Introducing the new Executive Officer of SPASA WA: Sadie Davidson

Introducing the new executive officer of SPASA WA:

Sadie Davidson!

Congratulations on your recent appointment as executive officer of SPASA WA. What attracted you to the pool and spa industry?

I saw the role advertised and I knew that with my background working for industry associations and with peak bodies of the real estate and property development industries, it was definitely in my comfort zone. It seemed like a great opportunity to branch out, meet new people and be part of an industry that is going so well at the moment.

We are so lucky that the impact of COVID has had the opposite effect on our industry to what most others have experienced. I feel fortunate to come on board at the helm at a time when business is going so well. That provides a lot of opportunity to innovate and be creative without the pressures of a struggling industry. It will allow me to make some key changes and bring the industry forward as well as have some fun along the way.

How have your first few weeks on the job been?

Everyone has been so welcoming and the reception from the membership base has been really fantastic. For a young woman stepping into this role, there was a bit of apprehension as to how I would be received, but because our leadership is already gender diverse with great female representation, it seemed a logical next step and I really don’t think my gender or age played a factor in the employment process. I’m the first female in this role but our board is already pretty much 50/50. Our vice president is also female, and there have been previous female SPASA WA Presidents. There’s a real sense of community among the WA members, and I look forward to being a part of this great industry.

What is the overall vision of SPASA WA?

Like any business, we’ll need to be nimble and be able to adapt to changing market conditions and improvements in technology. The recent pandemic has shown us just how quickly business and industry can adapt if needed and I think it’s very important that we don’t settle back into ‘business as usual’ which could concrete the changes and not continue to adapt.

Things like bringing everything online and being able to embrace future technologies will be a big deal, particularly with event registration and nominations for awards. And then it will just be about continuing to do what we do well. The vast majority of our members are incredibly satisfied with what they receive from SPASA WA so we’ll continue to do what we do best.

As you’ve just mentioned, SPASA WA has been a stable independent organisation that has served its members well. What do you plan to do that’s new or different in your role at SPASA WA?

Something that is on the horizon is our 25 year anniversary! There will be a big celebration of everything that has been achieved in the past 25 years and also what we hope to achieve in the future. I’m very hopeful that the economy in WA seems to have hit its stride after a six year down-turn. We are very familiar with a cyclical economy here in the West that is quite unique to the Western Australian economy. We are hopeful that this peak will continue with slow and steady growth which will give our industry more time to adjust, particularly with some of the trade shortages we have experienced due to COVID.

We need to think about how we can make our industry attractive not only to customers but so that people want to come and work in our industry. That’s how our industry will grow.

In WA, we have a lot of competing industries such as mining and commercial construction, so we need to attract and retain the best tradespeople and ensure that customers demand them. We need to provide something that ultimately every customer is happy with. If we can continue to do that – and we have done this well to date - we’ll be in good stead to continue. In WA, with our weather and climate like ours, there will always be a market for pools.

Also, with the general housing market in WA, property house prices were slumping for a good five or six years, so there was the feeling of why would you invest in a pool if your house value was decreasing? But now that house prices are increasing, people are seeing the addition of a pool as a much more viable investment.

What challenges do you envisage in the coming 12-18 months?

Like every industry, we need to be able to find our new normal. It could be very easy over the next 12 months while there are “We really still travel restrictions need to think in place to become about how we can complacent. We make our industry know that people are attractive not only to currently spending customers but so that their spare money on their homes but that will come to an end at some point so we can’t afford to be complacent and stop marketing and people want to come and work in our industry. That’s how our industry will grow.” branding activity. Our awards and expos are so important to continue to promote ourselves and the positive contribution we make as an industry throughout the busy times as well as quiet times despite the fact that business is booming. As soon as international borders open, there’s a real risk of a slump, so we need to be ready and prepared now by continuing to promote our industry. I’ve worked incredibly hard to be where I am today. I’m very proud to have run major national and state-based political campaigns which had the desired impact of changing the outcome of state and federal elections. Even to be in my current role at twenty eight years old, it’s not something you see every day, but it’s something I’ve been very strategic about to reach this milestone before I turned thirty.

Our readers are from all over Australia. Is there anything you’d like to say to the industry?

As an industry, there will always be a level of competition and we are at our most powerful and our most productive when we work together. Ensuring that there is a healthy level of competition - but also the right amount of collaboration - between our industry and industries in other states, it is so important.

If we can work together to add benefit by creating more jobs and making people’s homes more enjoyable and helping them spend more time together as families, there’s a huge amount of value our industry can add to our society that perhaps has been underrated in the past. But we can only do this when we all work together towards the same goal. Sometimes we need to put competition aside and realise that as an industry we can work independently while still being collaborative.

Sell more pools ‘on the house’.

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The Outdoor Finance team are specialised mortgage brokers who help refinance loans to fund outdoor projects like pools, spas and landscaping, showing your customers how refinancing can save enough money to fund their dream outdoor space.

Help your sales reps sell more pools and close deals earlier by showing customers how they can get their pool ‘on the house’.