December 16, 2025 • 10 mins
Welcome to our very first SideQuest! These mini-episodes are "bonus snippets from the field" where we share the stories, challenges, and crazy moments that don't make it into our main episodes.
To kick off this series, we go behind the scenes of MyHandyma'am to answer the question: How did we all get here?
Arly shares how she went from a biology student to becoming our first full-time employee, and Emily explains how an artist’s brain is the perfect match for home renovation. Plus, we discuss the "Villager Mentality" and the powerful moment at a domestic violence shelter that clarified our mission: helping women feel safe in their own homes.
Links & Resources Mentioned
Community: Join the How to Handyma’am Facebook Group to ask questions and post your project pics!https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1EKq23JThH/Products We Love: Find the tools mentioned in this episode at our storefront: https://shoplowes.me/4i2zfaIConnect with Us!Web: myhandymaam.comSocials: @howtohandymaamhttps://linktr.ee/howtohandymaamCredits Host -Samantha PearlHost- Arly Streed Host - Emily Pearl ReistMusic - Thomas Streed
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hi folks, welcome to Side quest #1 where we give you a little
bits of bonus snippets from the field.
These episodes are really truly a side quest from our main
episodes, which if you've listened to those, you'll
understand why that is. We'll share little bits of
stories and challenges, successes from the field.
Also some crazy stuff and the background of life.
(00:20):
Teaching women to care for theirown homes is so important to us.
Well, Arlie, our listeners know by now that we own My Handyman.
It's a home repair and remodeling company, obviously,
and we have mostly women workingin the field and behind the
scenes, but they don't necessarily know your story of
how you came to be such a critical part of our team.
(00:40):
Can you share how that happened and why it matters to you?
Well, let's see how it happened.Was many many moons ago a Mama
meta Dada don't just. Kidding me?
Well, my parents were both kind of Macgyvers.
My mom just, I mean, they both just always were like, we need
(01:03):
to do something and let's let's do it ourselves.
And I just kind of adopted that mentality as I grew up.
And the older I got, the more I would work my dad in the barn
because he, well, we have a giant barn and he has like all
tools known to man. And we would always make
(01:26):
Christmas presents for each other growing up when I was
younger. And then when I got older, my
siblings started to like get jobs and buy presents.
But I still have like enough time in my life to make
presents. And so I would do that with my
dad every year. And our cat Addie, who has now
passed, but she was an amazing helper.
(01:47):
And then when COVID hit, I was in college and I just did my
school online. But then I also, would, you
know, make a whole bunch of weird stuff I found on Pinterest
with my dad. And then I finished college and
I graduated and I was looking for a job in a lab, like a
(02:08):
science lab because that was a science girl.
And then my organic chemistry professor, Suzanne Lewis, shout
out, was friends with you on Facebook, because you are.
Being Samantha. Yes, and she sent me a Facebook
post that was like my handyman was looking for somebody for a
(02:30):
full time job or whatever. And so I was like, I'll do that.
So I called like 20 minutes after I got it.
I got the like application or whatever from Doctor Lewis.
And then I called and I was like, hi, my name's Arlie, I'm
awesome, hire me, I'll start tomorrow.
Thank you. Goodbye.
(02:52):
And then I just started working here and I have just joined the
cult of being a handyman forever.
And this job is kind of hard 'cause it's frustrating.
And sometimes it gets a little bit like tedious and repetitive.
(03:12):
Not very often does it get repetitive, but sometimes.
But it's the community and the like environment.
And when I was younger, I alwayswanted to do something that
like, felt kind of like this. I didn't know exactly what that
looked like, but now that I'm here, I realized that I really
wanted to feel like I was doing something special and doing it
(03:35):
with people that I liked, 'cause, you know, you're not
gonna like every part of your job, but it's important to like
the things that happen every single day, which are like your
interactions with people. So I really started to like like
the atmosphere that they cultivated when I got here.
Like I started to try to like adopt that and then pass that on
(03:57):
to like the other people that wehired on and.
And what is that culture that you're referring to?
It's. Just like being there for each
other and being kind and understanding and giving people
grace, even if maybe they don't deserve it.
And, you know, just being a goodvillager, like we've talked
about being a good villager before, and that's important in
(04:22):
all areas of your life. And we really take it super
seriously here. And then a couple months ago,
well, it was maybe longer than that, we started working for a
domestic violence shelter in, inour area.
Well, kind of in our area. And one of the women there was
(04:45):
like, I was never allowed to do any of this stuff.
And like I I don't even I think that really to do.
From an outside perspective, that was really, I don't an
inflection point for you. Yeah, just the way it wasn't a
change of direction, it was samedirection.
But for you it was like a big like like outsizing of what you
(05:08):
already were interested in doing.
It had a new IT just felt different from you after that.
It felt more, I guess valuable. Maybe that's not the right word,
I'm not sure. But like a podcast, we, we, we
kind of been talking about that for a while and kind of because
we're goofy and fun and we like talking to each other and we
(05:29):
like talking about what we do. But then when I was there at the
shelter, I was like, there's some people who could benefit
from this in a way that isn't just helpful, but makes them
feel safe. Like if we could give these
women like a little bit of confidence that they can do this
stuff in their own home and theydon't have to ask somebody who
(05:52):
looks like somebody who has hurtthem before into their home like
that. You know, I I can't imagine how
valuable that would feel and howlike comforting it would feel if
somebody cares, somebody on the Internet cares about you and
wants you to learn something so you have a little bit more
control of your life. Yeah.
(06:13):
And that bring like brought it kind of to a whole new level of
importance for me. Like it was, it went from like
kind of a fun idea to like something that I felt was like
super meaningful and and, and full of purpose.
But in. Each of us coming from a
different background and making our way into the handy handy
field. It's so relevant to the people
(06:34):
who listen and watch because sixyears ago all of us were in the
exact same spot that all of the homeowners that have very little
experience are in right now. So it's totally doable and you
can really come from any background.
And Emily is a great example of that.
So Arley also, but Emily in particular is an artist really
by trade, maybe isn't right by soul.
Like she just is an artist. And yet here you are, Emily, you
(06:58):
find yourself in the role of business development manager and
those two things don't really seem to overlap.
But how? How have you found that you are
able to do what's uniquely important to you in a role that
doesn't seem like it would be a good fit?
Well, one thing that helps is because we built our own
business is we built my role to suit who I am specifically.
(07:19):
But I'm also, I would also say part of being an artist is like
building stuff out of something that isn't there, which lends it
really well to being a handyman and seeing the vision.
Like I can picture rooms in my head.
Like when you moved into this house and you talked about what
you wanted it to look like, I can picture in my head exactly
(07:40):
what it looks like right now. And that's one reason I can
create art. But also I'm an illustrative
artist. So I do hand blottering and not
like cartoons, but like almost like Winnie the Pooh style
illustration is my style. So one thing that's really fun
is because I'm like, I do like kind of fun and whimsy art.
(08:02):
I do love working with my hands and learning this stuff because
it's so concrete. Like it feels like quite like
the Ying to the Yang that is my art style.
And also I'm just kind of like ahippie as a human.
So, but also I think one reason my role works so well is you and
I complement each other so much,which is really why I don't
(08:24):
think this business would have worked out had we not been such
a good partnership. But the your type anus to my
type Venus. But I still like I can rein it
in most of the time. But.
It just really plays well together and you always need
someone who's a little kooky andwilling to try things and yeah.
(08:46):
Yeah, it's been an interesting journey for me because I am very
Type A in a lot of ways, but I'malso someone who is incredibly
impulsive. And normally that that's good
because that creates something like an idea will spark and then
I'm like, let's do it and then think about it later.
(09:09):
So that's, you know, not always a great thing, but it is it has
been handy in building a business and I'm working as
entrepreneurs and what's most important for me, like I love
the work we do in particular, like coming from a, a family,
like historically of tradespeople.
So I just think it's really cool.
But what I like best in my specific role is being able to
(09:31):
create the environment in which I want to work.
And I think that's really what we've done over the last six
years and in particular since Arlie joined us in 2023 is just
that it's kind of like a like we're magnets and when we got
within proximity of each other, we just snapped together.
(09:52):
Say it's like an infection and we just infected each other and
then it's like we clear up an air infection but one of us
still has it so we pass it around or.
Well, that's one way to describeit too.
So sweet. Charlie was our first full time
employee. She was, yes.
Well, that's it for today. Thank you for joining us on our
side quest, and we'll see you again this Friday for our next
(10:14):
full episode. Yay.
Episode 3 Bye.
Hi folks, welcome to Side quest #1 where we give you a little
bits of bonus snippets from the field.
These episodes are really truly a side quest from our main
episodes, which if you've listened to those, you'll
understand why that is. We'll share little bits of
stories and challenges, successes from the field.
Also some crazy stuff and the background of life.
(00:20):
Teaching women to care for theirown homes is so important to us.
Well, Arlie, our listeners know by now that we own My Handyman.
It's a home repair and remodeling company, obviously,
and we have mostly women workingin the field and behind the
scenes, but they don't necessarily know your story of
how you came to be such a critical part of our team.
(00:40):
Can you share how that happened and why it matters to you?
Well, let's see how it happened.Was many many moons ago a Mama
meta Dada don't just. Kidding me?
Well, my parents were both kind of Macgyvers.
My mom just, I mean, they both just always were like, we need
(01:03):
to do something and let's let's do it ourselves.
And I just kind of adopted that mentality as I grew up.
And the older I got, the more I would work my dad in the barn
because he, well, we have a giant barn and he has like all
tools known to man. And we would always make
(01:26):
Christmas presents for each other growing up when I was
younger. And then when I got older, my
siblings started to like get jobs and buy presents.
But I still have like enough time in my life to make
presents. And so I would do that with my
dad every year. And our cat Addie, who has now
passed, but she was an amazing helper.
(01:47):
And then when COVID hit, I was in college and I just did my
school online. But then I also, would, you
know, make a whole bunch of weird stuff I found on Pinterest
with my dad. And then I finished college and
I graduated and I was looking for a job in a lab, like a
(02:08):
science lab because that was a science girl.
And then my organic chemistry professor, Suzanne Lewis, shout
out, was friends with you on Facebook, because you are.
Being Samantha. Yes, and she sent me a Facebook
post that was like my handyman was looking for somebody for a
(02:30):
full time job or whatever. And so I was like, I'll do that.
So I called like 20 minutes after I got it.
I got the like application or whatever from Doctor Lewis.
And then I called and I was like, hi, my name's Arlie, I'm
awesome, hire me, I'll start tomorrow.
Thank you. Goodbye.
(02:52):
And then I just started working here and I have just joined the
cult of being a handyman forever.
And this job is kind of hard 'cause it's frustrating.
And sometimes it gets a little bit like tedious and repetitive.
(03:12):
Not very often does it get repetitive, but sometimes.
But it's the community and the like environment.
And when I was younger, I alwayswanted to do something that
like, felt kind of like this. I didn't know exactly what that
looked like, but now that I'm here, I realized that I really
wanted to feel like I was doing something special and doing it
(03:35):
with people that I liked, 'cause, you know, you're not
gonna like every part of your job, but it's important to like
the things that happen every single day, which are like your
interactions with people. So I really started to like like
the atmosphere that they cultivated when I got here.
Like I started to try to like adopt that and then pass that on
(03:57):
to like the other people that wehired on and.
And what is that culture that you're referring to?
It's. Just like being there for each
other and being kind and understanding and giving people
grace, even if maybe they don't deserve it.
And, you know, just being a goodvillager, like we've talked
about being a good villager before, and that's important in
(04:22):
all areas of your life. And we really take it super
seriously here. And then a couple months ago,
well, it was maybe longer than that, we started working for a
domestic violence shelter in, inour area.
Well, kind of in our area. And one of the women there was
(04:45):
like, I was never allowed to do any of this stuff.
And like I I don't even I think that really to do.
From an outside perspective, that was really, I don't an
inflection point for you. Yeah, just the way it wasn't a
change of direction, it was samedirection.
But for you it was like a big like like outsizing of what you
(05:08):
already were interested in doing.
It had a new IT just felt different from you after that.
It felt more, I guess valuable. Maybe that's not the right word,
I'm not sure. But like a podcast, we, we, we
kind of been talking about that for a while and kind of because
we're goofy and fun and we like talking to each other and we
(05:29):
like talking about what we do. But then when I was there at the
shelter, I was like, there's some people who could benefit
from this in a way that isn't just helpful, but makes them
feel safe. Like if we could give these
women like a little bit of confidence that they can do this
stuff in their own home and theydon't have to ask somebody who
(05:52):
looks like somebody who has hurtthem before into their home like
that. You know, I I can't imagine how
valuable that would feel and howlike comforting it would feel if
somebody cares, somebody on the Internet cares about you and
wants you to learn something so you have a little bit more
control of your life. Yeah.
(06:13):
And that bring like brought it kind of to a whole new level of
importance for me. Like it was, it went from like
kind of a fun idea to like something that I felt was like
super meaningful and and, and full of purpose.
But in. Each of us coming from a
different background and making our way into the handy handy
field. It's so relevant to the people
(06:34):
who listen and watch because sixyears ago all of us were in the
exact same spot that all of the homeowners that have very little
experience are in right now. So it's totally doable and you
can really come from any background.
And Emily is a great example of that.
So Arley also, but Emily in particular is an artist really
by trade, maybe isn't right by soul.
Like she just is an artist. And yet here you are, Emily, you
(06:58):
find yourself in the role of business development manager and
those two things don't really seem to overlap.
But how? How have you found that you are
able to do what's uniquely important to you in a role that
doesn't seem like it would be a good fit?
Well, one thing that helps is because we built our own
business is we built my role to suit who I am specifically.
(07:19):
But I'm also, I would also say part of being an artist is like
building stuff out of something that isn't there, which lends it
really well to being a handyman and seeing the vision.
Like I can picture rooms in my head.
Like when you moved into this house and you talked about what
you wanted it to look like, I can picture in my head exactly
(07:40):
what it looks like right now. And that's one reason I can
create art. But also I'm an illustrative
artist. So I do hand blottering and not
like cartoons, but like almost like Winnie the Pooh style
illustration is my style. So one thing that's really fun
is because I'm like, I do like kind of fun and whimsy art.
(08:02):
I do love working with my hands and learning this stuff because
it's so concrete. Like it feels like quite like
the Ying to the Yang that is my art style.
And also I'm just kind of like ahippie as a human.
So, but also I think one reason my role works so well is you and
I complement each other so much,which is really why I don't
(08:24):
think this business would have worked out had we not been such
a good partnership. But the your type anus to my
type Venus. But I still like I can rein it
in most of the time. But.
It just really plays well together and you always need
someone who's a little kooky andwilling to try things and yeah.
(08:46):
Yeah, it's been an interesting journey for me because I am very
Type A in a lot of ways, but I'malso someone who is incredibly
impulsive. And normally that that's good
because that creates something like an idea will spark and then
I'm like, let's do it and then think about it later.
(09:09):
So that's, you know, not always a great thing, but it is it has
been handy in building a business and I'm working as
entrepreneurs and what's most important for me, like I love
the work we do in particular, like coming from a, a family,
like historically of tradespeople.
So I just think it's really cool.
But what I like best in my specific role is being able to
(09:31):
create the environment in which I want to work.
And I think that's really what we've done over the last six
years and in particular since Arlie joined us in 2023 is just
that it's kind of like a like we're magnets and when we got
within proximity of each other, we just snapped together.
(09:52):
Say it's like an infection and we just infected each other and
then it's like we clear up an air infection but one of us
still has it so we pass it around or.
Well, that's one way to describeit too.
So sweet. Charlie was our first full time
employee. She was, yes.
Well, that's it for today. Thank you for joining us on our
side quest, and we'll see you again this Friday for our next
(10:14):
full episode. Yay.
Episode 3 Bye.
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