I was sixteen, sitting with a careers teacher at my local high school in Melbourne’s outer east, looking through a course book. Hospitality Management caught my eye. I had no big plan, just a feeling that it might suit me. So I went to RMIT, learned the ins-and-outs of hotel operations and, less successfully, learned to cook.

My first job after uni was at The Windsor Hotel in the late 1990s. A suburban girl finding her feet in Melbourne and discovering an industry I would eventually spend my whole career in.

From The Windsor, I worked across several five-star hotels in food and beverage before moving into sales at Quest Serviced Apartments head office at 23. Those early Quest years shaped me in so many ways. I went from employee to franchisee before 30, running three businesses across two states. We made it through the GFC, COVID and plenty of other challenges along the way.

At the same time, I was raising two daughters, born in 2010 and 2012, while running businesses and travelling for work. It wasn't always easy to balance everything, but I made it work.

The idea for Stellar came from a broker who sold my first two Quest businesses. He asked if I'd ever considered becoming a broker myself. I hadn't, but I was curious. That conversation led to my first role in accommodation broking, including motel and caravan park sales across Victoria and eventually specialising in Quest Apartment Hotel sales.

In 2019, I had the opportunity to buy back into Quest when Preston was being built. I couldn't resist, especially when it was practically on my doorstep.

By 2024, I knew it was time to build something of my own. After 18 months of study and determination, four state licences and a self-funded launch, Stellar Accommodation Brokers was born.

The name is personal to me. Stella is my middle name and my grandmother's name, someone I never had the chance to meet, but whose strength and character have always been part of our family story.

I still now work reception shifts at the hotel while building Stellar. My daughters are teenagers now, and I love that they get to see what it looks like to start something from scratch. The hard work, the uncertainty and the decision to back yourself.

Why women in this industry? Because relationships are the key, and women have a natural ability to connect and build them. That's what makes this industry so rewarding, and I’m excited about what comes next!