Paige Hadley: Building Wealth on a Year-to-Year Career

With netball, I'm trying to chase glory. Every year you want to win. Don't probably look too far ahead. One minute I could have a contract, the next year I could not. Going through probably every up and down you're going to go through.

Sacrifice a lot of time with your family and friends, doing these cool things and traveling everywhere. Unfortunately, there is a time limit. Strength and conditioning or physios, analysts, there's a clue left there, which is like building a successful team. Meeting InvestorKit, hands down, I would not have done it if I did it myself. Sydney is just crazy.

As a result of seeing Sydney, most people just don't do anything. I want more women to know they can do it. You don't have to be earning millions of dollars to invest. Now turning another page in life. Hey, good one.

Turning another page in life, just realized I said that. I promise that wasn't planned. It's not on the iPad. It's not written anywhere. Nerd Alert.

Property Nerds, the home for data-driven property investors, where we uncover Australia's hot and cold markets, latest headlines and trends. Paige, welcome to the show. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Today, we'll talk about the journey together, but from two different areas.

One is you being a client of ours at InvestorKit and working together and building your portfolio. But second also, from the side of being an athlete and someone who obviously we're now collaborating with, which is very special. I guess people see the athlete, the spotlight, the wins. What don't people see, Paige, when it comes to being a professional athlete behind the scenes? Oh, I think there's so much that happens.

I think, I guess now, you know, with social media and all those things, you only see like the smallest of smallest things. And, you know, there's so much that goes on behind the scenes, the hard work, the dedication, the training, the ups, the downs, like, you know, your family, your partner, they see it all. And, you know, obviously people probably see, you know, an hour a game a week. They see a World Cup. They see a Comm Games.

They see, you know, they see you living this really cool life and doing these cool things and traveling everywhere and, you know, playing the sport you love, which obviously is, you know, I feel super grateful for. But there's so much that goes on behind the scenes. You know, you do so much training, so much sacrifice, sacrifice a lot of time with your family and friends to try and be the best you can be. And it's definitely not a linear process. It's like a roller coaster.

There's probably more downs than ups in the process. But, yeah, there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes to try and get you to be, you know, the world's best in what you want to do. And for me, that's obviously on the netball court. Yeah. I mean, when it comes to, like, that feeling just from the outsider's view, everyone who's played even just a little bit of sports in high school immediately thinks that when the pro life is happening, it's like, wow, that's just like the best times of my life in high school, but happening on repeat again and again and again.

But as you grow up, right? But there's so much to sports. And one part I want to talk with you about is that, you know, life after. And, you know, people often don't think about that till later on. People think about that during it or even some people think about it before they get started.

I guess when did money and life after sports start becoming a thought for you? Yeah, I think when I first came into the netball environment, you know, I feel like netball is a really lucky sport in terms of like we do have, you know, great, great, you know, really grounded, great well-being managers. And they kind of said to you, make sure, you know, you have something else other than just netball. Like, you know, you're not going to be netball forever. And you kind of like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And so, you know, for me, I studied at university and then started my business and stuff. But I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, you know, and then I got to this point where we obviously started the conversation about, you know, two and a half kids. And I was like, oh, my God, like netball actually isn't going to be forever. Like, I'm not going to be able to just turn up to training and train alongside my best mates and play for Australia.

And like, it's not going to be forever. Unfortunately, there is a time limit on my career. And so it probably wasn't until, you know, in the last couple of years, you know, me and my partner Jordan have kind of sat down and gone like, well, you know, like you can't just play netball. Like, why don't you start your business? Why don't you invest?

Why don't we do things now while you have the opportunity to? And I think it was kind of scary because when you start thinking about it, you're like, well, does that mean my dream, like my dream job is going to be like over? And it's like you want to talk about it and you want to plan for it. But then you also don't want to think too much about it because you want to be in the moment of like, you know, training, chasing goals. Like, so it's kind of that fine line between, all right, well, I do want to set things up for after, but then I don't want to talk about that because I don't want that to be here right now.

So it probably hasn't been until like the last few years that I've really gone, you know what, it's, whilst it is scary that, you know, the end is probably closer than what the beginning was of my career. But there's so many cool opportunities that have come from this that I can set up that it's not going to be scary when I fully step away from playing. So, yeah, it probably hasn't been until the last few years it's actually been like, okay, like it's been in my mind, but actually doing something about it or talking about it or starting that next chapter. Like when it comes to the life after sport or just thinking about that next chapter, you've obviously thought of the property investing side and we'll talk about that a little bit more today. But you mentioned business.

Give us a bit of an insight into what you're doing on the business side and how that's helping you think differently in that space. Yeah, I think most of my career I've been doing a lot of coaching with young kids and I feel very fortunate that my career I had amazing mentors and coaches that just kind of believed in me and trusted me. And I don't think I would have made it to the level I did if I didn't have those people that, you know, gave up their time, trained me, like believed in me, pick up the phone on bad days and said, you know, you can do this. Like they just had this belief in me that I probably didn't have myself. And so I've been doing a lot of coaching and I've been like, you know, I want to start my own thing.

Like I've been doing a lot for other people, but like how about I just do something for me? And I think when you start something, you're fully invested in it. Like you want it to do well, like you want to see it thrive. And so, yeah, I started Pivot, Pivot with Paige Hadley. And it was just about kind of giving people access to me and I guess my knowledge, but also giving back to so many young kids that, you know, want to be a Swift or want to be a Diamond or, you know, want to chase those goals that I was lucky enough to chase.

And so, yeah, I started that and it was scary. It's obviously a lot of stuff when you first do something, it's like, oh my God, like it can be quite overwhelming. But it's been the best thing. I've met so many amazing people and seeing them like whether they make a rep team, an elite team, like it's so rewarding. And I've had such good relationships with people.

And, you know, if I can be that person for someone that gives them a bit of belief, a bit of trust, like fall in love with the game if they've fallen out of love with it, like that gives me so much, like just so much gratitude and like gets me up every day being like, you know what, you can make a difference. And these lives, and even though it's only something small, I think just being able to do something for myself and start that. And then, you know, you always kind of find time, you always work hard to make it successful. So, yeah, that was kind of scary. I remember me and my partner were going round and round in circles about what do you name it?

Like, where do you call it? He's like, you just got to do it. Like you do so much for other people, like do something for yourself. And that honestly was the best sleep I took in terms of like taking that little bit of risk. But, yeah, the people I've met and the kids I've, you know, I see now making rep teams or doing cool things, I just think it's honestly amazing.

Do you have now sympathy for some of your coaches in terms of what they go through when you're going to this other side of the world? Because obviously you're playing now and then coaching. How does that feel? Yeah, I think you realize like how much love and care coaches have for you. Obviously, sometimes as But one thing that's really special, and I'll give Kit a shout out here, is that we're for investors by investors, right?

Like Kit owns a seven property portfolio, so he's not coming in from a perspective of, no, no, just do this because this has to be done, and it's the process of how you work with us. He's doing it from a perspective of, I know the feelings that you're going through, similar to how many people may have been coaches today, might have been athletes in the past, in the same way you're connecting with so many people through Pivot. It's like you know what people have gone through, you know what that kid might be going through, what they're told, what they're not, and Kit's just like that for himself on the journey. So it's special to know the impact that the right team and the right person can have. Obviously there's comfortable decisions though when investing and uncomfortable ones.

One of those uncomfortable ones is like living in Sydney, but then buying completely in the middle of nowhere or in different cities and different regional capital markets all over. What made you comfortable going beyond your home state? Because I share this stat often, 89% of InvestorKit clients actually invest outside the state they live in, and then InvestorKit clients have also generated more than $500 million in equity. So there's kind of this like success leaves clues, and you didn't go the opposite way. You weren't part of the 11% that said, no, no, we're buying in my backyard.

You're part of that 89% that goes, I'm going to go and trust the data. What was it for you that made you feel comfortable doing something so uncomfortable, especially investing was one thing, but now going completely out of where your home city is? Yeah, it was definitely scary. I remember when we first met Kit, I was kind of like, you know, like if we look at buying in New South Wales, I know kind of areas, I know what areas are known for, all those sort of things. And then it was literally came down to like the numbers of like, you know, well, what can we afford?

What's going to have the most growth? Like what's our strategy in terms of like, do you want to buy another one? Like, do you want to have good rental yields? Which all these words, I'm like, they come out now, but I'm like, what's a rental yield? What's this?

You're a pro now. No, it's just like crazy how like, yeah, when you become invested in something, you obviously want to learn about it. And that was the best thing about Kit. I'd be like, what's that? Like redefine this.

And so, yeah, we kind of sat down like, well, what are you comfortable with? Like, what can I afford? Like, I'm on a contract for this amount of years, like me and Jordan together, what can we do? Like, we obviously wanted that first one to really, you know, have, you know, be quite comfortable financially, be able to cover it. You know, if I was to lose my job tomorrow, like we could then cover those expenses.

You know, what's our savings buffer? So, yeah, Kit was really good at obviously the data about, you know, all the cycles and like where properties were in cycles. And yeah, so it was more just having that data presented to us and going, all right, this is, you know, what the rent will pull in. This is what you have to pay monthly and all those sort of things. I think definitely the data was, you know, and I'm a very data-driven person.

Like even with netball, you know, we watch performance analysis, we watch, you know, stats, all those sort of things about, you know, my game. And so it's very similar to property in terms of knowing the stats, knowing, you know, prices, growth rates, all those sort of things. So, yeah, I probably felt more comfortable purchasing outside of Sydney because Sydney is just honestly crazy. Like I, it's just crazy. Even when we bought our house and what it's worth, I'm just like, oh my God.

Like, so, yeah, I think it was just having that data and that comfortability with conversations with Kit about what we can afford and what we can't afford. You know, that comment on Sydney is such a big part. Like, you know, unintentionally what that does is so many people, they think of Sydney and how expensive it is. They think of their family bought a property for $300,000, today it's worth over a million. And then they do the math on bank calculators and like, how do I do this million?

But like what you just went through on your journey is exactly what people need to think about, which is, okay, that's Sydney, but Sydney is not the only place in Australia. Like you can invest in other cities to grow wealth and that can then one day in turn lead to buying property in Sydney, right? If that's where you want to live long-term, you want to upgrade homes and things like that. So it's such an important part because as a result of seeing Sydney, most people just don't do anything. They're just like, A, buying borderless is hard.

I may not have a team around me or I don't know how to make that move. It seems impossible to get in. And so many people just stay there and don't do things. Now, when it comes to people out there investing, I know one thing you're passionate about and as am I, is helping more women build their wealth and get on the property ladder, be investing in their financial future, whether it's as a couple, whether it's as a loan, just be really empowered. Why is it so important for you to help many women out there build that financial independence?

Yeah, I think for me, it's just being really educated and knowing that you can do it no matter what your circumstances are. And we're all in different financial or life circumstances or ages of where we are. And I think there's no right time to start. It's the right time for you. And I said before, I wish I had started years ago, but for me, it was taking that risk and having the education.

And so I want more women to know they can do it, know that you don't have to be earning millions of dollars to kind of invest and set up your future. And whilst it is scary and whilst it is new for a lot of us, I want women to feel empowered to make those decisions. It doesn't have to be just like whatever you earn is what you can afford. Investing, and even for me, it's like, okay, well, I never realized it could be a tax thing. I'm like, what do you mean it can be taxing?

You work hard all year and then you pay the tax man. But then I was like, well, no, if you have this offset, you can have, and I was like, oh my God, there's just so many different avenues to go down. So I want women to feel really empowered and strong that they can make those decisions and ask questions. And it doesn't have to be just like when you're in a partnership or your husband or your partner making those decisions, that you can make them yourself. And there is avenues to go down like InvestorKit in terms of having resources that you can ask a thousand and one questions to and make that decision before you make the decision.

Well, what do you feel holds many women back on first starting? Like if you think of that first starting moment, because one thing I've noticed about you and your journey is that once you cut the ribbon, it just became so much fluid for you to build a portfolio, multiple properties. But when it comes to people who are just starting, what do you feel it is that holds them back? Well, for me, it was like that risk and the uncertainty, the unknown, like how scary is it to stepping into something that is so unfamiliar to you? And for me, it was, well, I've never seen this happen.

I've never been in environments where it's been spoken about or anything. So for me, it's probably taking that risk and that plunge and knowing that every investment or every decision you make is not always going to come off perfectly, but it's without those risks, there's probably no reward. And that's just like netball as well. Like you've got to take risks to get those big glory moments. So yeah, I think for me, it was like what you said, like you've got to cut the ribbon, you just got to like go for it.

And I remember at the start, I took months before I really took the plunge. And then I think for me now that I, when I bought out of Sydney, it was like, well, I can't see it. I can't touch it. You know, I wasn't like, it wasn't like that sentimental, like, okay, it's like if it's my house, you're obviously so attached to it. It's just your home.

So yeah, I think just taking that risk and just knowing what to do. And then once I took that first step, I was like, okay, you know, and I saw my finances and I can do this. I can play netball. I can still train at the best level and I can still afford to do this. So yeah, definitely that first, taking that first step off the ledge and seeing where you can go.

I think that's such an important point to note. Like with my back in the day moments of when I was in share investing, it just made me think of something, how often I used to refresh the app, how often I'd check, did it go up? Did it go down? I'd be following news.