“What?! I had to work fifteen years to get tools like this.” George Apostolidis exclaims after free tools from names like Dewalt started showing up at his family owned construction business in Melbourne, Australia. His daughter, Stefanie- better known as the Melbourne Chippy Chick had transformed their construction company, LGA Home Builders, into an Industry Influencer. Both qualified carpenters, they have been running their successful building company together while Stefanie has been building an empire through her very lucrative side hustle. “At first he didn’t understand Instagram, he was a little annoyed I was taking the time to set my phone up to record and make sure I had all the appropriate PPE/ Brands on,” Stefanie says of her Father’s initial response to the time-consuming process of creating valuable content for the social platform.
Her personal Instagram, @melbournechippychick and the launch of her social club- The Tradie Lady Club (TLC) which focuses on promoting and networking women in the trades through group meetups, TLC apparel, and social media promotions have shown the advantages of thinking outside of the box. With upwards of 150k followers between both her personal and TLC Instagram’s pages, she is arguably one of the most influential female tradies inspiring and leading the movement for more tradeswomen on Instagram.
Now, after seeing the positive impact Stefanie has brought to not only their family business but to builders throughout Australia, Stefanie happily reports that her father is actively taking part and has “started suggesting ideas for collabs or working with certain companies”. Companies like Dewalt and ELECSAFE Services have taken Stefanie in as an ambassador to help promote their products and she has even been jet setting around Australia to promote reputable brands like Hard Yakka Workwear along with her brand, “TLC”.
Although Stefanie has been helping her Dad understand the obligations of being an ambassador and navigate contracts that look much different than the building contracts he’s used to, she admits they have been going with the flow and are learning most of this together. “It has changed my routine, my free time, time at home, and the way I think. Now, dad enjoys it, joins in, and takes an understanding that it’s a second full-time job.”
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