Meet Stacey Greer

We were lucky to catch up with Stacey Greer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Stacey, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

The obvious answer to my work ethic is my upbringing, but that’s only part of the story. I want to teach my children the importance of hard work, but my personality type also plays a significant role. As a type-A individual, I tend to be driven by anxiety and hold high expectations for myself and others. I’ve learned that having high expectations can lead to great disappointments. However, those disappointments can also be valuable learning moments for future success, whether it’s about working hard in my job or striving to be a good communicator. Ultimately, my work ethic is strengthened by my love for what I do.

I grew up in a large family with five siblings. My father’s financial fears and worries about providing for us influenced the overall mood of our home. From a young age, he emphasized the importance of hard work. As kids, we were taught that poor grades equated to failing in life, while good grades represented success. As we got older, he instilled in us that the cleanliness of our room or the condition of our car reflected the state of our lives. And he was usually right; if my car was a mess, my life felt chaotic. In high school, he once paid me $100 to read a book about the stock market. His beliefs about grades continued into adulthood, particularly in relation to credit scores. He wanted me to be financially independent and worked hard to educate me on managing credit, paying bills, and having insurance to protect what I had worked for. He often said that having bad credit meant you were failing in life. To this day, I reflect on his teachings. I don’t buy things I can’t afford; I work hard for what I want, make lists, track everything, and the anxiety of failing drives my discipline.

I also work hard to provide for my family and demonstrate to my kids what they can achieve through motivation and effort. I hold myself to a very high standard and believe in the importance of both working hard and enjoying life. I want my children to understand the sacrifices that sometimes accompany hard work and to recognize what it looks like to reap the benefits.

People often say that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. While I think that’s a bit lofty, I genuinely love my work. It can be hard, but even when I’m away, I find myself thinking about it. I constantly ask myself how I can improve things, solve problems, or determine the next steps. Being away from work allows my brain to be creative and think from a distance, but I usually can’t wait to dive back in.The obvious answer to my work ethic is my upbringing, but that’s only part of the story. I want to teach my children the importance of hard work, but my personality type also plays a significant role. As a type-A individual, I tend to be driven by anxiety and hold high expectations for myself and others. I’ve learned that having high expectations can lead to great disappointments. However, those disappointments can also be valuable learning moments for future success, whether it’s about working hard in my job or striving to be a good communicator. Ultimately, my work ethic is strengthened by my love for what I do.

I grew up in a large family with five siblings. My father’s financial fears and worries about providing for us influenced the overall mood of our home. From a young age, he emphasized the importance of hard work. As kids, we were taught that poor grades equated to failing in life, while good grades represented success. As we got older, he instilled in us that the cleanliness of our room or the condition of our car reflected the state of our lives. And he was usually right; if my car was a mess, my life felt chaotic. In high school, he once paid me $100 to read a book about the stock market. His beliefs about grades continued into adulthood, particularly in relation to credit scores. He wanted me to be financially independent and worked hard to educate me on managing credit, paying bills, and having insurance to protect what I had worked for. He often said that having bad credit meant you were failing in life. To this day, I reflect on his teachings. I don’t buy things I can’t afford; I work hard for what I want, make lists, track everything, and the anxiety of failing at life drives my discipline.

I also work hard to provide for my family and demonstrate to my kids what they can achieve through motivation and effort. I hold myself to a very high standard and believe in the importance of both working hard and enjoying life. I want my children to understand the sacrifices that sometimes accompany hard work and to recognize what it looks like to reap the benefits.

People often say that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. While I think that’s a bit lofty, I genuinely love my work. It can be hard, but even when I’m away, I find myself thinking about it. I constantly ask myself how I can improve things, solve problems, or determine the next steps. Being away from work allows my brain to be creative and think from a distance, but I usually can’t wait to dive back in.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I have been working in my family’s construction business for 22 years. I started in scheduling and then moved on to sales, warranties, accounts receivable, and currently, I serve as the financial manager. I also assist my father-in-law and brother-in-law in running the business. Stan Greer Millworks has been in operation since 1980, growing from a single location with just a few family members to two locations that serve all of Southern Arizona, employing over 60 individuals. Although we have been in business for 45 years, I am always looking for ways to enhance what we do. My goal is for our family business to be recognized as a place that genuinely cares for the community, our customers, and provides rewarding careers for our team members.

In 2018, I approached my father-in-law and convinced him to let me transform part of our old warehouse into an event space. He thought I was crazy, but my “crazy” is what drives me. I am proud to say that I now run the most successful event space in Cochise County. The Old Door Shop hosted our local high school prom in 2019, and since then, we have never looked back. We host a variety of private and public events, including anniversary parties, holiday parties, Quinceañeras, weddings, markets, and more. We provide the space and allow you to bring in your preferred vendors, enabling you to create a memorable event that reflects your personal style. I take pride in offering a space that is not only beautiful but also affordable. I love a party filled with all the details and want everyone to have the Pinterest-worthy event of their dreams. Dream Big.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The three qualities that have significantly impacted my journey are my desire to learn, my fear of failure, and my love for problem-solving. For those just starting out, it’s essential to acquire as much knowledge as possible in your field. Be dedicated and strive to be the best of the best. Knowledge is a powerful tool; the more you learn, the more confidently you can express your ideas. Confidence is attractive and naturally draws people to you, which means your customers will trust and appreciate your ability to care for them.

For me, the fear of failure is a motivating force, and I believe this is not a negative trait. My desire to avoid failure keeps me striving to work hard. Additionally, I genuinely enjoy problem-solving—identifying issues and finding ways to prevent them from recurring. This passion helps me address challenges and ultimately improve processes and procedures, even those that aren’t currently broken. I’m driven by a desire to make things better whenever I can. Aiming to be the best of the best.

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?

I love brides. I love weddings. We host a ton of Quinceaneras because of our locations, and I love the lengths they go to for decorating. But weddings are so dreamy. I love the feeling in the air. I love a groom who cries when he sees his bride. I love it when the guests are crying. I’m a sucker for all the emotions that come along with weddings. Weddings gather the most important people in your life, and it’s just so special to see.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theolddoorshop.com ; www.stangreer.com
• Instagram: theolddoorshop