Meet the Director
My Story
I started my life out very shy and dependent. My sister spoke for me until I was over 3 years old. No one would believe me if I told them that now!
I started to play basketball at 6 and was the smallest on the team. Nothing has changed in this regard! To make up for my lack of height, I was the most enthusiastic and competitive team player.
Back then we had to play with boys and girls, so this helped me become strong and not allow people to push me around. It also built my confidence.
At 13 I was told that there was no room in the basketball world for small people, and my attitude was well we will see about that! I played basketball 7 days a week and started playing A-grade ladies basketball at 13, and I thrived on it. I was accepted into the basketball scholarship at Willetton High School and played junior State League. This took my parents and family all over the metro area, being my support and a great cheer squad. I won the fairest trophies for my club and for the stadium multiple times throughout my basketball life.
As a child, I had a love of money; however, we didn’t have a lot, as my parents divorced at an early age; so things were rather tight on that front. My mum remarried and we became a blended family, which was not popular in those days. So life was different but fun, as I had a very supportive family and friends, and I had my basketball which was my passion.
I love to be part of a team and work together to achieve a common goal.
I always believed that if you came second you were last. I still believe this.
I disliked school and I decided in year 11 3/4 that I wasn’t going back. Mum said that if I got a job in a child care centre then I could leave. This was to be my career path once I had graduated. I applied for as many jobs. I could and after the first interview I nailed it. So off I started on my first adventure in the real world.
I always wanted to make lots of money but wasn’t sure what I was going to do to make it. I knew that if I found something that I loved to do and worked hard then the money would come.
I started in finance when I was 18, in a different sector to what I am in now. This was called factoring finance and my boss was a tyrant. However, she taught me a lot about business and how not to treat staff if you want to get the perfect attitude out of them.
My main goals in life were to have a good job, get married, have a child and pay my house off by the time I was 30; I was a little off in this calculation - I achieved all of these by the time I was 32. I purchased my first investment at 21 and had to save hard to achieve it. When I set myself goals, I make sure I achieve them even if it takes longer than expected.
One of my work goals was that I wanted to work for Coca Cola as a sales rep, so when I was 23 I applied and got the job. I thoroughly enjoyed working for this company. A lot of my sales training came from Coca Cola and I believe that this was the foundation of my great sales career.
After Coca Cola, I was poached back to the finance industry and worked for a few years as a Finance and Insurance Manager for Volvo / Suzuki. Although I enjoyed this job, I decided it would be far more exciting to help people purchase their dream homes instead of cars.
In January 2005, I was lucky enough to start with FinanceCorp and after 12 months I was offered the opportunity to have my own franchise. I jumped at this. I have always enjoyed a challenge and hate saying no to opportunities, so I took the plunge!
By 2008 I had 2 FinanceCorp franchises and then in 2009 I was offered the opportunity to purchase the company. At the time FinanceCorp had 5 offices including mine. I closed the other 4 offices and continued to build up the FinanceCorp business. At this stage I only had the 1 office and around 18 staff.
With the help of my supportive husband we built the company and employed brokers. In 2016, we opened our second office which was in Kelmscott and then we went on, in the same year, to open an office in Melbourne.
I believe that the FinanceCorp team are like my second family and I always try to encourage my staff, as I know they can achieve their goals if they set their mind to it. I am a team player who always tries to see the good in people.
Of course, I have made some errors in judgement over the years; however, I don’t consider these mistakes. They were opportunities to learn from and perform better next time.
I try to live by the motto that it is not the mistake that counts but the time you take to recover. I have employed staff that have been detrimental to my business. Over the years I have learnt to trust my own judgement. If I think something is not quite right, then I act on my gut feeling. I make my own choices in life and try not to let other people influence my decisions. I make a decision and move forward.
I also enjoy seeing my clients’ deals get approved, and I want it to be a stress-free process for them. But it is not just about the clients, either. I want the people we work with to be happy with our services and to continue using us because we do a good job.
My main motivation is my family; my daughter and my husband. Making sure they have a good life and have the opportunity to get everything they want in life. I also want to see my staff succeed.
It is not just about me. It is about everyone I surround myself with being happy and successful. I guess that is what gets me out of bed in the morning, seeing myself, my family and staff succeeding in life and having all the things they wish for. Because you can have everything you wish for if you work hard.
I have never been to university and I want to get through to young people that it doesn’t matter if you have a piece of paper telling you how qualified you are. That won’t determine your success. As Sir Richard Branson says, “If you have fun then the money will come.”
Today life is great because there is structure to everything. I know where I am heading and have learned what not to do. I now have the freedom to do whatever I want!