Episode 10: Stacey Thibault on Gunnedah Property Insights

Gunnedah Property Insights Podcast

Welcome to Gunnedah Property Insights. Today, I'm very pleased to have with me one of the prominent young business people in the town; Stacey Thibault. So, welcome along Stace.

Stacy: Thanks for having me!

Mike: Yeah, great to have you on.

[00:00:36]

Mike: Stacey has got quite an interesting background. She's a mum of four beautiful children, and she was a Gunnedah girl; educated in the Gunnedah system – Gunnedah High School, I believe – and is the director of a local legal firm that has got a very long history in the town; Walker Beer Solicitors & Conveyancers. And recently moved location of your main street premises?

Stacey: We have!

[00:01:10]

Stacey: We've actually moved back to where Walker Beer used to be, which is really interesting. When we started negotiations with the landlord, we weren't aware of that fact, so it was really interesting to go back and have a chat to Allan Beer.

Stacey: It was his business for thirty-five years and we said to him; "We're looking at moving across the road,” and he said, “Oh! Well, that's where we were!” And it's awesome to be back. It feels like we're going home, I suppose. It’s got a lovely feel, it's nice and airy. We've got lights, windows – we didn’t have windows in our previous office, so. It’s lovely.

Mike: Yeah, it was great. We attended the official opening of your premises only a week or so ago. It's certainly a breath of fresh air. There's lots of innovative things happening in the conveyancing sector – it’s all part of following the new line of technology, to be able to streamline processes and that of sort of thing.

Stacey: Yes.

[00:02:17]

Stacey: We're getting ready for E-conveyancing. That's picking up. So we're registered to PEXA. I'm looking forward to that actually taking off, because there will be none of this; the transfer is wrong or the CT hasn't shown. Take away all of that, it’ll be streamlined and easier, and the vendor’s will get their money within 20 minutes of settlement, instead of waiting three days for a bank check to clear.

Mike: I’m sure they’ll be happy with that.

Stacey: Absolutely.

[00:02:46]

Mike: So, I guess in introducing you, and it’ll be over and out to you to tell us a few things about – certainly, to let the viewers know that Stacey graduated through Macquarie University, and I understand, at the moment, you're currently working on your Bachelor of Laws in the University of New England—

Stacey: Yeah.

Mike: So, what can you tell us about where you are at the moment, Stacey?

[00:03:11]

Stacey: I did my Associate Degree in Law through Macquarie University, and finished that in 2009. I am in the process of doing my Bachelor of Laws through UNE, and I've got eight subjects to go. It's taking me forever to do because of the businesses and the kids [laughs]

Mike: Yes—

Stacey: But, yeah. It's good.

[00:03:30]

Mike: And you're also – what many people may not know – is you're also showing your entrepreneurial skills as the owner of another local business, Bitter Suite. What can you tell us about that?

Stacey: I love that place. It's really grown.

Stacey: It started off as an idea between Alice and myself, originally, just because we wanted somewhere really cool to hang out after work that wasn’t a pub. So that was the original idea. We had gone to Spain and we thought, “Oh, tapas really awesome!”

Stacey: The location of Bitter Suite was an old nursery and it had sat there for two years, not really doing much. And then Alice’s sister, Luisa, she was managing a cafe up in Toowoomba, and she was looking for a new start. It was perfect, really. We started it – we were a bit blind to it; starting a business. You know, working the law profession, and we're like; "Let's renovate the place and put a business,” and we [were] bringing a business into something that we had no idea about.

Stacey: First twelve months were very scary, but really happy with it now. Glad we persevered and didn’t give up, and – yeah. It’s good now.

Mike: This is a good message for the viewers there, that perseverance works out in the end, in most times.

[00:04:55]

Mike: What are you doing now? Who do you mainly help in the sphere of your business and within your practice?

Stacey: We help people, predominantly. In our practice, we do conveyancing. So, all property work; leasing inquiries, contract work. We also do probates, a bit of local criminal work, and also a bit of family law as well. We're probably more so like a boutique law firm, because we look after the friendly nice things, usually. There’s always usually a happy ending, rather than a big scary litigation things. We don't touch those.

Mike: Yeah, okay.

[00:05:37]

Mike: And may I ask, I guess at a personal level, what do you find exciting within the business? What side of it do you personally feel attracted to? You enjoy the most, perhaps?

Stacey: I love it – especially when you get first-time purchasers, and they're excited. It's really lovely to be a part of that experience with them, and just be, like, "It's okay. No, it’s not supposed to be stressful," and guiding them through it and trying to keep them informed as much as possible.

Stacey: And you know, the terminology can be scary as well. You're going to convey things in ordinary terms, so that way it’s not confusing. It's already scary for them to sit down and go through a contract, usually signing up for a debt of hundreds of thousands of dollars, so that's scary as well, but – yeah.

Stacey: I like being a part of that process; that's really nice. And I also enjoy having an office with a staff and the relationships that you have with them as well. You're spending more time with them than what you usually are with your own family. I really love being in an environment where you have really awesome staff.

Mike: Yes, that’s right.

[00:06:58]

Mike: And people take for granted – like you said, it is almost like a second family, because you're with these guys maybe eight, ten hours a day or more, depending on what line of work it is, I guess. It's important to have good, happy relations. Obviously, when everything is flowing, everything works well, and that flows into a happy life. When you get off there, you can switch off out of the place, too.

[00:07:30]

Mike: Tell me about your story, your upbringing, maybe your childhood. What things, maybe positively – even negatively – influenced your thought processes, or even what drove you to go the direction where you are today?

Stacey: Well, I grew up in Army brat. My dad was a corporal in the army, so we travelled around all the time. I went to almost a different primary school every year. I went to five different primary schools.

Mike: Wow!

Stacey: Yeah, so I was very used to moving about. And then, dad left the army when I started high school, so that's why I was able to have that whole time in one space. But I think from that I love change. I'm not afraid of change. I actually need it. I feel stagnant if I remain in just once place. But being in a place like Gunnedah, it’s probably why I'm always looking for the next project; something else to do.

Stacey: And mum and dad were always very – my dad in particular, and mom – were very hard workers. They had their own business, and we grew up having to help out at the shop every afternoon after school. Weekends working, stocking shelves, cleaning. I'm used to that and I'm used to seeing mum and dad with their staff as well.

Stacey: Just having an appreciation for how important the relationships are that you have with your staff. You know; gotta be friends with them as well. So, yeah, I think just – that’s probably contributed to me wanting to have something similar.

[00:09:54]

Mike: Thanks for that.

Mike: I guess I'd ask, what is the hardest, most grueling challenge of your life up until now? Obviously, your life meets challenges every day, but as a personal challenge, what would you say the most taxing?

Stacey: Probably the most taxing, and what I've learned from the most, is being a teenage mother. Being pregnant at 18, unexpectedly, and dealing with that and what comes with that. That really put a stop to where I thought, career-wise, my future would go. And then, just going with the flow that, "Oh, well, I'm a mom now. That means I've got to stay home,” and I did that, and I enjoyed it.

Stacey: But the challenging thing was; “Well, I know that this isn't what I want to do forever. I need something more.” And being a teenage mom is difficult because there’s a lot of judgment as well. And that can be difficult. I think now, for me, I feel like I want to be able to eventually get to a place where I can help, or just – I don't know; not help, because they don't need help. You know, teenage mums don't need help. They just need encouragement.

Stacey: That was hard to get over because you’ve got the older mums that don't want to be friends with you, because you’re a young mum! That can be difficult.

[00:11:23]

Mike: Well, I think what you’ve done is amazing, and I think – to many of the viewers – you’d be an inspiration to a lot of young mums out there that think, you know, is this going to mean that all my future options disappear? Because probably, at that time when you were a busy young mum, you would have seen a lot of daunting challenges that you had to work through, but you're a great leading example of how – that if you believe in your dreams and are prepared to follow and work hard undoubtedly, and stay with keeping yourself up to date with study and all that sort of thing, you can achieve amazing things, so. Well done.

[00:12:06]

Mike: Tell me; what's the three greatest life lessons that you believe you've learned along the way that you can pass along to our listeners today?

Stacey: Probably that it's okay to make mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. It's the only way you're going to grow. Nobody’s perfect; we’re all human.

Stacey: I suppose the most disappointing thing would be if you kept making the same mistake over and over again.

Stacey: I don't believe that there are failures, anyway. If something doesn't work – well, it worked up to a certain point. And then probably at that point, it wasn't supposed to work anymore because then there's a new challenge out there, and a new chapter. Yes, I don't think that there's such things as failures – in love, relationships, or work.

Mike: Yeah.

[00:13:00]

Mike: I suppose lessons we often learn are borne about through pain or disappointment or something that – you know. Perhaps something that we built that didn’t go the way we planned.

Mike: What was your method of getting over the pain? What was your strategy?

Stacey: I think, just knowing that life's too short to sit and dwell on what didn't go as planned. It's okay to grieve for a bit about what you thought might have been and allow yourself to do that because that’s a part of being. That's a normal feeling you’re supposed to have. We’re supposed to be happy, we’re supposed to be sad. And accept that that's going to be okay, but then move forward.

[00:14:08]

Mike: Is there one piece of advice – is there one big tip -- that you'd like to give or share with us today?

Stacey: I love the saying that the grass is greener where you water it, because it's just true in every aspect of your life; in your relationships, in your work. Especially with work.

[00:15:04]

Mike: The next question is about time travel; If you could go back to the Stacey of 20 years ago, and tell your younger self something that would change your future or maybe accelerate through some of the challenges, what would that be?

Stacey: I don't know how to answer that one, to be honest, because I'm really happy where I'm at and I don't know if changed anything – if I didn't go through the struggles, If I didn't go through those mistakes that I had made – I wouldn't be on where I am now.

[00:15:54]

Mike: It is an interesting point, isn't it? That it is only through the lessons of life often that we evolve to be the people we are, able to maybe empathize with other people going through challenges because if we hadn't been there and done that, we really are in a difficult position to be able to empathize with people and understand.

Stacey: Yeah.

Stacey: I think probably the only thing would be, I would make sure around 20 years ago, that I knew that I was worthy enough for what's to come.

Mike: Love yourself a little more, right?

Stacey: Absolutely, yeah.

Mike: That’s important.

[00:16:33]

Mike: Tell me; what is freedom to you. Freedom means different things to other people, but what matters to you?

Stacey: What matters to me is that I can spend time with my kids when I want to. If I want to stay home and stay home with my babies, I can. If I decide, next week I wouldn’t mind going to Bali – do that.

Mike: Awesome.

Stacey: Go to work whenever I want to go to work. Go for a jog because I can go for a jog. I think I'm very lucky now because I have all that freedom. We create our own freedom.

Mike: Yeah, absolutely.

Mike: There are times when we make those decisions that make life more challenging, and we can be harsh and brutal on our own time management and even our direction – the way we see things in life. So it's very interesting.

[00:17:40]

Mike: What's the best piece of advice you have ever received?

Stacey: You're not a tree. You can move. You don't have to be in one place. I like that.

Mike: That is really cool and unique. I haven’t heard that one, but it’s good!

[00:18:05]

Mike: What's one of your personal habits that you strongly believe contributes to your success?

Stacey: I think I'm very motivated. I think that's one. Also, I surround myself with very supportive people. That’s really, really important; who you choose to surround yourself with.

[00:18:39]

Mike: I think that’s something – a great one, for the viewers to hear from you. Because sometimes, in life – particularly a lot of young people surround themselves with people who don’t have a positive outlook on themselves or life. And, sadly, those people can steal your dreams.

[00:19:14]

Mike: What piece of equipment, technology, or an app or something in your business that you absolutely couldn't be without?

Stacey: Well, we couldn't be without our computer – Word documents, so we can send letters, e-mails, we need Outlook. Our legal software program [too].

[00:19:41]

Mike: What book would you recommend? Anything you've read lately?

Stacey: Mike, I have been reading legal textbooks for the last 10 years, so I could not tell you an interesting book.

Mike: [laughs]

Stacey: That’ll be something in the future I can look forward to. I’ve got a year and a half left of study.

[00:20:10]

Mike: What one thing would you recommend that viewers could do today to move closer towards their freedom?

Stacey: Maybe just be honest with themselves, with what they truly want, and not what they think they have to do, or what other’s expectations of them [of] what they have to do. True freedom comes from you making choices for yourself, because ultimately the people that love you will support those choices anyway.

[00:21:29]

Mike: On this show, Gunnedah Property Insights, we are certainly talking about property as an option or as a possible vehicle. What's your take on property as a future security option?

Stacey: My take on it is that, it's my vision to pay off my home, to own a home or – if I'm lucky enough – to own another home, just to – when I get to sixty, have no debt attached to my house.

Stacey: I think investing in property – I'll be looking to invest in myself and invest in property. It’s something that’s real; it’s brick and mortar. It’s not tied up in stocks. Property is where you’ve got something tangible. Worse comes to worst, you’ve got shelter. You’ve got somewhere to live.

Mike: That’s right.

Stacey: Yeah.

Mike: As my dear departed dad used to say, people have got to live somewhere.

[00:22:49]

Mike: In the public profile, who is your hero? Is there someone in particular that you look up to? A profile person in the public arena that you feel has done amazing things?

Stacey: I should have an answer to this, but I don’t really, to be honest. [laughs]

Stacey: I don't have any one person. I think anybody who is passionate about what they do encourages and supports other people and can make other people laugh and be light hearted.

Mike: I think it’s interesting, with the world we live in today.

[00:23:27]

Mike: The world craves quality leadership. You’re leading your business, and that was one of the reasons I wanted to have you on the podcast. You're a good leader. In the local Chamber of Commerce, you're the deputy chairperson, so congratulations on that recent appointment. Certainly you’re a person that’s been out there and done things.

Mike: People so much crave leadership and guidance.

[00:24:35]

Mike: People who genuinely care about what they do and genuinely want to help people –

Stacey: Yeah.

Mike: -- I think they’re in short supply.

Stacey: Just real people. Real people that have gone through real problems, real issues, and have faced them, they are people that we need as our leaders.

Mike: Absolutely.

[00:24:51]

Mike: Well, look; thank you so much for your time today, Stacey. I really appreciate it. I know you're a busy person, running your business. I wish you all the very best and the future with your partner, Alice Weinthal.

Mike: Is there anyone that you might recommend for a future podcast interview? Someone that you've met that could be of interest?

[00:25:22]

Stacey: I know someone who is very interesting and she is funny and she has gone through a lot and always maintains a big smile on her face and she's local, Susie Martin. She's hilarious. She's been through a lot of personal things as well and she runs a business and she's always happy – and she's real.

Mike: Thanks very much again, and I wish you all the best. ‘till next week. This is Mike Brady from Gunnedah Property Insights. Talk to you again soon. Thank you!