Business
This single mom and entrepreneur is on a mission to help women build riches through property investment
“I would describe the early days of the company, knowing what I know now, as a HOT mess! I had eyes bigger than my belly, so I would say yes to everything and work it out later. My solution to being too busy was to hire people like me, which was a BIG mistake”
Kiani Mills
At age 35, Kiani Mills is the co-founder of Edwards Mills — a buyers advocacy company, and the creator of Imperiale, a real estate conveyancing firm.
But getting to the top of the ladder wasn’t easy. Kiani, one of six children born and raised in Frankston, lacked structure as a child and teen.
After leaving school to pursue a career in law, she landed a job as a legal trainee when she was 18 earning $14,000/year. She commuted daily from Frankston, eating sausage rolls from 7/11 on the train, as that was all her budget would allow.
She was promoted to a Paralegal in the property law department, and that’s where she fell in love with conveyancing. Kiani spent the next few years raising her son, pursuing her passion for property law and conveyancing as a Paralegal, paying expenses, and managing her personal life.
However, despite working the whole three months of her maternity leave while caring for a newborn and a toddler, she returned to work only to be told she no longer had a job.
“Working in a law firm under the protection of 15 lawyers doesn’t set you up to run a new business. However, I did it anyway and loved (and hated) every minute of it,” Kiani recalls.
Kiani started her conveyancing business out of her house, set up on her kitchen bench, having clients come over for a cup of tea whilst she printed their documents on her $100 printer.
“From there, six months passed, and myself and my first employee moved into our Collins St Office, in the Paris end, I was very proud. Here we gained two more staff, then moved to Level 10, 525 Flinders St, with a perfect glass office overlooking the Yarra River and Nobu at Crown Casino.
“The real-life version of Suits! We grew to six before moving to our long-term home leasing at 70 Bridport St, Albert Park. Having a whole building not even two years into running a new business was surreal and brought new challenges and triumphs.
“We opened further offices in Mornington, Glen Waverley, Ballarat and Port Melbourne, adopting the digital world of PEXA and deeming ourselves a paperless office… We were up to 9 staff, a BDM and myself before the global pandemic decided to pounce whilst I was mid-holiday in Bali… Lucky for us, we escaped in the nick of time and got on the last plane!
“This saw us close all of our offices and announce to the world that we had gone digital. This also led to the launch into Queensland and NSW, with Queensland taking off instantly thanks to a couple of big referral partners.
“This financial year has seen us with 56 per cent growth in profit and exceeding our expected targets and milestones. However, as they say, it isn’t all roses and rainbows. There have been massive hurdles to jump, trials and tribulations and painful moments where the thought of giving up crept in. I am and always will be fighting the silent battle in business and wondering, ‘will this all be taken away.
“This lights the fire inside of me, which gives me drive and commitment to myself, my family, my staff and the whole Imperiale family, our clients and referral partners. I do it every day because I want to, but more importantly, I get to. I am privileged to be in this position where I get to help, give back, and run a business the way I do.”
The beginning
Kiani remembers the company’s early years as being complete chaos.
“Well… I would describe the company’s early days, knowing what I know now, as a hot mess! I had eyes bigger than my belly, so I would say yes to everything and work it out later, or just work later. My solution to being too busy was to hire people like me, which was a BIG mistake. People like me had the social skills but didn’t have the work dedication skills to keep them at their desks.”
Kiani notes that getting into real estate was a by-product of property law. Until she left working in Law Firms, she wasn’t really aware of how much of an influence the Real Estate Industry had as she wasn’t exposed to that world until she left the big city. Then very quickly, Real Estate became her passion/obsession.
“The personable nature of it, the fluctuation in the market, every day was different, different values, interest rates, people, rules, everything. It was a wonder to me, and I fell deeply in love with it.
“There is still a lot of an ‘a grey area’ in the Real Estate industry, which baffles me at times; however, for the most part, it is exciting and does sit in line with my desire to help others make their dreams come true, and this just happens to be a very sought after vehicle. So hence starting a Conveyancing company was a no-brainer for me. I had the skills to be forged in an industry that I loved.
“We were never short on clients, which was a relief; however, as most small business owners, I was wearing every hat, controlling the flow of everything and still trying to do most things myself, even though I had support.
“Starry-eyed but determined, I loved the challenge, the fast pace, the thrill of it all. Help as many people as possible, say yes and deliver, even if it meant sacrificing time with the kids, eating and/or sleeping!”
Why we need conveyancers like Impériale
Impériale Conveyancing is a professional property concierge and advisor who connects the dots for individuals at every stage of the property journey.
Kiani explains that the most common mistake she finds, even with Google, is that consumers do not have their Contract of Sale examined before signing. She also notes that so many things could be wrong with a property/contract, and Solicitors/Conveyancers provide this service for free. 
Conveyancers provide knowledgeable advice and personalised service when buying, selling, subdividing, transferring, or developing real estate. They also produce and manage all necessary paperwork throughout the transaction.
She encourages everyone to use this service. “Another issue is that people bid at auctions when they shouldn’t or don’t fully comprehend the implications of doing so. Buying at auction has stringent guidelines, and it is not for everyone,” she adds.
“Finally, not doing thorough due diligence into the local area, planning approvals, etc., you can find most things on the internet or with a quick call to Council, so please don’t assume all is rosy.
“There may be a Department of Housing Development pinned to be built across the street, a giant freeway earmarked to be built, you may be within an ineligible zoning area, and your lender will not accept. Please google the heck out of any property you look at and be smart.”
“I believe that the easiest way to make Real Estate a fairer game is for all buyers to utilise the resources of a Buyers Advocate. Sellers can allow a professional to manage the game to ensure the best result. I strongly believe having the buyer represented by a professional also means it is a LOT more of a fair game.
“Buyers really are at a disadvantage. I started Edwards & Mills Buyers Advocacy with my business partner Jake Edwards to help assist my clients and give them a leg up in the buying game.
“Understanding the value of a good buyer’s advocate can be the difference in winning at auction, finding out about an off-market, savings 6 months of your life from weekend inspections, saving you money, and peace of mind that the due diligence has been completed correctly.”
‘Imperiale’ is the feminine equivalent of ’empire’, as Kiani’s mission is not just to establish her own business but also to assist others in building theirs.
Learn more about Imperiale Conveyancing at https://imperiale.com.au/
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Transport providers, businesses and governments on Saturday are rushing to get all their systems back online after long disruptions following a widespread technology outage.
The biggest continuing effect has been on air travel. Carriers canceled thousands of flights on Friday and now have many of their planes and crews in the wrong place, while airports facing continued problems with checking in and security.
At the heart of the massive disruption is CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm that provides software to scores of companies worldwide. The company says the problem occurred when it deployed a faulty update to computers running Microsoft Windows, noting that the issue behind the outage was not a security incident or cyberattack.
Here’s the Latest:
Microsoft: 8.5 million devices on its Windows system were affected
Microsoft says 8.5 million devices running its Windows operating system were affected by a faulty cybersecurity update Friday that led to worldwide disruptions.
A Saturday blog post from Microsoft was the first estimate of the scope of the disruptions caused by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike’s software update.
“We currently estimate that CrowdStrike’s update affected 8.5 million Windows devices, or less than one percent of all Windows machines,” said the blog post from Microsoft cybersecurity executive David Weston.
“While the percentage was small, the broad economic and societal impacts reflect the use of CrowdStrike by enterprises that run many critical services.”
Weston said such a significant disturbance is rare but “demonstrates the interconnected nature of our broad ecosystem.” Windows is the dominant operating system for personal computers around the world.
Austrian doctors’ group calls for better data protection for patients
In Austria, a leading doctors organization said the global IT outage exposed the vulnerability of health systems reliant on digital systems.
“Yesterday’s incidents underscore how important it is for hospitals to have analogue backups” to safeguard patient care, Harald Mayer, vice president of the Austrian Chamber of Doctors, said in a statement on the organization’s website.
The organization called on governments to impose high standards in patient data protection and security and on health providers to train staff and put systems in place to manage crises.
“Happily, where there were problems, these were kept small and short-lived and many areas of care were unaffected” in Austria, Mayer said.
Germany warns of scams after major IT outage
BERLIN — The German government’s IT security agency says numerous companies are still struggling with the consequences of a far-reaching technology outage.
“Many business processes and procedures have been disturbed by the breakdown of computer systems,” the BSI agency said on its website.
But the agency also said Saturday that many impacted areas have returned to normal.
It warned that cybercriminals were trying to take advantage of the situation through phishing, fake websites and other scams and that “unofficial” software code was in circulation.
The agency said it was not yet clear how faulty code ended up in the CrowdStrike software update blamed for triggering the outage.
European airports appear to be close to normal
LONDON — Europe’s busiest airport, Heathrow, said it is busy but operating normally on Saturday. The airport said in a statement that “all systems are back up and running and passengers are getting on with their journeys smoothly.“
Some 167 flights scheduled to depart from U.K. airports on Friday were canceled, while 171 flights due to land were axed.
Meanwhile, flights at Berlin Airport were departing on or close to schedule, German news agency dpa reported, citing an airport spokesman.
Nineteen flights took off in the early hours of Saturday after authorities exempted them from the usual ban on night flights.
On Friday, 150 of the 552 scheduled inbound and outbound flights at the airport were canceled over the IT outage, disrupting the plans of thousands of passengers at the start of the summer vacation season in the German capital.
German hospital slowly restoring its systems after widespread cancellations
BERLIN — The Schleswig-Holstein University Hospital in northern Germany, which on Friday canceled all elective surgery because of the global IT outage, said Saturday that it was gradually restoring its systems.
In a statement on its website, it forecast that operations at its two branches in Kiel and Luebeck would return to normal by Monday and that “elective surgery can take place as planned and our ambulances can return to service.”
Britain’s transport system still trying to get back on track
LONDON — Britain’s travel and transport industries are struggling to get back on schedule after the global security outage with airline passengers facing cancellations and delays on the first day of summer holidays for many school pupils.
Gatwick Airport said “a majority” of scheduled flights were expected to take off. Manchester Airport said passengers were being checked in manually and there could be last-minute cancellations.
The Port of Dover said it was seeing an influx of displaced air passengers, with hourlong waits to enter the port to catch ferries to France.
Meanwhile, Britain’s National Cyber Security Center warned people and businesses to be on the lookout for phishing attempts as “opportunistic malicious actors” try to take advantage of the outage.
The National Cyber Security Center’s former head, Ciaran Martin, said the worst of the crisis was over, “because the nature of the crisis is that it went very wrong very quickly. It was spotted quite quickly and essentially it was turned off.”
He told Sky News that some businesses would be able to get back to normal very quickly, but for sectors such as aviation it would take longer.
“If you’re in aviation, you’ve got people, planes and staffs all stranded in the wrong place… So we are looking at days. I’d be surprised if we’re looking at weeks.”
Germany airline expects most of its flights to run normally
BERLIN — Eurowings, a budget subsidiary of Lufthansa, said it expected to return to “largely scheduled” flight operations on Saturday.
On Friday, the global IT outage had forced the airline to cancel about 20% of its flights, mostly on domestic routes. Passengers were asked to take trains instead.
“Online check-in, check-in at the airport, boarding processes, booking and rebooking flights are all possible again,” the airline said Saturday on X. “However, due to the considerable extent of the global IT disruption there may still be isolated disruptions” for passengers, it said.
Delta Air Lines and its regional affiliates have canceled hundreds of flights
DALLAS — Delta Air Lines and its regional affiliates canceled more than a quarter of their schedule on the East Coast by midafternoon Friday, aviation data provider Cirium said.
More than 1,100 flights for Delta and its affiliates have been canceled.
United and United Express had canceled more than 500 flights, or 12% of their schedule, and American Airlines’ network had canceled 450 flights, 7.5% of its schedule.
Southwest and Alaska do not use the CrowdStrike software that led to the global internet outages and had canceled fewer than a half-dozen flights each.
Portland, Oregon, mayor declares an emergency over the outage
PORTLAND, Ore. — Mayor Ted Wheeler declared an emergency Friday after more than half of the city’s computer systems were affected by the global internet outage.
Wheeler said during a news conference that while emergency services calls weren’t interrupted, dispatchers were having to manually track 911 calls with pen and paper for a few hours. He said 266 of the city’s 487 computer systems were affected.
Border crossings into the US are delayed
SAN DIEGO — People seeking to enter the U.S. from both the north and the south found that the border crossings were delayed by the internet outage.
The San Ysidro Port of Entry was gridlocked Friday morning with pedestrians waiting three hours to cross, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Even cars with people approved for a U.S. Customers and Border Protection “Trusted Traveler” program for low-risk passengers waited up to 90 minutes. The program, known as SENTRI, moves passengers more quickly through customs and passport control if they make an appointment for an interview and submit to a background check to travel through customs and passport control more quickly when they arrive in the U.S.
Meanwhile, at the U.S.-Canada border, Windsor Police reported long delays at the crossings at the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor tunnel.
U.S. filings for unemployment benefits rose again last week and appear to be settling consistently at a slightly higher though still healthy level that the Federal Reserve has been aiming for.
Jobless claims for the week ending July 13 rose by 20,000 to 243,000 from 223,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. It’s the eighth straight week claims came in above 220,000. Before that stretch, claims had been below that number in all but three weeks so far in 2024.
Weekly unemployment claims are widely considered as representative of layoffs.
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark borrowing rate 11 times beginning in March of 2022 in an attempt to extinguish the four-decade high inflation that shook the economy after it rebounded from the COVID-19 recession of 2020. The Fed’s intention was to cool off a red-hot labor market and slow wage growth, which it says can fuel inflation.
AP AUDIO: More Americans apply for jobless benefits as layoffs settle at higher levels in recent weeks
AP correspondent Shelley Adler reports filings for unemployment benefits have risen.
“The Fed asked to see more evidence of a cooling economy, and for the most part, they’ve gotten it,” said Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investing at E-Trade. “Add today’s weekly jobless claims to the list of rate-cut-friendly data points.”
Few analysts expect the Fed to cut rates at its meeting later this month, however most are betting on a cut in September.
The total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits rose after declining last week for the first time in 10 weeks. About 1.87 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits for the week of July 6, around 20,000 more than the previous week. That’s the most since November of 2021.
Continuing claims have been on the rise in recent months, suggesting that some Americans receiving unemployment benefits are finding it more challenging to land jobs.
And there have been job cuts in a range of sectors in recent months, from the agricultural manufacturer Deere, to media outlets like CNN, and elsewhere.
The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the week-to-week volatility, rose by 1,000 to 234,750.
Strong consumer demand and a resilient labor market has helped to avert a recession that many economists forecast during the extended flurry of rate hikes. As inflation continues to ease, the Fed’s goal of a soft-landing — bringing down inflation without causing a recession and mass layoffs — appears within reach.
While the labor market remains historically healthy, recent government data suggest some weakening.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1% in June, despite the fact that America’s employers added 206,000 jobs.
Job postings in May rose slightly to 8.1 million, however, April’s figure was revised lower to 7.9 million, the first reading below 8 million since February 2021.
Darden Restaurants is adding Tex-Mex to the menu.
The parent company of Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House and other chains, said Wednesday it’s buying Chuy’s for approximately $605 million.
Darden said it will acquire all outstanding shares of Chuy’s for $37.50 per share. Those shares closed at $25.27 apiece on Wednesday, then soared past $37 in after-hours trading once the deal was announced. Darden shares fell 1% in after-hours trading.
Darden said the boards of Darden and Chuy’s have unanimously approved the acquisition. The deal is expected to close later this year, if it’s approved by Chuy’s shareholders.
Chuy’s Holdings Inc. was founded in Austin, Texas, in 1982. It now operates 101 restaurants in 15 states and has 7,400 employees. It’s known for its eclectic decor and fresh food, including handmade tortillas and sauces.
Like Darden, Chuy’s owns and operates all of its restaurants. Darden President and CEO Rick Cardenas said Chuy’s is a differentiated brand with strong growth potential that will expand Darden’s dining options.
Darden, based in Orlando, Florida, operates more than 1,900 restaurants and has 190,000 employees. It also owns Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Eddie V’s and Bahama Breeze.
“Based on our criteria for adding a brand to the Darden portfolio, we believe Chuy’s is an excellent fit that supports our winning strategy,” Cardenas said in a statement.
Chuy’s Chairman, CEO and President Steven Hislop said the acquisition will accelerate Chuy’s business goals and expand the brand to more communities.
The deal comes as both restaurant companies have been struggling with a downturn in customer traffic due to consumer concerns about inflation.
In Darden’s fiscal fourth quarter, which ended May 26, same-store sales — or sales at restaurants open at least a year — were flat compared to the prior year. Chuy’s same-store sales were down 5% in its first quarter, which ended March 31.
Investment bank Jefferies downgraded shares for both restaurant chains earlier this month, saying they’re being squeezed by price promotions at fast-food chains like McDonald’s as well as at casual dining peers like Chili’s and Applebee’s.
