Alisha is a focused, hands on painting pro, who was inspired to start her own business. Read about her trade, passions and advice below:
Why Alisha chose Painting and Decorating
Alisha went to university to study Bio-Medicine, It didn’t take long for her to realise she wasn’t doing something she enjoyed. She recalled seeing a female painter working at her local high school and though she didn’t think too much at the time, she decided this was something she should look into.
How Alisha found her apprenticeship
Alisha found an apprenticeship job advertised in her local newspaper. After a few days she knew it was something she loved and she completed her apprenticeship with this same employer. Alisha completed her apprenticeship on a Friday and on the following Monday decided to go out on her own and start a painting business. Alisha has many clients along the Bellarine peninsula and often does renovation, new builds, internal and external paint jobs. “It’s really nice being your own boss, I get better at it every day.”
Alisha’s role models
Alisha says there are not many women in trade to look up to, but one of her clients introduced her to their daughter and she is a builder. The builder has been working in the industry for a long time, and Alisha said “It is really inspirational and motivating for me to see her be so successful and love what she does.”
What Alisha likes most about Painting
Alisha really enjoys the preparation work that comes before painting. She likes sanding things down and cleaning up the work area to make sure the paint will go on smooth. Alisha mentioned that is that some people have said to her “That is the feminine trait you bring to the job”. Alisha stated that any good tradesperson that really cares about what they do will put effort into preparation so they create high-quality work, something Alisha is very proud to say she does.
Alisha is also part of the Tradeswomen Industry Reference Council at Tradeswomen Australia and enjoys participating and organising networking events to bring women in trades together. Her most memorable experience was travelling to Cambodia for the Internation Skills Exchange where tradeswomen built a house swapped sills with locals in Cambodia.
Alisha’s advice for women entering a trade
“Follow your intuition, Get advice from people that might have experience working in trades”.
