Recently appointed the first female general manager of G.J. Gardner Homes, Suzi Lange has certainly risen through the ranks since beginning her career as a personal assistant.

While she didn't originally seek out a career in the real estate industry, she's fallen in love with it and can't imaging working anywhere else.

She told WILLIAMS MEDIA what she enjoys the most about her job, why the perception the building industry is hard is wrong, and her advice to young women starting their careers.

Congratulations on your appointment as the Master Franchisee’s first female general manager - would you like to see more women taking on these management roles?

Being a woman I believe has no impact on whether you can or can’t be in a management role, to me it’s about the commitment to the company, your direct colleagues, in our case our franchisees and the greater community with direct stakes in the business. I certainly can see more women transitioning into management roles that hold these skills and would love to see this. 

How did you start out in the building industry? Have you always worked in the industry, or did you do something else previously?

I was the PA to the CEO of a large Biological Agriculture company previously. We ran 'A Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture' course that went for a week and farmers all across the world would become accredited in our course so they could sell their produce to companies that endorsed our philosophy. I ran this nationally and internationally. I didn't seek out to work in the building industry but now being involved in it for nearly 8 years I can't see myself working in another industry. 

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Building homes is one of the biggest transaction people will do in their life times and the fact that people trust us with this is pretty cool. We currently are Australia's No. 1 rated national home builder on Product Review - Voted 2 years in a row and that doesn't happen by luck. There’s nothing like being part of the journey that has lead us to obtain such a high standard reputation. I enjoy every moment. The good and the challenging, they equally shape who we are. 

What is your advice to young women starting out in the building industry?

I don’t believe anyone should ever let gender or race shape their career path. If you have the skills and the passion, I believe everyone should equally have the opportunity to go for the position they want. Even if you only have the passion, the skills can be learnt, so still go for it. If you don’t try, you’ll never know. 

If you could change one thing about the building industry, what would it be?

Building has this perception of being difficult - financially and emotionally. We work hard to break this perception. 

By supporting our franchisees and ensuring they are equipped properly, they are able to fully support their clients throughout the entire building process. 

We use technology like our Virtual Display Home Village, which allows clients to walk through our designs and customise the chosen design before it is built. Getting the design right from the start greatly reduces the risk of budget blow-outs during the build - so no nasty surprises. We also place a large importance on communication through the build to ensure it’s as stress free as possible. In fact lots of our clients tell us it’s an exciting memorable experience and love our updates, as if they're very surprised to be receiving them. 

To us, we know the journey should start from the moment we meet our clients. Building with G.J. Gardner Homes is an exciting, positive experience - one you’ll always remember for the right reasons.  

Where do you live now, and what would be your dream home if you could live anywhere in the world?

Living on the Sunshine Coast, I count myself pretty lucky. My ultimate dream home location would need to have a view of the ocean, be walking distance to the beach and somewhere that captures the amazing winter sunsets - I do love this time of year!

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