How to Build Personal & Team Resilience – Hannah McQueen
At the M2woman Journey to Excellence event, Hannah McQueen, the founder of Enable Me, took the stage to share her journey from financial frustration to helping thousands of Kiwis conquer their mortgages and build wealth. Her story is one of resilience, innovation, and a fair bit of Kiwi ingenuity.
It all started 18 years ago when Hannah, then a chartered accountant with a master’s in tax and financial advising, faced the daunting task of paying off a $350,000 mortgage. Like many of us, she felt stuck by the prospect of paying back over a million dollars to the bank. When her banker offered the standard advice—shorten the mortgage term or juggle floating interest rates—Hannah knew there had to be a better way.
Determined to crack the code, she turned to the Calculus Department at the University of Auckland. After six months of hard work and eight pages of calculations, Hannah developed a formula that would save her the full amount of her mortgage in interest costs. She patented this game-changing formula, which became the foundation of her company, Enable Me.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Before her big breakthrough, Hannah pitched a debt-reduction idea to her boss, only to be fired for presenting what was seen as a competing business plan. This setback turned out to be a blessing in disguise, propelling her to start Enable Me and help others achieve financial freedom.
Enable Me focuses on more than just numbers—it addresses the behaviours that drive financial success. Hannah shared how her initial formula wasn’t enough because of her own spending habits. By changing these behaviours, Enable Me has helped over 15,000 clients.
Hannah’s keynote was filled with practical advice and personal stories. She talked about resilience, using metaphors like red lipstick, Mike Tyson, the mountain, and the mirror to illustrate how to face challenges head-on, seek advice from those who’ve been there, and stay self-aware.
One of the key principles she discussed was the Stockdale Paradox, named after Admiral James Stockdale, a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. Stockdale survived eight years of torture and imprisonment by maintaining unwavering faith that he would prevail in the end, while also confronting the brutal facts of his current reality. Hannah emphasised that financial resilience requires a similar mindset: have faith in your financial goals, but be brutally honest about your current situation and the steps needed to improve it.
She also highlighted the importance of having a supportive team. Drawing from her experience training for the New York Marathon, Hannah explained how a running coach gave her the structure and accountability she needed to succeed—an analogy for achieving financial goals.
Her closing advice was especially empowering for women. Hannah urged the audience to balance kindness with cleverness and politeness with power. Her upcoming book, “Kill Your Mortgage and Sort Your Retirement,” promises to be a practical guide for anyone looking to take control of their finances.
