This is the Simply Home Podcast - Ladies Who Build, a podcast for women by women.

This is Ashley Wainscott and Michelle Mullins.

After spending the last 10 years revolutionizing the construction industry and raising the bar of the contracting world.

We are inviting you on our journey as we continuously learn how to be extraordinary and thrive in this industry.

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Welcome to episode 21 at the Ladies Who Build podcast. What do emotions have to do with it? Why remodels can be emotional and what you can expect. Today we have a very wonderful, special guest with us and her name is Kirby. Collier?

Yes.

Do you like, is it, are you cool if we call you your last name?

Yeah. Of course.

So profesh.

It is your name.

Yeah.

It is your name.

I was born with it.

So Kirby, well, she'll explain her background here shortly, but she has an interesting background specifically was, within Simply Home, which makes her amazing and really flexible.

So I'm excited for you to hear that, but today we're going to be talking about what emotions have to do with the remodel. So some high level points we'll be covering are what are some things that happen during, during a remodel that can be emotional. Where do we at Simply Home come in when managing the emotional times. How you can prepare for those times throughout the remodel, and then different ways to cope when it comes up. So without further ado, welcome Kirby.

Hello.

Woo! Clap.

For those who can't see, I am bowing.

Curtsy, curtsy.

So yes, as Michelle said, I’m Kirby Collier. My middle name, fun fact, is Kirby Lane. I do not own Kirby Lane Cafe as much as I wish I did, I do not. I went to UT and I studied advertising, which is not at all helpful for where I am. Career wise. But I went to UT my senior year of college, I was panickally or applying for jobs, paid internships, anything that would pay. Cause I was like real life is coming soon.

I've always been interested in interior design and homes and things and so it was panic applying to lots of construction places and just kind of going with the flow interviewing whatever. And I had an interview for this place called Simply Home for an internship. And the night before I was talking to my boyfriend and was like, yeah, like I'm probably just going to be the secretary for this construction company, whatever, or look at pays, I'll just do it, whatever. Then graduate and move on to bigger, better things.

And the night before I looked them up and was like, oh my God, they're so cute. It's a bunch of women. They're so cute. I had such a boring outfit plan. So I went straight to Target. And I got this like, super bold cheetah dress, Iremember. And I felt so good. And then the rest is history, right?

I interned, this was, I guess, February of 2020. So right before the world exploded. And was gratefully kept on throughout 2020 and I've had so many roles within Simply Home. I would like to say I grew up with Simply Home. I was a baby when I first started and I’m now a woman.

Wow.

Yes.

You blossomed.

I know.

Kirby, I'm laughing at the cheetah dress comment.

I still have it.

You were going to downplay us until you saw.

Yeah.

How fashionable and cool we were.

Yes. I had like ugly blazer and slacks, you know?

So cute.

But like, I was just like, ew like a bunch of men, you know?

That’s right.Right.

I do remember you being incredibly fashionable and I was, I knew, so when you were the intern, I was like, oh, they're not going to be here very long. And I was in a very stressed out period of my life. I don't. Like that period of my life, because I'm sure I was probably rude and I didn't like introduce myself, but I just remember you were always coming in with these cute outfits and I thought, okay, I kind of want to be her friend, but I should probably talk to her, but I'm so, you know, I remember that day so vividly. And now here we are through every other transitional role you've been.

Yes. I was very much dressed for what you want to do. And I was like, and I went to work here.

Yeah.

Michelle, you were never rude.

No.

Only to, only to vendors who needed your rudeness.

Yeah. And maybe in my head, I'm just like, oh, you'll be here for like two months and then you'll be gone. You know because they’ll intern and just move on.

Yeah.

They come and go and most on, honestly, interns are interns for a reason. And they don't come in with a lot of experience.

Right.

And they don't come in knowing what they're doing. So they're just kind of, they're like potatoes. They’re at the computer.

Okay.

And, but some of them surprise me. Kirby surprised me. And then Kirby, which is why we offered Kirby a job when she was going to graduate. We're like, wait, don't go.

What was your first role outside of the internship?

My first role was, what was it? There’s been so many. No.

No.

It was materials coordinator and maybe marketing.

Oh.

Yeah, it was kind of like, it started as a part-time. But then I was like.

Yes.

So I'm going to work 40 hours a week, part-time.

That sounds like us.

I was like, so I'm going to do that. And then I think that lasted a month in the new year like, okay, full-time.

We can do a whole podcast on your history with Simply Home.

Yes.

Like all the roles you have been.

Yeah. And then you moved. You were.

To sales admin, I think it was from there.

I think so.

And then I was there for like a year and a half doing that.

Yep. Trying to keep the salespeople organized.

Yes. Lots of process stuff.

And you did some small sales. You were like?

Yeah. I was doing at that time, sales and small project management too.

Right. Which is no easy feat.

No. So I was doing both. But then that's what made me realize that I loved the project management part of it too. Which I then went into for about two years and then I'm back in sales.

Yes.

So I’m just doing a cute little.

That tastes good. Can I have a little bit of that too?

You're so enticed wearing that cute outfit.

Yeah. Seriously, yeah.

I mean, Kirby, every time I go to a team event, I always think about, well, Michelle is always just stylish. Kirby's also very stylish.

Yeah.

And so I'm always like, I gotta keep up with these two today, you know, and I don't think, I don't think twice about it. I'm like, where are my cute flare jeans, where's my black top, where's my white shirt. Whatever simple and then wear my hoops. And then I go.

That is so you,

Yeah.

The hoops. The statement earring is very you.

I love the statement.

It’s called Simply Home. So simply dressed with the statement hoop.

Simply accessorize.

Yes.

That's exactly what I'm saying.

And then they would all be, I mean, I'm like the female version of Steve Jobs’ outfit.

Oh.

You know?

It's decision fatigue, actually.

Hey. I don't want to think about that.

Yeah. Put on the black turtleneck.

I have like six outfits I just rotate through.

Yes. I understand.

Since I rent my clothes, you know?

Oh, yeah.

Most of them, not all of them but.

A black turtleneck would be great for Texas summer.

I mean, I was just wearing it yesterday and the day before.

Yeah.

And the day before.

Yeah. Love that.

Well, good for you. Okay. Speaking of decision fatigue though.

Yes.

I think we should jump in, cause there's, there's a lot to this topic, but why don't you, so kind of now knowing what your background is in Simply Home. This topic I think is really good for you to talk about because you've seen both sides of the sales side of what the client, the project management side of the client. So talk a little bit about what are some things that can bring emotions high, low, medium, all the emotions in a remodeling project. Like, what are those triggers?

I mean, for starters, I always like to brief clients of like, this is going to be, we don't like to say words like these, but it will be overwhelming. And the waiting, because this is likely their biggest investments. And so the feeling of it being torn apart from the inside out can be very, it's a lot.

Right? And so that can cause a lot of anxiety along with all of the money that's going into it, the money that's already been, been put in it. There's just so many things and you need to have your hand held throughout the whole process. And beyond that, you don't want to make little decisions like style of baseboard or where do you want the tile to and over the counter top, right?

There's so many specifics that clients don't want to think about, which is why we're here, right? To hold them, hold their hands, be the expert that guides them throughout the whole process. And yeah. What was the question?

Well, that was a good answer.

Okay.

What can cause emotions to go up and down?

Okay Something that causes emotions to go up and down throughout the process, it's just the tediousness of the work that's going on, right? And the lack of knowledge on the homeowner side of everything that goes into construction, right? Like a homeowner will come in during the weekly meeting that we have with them and just be horrified at what their space looks like, where us on the Simply Home team, we’re like it looks fantastic. It looks amazing. Don't you think it looks great and they're like, no, it does not look great. Right? House is torn apart. So that is just like really telling of the up and down the clients feel throughout the process. But that's kind of the purpose of us is to ground them and make them realize that what's happening is good. And you don't have to feel those emotions. Let us guide you through it and help you manage those emotions to make the process go even smoother.

Do you think that there's certain times in the project that people get more emotional than others?

Yes, I do. In the beginning is, can be intense, right? We always like to say, hopefully we rip down on the walls and there's nothing behind the walls that's already existing. That's great for the people that have experienced that. However, that's not super likely. And a lot of the times there's no insulation or there's mold from water dripping, or the wiring is eroded all those kinds of things that can be really high emotion, right? Because all of a sudden you're getting slapped in the face.

There's more money that you have to put into it that you weren't expecting. Although we have those conversations in the beginning, they set those expectations. But so that can be really intense, emotionally. And then it kind of gets better, right? Once we start closing down the wall or closing up the walls, doing some of the pretty things is what I used to always say in project management of, yay, it's time for pretty. No more ugly.

Another time where it can get kind of emotional is when it comes towards things like tile placement or painting, and clients are quickly realizing that in theory, that looked really great. But now that it's being installed or however it may be, it's not working well, right? Especially with clients who aren't working with a designer which is why we always recommend working with a designer, but when something happens with materials like that, it can just be kind of high emotion or there's lots of little details that we need to get things going really well and clients want to be involved. There's the overwhelm of decisions and like we said, decision fatigue. It just can get to be a lot that clients just never thought about.

Yeah. Emotionally, it’s, it's a big toll on someone for all of the reasons that Kirby just mentioned. And usually you are not at home. For sane reasons.

Right.

Very sane reason.

Yes.

Cause you don't want to be at home. But usually you're not at home so you're also displaced and that is a weird feeling. Cause it's not like you're vacationing in The Bahamas and you're displaced for fun.

Right.

It’s that you're putting all of your money into a home and then you're tearing it apart and redoing it. And then you're trusting the people who were doing it to do it correctly and there's a lot of emotions project managers, and I mean, really everybody involved on our team in this process, but project managers truly have to come in with a wall or a guard up not to, not to, what is that word where you take over their emotions like you're, you're about to wear that energy and wear that emotions. It's almost like you have to have some sort of guard up because if they're feeling anxious, you could take on that anxiousness. And at the same time, get them through that emotion.

Right.

And help them work through it. I mean, it's a little bit like therapy.

No. Oh, for sure it’s therapy.

Home therapy.

I would always tell clients like we're going to have our cute little weekly therapy sesh. And we're going to have all the discussions but all the emotions on me. Let's get rid of it. Put them in the bud, let's figure it out. Like, I am very aware that you were washing your dishes in your bathtub. Right? I'm very aware that you're eating out of a crock pot every night. So let's just nip all of that in the bud, envision your beautiful space. Here are your design plans, your Pinterest board. It's going to look great, right? It's always like re-resonating to the big goal or the bigger picture.

Yes. And I'm laughing because I know I love the way that you would always handle this, those client meetings because you made it really, I mean, yes and you obviously want to meet them where they are. You don't want to like make light of the situation or their emotions, but you do make it more fun and inviting for people to be in that space with you. I guess that's a good kind of segue into how do you think you've grown with your time at Simply Home to be able to handle high tense emotions?

So much. I have grown so much. Like I remember when I was an intern, for example, like any form of feedback I took super personally, right? Because also of baby. And that was my first job, but I would just, I was like, why am I not perfect? Right. Like, why can't I do this perfectly? Or take this on so well, things like that. And so the biggest was feedback, but I think I learned the most in terms of like emotional management being a PM, right?

Because in the beginning I would stay up at night all the time. I mean, you remember Michelle? I was like waking up at 4:00 AM. Could not go back to sleep because I was just panicking about this conversation, this difficult conversation that I was going to have with a client the next day. Because again, construction is not all butterflies and rainbows.

There are serious things that go on, serious conversations. It would keep me up. I would absorb exactly how Ashley said the anxiety or frustration from the clients and take on that energy. And it wasn't until probably a few months after I was a PM, probably six months, to be honest, where I wasn't feeling nervous.

I was kind of the sounding board for clients or felt like I was the sounding board. And if a client was upset about something, I finally was in a comfortable space to realize that they're not upset at me. They're upset about the situation, right? They're upset that there's mold behind their walls, right? I didn't personally place the mold behind their walls. I would never do that.

I don't even know how you would do that.

Yeah. I don’t even know. I’m like, I don't want to touch that.

I also don't want that.

Nobody wants that there.

Yeah.

No.

Nobody wants to see that.

No. So it did take a while, but it was really significant to my personal growth, right? Outside of professionally, because it was so obvious that I was learning all of those things even just my personal life and how I managed my emotions personally.

What did you, what helped you make that transition? Were there tools and resources, books?

Therapy?

Actual therapist.

Yes. I want to be in therapy.

Yes, I second the motion.

Yes.

I think the whole world needs therapy.

Yes, I totally agree.

And if you think that you don't, you need it more.

Yes.

I can assure you should be the first person. I mean, like everybody in the public. You know, political, whoever, everybody, everybody needs that.

Yeah.

Therapists need therapists, right?

Yes. They do. Oh, imagine taking on all those emotions.

No. Yeah.

So therapy helped?

They really helped. And then I think just resonating with the fact that I know me and Michelle workshop on this a lot. I was just, what it came down to was I can't see myself being like this in six months to a year. Right? I will hate where I am and I will just probably have an ulcer. At the rate that I’m going.

And I was just like, that's not the life that I want to live. I love Simply Home. I want to continue working here, but I can't do it if I manage myself that way. So I think really putting myself in my shoes or in, yeah, in my own shoes. And thinking about my future and where I want to be career wise, that really stood out that something had to change, you know? It wasn't the company, it was me, right? So once I did that, I was like, wow, I'm sleeping through the night. I'm clocking off at five. Love that for me, you know?

A healthy life.

Yes. Yeah. A healthy relationship that you both actually Michelle, where she was like, girl, figure it out like this is not okay. We want you to be mentally sane, live a happy life. And I was like, what do you mean? I don’t understand.

Yeah. You did go through a really amazing transformation in that way. I mean, we're always still growing and learning and that, but you definitely, there was nothing, and I still wish I could fix those things for people because I wish I could, they could see it from my lens. Right? But honestly, the only way you get through it is through experience and going through it yourself.

So, it's, you had to go through that to say like, okay, I definitely don't want this.

Right.

Overwhelming me. Okay. So if we go back to like knowing that projects are going to be emotional and that they are, it's just inevitable. Right? Are there certain things that clients can do ahead of time before they start a remodel that can help them through that process?

Yeah, so much. I think, one, in, we on the sales and or the project preparation side, we try to successfully prepare the client, right? For things that happened during a project. So kind of still like holding hands. Letting them know what to expect, having multiple expectations meetings. We like to really hone in on the different things that they can expect during the construction side.

Things like contingency, right? Like that's a big thing. I think it's one thing that I find really amazing about Simply Home is, and I say this all the time is we pride ourselves on only recommending a 5% contingency when the industry standard is 25%. And that is just with all of the expectations that we like from the get go in all of the preparation that we do. So long story long, some of the things that clients can do to prepare is expecting finding something behind the walls, right?

Expecting finding something underneath the floors because realistically, it's going to happen. Hopefully not, right? It's amazing if it doesn't. Something beyond that is utilizing like real materials list on the sales side and really going in, checking off all your materials, working with our department, making sure everything meshes well together, really envisioning the space or utilizing our CAD plans to really envisioning what you're going to get.

So that way when installation comes around, you're very familiar with it already. Nothing's a shock to you. Really studying for the project. Just making sure that all of the materials you want are really intentional for this space, too. Which is really helpful with working with the designer too. They can help make all those decisions.

And what kinds of emotions are normal to feel throughout the project?

For a client.

I feel though.

Every emotion.

Yes. I think, I mean, I don't want to curate like a scary idea for someone wanting to go and do a renovation, but I mean, you can feel joy and you can feel mad and anxious, right? I mean, there's just so many different opportunities. I mean, it really is a roller coaster of emotions. We say that a lot and I think we even have like a diagram to try to express it.

You're here.

Yes.

Wooh. You’re actually here.

Yeah, it can be super scary for all of the things that we mentioned because we've really only been talking about the remodel on spec of it, but these people have lives, right? They're already going through emotions and things with their day to day life. And they're just adding something really intense on top of it. Right? So I think it's really, you can be happy or you can be upset. But it's just really amplified because of what's going on. So even happiness can feel like a rush. You know.

I think one really important thing that we should talk about in this specific topic is that as we all know, and we know this too, because we've done like emotional training is that you get to also choose how you want to like view or handle a situation. And I can think of countless clients that we have worked with that maybe things have popped up that we couldn't foresee or whatever the case was.

And they handled it like champs. And I think the difference is, and this does a lot with like, obviously internally with the team and the client. But I think that a big difference is the trust and the relationship they have with us. Because how many times have I talked to clients at the end of a project and they say, yes, these things happened. But I felt at ease because I knew Kirby was taking care of it, or I trusted the team was going to make sure that it was done properly. And that is, I mean, honestly the best answer I could ever hear from clients, but that is just like proof time and time again, that like, yes, you're going to go through things.

But if you have a trusting partner in it, knowing that they've got your back or you have their best interest in mind, and that they can bring those things to your attention when it happens. I don't harbor it. Like you say, when you go into a weekly meeting, let's talk about the emotion you're feeling this week.

Maybe you are feeling frustrated, bring it on. Let's talk about the frustration. Let's talk about some options to kind of mitigate that. But I think they also have to be really open to you as well, because as we know, you could just like your emotions are gonna bottle up and explode eventually.

Right.

So I think that's a really good point that we should probably talk about too. It's like being really open and honest with us.

Right. Which is hard too with the background of general contractors, right? I mean, we don't have a good route. Not Simply Home, but general contractors in general.

The industry doesn’t help.

Yeah.

It doesn't help.

No. I mean, the industry's sketch. We have a sketch of history.

Especially in Texas, because you don't need a license to be a general contractor.

Yeah.

Which is sketch.

Yeah.

Which is why I could say I was a general contractor having no experience whatsoever when I started.

Yeah. You did a glam project.

Yeah.

Love that for you. The growth.

And I was like, obviously I'm a general contractor. Like painting a wall.

Yeah.

And it looks awful.

I mean, honestly, thank God, you don't have to have a license because when we first started.

Why? What have I done?

You know.

What have I done?

Okay. Well, but obviously we're credible.

Right. Obviously. Obviously we hired good people and things.

Yeah.

But yeah, I mean, it's hard to trust and I feel like something that's not really talked about is clients when they trust us, I feel like internally they're even thinking, are we trusting them too much? You know, like they're a general contractor, right? So I think that there's even that internal battle that clients are probably going through, which of course they can trust us, but. I mean good for them for doing their due diligence. Right? So I feel like that's an internal battle that they're really having. And, so letting us kind of hold their hands, take it over for them can be a lot, right? Like it, the purpose is to make them feel taken care of, but there's still that doubt, right? Because of the industry.

Yeah, and I. I thought about what you were saying. And I think, I wish I could tell every client in the beginning - it doesn't help you to worry.

Right.

There's no reason for you to worry. I get why you would worry. I 100% acknowledge. I know why. And you hired us to do our job really well. And to get it done and all those things are going to come up along the way, it doesn't help to worry. Right.? I, and like that just occurred to me in my head and that goes with anything in life, you know?

Like, okay. Think about when you're like rushing out the door and if you were calmly rushing out the door, would you bang your toe on the side of something or would you drop your coffee and it go everywhere. But no, if you're anxious and you're spazzy and you're running out the door, that's inevitably going to happen.

And so I might kind of visualizing this for the client, like. I think about how every client is so different. And some people come in and they're cool, calm and collected. They're not worried. And again, I don't want to worry.

Right.

It's just, I don't want to deal with that. And although they're still gonna have emotions. They're not as worried about it whereas other clients come in and they might have other things going on in their life, or they might just not emotionally be able to manage how those things come up. Everybody has a different way of managing emotions and like their awareness of their emotions. And we can see that like, we understand when somebody needs more emotional support as a team.

Well, and I’ve said this so many times, but we also, that's why we don't hire just people who are going to construction. You have to have emotional intelligence and I think you proved quite easy quickly that you do, even you were being, being as young as you were, had the emotional intelligence to be able to separate that between you and the client.

And it wasn't always easy, but that's something that really anybody that's a client facing in the company has to have.

Right.

Emotional intelligence.

I have an idea. Should we hire therapists?

Oh, my gosh. Yes.

Yes. I will let mine know.

Or should we put them in our remodel packages?

That would actually be amazing.

A line item for therapy. A professional therapist.

And they come during the weekly meetings.

And they come during the weekly meeting and we're like, okay, we're going to leave you with the therapist. You have a 30 minute session.

Yeah.

That would be amazing though.

Wait, should we do this? I love this.

Okay. Kirby, in your opinion, are there times where you think that people shouldn't take on a remodel?

Yeah. I think that there are definitely times where people shouldn't take on a remodel, right? If you're already feeling really stressed and really intense, probably not the right time. Right? If budget, for example, right? If you have enough money for the project itself and just that nothing on top of that, then wait a little bit.

It's probably not the right time, because as we mentioned, there's a 5% contingency, which we always recommend you having, but there's also the opportunity for adding things on throughout the project, right? Of, yeah, let's go ahead and do an extra countertop niche or, yeah, let's do the countertop on top of a shower curb. For some reason, I can only think of countertop examples.

But there's lots of things that while we're already in there, you might be able to amplify the space even more than intended. So I think budgets are really big, one, family, two. There are a lot of different times that are good to remodel. Ffor example, if you have little kids, probably this summer, when you're out, it's probably the best time to do it rather than peak homework season, you know. Different times that you're trying to start a family.

I think another one is we highly recommend not, depending on the size of the project, not living there while we're doing it, right? Just for ease of everything. You will appreciate yourselves and us for recommending that to you, for not living there. So I would say if you need to wait a year to experience the renovation to the best of its ability, then I would go ahead and do that.

Yeah and Michelle's talked about this too, in a podcast. Previously about when clients are going through. They're going through some heavy emotional period. Maybe you're going through a divorce, maybe a death in the family. There's something going on where you're having a hard time and you're supposed to start a remodel within the next month or two. I'd suggest putting it on pause. Just for your sanity and a lot of our focus at the company is always about the client's wellness. And that's why we talk about, you know, therapists and therapy and emotions, because we actually want it to be a part of the conversation. And it's not quote and quote bad.

We actually like to normalize the fact that you have emotions and that they come up and we want to know about them. So it is so important to us that you consider these things before embarking on this journey. And when you're in, when you're on the journey with us, because wellness is so important to us. We want the experience to feel like it was something bigger than what you thought it could be.

Don't we even ask them about the sales process or did we used to say like, are you going through anything in your life that’s big?

Oh yeah.

Maybe like a big life change.

We did used to do that.

Right. We used to ask that.

Yeah, we don't do that now.

No.

Well, we should have.

Is that illegal or something? Are you going through a divorce?

Are you okay? I mean, what we have been seeing is a lot of pregnant women.

Yes. That was top of mind.

I know, and that's an interesting one because I would say that not to take on a remodel when you're expecting, but we've, we've worked with a lot of pregnant family, like a lot of pregnant people and it has been successful.

And I think we rally around to know, like, this is a priority. This deadline's a priority. So we kind of make sure that we get it done in that timeframe. But also because we know if we don't, don't mess up with a pregnant woman.

Yeah. That's right.

Don't make her mad.

Don't. We want to talk about emotions.

Yeah.

A lot of hormones.

Yes. Well, and I think also setting their expectation of best case scenario it's done before the baby comes. But life is life.

Right.

And maybe the baby comes earlier than expected. Right? I think workshopping all of those different situations during the project preparation phase is really important. So that way, no matter what happens, we're prepared. We have like, a clear path to take for whatever comes up.

I think the only way that we could get it done is if you find out you're pregnant at like four or five weeks and you immediately start the process.

Right.

You know? Because otherwise, I mean, you can't call us when you're three to four months pregnant and expect for it to be done. Unless you have plans and you're pretty much all buttoned up and ready, but even then it's cutting it close.

Yeah.

It's really cutting it close. So a lot of our pregnant mamas have gotten everything all buttoned up and ready and then decided, oh, this is a little too close, I'll do it after, several months after. So.

Well we even had a Simply Home Home baby, during mid project. No?

Yeah, we've had a couple.

Yeah and it went well.

It was fine.

Because we set these expectations.

Yeah we did and they had a, it was like a plan that they would live out of the house or they would live upstairs and we were downstairs. I mean, you're right. They had a plan and we talked about that plan, but, yeah, we've had a couple.

Okay. Anything else? Can anything else come up that can cause emotions? I know you were talking about like timeline delays.

Hmm.

Lack of control.

Yes. Yeah. So yeah, I have a few. So a few things that can also add to emotional overload, right, is timeline delays is a big one. Because that's realistic, whether something we experienced in 2020 was crazy supply chain issues, or just like general unforeseen. Something that we do though on the project management side is when we build out the overall schedule of the project, we account for a lot of those things, right?

So we have to account for the real people, things. So that can be really frustrating for clients. However, a lot of times the actual end date never changes. It's more the day to day because of everything that we account for. But we have to be realistic and things get pushed. Another one is, which I feel like we haven't really talked about yet, is the emotional attachment to this space that clients can have. Right?

This might, it's probably the house that they raised their kids in, or yeah, they're just generally really emotionally attached to the space and then to see it ripped apart can be heavy. So I think coming into those meetings as Simply Home, it's really important to, yay, it looks great because we're known for sabbat construction.

Right? But also admitting to the fact that this is probably emotionally a lot for the homeowners, beyond it being their biggest investment, right? It's the emotional connection to it. And then another big one is the general lack of control, right? Some homeowners want nothing to do with it. They're like, nope, don't want it. You guys take care of it.

But some homeowners like me, for example, I'm like, hmm, I want to be all over it. Right. I want to know everything. But it's a whole nother world, right? Once we open up your home, there's so many things where even people in the industry can get you overwhelmed. Because we're constantly learning, constantly growing, constantly finding new things.

It's almost impossible for a homeowner to keep up, unless they're in this industry, you know? So I feel like the lack of control and really it kind of intertwines with trusting of Simply Home. It really comes into play. But I feel like we do a really good job of making the homeowners feel like they have some control over it, with the weekly meetings, the daily updates that have pictures and things. Right? So even if they're not here, they can see what's going on.

And then really looping the man with installation, with like tile, right? Like really show them and have them picture exactly the layout that they want, all that kind of stuff.

Yeah, those are all big considerations that I think most people don't think about.

No.

Now, but we're going to make them think about them.

Yeah.

But here we are talking.

Yep.

Should we go into fun questions?

Yeah.

Or is there anything else?

Yeah, let's do fun questions.

Okay.

All right. Kirby, what is the best kept secret of Austin, Texas?

I think one of my favorite things in Austin is this bar called Here Nor There. It's a speakeasy. It's like an underground speakeasy that you need like basically access to. It's like really kind of fun puzzle to figure out how to get in there. So whenever anyone visits me, that's typically the first place I take them to cause no one knows about it. And you're like.

Sounds fun.

I know. You're sent like a gate code and you're walking up to these super sketchy gates on Sixth Street, which I do not condone. Make sure though. Make sure the address is correct. And then, you type in the little code and then you go down some stairs and it's this really amazing place.

Cool. Okay. What's a hidden talent of yours?

So I have a couple. One, which is like not really talent, but I can burp my ABCs. I'm not going to do that.

Oh my gosh. Really?

No.

Shocking. I would never guess.

I know.

I’m like, you burp? Sick.

Like disgusting. Absolutely gross. And then I was actually talking to Ashley about this yesterday is I'm really good at figuring things out. So, and we said in my next life, I could probably be a PI.

Or this one?

Or this one. Yes.

Yeah.

I'm still young.

Yeah.

I mean, you could also be, you could make a second career transition of like 40 to 50.

Yes.

Going to PI.

So true.

You know.

You are really good about it.

Yeah. I just like, I love the chisme, which is gossip in Spanish.

Yes, it is.

I love it.

Yes.

Those are all your hidden talents?

Yeah.

Okay. All the ones that I want to expose.

Right. Keep them hidden.

Yes.

Right. Of course.

Out of all the office supplies, what would be your favorite?

So. And I used to be made fun of this back when we had an office in 2020. I always had a desk fan.

Yeah.

Yes.

Meanwhile, everyone else had like the little space theaters. I’m like, guys, it is so hot here. What's the deal? Like I'm trying to dress cute, like in this silk skirt. And I'm like, guys, the sweat stains are so real. And so even to this day, I still have a desk fan. Because it's so good when you're having like.

I know, it is.

Intense conversation with somebody or even just a conversation with lots of things to say, you get swayed, right?

Yeah.

When we get off calls and Kirby is like, wooh. I just had to squeeze all that in 30 minutes.

Yes. I'm like I haven't breathed at all.

Oh, my gosh. Okay. What is something positive in the media world you've seen lately?

Ooh. That's a hard one. We're definitely in like a timeframe where it's hard to find something positive in the media. I feel like something that I saw, which is exciting is that, they apparently have come pretty, “they” I don't know who they are.

Oh, yeah.

They’ve come really close to a vaccine for breast cancer. Yeah.

Wow.

Within the next few years which I thought was really cool.

Wow.

Oh, and then something else is also a vaccine to slow down aging in dogs.

What?

I will spend all my money on it.

Why wouldn't that be for humans?

Because who cares?

Yeah,

I'm like, isn't the purpose.

You’ve broken the purpose.

I'm like, isn't the purpose of like, is to make dogs live as long as humans?

Yes.

Because they deserve it more than we do, right?

Yeah.

Well, for sure. And I might give it to myself as well.

Yeah. I'm like.

Nope.

Yeah. Alrighty.

I'll be ready.

I will be an investor in the dog line.

Yes.

For sure.

I know.

Yeah. Kirby. I liked when you got on a roll, you just kept going. You're like, oh, okay. Maybe there's lots of things. Okay.

Okay. Yay. Kirby, that was so great.

Yeah. Thanks for being with us and sharing all your wisdom.

Thank you for having me. Thank you.

I think the world will appreciate it and learn things and thanks everyone for listening in and we'll see y'all next time.

Ta- ta.

Bye.

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