Small Business Bestie
Entrepreneurship is hard, and sometimes we could use a friend to walk a mile in our shoes. Small Business Bestie is here to provide that friendship, support, and inspiration that small business owners need from time to time.
Small Business Bestie
22: Girls in Construction- Lauren Geiger's Journey
What if you could pivot from law school to becoming a leading entrepreneur in the construction and real estate industries? 🏗️🏡 This week on the Small Business Bestie podcast, we’re sitting down with Lauren Geiger, the powerhouse behind All Around Roofing, Bluegrass Builders and Remodeling, and Lauren's Properties! 🌟
Lauren shares her inspiring journey from drawing architectural plans to managing bustling job sites and launching her own successful businesses. 💼 Her story is a testament to breaking barriers in a traditionally male-dominated field and offers invaluable insights into effective project management and balancing a demanding workload.
Tune in to hear about the challenges and rewards of transforming properties for long-term rentals, the importance of building a strong company culture, and how Lauren’s initiative, Life with Lauren, seamlessly blends personal fulfillment with professional growth. 🌱
We also dive into the themes of integrity, courage, and the importance of mentorship and building meaningful relationships in business. Lauren’s candid insights on branding, marketing, and knowing when to say no to clients will leave you inspired and ready to tackle your own entrepreneurial journey! 💪
🎧 Don’t miss this insightful and motivating episode! Be sure to subscribe and review to stay connected with more inspiring stories. 🌟
#Entrepreneurship #WomenInConstruction #RealEstate #ProjectManagement #SmallBusinessSuccess #FemaleLeaders #WorkLifeBalance #CompanyCulture #MentorshipMatters #BreakingBarriers #SmallBusinessBestie
Connect with Lauren:
Life with Lauren
All Around Roofing- Website. Facebook.
Bluegrass Builders and Remodelers - Website. Facebook
Lauren's Properties - Facebook
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Welcome to the Small Business Bestie podcast. I'm your host, michelle. We are creating community and coaching women entrepreneurs and we are so glad that you're here. Let's meet this week's Small Business Bestie. Let's meet this week's small business bestie.
Speaker 1:Lauren Geiger is sitting down with me today to chat all things business and success. I'm so excited for this conversation. So if you don't mind, take just a second. Tell us about yourself and tell us about your business. Yeah, so my name is Lauren Geiger.
Speaker 1:I own a couple of businesses in town. So one of the first companies I own is All Around Roofing, and then I own Bluegrass Builders and Remodeling and I own Lawrence Properties, which is more of like a you know, for me it's more like flip properties and rentals and things like that. So three separate companies, all kind of within the either real estate or construction realm of some sort, right? Yeah, that's that's kind of like where I hang out. I enjoy that a lot, so that's definitely my sweet spot. That's amazing. So I'm going to say the obvious. We all say like there's not enough women in these types of industries and it's like kind of the good old boys club. So to see a woman break in, and not only break in but do it with such like optimism and just like ray of sunshine when you go places. It's just like this bright, brilliant light that you bring with you. So I'm excited to learn more about how you got into that industry and then if you have any tips or tricks or like words of wisdom for other women who want to kind of follow suit.
Speaker 1:So how did you get started in the construction industry? I went to college to be an attorney. I realized really quickly that that wasn't for me like my first class, and then I spent a few years really just trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I did a lot of like marketing and things like that, and then I landed up in BCTC's architectural program and so I started drawing. I loved it and you know it's weird to look at it now because everything's so computerized, but when I first started we had to hand draw our first set of plans, which it took forever I mean probably the whole semester of that class but which I'm actually really thankful for now because it really helps you like focus and understand, like you know, pieces and parts to a house. So anyways, I started with that and then ended up getting an internship with a local builder while I was in school. That really took off from there. It was about a six-month internship. I did a lot with marketing, I did a lot with estimating and just things like that, and finally a full-time position came open there. So I did a lot of estimating, a lot of project selections, a lot of plan revisions and it really just took off into a project management position.
Speaker 1:From there I kind of realized that that's what I love to do. I still love like reading plans and helping design them. But I just realized that drawing wasn't for me anymore. It was more like being out on the job site, like managing the project is really what I fell in love with. So from there I had a few jobs and ended up kind of deciding that I wanted to go out on my own, and when I did that I had to kind of supplement for a little bit of income, save back. And so I started doing sales for roofing. And then I honestly, after I started the construction business, I was like man, I want to get back in roofing, and so I just decided to start both of them and I love them both. You know they really go hand in hand. So that's incredible.
Speaker 1:So did you start the two businesses kind of simultaneously, or did you start the building business first and then the roofing? Yeah, the construction was first Okay, but it's less than a year apart of each other. Yeah, so you just jumped right in. Yeah, okay. So when you started your first company, you say that you know you wanted to go out on your own.
Speaker 1:Was it just you, were you a solopreneur doing all the things? Or did you kind of start with a team? Yeah, so I'm 100% just me owning of the construction company and yeah, so I just kind of dove into that myself. It was just really like my knowledge and background from that internship that I had and working for a few other builders, I was just like I can do this, wow, okay. So you juggle all the things from the construction business which I have like the tiniest bit of knowledge, like just enough to not know what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1:But what I do know is that, from the builders that I've had experience with, they all seem like they're running in a hundred different directions all at one time, juggling everything, especially if they have multiple projects going at once. So is that kind of how it is? For you it is, but I'm also such a system and process type of person and so I've really learned, like in the beginning of my business it's all hustle, I mean, you know right, like you just got to go, go, go and just get it done. But there comes a point where you really decide like, okay, how am I going to structure this? And a lot of the times I think like if I wanted to disappear for two weeks and go on a vacation, how can I set my business up to where I can do that, right up to where I can do that Right? And so setting up those systems and processes have really helped the chaos kind of die down. There's always going to be like things that come up that aren't expected, especially in construction, but I really try to create a system that helps tackle those. That doesn't necessarily include me all the time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so is there a particular formula or system that you used to systemize your business or is it just like out of Lauren's brain and collaboration with your team, you figured out what works for you? I think it's really trial and error. I mean, we went through a few where again it is like my thought of oh, this has become a problem. A few times I have like a list on my phone that's like problems that come up and then I try to figure out, okay, how can I solve this from happening in the future? And so, and with like the solving it in the future, you know I use my team, but I also use a trial and error for it, like let's try it this way. It may not work for us, but let's at least see what happens. And so that's kind of how I start with those processes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so with the roofing business, you have like teams of people that do the actual work for you, obviously, but are you like involved in the sales of those jobs hands on, or do you have salespeople that are on your team? How does that? How's that kind of structured? Yeah, the roofing business is structured a little differently. So it's me and three other people. We're all partners, so we all have our roles in the business. We have two sales reps right now and then our laborers, of course you know are part of like our crew. We have a crew leader and then laborers that work with them. So and that's really particular per like what it is. So we have a like a siding crew leader, we have a roofing crew leader, a gutter crew leader, you know for what we do, and then as owners, we kind of all split our responsibilities. So I'm the sales manager for the roofing company. So I really I look at our numbers, I try to get our sales reps, you know, hyped up with some goals and things. So that's really my role, and then my partners focus on like the financials, like relations with, like past clients and then production.
Speaker 1:Wow. So it sounds like you've got that one systemized as well. I think so. I hope so. I mean, knock on wood. But you know, so far, so good. But we are growing. I mean, we just got two sales reps about a month or so ago, so we are starting that, that growth step. So congratulations, that's incredible, thank you. Okay.
Speaker 1:So we've talked construction, we've talked a little on the roofing, the property company. You said that's more like flips and things like that. Yeah, that's correct. So are you like flipping to sell or flipping to rent, or how does that work? You know I've mainly been flipping to sell. I had one property that I was going to rent and then ended up getting a really good. It was a good offer on it. You know to not rent it out and these people had been looking for a house for a long time. It worked out for everyone at the time, so I did get rid of that.
Speaker 1:I've got a current property that I'm working on that I'm really hoping to make like for travel nurses and do more like a long-term rental type, and so that's kind of my most recent. And then I have another one that I've tore down. So I've got an empty lot basically, and I haven't really decided what I'm going to do with that one yet, but mostly to flip and sell. Yeah, that is so exciting. I think it would be so fun to have an opportunity to say I have this piece of land, this spot. You know I can create whatever I want here within limits, because I know the city tells you what you can and can't do sometimes. Right, yeah, no for sure, that one's going to be really exciting. It was just the original structure was just going to be way more costly than just tearing it down. It just really old and needed a lot of things.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, so okay, we have kind of an idea of what you do and we kind of have an idea of why you decided to get into business for yourself to begin with, is there anything that you've come across in your business journey that was either surprising to you, like harder than you thought it would be, or you know a challenge that you weren't really expecting? That kind of just sticks with you? I would say that it's definitely more challenging than what you think, but it's also more rewarding than what you think. It is too, and so for me, I think challenge wise is realizing that the systems and processes that people don't see as an employee are so much work on the back end, and so I don't know like that's really like my thought towards.
Speaker 1:You know what's been harder to understand, because there really is no rule book of here's how you run a small business. Really, you have to pick, kind of like your company culture is really important. So you have to kind of pick what you want that to be before you start hiring people because you want them to fit into what you're creating your business to be, and then you have to again like figure out how those wheels are going to turn, like what is my next employment position, like what's their job going to be? How does that work? So it's just putting all the pieces together. That has been a lot more challenging than what you may see on the outside.
Speaker 1:I always say to like you know, people are really quick to write bad reviews about small businesses but really slow to write good ones, and a lot of times it's really hard to know all the hard work they really and like their intentions are good. It's just very overwhelming in the beginning. Yeah, I agree with that, it is. It's very overwhelming, and I don't know if you experience this with any of your businesses, but I know a lot of the people that I chat with. It's like you don't understand what you need to do until you realize you need to do it and by then it's like, oh, I need to go back three steps because I should have done this, and then to actually have to go back and like rework things and try again. Yeah, but that's OK, that's OK. That's what I keep telling myself. Like I'm better than I was yesterday. I may have like some setbacks and some things that I need to correct, but I'm further along than I was last year, absolutely.
Speaker 1:It's easy to get caught up in those like little missteps and get really down on ourselves. Yeah, but if you look over, you know, over the long haul, like you've started a business. Yeah, you know you are employing people or giving people an opportunity to make a wage for themselves and to better their lives. So if you had to do over anything that you've done so far, is there anything that you can think of that? You think like man. I'm always really grateful for mentors in my life and jobs that I have had. But if there is one thing I would say not doing it sooner, I don't know. It's just like it really is a rewarding feeling and when you sit back and think about you're putting in way more work than you ever would in a nine to five. But at the end of the day, like this is yours, you're making your own money and, like you said, you know you're helping other people in the community have jobs Like it's just a very satisfying feeling.
Speaker 1:But also knowing that you control your every day. I mean I'm in control of like hey, I need to go get a sale or I need to go do this in my business. I need to do that. I'm in control of all those things. And it's a different feeling to know that you have unlimited possibility. It seems like once you get your head and your mentality in that mindset of being a business owner. Everything else is like you see one thing and you're like, oh, that would be a great business. Your whole mindset changes about endless possibilities. It really does.
Speaker 1:I was chatting with my 14 year old son the other day and my husband actually was like show him your calendar, because you know, he has no idea what I do my day. He's just like mom's. You know she does whatever she does. And so I pulled out my calendar on my phone and I was like actually showing him, like OK, and then I have this and then that and that. And he was like, why, why do you have so much stuff? And I was like get five minutes per line. I chose this, like I wanted these businesses, and so this is what it takes, you know, but you're absolutely right, like you're totally in control, you know of your own destiny and your own happiness and all of that. Okay, so speaking of your own happiness, I don't know if you and I've ever really talked about it, but I've been seeing the life with Lauren posts more and more, and so I was wondering if you'd talk a little about that. Yeah, I would love to. So life with Lauren is just, it kind of goes on like a personal level and a business level. So it's some days it's talking about you know my emotional roller coaster that I can get on, and other days it's just pumping people up. But I want people to know that I'm a real person, just like other people, and they can do this too.
Speaker 1:I have a lot of women who I see that are always asking the question what? And even men as well, but always saying how did you guys go about starting your business? And it really takes a mindset shift. Oh my gosh, that was hard to say, but it does. It takes your mind just rotating, doing a 180. Because starting a business, a small business, is not what you know, like schooling and things like that, like truly discuss and make a possibility. So it's like turning your mind to think differently than what society really tells the majority of us to do.
Speaker 1:Is it just a like blog on Facebook or is there a website? Like where does it live? So it lives on Facebook, so it's a page. Sometimes I do like just little quick writings about it. Sometimes I do videos. It just really depends on what it's about. If it gets like a little bit more like personal or emotional, sometimes I'll do like a face video, but I also share my vision board there every year and that's really something that I go back to and, like I said, like you can make mistakes, but if you really look at something like that, then you can see like, wow, I've accomplished a lot of things, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's kind of like my year, like checklists for personal and business goals, and it's just really to inspire others to go do that, like whether your goals are the same as mine or, you know, totally different or whatever, it's just to let people know that they're not alone in however they're feeling. Yeah, well, I know that when you and I met, it was like a super awkward fangirl moment. I just like kind of cold reached out to you. It was like I'm so inspired by you, I really want to know you. Can you teach me everything you know? And I think that if I see you that way, there's probably hundreds of other people out there that are following you and watching you you know, go on this journey that are feeling the same way. So I think it's so cool that you're sharing not only that inspiration but also the challenges that you're having and you know the struggles that you have with your emotional roller coaster, because, god knows, we all get on that thing. Sometimes it's hard to get off of that thing. Yeah, that's like the controller guy just walked away and left us on it, yeah. So yeah, I really appreciate that you're doing that and I hope that other people can, you know, follow along and get some insight from you as well, because it's really a beautiful thing and you're an inspirational human, but also you're so humble and you're so willing to share your wisdom and your knowledge and humor and all of that, so I think that that's such a special thing. Cute, yeah, sounds sweet. Absolutely I love that.
Speaker 1:So do you have any other plans on the horizon or are you just kind of going to juggle the three balls that you have in the air right now with those three businesses? I mean, I'm definitely honing in on you know they say that the best processes are to kind of like work yourself out of a job. I don't really have anything in particular right now. I would like to do a little bit more of like you had said, like with the Life, with Lauren stuff, and just do a little bit more like helping and maybe mentoring others. I mean I wouldn't be where I was today if it wasn't for people I surround myself with. I mean, I constantly call upon other people in the community that are just like us and, you know, ask for advice or just need to vent for a second, because my business coach had told me when you get really lonely, you kind of know that you've made it and you're doing good, because it's really lonely and it is. It's not in a horrible way, but it is. It's hard for people to understand, like where you come from and your mindset and just all these things, and so I'd like to inspire people more to take the risk, start their own business, but also let them know like there are going to be emotional, you know, triumphs along the way. So you're kind of looking for those opportunities to continue to inspire other people as you work yourself out of your job. Yeah, absolutely yeah, that's perfect. I love that. Okay, so you don't really have any forward plans other than to kind of figure out where life takes you and to continue to serve and be an inspiration.
Speaker 1:Is there any advice that you would give to women who want to get into the construction field or the more male-dominated fields that you've forged a path forward for us. Are there any particular things that could help women break into that? I mean, the obvious answer is just go do it. But at the same time, like it's all about how you brand and market yourself and how you carry yourself as a person, like anyone who is striving to have like a long-term relationship, or like who is striving to have like a long term relationship, or like you have to operate with integrity. Like it's not quick, easy money. You know you're playing a long game to retrieve those clients.
Speaker 1:But I guess my first thought is is like get in the right rooms, meet the right people. Because when you start hanging out with people that you want to be like, you slowly become them. So find someone who really inspires you and someone that you're really like look after. For that, I will tell you, it was kind of to me. When I first started I didn't realize how male dominated it was essentially, but mainly because I was just like I can do anything the boys can do. I can do better, right.
Speaker 1:But then there are some times where you do realize from clients and they may not always accept you because of what you're doing, and that's okay. Like not every client is for you, and when you're in the beginning, when you're really trying to just hustle and get all the clients you can, that's totally fine. But as you grow and develop, just know that it's okay to say no. People usually appreciate it and respect it If it's something that's way out of your league or something that you're not interested in. You have to build those relationships. In every business transaction with a client, the relationship has to work both ways and that's really important. It will save you so much headache and so much trouble. But there has to be a mutual respect. But I mean, just go and advertise yourself, get out there. You may be a shy person but it will be okay. Like people are accepting of you, people want you to do good, but there really is like no time like the present.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when you were talking about you know not every client is for you and knowing when to say no, thank you, I'll pass on that one. That is so applicable to any type of industry that you're in, you know I immediately thought of clients that come to us that are just bigger than we can really take on and we have to say you know you're not the right person for us. But let me introduce you to some other accountants that I know that will be able to help you. And I think that oftentimes when we're first starting our businesses, it's like every client that talks to you you have to land that client because you're just so like. You know, the scarcity mindset is so real in those moments of like I have to have all of the potential clients, and you're so correct in that if you take on things or clients that aren't the right fit for you, you're not going to be able to perform to the level that you need to, and then you've not only soured your relationship with that client, but potentially that terrible Google review comes in or whatever. So you know you take a potential positive where you could have just connected them with the right person and made them respect you, and you know, instead, gotten that, yeah, and they may have referred you to smaller businesses that were your playing field of what you needed.
Speaker 1:So it sounds to me like really, what you're saying is just having integrity and courage. Yeah, is really what you need. That's right. Yeah, that's it. We've just narrowed it down, yeah, and solved all the problems. That's all you got to do. Yeah, gotta do, yeah, but it is like you said. I mean you really have to pick. Like if you hate a job or hate maybe didn't get along with the customer, you have to think of why, because if you wouldn't want that repeated, then, like that is when you know, like that job doesn't suit you, or like if your business just wasn't, you know, like you said, large enough to sustain it, would you want that client referring you to someone else to do it all over again?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, you know, if your answer is no, then that's not for you. Yeah, I feel like I'm getting coaching right now and I'm so appreciative. Oh, my God, I feel the same way. That's so great. I love bouncing back and forth ideas with you.
Speaker 1:Well, lauren, is there anything else that you would want the people who are listening to know about you or about your business, or maybe a word of wisdom or advice that you'd like to leave them with? Again, I just encourage everyone to follow your dreams. I mean it really is possible. As cheesy and cliche as that may sound, I mean and, like you know, michelle and I are both I mean we would love to talk to someone who's just hey, I'm looking to start a business, what do I do? And just, I mean I can introduce you to people, so can she. You know, it's just like it's all about what room you're in. Yeah, so just go out there and do it. Oh, I love that. Yay Well, lauren, I appreciate you coming and talking with me today.
Speaker 1:I wish you all the best of the luck with everything, but, you know, especially with the Live with Lauren and helping to continue to be an inspiration to the women in Kentucky and beyond, to inspire them to go out and get what they're after. Awesome, yeah Well, thank you so much for having me. I always love chatting with you, same. All right, Well, take care, guys. Thanks for listening. Friends, my name is Michelle Smock and I own Cultivate Accounting, a boutique accounting firm specializing in small business, and I own Small Business Bestie, where I help women entrepreneurs go from idea to launch and beyond. Check the show notes for links to my website and socials and also please take a moment to subscribe and review. It really would mean the world to me.