to about 1000 plus employees and she is on a mission to achieving big by creating more opportunities here and not migrating.
“I want to help the women who are at home and those who have given up their career and who want to contribute to the economy by coming back to work.” Giving women a chance to gain experience and work from home especially for those re-entering the job market – this is a boost for them, Niluka asserted.
In the last two years the company became a million dollar company and Niluka believes in helping those struggling to earn more in the corporate sector. The future seems endless and opportunities are just galore for Niluka.
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