You Can Learn House Flipping Faster With Support

Welcome And Who This Helps

SPEAKER_00 0:01

You're listening to the Flip Houses by the Girl podcast, where we educate, empower, and celebrate everyday women who are facing their fears, doubling family and business, embracing their awesomeness, and wholeheartedly facing their dream of flipping houses. Each episode delivers honest and goodness tools, tips, and strategies you can implement today to get closer to your first or next successful house flip.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Welcome back to the Flip Houses Like a Girl podcast. This is the show where we highlight real stories of everyday women who are learning to flip houses and create freedom for themselves and their families. I'm Blair, one of the coaches here at the Flip Sisters. I've been flipping and buying rentals for the last seven years and have been coaching here for the last five, but enough about me. Today we're excited to introduce you to Kathy. This podcast is going to be a little different. We usually talk to someone who has completed a full flip with us, meaning they've been in our program for a little while. I thought it might be nice for anyone listening to get a peek behind the curtain of what happens with someone who just recently joined us. A fresh perspective of what it's like to join our program. If you're on the fence about joining us and changing your life through house blipping because you're scared, but I totally get it. And this podcast is 100% for you. Lean in, give it a listen, and then for Pete's sake, get off the fence and book a call with us. Hey, Kathy, thank you so much for joining us today. I'm really excited to get to speak with you and get our audience a little bit of some perspective on becoming a member and being a newer member here.

SPEAKER_02 2:06

Okay, great. It's really great to be here, Blair, and I really appreciate the opportunity to share. Awesome.

SPEAKER_01 2:13

Well, let's just go ahead and dive in.

A Flip That Went Sideways

SPEAKER_01 2:16

So tell me a little bit of background. Like what was going on in your life or your business that made you kind of say, hey, I want to do this and I want to join the Flip Sisters. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

Well, about a year before I joined, I had purchased a property that I was going to renovate and flip, and I was really excited about it. And uh people around me were like, oh, it's gonna take six months, it'll be great, you'll make all this money. And I had worked on a couple of projects before, so I thought, oh, oh, I'm good to go. And so I dove in, and uh it did not go from day one, did not go any way that I expected. And so a year later, I'm still working on the project, and then the I learned about the flip sisters, and I was like, wow, I'm really tired of doing this by myself. And this sounds like a place where I could really, you know, join up with other women who are doing this work, and it just sounded like a really supportive environment, and so I reached out.

SPEAKER_01 3:25

Awesome, and we're so glad you you did. You've been such a delight to work with. And you're exactly right. A lot of the ladies find us because they're looking for that sense of community and support and help. And sometimes a lot of, yeah, I've tried this, but it didn't exactly work out like I thought it would. And I love that you guys that come that have already done a project or something have the wherewithal to be like, I still want to do this, but I want to learn to do it better. So super proud of you and congratulations for searching out some coaching and joining and you know, just getting right back on the horse, so to speak.

SPEAKER_02 4:03

Yeah, I it was definitely missing. You know, I thought I knew some things, but I really I only had like a surface knowledge of some things, and I really didn't know how to do other things. And it's just been such a great eye-opening experience to have the program laid out and different lessons and modules to turn to, and it's just been a tremendous education.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

So you kind of had some experiences that you told us about that like didn't go as planned, which is life. So, did that bring up any fears or concerns or hesitations about you joining our group?

SPEAKER_02 4:43

No, I think that they really just led me to the group because I had so much so many challenges working through this project over the years, over that year, feeling really isolated. And then I really didn't know how I was gonna get out of it. How is this all gonna wrap up? And I remember having a moment where I was like, I'm just done. I just want to walk away. But I had so much invested that that really wasn't an option at all. And so I was like, if I'm gonna keep doing this, I gotta figure out how to do it better, how to do it, do it right, if there's a, you know, there's probably not one right way, but a better way to do it. And I really did have to overcome that fear of, well, I didn't do so great. You know, do I really think I can do it again? But I'm someone who's like, I've learned so much. Like, I really want to know how to apply this knowledge and then be successful at it. And I knew I needed help.

SPEAKER_01 5:47

Awesome. Well, Kathy, I again, I think you're amazing in the sense that you know, something didn't go to plan and you sought out and were just willing to, you know, I know I can do this, I know I can do it better, and I need help. And you definitely came and sought out help and you jumped in and you were like, heck yes, I'm doing this. So was there anything

Choosing Community Over Going Solo

SPEAKER_01 6:08

in particular? Because for the ladies that are listening, all of our members come through an enrollment call where they're talking to somebody about our program. And we like to make sure that we can meet your goals and your needs through what we teach. Was there anything in particular that really stood out to you during that call that made you say, like, heck yes, I want to be here. I'm joining today.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

Yeah, I think it really was that whole idea of I've been, I felt very much like I'd been doing it alone. And I wasn't because I had some support here and there, but I really didn't feel like I felt like I was by myself. And in that onboarding call, when we talk through that, it's like, yes, I'm done doing this by myself, and I'm letting go of my independent nature of I can do it, I can do it. It's like, you know what, maybe, but why not do it with some other people who already know what they're doing? And then the rest of the members who are, you know, working through it at the same time. So it's great to bounce ideas off each other and encourage each other. And so that's when I really said, yeah, okay, I'm doing this.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

Yeah, it's funny. As you were talking, I was giving myself a little giggle because I definitely am also a strong, sometimes stubborn, independent woman. And so sometimes, yeah, like we we have that attitude, or we've been put into that position where it's always like all or nothing. We have to do it all, we have to wear all the hats, take all the responsibility. And learning that that's not true and that doesn't make you weak, and that you can get coaching to get and the network and support to get you know further, faster, and stronger. It's really cool when you have that moment and you're like, yeah, you know what, I could do this by myself, but like I don't have to. And pretel, I think it's a little bit more fun to do it with a community of people and to listen to other ladies' stories and and giggle and share and all of that. So yeah, I think there's there's definitely some. Um, we have a lot of uh ladies who are the same way where they're like, I'm strong and independent, but they have the wherewithal and the intelligence to go, but I could do this better with help.

SPEAKER_02 8:26

So yeah, yeah, for sure. I also had some friends who were super supportive, female friends and my sisters. And it's like, okay, when I look at who's been my support and who I've turned to over the years of the last year of the project, it was, oh, well, it's women. Yeah. So let's go do this with other women.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

Yeah, and that's awesome. I'm so happy to hear that you have that because unfortunately that's not the case for a lot of the ladies that come into our program. They've told people their wishes or their want to flip houses and they've heard a lot of negativity, you know, about the market, about working with contractors, and oh, you know, you can't do this, you know. And sometimes I hear them being told, you can't do this because you're a woman. And so I love to hear that you already have some great supportive local ladies with you. That's awesome. And then now you get to also double tap into our whole network and just really grow. So that's super cool. Yeah. So let's switch gears just a

First Impressions Inside The Program

SPEAKER_01 9:31

little bit. So let's talk about like, okay, so Kathy's joined, she's fully into the program. What was kind of like your first impression when you got inside and started working?

SPEAKER_02 9:42

I was really uh pleased with how everything's laid out. Like everything's very structured, and you're walking through it, but you're not walking through it alone. So there's a whole Facebook community where you can ask questions so you don't have to get stuck on something. And I tend to want to figure things out for myself. So I would do that for a while, and then I would turn to a coach or to the Facebook community and ask questions. And often other ladies in the group are asking questions too. And so sometimes you don't even have to ask the question because someone else has asked it, and then you get to learn from others as well. And so that's really been that's really a huge part of the program, and it's a terrific part of the program.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

Awesome. Love to hear that. So, you know, again, we kind of reiterated you had some experience before, and now you're moving forward after you've learned the things that we teach. How does that feel now to go into action versus how it was before, or maybe not how it was before, but after you know, you had situations that didn't turn out great?

SPEAKER_02 10:59

I feel a

Team First Confidence Follows

SPEAKER_02 11:00

lot more confident now. So one of the one of my challenges was I I bought this property and then it's like, okay, what next? And uh so now I know that it's really important to have the team in place, and it's really vital to have that team in place. And by team, I mean anyone who, you know, from people who are lending money or to a real estate agent to contractors, and so that's a big one because I did not have a contractor lined up when I bought that first property, and there were a few kind of weird situations going on with it, and so I didn't have a contractor in place for six months. Now, one of the things I one of the things I did do though, in when I couldn't find a contractor was I got on the phone and I called my brother, who was retired from construction, and I'm like, can you come help me? And so he did, and we spent three or four months together. We redid all the decks on this property, and it had a pier, and we redid the pier. And so a really cool part about that was that I discovered that we're very compatible, we work well together, and so it that was a terrific experience being able to spend all that time with him.

SPEAKER_01 12:18

Yeah, that's so nice. Like I did my first flip with my dad, and now I would not recommend doing all the work on your flip at all because we were, you know, tired and it took us every day. And you know, of course, I tell people I did this for financial and time freedom. So if I'm tied up and tired, but it was really cool because we got to have that time together doing something we both enjoy doing. So I totally get that how you're like, you know what, it wasn't the best, but silver lining, we have this experience. So I love that you took the silver lining from that.

SPEAKER_02 12:50

Oh, yeah, it was that was a really great part of it. And he was really good about let's work five or six hours and then you know, take a break and enjoy the view and enjoy the weather, and and so there was that element too of let's enjoy life while we're doing this. And he's really great at that. And so that was a very good experience for me, too.

SPEAKER_01 13:14

Nice, sounds like my kind of guy. Uh so was there anything about the program or like once you got

The Silver Lining Of DIY Help

SPEAKER_01 13:22

inside that surprised you in like a totally good way? You're like, oh, I didn't know this, but like this was awesome about it.

SPEAKER_02 13:29

I was really excited about all the focus on mindset and the calling back to that. Like, what's your what's your daily practice? Do you know? Are you meditating? Are you writing down your goals? Do you understand your why? Like, why are you doing this? And the practice of gratitude. It took me a little while to get rolling on that. But it's really great. And I

Mindset Habits And Your North Star

SPEAKER_02 13:55

had done a lot of that stuff in my past in other activities, but it was so different for me this time to really apply it to what I was doing every day and to then see that reflected in other members of the group. And yeah, that was surprising and just another just terrific element.

SPEAKER_01 14:17

Awesome. Love to hear that. Yeah, it's funny, that does come up a lot for people as like at first they're surprised that we have it because they're like, this is a house flipping group. Like, why do I need mindset work? And then as they get into the program a couple months and they have a couple of meetings with their mindset coach or they attend a mindset call, and then they're like, Oh, I totally get it. Like, I needed this way more than I thought I did. And then they totally, like you said, see the value in it and how you know it sets us up, especially that why. You know, if you don't have, I like to call it your north star. If you don't have your why or your north star, sometimes it's hard to get things done during the day. You know, I have a friend and he uses an example of he has so many people he has to call today a day for his job. So he puts marbles out and he puts them in a jar for every call. And he has changed it. So the way that he thinks about it, so his mindset work is if every marble that's not in the jar is me like not loving my kids. And you're like, what? That doesn't even make sense. But then he explains it like if I don't do the things I need to do for my business to move forward, that's how I afford, you know, camps and and school and everything that I do for my children. And so his why, obviously, his family and his children. And so I think it is important for us to have that why so that when things are difficult and you're like, oh, I don't, I don't want to call a lender today, or I don't want to call that contractor, and you kind of sink back and go, hey, why am I doing this? Oh yeah, I remember whether it's your spouse, if it's yourself, if it's kids, if it's your dogs, you know, I don't care, or you know, travel, or I want to be financially stable, you know, once we reach into that deeper pocket a little bit where we're like, okay, this is this is why I'm showing up and why I want to do this, I think that does help us kind of go, okay, I'm gonna do this and keep walking forward. Yes, for sure. So even though you know you're new into our program, tell us a little bit of some wins or some progress that you've made since you've joined us.

Finishing The Renovation And New Wins

SPEAKER_02 16:28

Well, I finished the renovation. Yay! And I put the house on the market, and so it's out there. And um, while the financial rewards aren't there on this project, I am really proud of how it came out. Um, I tell people, my bathrooms are gorgeous. So uh yes, so I do feel really proud that it's done and it's out there and it's waiting for its new its new owners, its new life. And uh it's really beautiful. And I just know whoever's eventually lands there is going to be very happy and and love it.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

So awesome, awesome. I love that. And then we also know, you know, moving forward, we've got a whole a whole new game plan and a whole new way to play the game. And so next time we're gonna also have that great experience and get the good profit at the end because you've joined the program and you're following the steps, you really are doing a fantastic job.

SPEAKER_02 17:35

Yes, I I firmly believe that. And the other the other thing about it too is having met new people. So, you know, through the program and the encouragement to build that team, I met a new contractor. So so now I have a couple of contractors I can work with. And there's another vendor who who's a she's also an interior designer, does tile and bathrooms and kitchens, and and uh we've just become great friends and so nice.

SPEAKER_01 18:08

Yeah, it's really it's really great. Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, I love to find those connections, you know, with other ladies or people where it's like I I genuinely like you as a human being, and we have this shared interest. Um, and I think that's really cool when you can find people like that. And I think one of the positive things about house flipping and owning your own business like that is you get to like always be looking at who you're coming in contact with or who you're doing business with, and you can curate that. You know, one of the rules for my crew is everybody has to get along with everyone else in the sandbox. We don't do divas. That includes me, by the way. Like, you know, I'm writing the checks, the least you could do is to be respectful. But, you know, in the long story, I get to pick. There are a lot of different subs that I can interview, I can get quotes, and I try to balance like who has great work, who has a good quote, but as also a decent human being. And dare I say, I have a couple of subs that I just like to see because they're funny. Like we laugh together, we joke, you know, we check in on each other, make sure that we're okay. So I think that's really cool. Whereas in like a traditional work sense, I used to have a cubicle and I sat next to this girl who talked so freaking loud. And it drove me bonkers. And I was like, oh my God, like, but I had like I literally had to stay there. And I'm like, and I and like I have earplugs, you know, all the things like, and so I think to me, like that was just like such a huge difference in looking at those scenarios where it's like, okay, I'm literally trapped in this cubicle all day with this lady that drives me nuts because she speaks really loud. And then the other extreme, where now that I own my own business and I'm in this house lipping industry, I get to pick and choose who's in that cubicle next to me. And most of them are not loudspeakers,

Taste Versus Market And Outside Feedback

SPEAKER_01 20:03

okay. There's no, yeah, like we're inside. Um, so I think that makes it a lot of fun. And then you get to connect to the community of people that are just really enjoyable for you.

SPEAKER_02 20:14

Yeah. I have done, I've owned a bunch of different properties and I've made improvements to all of them. So I really love like doing the work. And when you're talking about picking and choosing, and what I've learned too is that now I have a much better sense of picking and choosing what projects I want to do and I want to take on. And so I don't have plumbing skills or electrical skills, you know, but I can paint and I can do other things. And then I was like, well, this is a big house. It would take me months to paint this. So it's like, okay, I'm not going to paint this. But when I was getting interviewing uh real estate agents and an agent came through and she's like, okay, you've done a beautiful job in the rest of this house, but this one bathroom, these colors don't work. And I was like heartbroken because it was this gorgeous vanity and with a granite countertop and a matching mirror. And I loved it. And so I picked colors, like pink colors and tile for the bat shower that would work with that. And then I realized she's absolutely right, but I was so devastated. I'm like, okay, can you help me with the colors? And show so she helped me narrow the field of options. And then I was like, the funniest part of the whole thing was about a month before I had gotten stuck on these furniture refinishing videos. Like I kept watching them. And one thing, I'm like, why am I watching all these furniture refinishing videos? And then the real estate agent's like, this doesn't work. I'm like, oh, I'm going to redo that vanity.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

There you go. There you go.

SPEAKER_02 21:54

So I had watched so many videos that I had a really good idea of how to redo. Do this vanity. And so I repainted it, and that's all it needed. And then we picked a new color for the walls, and it was transformational.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

It was absolutely the right thing to do. Yeah. And sometimes it's fun. I have a few like people in my life who are not in flipping, good friends. Um, especially, you know, shout out to my other half Chuck. And uh he will walk a property with me, or they'll walk a property with me. And I like that same perspective because sometimes we get we do we get in like a you know pigeonhole, so to speak, where it's like, I really love this. And then they walk it and they're like, yeah, but like no one else is gonna love it. So I totally get there. I've been there where they're like, um, maybe not, put that in your house. And so sometimes it's nice to have that outside perspective. Does it sting a little bit when they say something? Yes, absolutely. But at the end of the day, and sometimes I have I find myself, but you're not living here, is what I tell myself. You're not living here. And anybody who moves in after can make it anything they want from where I've got it now. So I totally get that, Kathy words.

SPEAKER_02 23:09

Like, yeah, it was totally the right call. And that was the kind of thing where, you know, at this point, does do I paint it or does someone else paint it? And I'm like, wow, I've watched all these videos, so I'm gonna paint that.

SPEAKER_01 23:21

Yeah, well, I

Making CEO Calls On Time And Money

SPEAKER_01 23:22

think you know, the neat part about it is that you've hit on is choices, right? At this point now you have choices because you have enough education and you've looked at the project through all the angles, right? Like, because some of it is, yes, do I enjoy painting? I don't personally, I would love to never paint another house in my life, but I'm good at it. And it's so do I paint or how long is that gonna take me? And understanding, you know, then you can put that in the the deal analyzer we give you, you're gonna put that in the timeline aspect of it. And so sometimes when we look at from all angles, we see that, you know, yes, could I paint it on my own? And, you know, in your mind at that point, you're like save some money. But then when you look at like interest and holding costs and getting it on the market at the right time, is it worth doing that? And you may say, yep, totally cool, or you may say no, but you can make those educated decisions. And then I like kind of what you're talking about with the vanity. There may be like one or two little things where you're like, you know what? I do want to actually put my hands on this project and I want to do this little special thing. And that's okay. You can choose to, you can choose not to, but you are making CEO decisions and educated decisions and choices. They're open. It's like a little, a little oyster bar.

SPEAKER_02 24:45

Yeah, and that's that was the thing too. We were geared, we were toward the end of the project, so these were like additional things, and I didn't want to pull my crew off what they were doing to do this, and so it was something I could totally do. And at the same time, we had a I had a laundry room with a with a uh sink-based cabinet in it, and it was black. And I was like, this doesn't really work, so I also painted that and I painted it the same color as the walls, and I also loved how that came out. Yeah, that's interesting. The funny thing I did was in that laundry room, the it had a fan that didn't work. I could hear the the motor running, but they didn't spin. And I had this really cool round, flat, flush mount light, and so I swapped it out, and my contractor comes through and he sees what I'm doing. He's like, uh what?

SPEAKER_01 25:46

I'm like, it's one light. I can do this one. Yes, and sometimes it's so funny because sometimes I think in a way it's important. I can almost do everything that I ask anybody to do on a house. Very lucky growing up. Dad was a master craftsman. I enjoyed learning these different things. I've been in the industry long enough to know what's good, what's not, and how to do little things here and there because I had two houses I did live in flips in, and was not economically able to go hire a whole bunch of people. So YouTube University, here I came, spent a lot of time at Lowe's. The city I lived in pretty much knew me by name. Every person that worked at Lowe's knew me by name with that. So I do think it is important every once in a while to if they walk in and they see you doing something, because then I'm like, yeah, you know that I know how to do this. And, you know, a lot of times that's another thing that when I interview subs, I don't tell them what I know. And so if they tell me things that I know aren't, I won't say true, but aren't like the best practice, or like, oh yeah, we're gonna charge you, you know, this much for this. And I'm like, why are you charging me a thousand dollars for a $15 part? So that helps. So I think that's cool. You're just like, yeah, I I can hang the light, so I'm going to. Again, choices. Yeah. I've got one last question to kind of round us off, but it's an important one, I think.

If You Think You Can You Can

SPEAKER_01 27:12

So if someone is listening in right now and thinking, you know, this sounds amazing, house flipping sounds amazing, this group sounds amazing, but I don't know if I can do it. What would you say to them?

SPEAKER_02 27:26

I think that if you think you can, then you can, which might sound kind of trivial, but it's true. And the key word I'll focus on there is I. And to really know that there's nothing you need to do alone, that the program will teach you how to build the team and find the people that will make you successful. And all the information and knowledge is available through the program. It's not a gift box, however. You have to do the work. And I don't mean like do the lighting pictures, but do the work to bring it all together and really be the CEO. And that was a really cool moment for me, Blair, at one point when I was thinking through something and I really felt that I'm the CEO here.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

Dang right, girl. Well, that is so awesome. And I don't know that I could end on a higher note. So I'm just gonna go ahead and say we're done, because claiming that energy is just amazing, you know, because I tell people not only is it gonna affect you in this job and in this industry, but it then permeates into the rest of your life. And our motto is, you know, leaving places and people better than we found them. And my God, if we can do that for one person or anyone that's listening to this call, you know, what an honor and how amazing is that. So thank you so much for taking some time out of your day and joining me and sharing your experience. It has been a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_02 29:10

Thank you, Blair. I have really enjoyed working with you and uh your coaching has been terrific. And so thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

Thank you so much for joining us today on the Flip Houses Like a Girl podcast. If you didn't catch Kathy's enthusiasm for being here with us, I'm not sure what you were listening to. Hit that button, have a conversation with us. We'd love to see you in the group. Remember, every successful flip starts with one brave decision to get in the game. And the good news is you don't have to do it alone. If you're ready to take the next steps towards flipping your first house, we'd love for you to learn more about the Flip Sisters program. It's the leading coaching program and community designed specifically for women across the country who are ready to flip houses in their local markets. To connect with us, check out the program, or just get inspired by more stories like this one, visit www.theflipsisters.com. And as always, thank you for listening, subscribing, and sharing this podcast with other women who are ready to step into the world of flipping houses. Until next time, keep going, keep growing. And remember, you can absolutely do this.