It appears storage runs in the family!
In celebration of Father’s Day this year, we’re thrilled to share stories from some of the fantastic father-child partnerships in our extended NS family. Get to know some of our NS dads who are lucky enough to work alongside their sons and daughters every day, and find out what it’s really like to work with your nearest and dearest.
Brian & Connor
Brian joined NS as Head of Revenue Generation in November 2018, while his son Connor started as a Contact Centre Agent just down the corridor in our Brisbane Head Office in April this year.
We caught up with the pair to find out what it’s like working within walking distance of each other.
“I moved to Brisbane earlier in the year and had been searching for a job. However, due to the COVID situation, it was proving quite difficult to find work in the city. After a visit back to the Gold Coast to see my family, Dad mentioned there were vacancies at National Storage and passed on contact details for me to enquire. So, I reached out to apply and then started on the phones in the contact centre towards the end of April,” says Connor.
Connor goes on to say the arrangement “definitely has its pros and cons. My favourite thing about working with dad is he takes me out to lunch sometimes and pays! He also offers great advice regarding customer service and any other questions I may have working in the contact centre. We just have to be careful when we catch up with the family that we don’t talk shop all the time!”
From Brian’s perspective, working with his son has meant he has been able to catch up with him on a more regular basis now that he’s left home, “even if it means I have to pay for his lunch!”
“I have been quietly impressed by how engaged he is in his new role and the questions he has asked me about the storage industry and business in general. His level of professionalism with his work colleagues and when on the phone to customers is a real testament to him and something I am very proud of,” shares Brian.
Craig & Madison
Meet the father-daughter duo that work across two of our local Brisbane storage centres.
Madison joined the NS family in March 2018 as a part-time Storage Consultant, before becoming Centre Manager of our Caboolture South centre. Her dad, Craig soon followed suit in March 2021, joining our Rothwell centre team as a Storage Consultant.
“Dad and I started working together when he was looking for a change of pace due to life changes – this was the perfect job for that,” says Madison.
Craig reiterates this adding, “I was looking for a different job, this role become available and it fits well.”
Ever wondered what it would be like to work with your dad or daughter? We asked Craig and Madison to give us the pros and cons.
Craig:
Pro – Extra support when required
Con – I am very protective of my daughter
Madison:
Pro – I get to talk to him everyday at work (we distanced a bit when I moved out of home)
Con – We’re never not talking about work!
Andrew & Sophie
Our next father/child storage duo is our Managing Director Andrew Catsoulis and his daughter, Corporate and Creative Editor Sophie Catsoulis who also work together in our Brisbane Head Office.
Andrew started in storage 25 years ago, building a centre at Oxley under the brand StowAway Self Storage. He subsequently acquired the assets and business of National Mini Storage in 2000, before dropping “Mini” from the name, and as they say the rest is history! Read more about Andrew’s story and the history of National Storage here.
As for Sophie, as prominent as NS always was in her life, she never imagined working here. “Growing up, I was lucky enough to be able to watch first-hand as Dad built National Storage from the ground up.” After achieving a Masters degree in Writing, Editing and Publishing, and gaining valuable experience in various other roles, Sophie was offered an opportunity to play an instrumental role in the restructuring of the National Storage marketing team, and in her words, “the opportunity was just too good to pass up! Since then, my role has evolved constantly and I have gained a wealth of experience for which I am extremely grateful.”
When asked what it’s like to work with his daughter, Andrew is quick to say “I love being able to work with Soph every day. She is my source of inspiration, a great sounding board, business savvy, passionate, loyal and super creative. She is also a tremendous “conscience” and is incredibly family and public focused which means she is willing to champion causes near and dear to her heart. A lot of our new charitable initiatives have been driven by Soph, and she was a great advocate for our new paid parental leave program as well.”
Sophie echoes this, sharing “I’m very aware of how lucky we are to have this rare opportunity to work together, and I know this is a gift that we will always look back on. I love seeing him every day and being able to learn from all that he has created.”
“There are no negatives about working with Soph,” Andrew assures us. “She is super professional at work so our interactions never feel awkward or forced. The only real negative is that I never hear her sing anymore – in her past life she was a professional jazz vocalist and holds a Bachelor of Music, as well as her masters in Writing Editing and Publishing! I used to never miss the opportunity to sit up the back and listen to her perform with her band. Some of my best experiences, just hanging out, with a glass of wine, hearing your daughter sing…”
Sophie does admit that it can be hard to not to let work talk creep into family time. “We’re both super passionate about what we do, and I feel bad for my mum, fiancé and sisters who must get sick of us talking about storage at the dinner table!”
Stu, Brad & Eliza
Our last duo is actually a trio! Our CFO Stuart Owen is lucky enough to work with both his son, Brad and step-daughter, Eliza!
Stu started with NS way back in 2014 making up 1/3 of our fantastic Executive Team. Son Brad worked nearby in Head Office in the contact centre while finishing his degree in Property Economics, before transitioning into a role in the acquisitions team upon graduating. For Stu, the best part about working with Brad is “knowing he is doing well and continually learning,” but a definite con is that he “always wants a ride to and from work.” Brad, on the other hand, loves all the free business advice, but when asked for a negative thing about working with his dad thought it was “not in his best interests to say” – funny that!
And then there’s Eliza, who started at our Carrara centre as a Storage Consultant a couple of years ago after much encouragement from her step-dad. “I love seeing her grow in her role and how happy she is working with the great team here at National Storage,” says Stu.
Happy Father’s Day! We hope all of the dads and fatherly figures in our NS family have a wonderful day.
