The unfortunate incident of a house burning down isn’t usually the type of event we celebrate, but for our guest today, it worked out quite well.  It can be surprising where good opportunities come from and buying a block from friends with tenants who burnt their house down is what started an exciting new venture for our special guest today.

In this episode, we speak with BuildHer’s very own Social Media and Marketing Unicorn, Tamara Wynne about the luxury Beechworth Airbnb project her and her husband are undertaking.  They are building two houses perfect for couples, groups and families and, knowing Tamara, the end result is going to be gorgeous.

Having grown up with parents who bought, renovated and sold numerous properties, Tamara fell in love with real estate and the process of renovation at a young age.  Working in the real estate industry, she bought and renovated her first house at the age of 21 and she’s been going strong ever since.

Building from scratch is no small feat and we talk with Tamara about what she has learned throughout the design process and planning stages. Even though she’d love to design and manage the build herself, she thought realistically about what’s required (she lives nearly 3 hours away and has 4 kids. Hmmm.) and decided to enlist the help of an architect and project manager.  We think she’s done a really amazing job in managing everything involved and has avoided a lot of stress and setbacks by recognising how much time it takes to run a build.

In just 1 year, Tamara and her husband have brought this build all the way through to the final council stages.  They’ve even picked out all the furniture and finishes and now it’s a matter of patience while they wait on council objections - patience being the operative word.  We’re really interested to hear how the rest of the building process goes and look forward to seeing Tamara’s Airbnb business take off.

Close your eyes. Okay, now picture that problem space in your house. The one that has sat on your to-do list for months. The one with the overflowing craft boxes, the invasive junk taking over the leg-room under the desk, that top-of-the-cupboard space that is housing precious artefacts like jars of bent screwdrivers and those all-too-precious primary school participation trophies. Now open your eyes… and your ears. It’s time to tackle that space! But you don’t have to do it alone.

You need a coach for the clutter, a judge for the junk, a hero for the heap, a sherpa for the s##t… okay, I’ll stop now. Rebeka chats with Erin Boyce, owner and operator of Your Organised Life - a company centred around home/office/garage decluttering and organisation. Right at the outset, they tackle the myths and mistruths surrounding the very trendy minimalist movement as seen through the veil of Pinterest posts and Instagram grids. Don’t feel bad if your child-dense, real-world house doesn’t look as mainstream-trendy as that one tiny space from that one day-drinker in that one social media post!

The Coronavirus, by forcing us indoors, has shoved our face into our shameful spaces. We walk past and through them (and sometimes work in them) on a daily basis now, and the impact this has on our mental clutter is beginning to be felt. Who among us, during this time of isolation and a new psychological emptiness, has bought a few new friends from Pottery Barn or Bed Bath & Table or Temple & Webster to try and fill the void?

Decluttering and organising isn’t easy. It’s emotionally taxing, and depending on the severity of your situation, physically exhausting as well. We usually keep kicking that can down the road as the thought of sorting out our entire house is just insurmountable in our minds. Erin, the decluttering demon, shares with us crucial tips to get started in this journey: pick one space to start with, declutter first, then organise with a plan.

So come and learn at the feet of the queen of clean and declutter your home and mind today.

When a collective of passionate and hardworking people come together with a common goal, it’s almost limitless what they can achieve. When building or renovating on your own, you can be limited by finances and resources but when you start looking outside the box to collaborate with others, the dream for a profitable architectural build can become a reality. And it can be really fun too!

We are super excited about our new development project in Rathmines with the newly formed, BuildHer8. The project will be a beautiful collaborative project including six BuildHers who have all bought in to renovate and develop this project together.  With so many different skillsets on board, we’re eager to see how this project takes shape, and it gives Rebeka a chance to actually delegate some of the roles she normally takes on herself!

With sustainability, function and natural light in mind, we enlisted the help of prestigious Ben Callery Architects to design two distinct houses, each with their own unique landscape design. In addition to all the fun and community spirit, one of the great benefits to a collaboration project is the ability to create a high-end architectural build in an affordable way.

Not everyone wants to be a builder on site. Some people are more drawn to project management or interior design, which is why having a group of people building together can really make sense.  In this episode, you’ll find out more about our exciting venture and hopefully it will inspire you to start thinking about yours.

Most of us have probably had that “light bulb” moment where we think of an idea that could solve a real problem. The idea might be easy enough, but having the energy to take that idea and run with it is another story entirely. It takes seemingly endless late nights, persistence and sometimes, a small fortune.  With double the determination, twins Alisa and Lysandra took their great idea and turned it into their own body brand, al.ive body. (https://alivebody.com.au/)

You would perhaps expect that starting your own line of body products means years of experience in the industry, knowing exactly what you’re doing and having loads of cash but it’s quite the contrary for Alisa and Lysandra.  Being twins brought up by a single mum, they learned about hard work very young in life and both grew up to become police officers.  With a flare for design (and they’ll admit, a desire for cash) they decided to apply for The Block, which was their launchpad into the world of interior design. On a hunt for the perfect hand soap to complement a bathroom renovation, they discovered that the product they wanted didn’t exist.  So, they decided to make it themselves.

In this episode, Alisa and Lysandra talk about the process of establishing their brand and how they managed to launch a successful product in an already saturated market.  Both being mums they’re all too familiar with mum guilt and making playdough.  Literally, they made playdough to design the bottle for their hand soap. That’s commitment.

Perhaps you’ve got a great idea that seems ridiculous and way too hard, but all you might need is a bit of inspiration to keep it going.  So have a listen and see where the idea takes you. The outcome might be really exciting and make you come al.ive (see what we did there?).

Who here has been to the MONA in Tasmania? All those ridiculous, amazing pieces of art assaulting the senses and inspiring conversation at every turn. Now replace most of those art pieces with outrageously colourful homewares and you’ve got Jumbled Online - a carefully-curated collection of curious creations for your home brought to you by our guest Pip Brett.

From humble beginnings as a tiny store in Orange NSW, Pip grew Jumbled with one rule and one rule only: to only stock things that made her heart sing!  This worked amazingly well for her and much to our enjoyment, she has now shifted her heart-singing strategy to building her house with husband Nick (and sharing the whole thing on social media).

Today we get the pleasure of chatting with Pip about her building process from working out what you actually want, finding the right designer and seeing the process through to the end.  Pip shares some great insights into how she is approaching the build, making sure that her home is really well thought through to reflect the things she loves, her family’s needs and be something that they will enjoy long term.

Being a lover of colour and design, the aesthetic is hugely important to Pip and let’s face it, it’s important to most of us, right?  Even if you’re not naturally gifted to style a room yourself, most of us desire a space that flows well, is clean and makes you feel at home.  This can create some tension with a builder focussed on practicality and who might not always see the importance of hiding the “ugly stuff”.

Building a home is such a personal thing.  So why not really go out there and let your build reflect who you are?  Not just choosing from the 3 colour swatches shoved under your nose, or picking your least-hated design from a catalogue, but jumbling up the norm, going big and saying “who cares” when met with resistance.  This is how we create moments in our home rather than spaces in a house.

Does isolation mean stagnation? Absolutely not! Just because we can’t go out and get our smashed avo, pull shapes on the dance floor, or have the crew over for dinner, doesn’t mean we can’t keep kicking goals. Goals like making meaningful progress in our building projects. Isolation means spending more time with yourself. It means more time for a bit of life administration, getting your house in order, and sorting out your finances, so you can emerge from isolation like a recently serviced car ready to hit the road.

Kribashini and post-partum Rebeka lay it all out for you in this episode to set you off on your 7-step journey to isolation renovation domination! They begin with going all Marie Kondo on the offending space in your renovation crosshairs. Then comes inspiration and research which means mood boards people! Next comes the dreaded finances - money can’t buy happiness but it keeps us fed, clothed, and busy building. And finally, looking at your motivation and desires to ensure you get what you want out of this project.

Remember, isolation is a stressful time for reasons that you have likely not come across before, and are equally likely to be unprepared for. Adding the demands of progressing your renovation can be a great distraction to immerse yourself into, though it may add an additional unnecessary stressor. It is of the utmost importance for you and your family to remain safe during this time which means prioritising emotional, mental and physical health.

So turn off Netflix, put down that 3rd or 6th glass of wine, wash your hands, and tune in to listen to the quarantine queens deliver their strategic address on avoiding isolation devastation.

Successful musicians and actors don’t negotiate their own deals, do they? They employ an agent. They do this to make sure they have the right person representing them in the highly-competitive search for new contracts. This is a time-consuming process and one that the talent does not have time for. This analogy could not be more applicable to a buyer’s advocate. This tenacious bunch of people, as a whole, get to know home-buyers and what they want and they search far and wide for the right property for them. They are often privy to first-looks before the general public and interrogate the asking price for you to ensure you aren’t over-paying. Taking it a step further, they can then access their crystal ball to look at the future value of the property with respect to location, value-adding, and risk minimisation. Finally, to finish it off, the all-important price negotiation.

All of these crucial steps are wrapped up in a neat package called a buyer’s advocate which will save you thousands as well as secure you the house you want in an increasingly buyer-populated market. Nicole Jacobs, buyer’s advocate and property developer, belongs to this critical bunch of people and she joins us on the show to tell you, first and foremost, why you should employ a buyer’s advocate for your next property purchase.

Building on this, there are huge emotional elements to buying a property as well as outside influences from friends and family. These can easily sway your decision as a home-buyer especially as you are likely in a time of flux yourself (read as stressed out!) if you are moving house. An impartial advocate for your best interests is your best friend during this tumultuous time.

So ask yourself, are you at your wit’s end looking for properties? Are you about to say, “ahh whatever, just buy it”? Have you looked at 1 or 2 houses for less than 15 minutes each and consider that a ‘good look’? Maybe it is time to get off realestate.com and look up a buyer’s advocate like Nicole to find and negotiate your next home.

Sometimes all you can do is laugh. Whether it is at an underwhelming sale price at auction, at a problematic build where it’s always everybody else’s fault according to the contractors, at the unexpected crippling of the economy, or even at your real estate agent. In the latter, this is rarely a good scenario - “it went for how much under market???” - unless of course, your fabulous real estate agent is our guest today, ex-comic Jodie J Hill.

From open mic night to open houses, Jodie has left behind a hilarious career in comedy to establish Melbourne-based real estate agent sheSELLS, and co-direct boutique property management company sheLORDS and buyer’s agency/vendor’s advocate Younger Hill.

Jodie puts a refreshingly real, modern face on real estate agency and walks us through her journey from comedian to agent, auctioneer and advocate. She gives us her tight five on the gender disparities in the property sector and delivers some inspirational advice for aspiring real estate femtrepreneurs. Join Jodie and Rebeka as they riff about driven women and woke blokes in the theatre of real estate agency.

Thought you knew what ‘busy’ was? Try being an owner-builder in the process of moving in, project manager to an investment property project, and owner of a gorgeous little squishy newborn baby (in fact, her second). Our guest today, Angela “Ange” Tsoumanis, didn’t intend for all these bucket-list-worthy milestones to line up however end-2019 building delays made it inevitable, so she soldiered on with the help of The BuildHer Collective and created something magical for her family.

A BuildHer herself, Ange walks us through her overfull plate and how she not only managed it but achieved a final product where she wouldn’t change a thing - even if she had more time to devote to the project. She also very kindly speaks of the invaluable support she received from the BuildHer Collective throughout her projects.

LINKS WE MENTIONED:

* Angela’s Instagram: @tsuma1982 (https://www.instagram.com/tsuma1982/)

* Check out the BuildHer freebies page (https://buildhercollective.com.au/freebies/) and book your free 20min consult (https://go.oncehub.com/BuildHer)

* BuildHer Collective website (https://buildhercollective.com.au/)

* BuildHer Collective on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/buildhercollective/)

What do Coke, McDonalds, KFC, Dr Pepper (and many others) all have in common? Besides calories, they all have a secret, well-protected formula behind their biggest selling items. A closely-guarded recipe to success. Well on today’s episode, Kentucky Fried Kribashini and Dr Rebeka open their vault and reveal their 11 secret herbs and spices on designing, renovating and building for profit:

Buy, renovate, sell at a profit… Mind blown!

But of course, there is more to it than that. The BuildHers talk through the ingredients to their most financially delectable projects to help you replicate their success at home. Renovating for profit is a widely held career dream as well as a retirement aspiration for many due to the universal love of selecting, sprucing, and selling. However, there are many facets to this revenue stream that must be taken into account by any aspiring renovator wanting to turn some real profits.

Rebeka and Kribashini talk through their plan to success in renovating for profit and if you think it is void of hard work, you are sadly mistaken. Uniqueness, homework, open-mindedness, adaptability, community - all these form important pillars to succeeding at renovating for profit. Admittedly, applying these as a one-size-fits-all solution is impossible as there are tremendous fluctuations in market demand, renovator preference, and personal branding which is why the BuildHer Collective offers a free 20-minute consult where your specific scenario can be set into BuildHer’s secret framework to success.

Microsuburbs, points of differentiation, market research, money buckets, brand commerce - all the secrets are revealed on this episode so tune in to create your very own property special sauce.

LINKS WE MENTIONED:

* Check out the BuildHer freebies page (https://buildhercollective.com.au/freebies/) and book your free 20min consult (https://go.oncehub.com/BuildHer)

* BuildHer Collective website (https://buildhercollective.com.au/)

* BuildHer Collective on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/buildhercollective/)