February 19, 2024 • 22 mins
Join Drew Prince on a captivating journey through the evolution of Oakhearth Homes, from flipping houses to creating bespoke dream dwellings. With a blend of passion and resilience, Drew shares how he and his wife infuse craftsmanship and client satisfaction into every aspect of their business. Their story goes beyond construction, focusing on crafting spaces that resonate with homeowners' deepest desires.
Explore the world of bathroom design alongside us, where Drew's insights into tile trends spark visions of tranquil retreats. Oakhearth Homes sets itself apart with a commitment to integrity and personalized service, amidst an industry often lacking in both. Our discussion delves into not just creating beautiful bathrooms but also the broader impacts of DIY trends on home projects. Drew provides practical advice for navigating these shifts while hinting at exciting future endeavors.
In the final chapter, we uncover the heart of Oakhearth Homes: family and community. Drew reveals the dynamics of running a successful family business, emphasizing the importance of work-life balance and the role of social media and community engagement. His narrative serves as a reminder of the enduring value of authenticity and kindness in leaving a lasting impact—not just in constructing houses, but in building homes filled with trust and love.
LINKS:
Website: https://www.oakhearthhomes.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oakhearthhomes/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Oakhearthhomes/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Lindsay Fluckiger (00:03):
Today we have a special guest joining us,
Drew Prince from Oakhearth Homes, a company known for crafting
beautiful custom homes.
Welcome, drew, we're so excitedto have you on the show today.
Thank you, so we have beenfollowing you for quite some
time.
We are obsessed with everythingthat we've seen on social media
, from custom builds to gorgeoustile installations.
(00:26):
Can you tell us more about thejourney that led to the founding
of Oakhearth Homes, fromflipping houses to now creating
and designing custom builds?
Drew Prince (00:38):
Yeah, you know, my wife and I years ago.
I mean, I've been in theconstruction industry pretty
much my whole life.
My family's been a part of it,mainly exterior stuff, but my
wife and I had some goals to tryto start flipping houses, and
so that's what we did.
We started flipping some housesand we didn't do very well,
(01:00):
return wise on them, but theykind of helped us get to another
level with other things and beable to connect with other
people in the industry seeingwhat we had done.
So in all reality we didn'tmake any money really in those.
We actually lost money but wewere able to jumpstart our
(01:21):
business, oakhearth Homes, whichwas really cool.
So a lot of learning and growingfrom the flipping business.
And that's a totally differenttype of business and not really
something I really enjoy.
It's a very cheap and, you know, cutthroat industry.
There's a lot of people in itthat don't know what they're
(01:43):
doing and they put cheapproducts and cheap materials and
cheap labor into houses and Inever liked that aspect of it.
I like to create spaces thatreally look beautiful, that
people are happy about and thathas a lot of real value and you
know you put your heart into it.
So that's how we got startedwith Oakhearth Homes.
(02:05):
We had some family friendsrecommend us for a kitchen
remodel and it kind of took offfrom there and just really
spiraled.
And you know, from that pointreally, our next step was
starting to build custom homes.
So this is last year, 2022, wesorry 2023, we built our first
(02:28):
fully custom spec home.
So everything was built off ofthe line over the top with the
desire to sell it at the end.
But when you walk in it doesn'tlook like the average spec
house, it looks like a custombuild.
So it was a long process.
(02:49):
We started the permits on thatin 2021.
That's when we went pending onthe lot, and so it was two years
to get the permit before wewere able to get going.
So yeah, but it was worth it,and now we're building more out
in a different part of town.
So we'll just keep going andkeep building.
Lindsay Fluckiger (03:09):
Yeah, man, I have so many questions.
That was great.
So much to talk about, which isperfect, since this is a
podcast.
So in your bio, you talk aboutyour work on social media and
how important it has been foryour company to provide good,
just like high quality photos,video footage of your work.
(03:32):
Can you tell us a little bitmore about how social media has
played a role in the growth andsuccess of your company?
Drew Prince (03:39):
Yeah, I mean, I think one of the things I was
looking at.
I used to work with a bunch ofbuilders and contractors that
did mainly exterior stuffkitchen, I mean not kitchen,
sorry roofing, siding, windows.
My company supplied them withmaterials and so you know, for
the most part, what I saw inthis industry was it was really
(04:02):
old school.
You know, guys are out in thefield working with their hands.
They don't provide people withpictures of what they actually
do.
Maybe they get a couplesnapshots, but typically this is
a word of mouth business andthat's real really, where the
people that succeed do very well.
But there's more to it because alot of homeowners they want to
(04:24):
visually be able to tell whatyou're capable of doing, and I
saw that nobody was really doingthat and you know there was no
pictures online of like this waswhat the kitchen used to look
like before, and now this iswhat it looks like after, and so
I just thought you know why notbe able to showcase what you
(04:47):
actually do and get stories thatpeople can follow daily, that
can show.
You know, we demoed out thekitchen.
It took this long, you know ittook this long to get the
counters in, the cabinets andthe floors, you know.
So people can actually get afeel for what it's like to live
through a remodel.
So then when we show up totheir house, it's not just, wow,
this is all brand new.
(05:07):
They kind of have an ideabecause they've seen it.
Lindsay Fluckiger (05:11):
Yeah, I got to say I manage most of our
social media accounts and wewere just over the moon at one
particular shower that you guyshave had basically viral a few
times and I was thinking like,oh man, I've got to figure out
who these designers are.
I had no idea you guys were likea custom home build company
because of the quality of theimages and video footage.
(05:34):
So you're right, you guys arelike making waves and your niche
, which is really, really cool.
Drew Prince (05:39):
Thank you.
Lindsay Fluckiger (05:40):
Yeah.
Drew Prince (05:41):
A lot of people involved in it.
I mean not a lot.
You know, we have a socialmedia marketing guy who's my
brother, who's amazing ateverything he does on the
computer, so it really standsout.
And then my wife is the onethat's mainly ran on the design
portion of that build.
(06:01):
We work together on that.
But that shower has definitelygone crazy and I mean the videos
have gone viral every time itgets posted.
So it's been really awesome tosee actually a lot of houses
gone viral.
So it's been awesome to seethat real in-house like the
things that my wife and I alwayshad a desire for and the things
(06:27):
that we always thought weregood quality ideas that other
people actually see that as well.
Lindsay Fluckiger (06:33):
Yeah, that's awesome.
It definitely the qualityshines through and your work is
incredible.
So you've mentioned your wife acouple of times.
We are a woman-owned company,so we would love to hear a
little more about her.
Can you tell us what role sheplays in the company view?
Drew Prince (06:51):
You know she does a lot of things that go unseen.
You know obviously there's alot of you know, paperwork and
just keeping me, you know,focused, she does all the
designs on our new builds.
So right now we've got anotherone going right now and she's
focused on you know, making sureeverything flows throughout the
(07:12):
space and she'll continue to dothat.
And we also have a new divisionwithin our company it's Oakarth
Homes Real Estate, and so she isthe backbone of that and
helping customers buy, sell, sothat you know we become
essentially one source, onesolution for homeowners.
(07:34):
So when they're looking to buya house, they call us.
When they're looking to sell ahouse, they call us.
When they're looking to remodel, they call us.
When they're looking to build,they call us so that you know
anything to do with their house.
They only have to call oneplace.
So it's really just gettinggoing.
She's been buying and sellingour own stuff for years, but we
really want to bring that tocustomers and be able to help
(07:55):
them out so that they have a.
They already trust us in theirhouse to do major remodels, so
why not trust us to sell it toor buy it?
Lindsay Fluckiger (08:03):
That's incredible.
I've never heard of like a onestop shop, like everything that
you guys are doing is you'rejust.
The entrepreneurial skills aresuperb.
I love it.
So let's roll into a little bitmore of the design aspect.
Obviously, we're a tile company, so we're all about floor and
wall coverings.
(08:24):
I'd love to pick your brain alittle bit about bathrooms and
kitchens, so we know that bothof those spaces are considered
the heart of the home.
What are some key elements thatyou guys focus on to create
like dream worthy spaces inthose particular areas?
Drew Prince (08:43):
You know, I think there's combining different
colors, you know,multifunctional being able to.
You know, there's a couple ofthings that we really focus on
with our last build, and thatwas being able to have neutral
colors and also bringing somegreens in there.
That will really make the spacelively.
(09:04):
And then having a wall colorthat doesn't take away from the
rest of the space.
And so tile.
You know, to me you have tofigure out in a kitchen whether
you want the tile to be theflash or you want the counter to
be the flash, and so there'sthere's a couple of different
(09:26):
ways you can go about it and youcan make your tile still really
stand out without taking awayfrom the rest of the kitchen.
And this last build the one inthis picture behind me that's
what we did.
We actually made a choice onlike a Carrera marble and I
realized it was taking away fromthe rest of the kitchen, and so
(09:49):
we went with something that hada more subtle look and the
amount of feedback on it wasawesome, and I just found it on
a whim online and it was amazing.
So we're going to use thatagain somewhere.
But bathrooms, bathrooms areall tile, you know.
So you really have to make.
Tile is the key in the bathroomand some people overdo it with
(10:13):
a lot of different variables.
You know, we try to again bringsome some natural wood tones in
the space, some neutral colorsand then some bold colors, and I
think when you combine allthree of those elements you
create a really inviting space.
Lindsay Fluckiger (10:33):
Awesome, y'all.
Great feedback, for sure, yads.
I guess also like seeing whatyour client wants, if they want
that statement back splashed or,like you said, do they want the
counter to be.
You know the show, but lookeverything that you had to say
about bathrooms for sure.
So, drew, your motto for thecompany is do great work, take
(10:55):
care of your customers and therest takes care of itself.
How does this philosophy guideyour daily operations and
decisions?
Drew Prince (11:04):
That's kind of been the thing since the beginning.
You know, unfortunately there'sa lot of really bad contractors
out there and they kind of hurtthe industry and you know
there's a lot of good ones tooand we get a bad rap and you
know we get talked down.
You know we just get treateddifferently than maybe other
industries and it's really sadsometimes.
(11:26):
You know, some of my guys, theyget treated differently in job
sites and I just think a lot oftimes it's disrespectful,
because you know we're out there, we're doing a job, we're
working as hard as we can tomake your space as beautiful as
possible and it comes with a lotof hard work and a lot of
sacrifice away from you know,your families.
(11:47):
But in the end, you know thisis what we do for a living, this
is how we pay our bills, and soI've always thought you know
that we're gonna do as good of ajob as we can do.
When something's not right, Itell my guys to rip it out.
You know we do it once and thenwe're done.
You know we don't wanna havecustomers that are upset about
(12:09):
things.
We have to go back and I don'tunderstand how contractors all
don't have that philosophy, butit's always been my mindset to
make sure that we do it once.
We do it right and make sureyou're always safe and carry
your customer yeah that'sawesome.
Lindsay Fluckiger (12:26):
We've interviewed several just
designers in the past and we'veinterviewed contractors as well,
particularly tile contractors.
But the common thread thatalmost every designer we've
talked to has said oh, we signedwith a contractor that we found
out later wasn't licensed, youknow, et cetera, et cetera, and
(12:48):
they're like oh, and then likethe plumbing and this and this
happened, and then it was$20,000 more or whatever.
So it's just so refreshing totalk to somebody that takes this
seriously and, you know, haspride in what you guys do, and
it's evident that what you do isthe best.
So that's so important.
We'll be shouting you guys outon our social media, for sure
(13:09):
and for our listeners, do pleasetake a look at Oakhearth Homes.
Just beautiful work that.
We know that if you're in thatPacific, is it North, pacific
North, or where are you guys?
Drew Prince (13:20):
Pacific Northwest, so we're in Washington state.
Lindsay Fluckiger (13:23):
Okay, nice, yeah, look them up for sure, and
Drew will provide all links forsocial website, anything that
you have to toss our way to giveto our listeners.
So let's see here.
I actually had my next questionwas about prioritizing projects
, making sure customersatisfaction, but we've covered
(13:44):
that.
And then you actually alreadycovered I had a question about
being a one-stop shop, so wewill skip that.
All this will be edited, edited, edited, Okay.
But I do wanna ask Drew, in therealm of real estate, what
unique advantages do you believeOakhearth Homes can offer to
homeowners and investors?
Drew Prince (14:06):
You know, I think you know we really have seen it
all.
We know good locations toinvest in.
You know we invest in homes inArizona, eastern Washington, and
so we kind of have an idea onlocation, size, space, what's
gonna be beneficial.
(14:27):
You know what you should putinto your house, where you're
gonna see a return or not see areturn.
So I think you know years ofjust doing the actual work and
then you know, being an investorin this industry has helped us
to understand the process.
You know, and that's come alongwith a lot of people that we've
known in the real estateindustry that have helped us as
(14:49):
well.
So we've learned from them andthen, you know, pass it down to
other people.
Lindsay Fluckiger (14:53):
Yeah, awesome , you're coming at it from all
different angles instead of justkind of one side of the story,
and I'm sure that is verybeneficial.
So are there any upcomingprojects or initiatives that
you're particularly excitedabout or that you wanna share
with our listeners to bewatching out for?
Drew Prince (15:12):
Yeah, we got a couple of really cool projects
coming up.
We're building the house in SanCadia, which is like a resort
town second home area, and wegot a couple that are coming up
here in the near future.
So stay tuned for those.
They're gonna be really cool.
A lot of special features, Ithink my wife calls them.
(15:37):
The first one is called amasculine mountain house, so
it's got some unique style to it.
Lindsay Fluckiger (15:48):
Very cool.
Love it.
We will definitely be on thelookout for that.
Got a couple more questions foryou, Drew.
So and I know this might be like, I don't think it's necessarily
a touchy subject I just thinkthat it's important for
listeners to kind of hear allaspects of what they might be
getting into when it comes tolike home renovation.
(16:09):
Of course, we know DIY hastaken the internet by storm To
some extent.
There are television shows andthings that are to blame, and
then we see just a movement onsocial media with a lot of
people that are like I'm justgonna do it myself, I can save
more money this way.
I would love to pick your braina little bit on your opinion,
(16:29):
because I know that you guys didstart kind of by doing your own
flips, but you've also been inthe industry for a while, so you
guys had that knowledge andknow how already.
What would you say to somebodywho is looking at a remodel
let's say it's not something toodrastic.
Maybe it's just they're doing aguest bathroom remodel or
something like that.
What would be the best adviceyou could give them as they
(16:53):
research a DIY route versushiring a contractor?
Drew Prince (16:59):
Okay, yeah, I mean, I think that this industry is,
it's not complicated.
I think I'm not doing anythingspecial.
You know, I think anybody couldreally do it.
I mean, and I tell people thatall the time I have friends that
I felt start a business in thesame industry.
You know it's, it's not rocketscience, you know you, just like
(17:23):
I said, like my motto is youknow, do good work and take care
of your customers.
You know, when it comes to DIY,it's really just doing your
research.
You know there's social mediathese days cuss companies like
ours.
Youtube has tons of detailsabout how to do things yourself.
So it's definitely doable.
But I will say there's, it's,it's an animal, so it takes it
(17:47):
takes a lot of research to getit done and do it the right way.
A lot of people skip stepsbecause you know there's a lot
of challenges, just like anyindustry that you're in.
So if you're going to do ityourself, I my recommendation is
do it right, because you don'twant to have to pay for it twice
.
And if you don't want to do itright, then hire a professional,
(18:10):
because we know what we'redoing and you won't have to do
it twice.
Lindsay Fluckiger (18:14):
Easy peasy.
I like it Awesome.
All right, so let me see here.
I've got two more questions foryou, drew.
This has been such a treat.
Thank you so much again forbeing with us today.
We're really excited to producethis episode and pump it out to
our listeners and yours as well.
Can you share a little bitabout what it's like working as
(18:39):
a family operated business, andwhat do you think are the
advantages and challenges ofworking closely with your family
members in the company?
Drew Prince (18:49):
That's a really good question.
You know, I think you knowthere's a balance of trying to
figure out you know when to cutoff work right when you're at
home.
My wife and I work together alot.
You know we're figuring outthings for real estate, for
(19:10):
remodels, for new builds all thetime, and so there's got to be
a fine line and it's a challengefor us trying to figure that
out when you know to cut thatoff and talk about other things
that are more important.
And then you know the samething comes with, you know,
(19:31):
working with my brother as well.
So you know we've grown uptogether, we're nine years apart
, so you know there's achallenge of just knowing how
you speak to each other and youknow how you can trust them, and
so you know it's just figuringout that balance, working with
(19:53):
family, knowing that everybodyalways has your best interest,
just finding the right balance.
I think a lot of peoplestruggle working with their
family members and I think we'vedone a pretty good job, but
again, there's challenges to itand you just try to overcome
them and get better and learnfrom them.
Yeah, awesome Something youwould recommend then, yeah, yeah
(20:18):
, you'll find the right peopleto do good work, and you know
they care about the overallpicture, and that's what it's
all about.
Lindsay Fluckiger (20:26):
Yeah, it seems like you guys would be
like pretty like-minded and then, at the end of the day, you
know, like you said, you've goteach other's backs and you know
where your heart's at, and Ithink that's awesome.
I love that.
Thanks for sharing that.
So my last question for todayis what advice do you have for
aspiring entrepreneurs in theconstruction and real estate
(20:48):
industry, based on your ownexperiences and journey with
Oakhearth Homes?
Drew Prince (20:54):
You know, I was asked the same exact question on
another podcast a couple ofweeks ago and I told them that
what I'll tell you, what we didto really get this going, is
obviously you've got to startwith people that you know.
You know just like any industry, and then from there you got to
build off of that.
I think social media obviouslyhas become a huge benefit to
(21:17):
people starting their ownbusinesses, and there's places
on Facebook.
Facebook community pages arevery powerful.
You can find people interestedin doing a project and be able
to bid projects through thatwebsite and then, once your
project's done, have them postthat on the community page and
(21:41):
people will trust theircommunity members that you know.
They know that if their friendsor their neighbors did it and
they use them, then it's likelythat you're going to do a good
job for them as well.
So I would say, using socialmedia, media as a tool to build
your business, find communitypages and then the other key
(22:04):
component is giving back to thecommunity that you work in.
So we do a lot of giveaways, alot of.
We've done things over theyears, like during COVID, where
we gave like 10 single moms orsingle dads dinner for a couple
of days during the week becausethey were.
You know, they didn't have jobs, things like that.
(22:26):
We've given away.
We have an Airbnb in Arizona.
We've given away trips to that,to a Gala, to raise money.
We've done that for golftournaments that are raising
money for certain awarenesses.
We've done sponsorships forschools.
You know, every year we do somesort of large event to try to
give back to the community.
This year we did a couple ofSanta photos, free Santa photos,
(22:49):
with people in the communityand so you know, being a part of
a community and building upyour business and letting people
know like you're family prettymuch and you know you can come
to you for anything and that youcan trust them.
And you do that over time.
It doesn't happen overnight,but the harder that you try to
(23:13):
make sure people understand thatyou're a good person, you're
there to take care of them, fixtheir house, make it beautiful
and get back to the community, Ithink more and more people will
trust you.
Lindsay Fluckiger (23:25):
That's so awesome, but your love for what
you do for sure just like comesthrough and that's it's just so
inspiring what you guys aredoing to build up your community
and it's clear to see why youguys have been so successful.
So thanks for sharing that withus.
Thanks again, drew, for beingon the show.
(23:46):
We're so looking forward togetting this out to our
listeners and to those whostumble upon us, and to your
following as well.
It's been such a pleasure tomeet you and to get to know more
about Oakarth Homes.
Drew Prince (23:59):
Thank you.
I appreciate you having me onAwesome.
Lindsay Fluckiger (24:01):
I'm gonna end the recording really quick.
Today we have a special guest joining us,
Drew Prince from Oakhearth Homes, a company known for crafting
beautiful custom homes.
Welcome, drew, we're so excitedto have you on the show today.
Thank you, so we have beenfollowing you for quite some
time.
We are obsessed with everythingthat we've seen on social media
, from custom builds to gorgeoustile installations.
(00:26):
Can you tell us more about thejourney that led to the founding
of Oakhearth Homes, fromflipping houses to now creating
and designing custom builds?
Drew Prince (00:38):
Yeah, you know, my wife and I years ago.
I mean, I've been in theconstruction industry pretty
much my whole life.
My family's been a part of it,mainly exterior stuff, but my
wife and I had some goals to tryto start flipping houses, and
so that's what we did.
We started flipping some housesand we didn't do very well,
(01:00):
return wise on them, but theykind of helped us get to another
level with other things and beable to connect with other
people in the industry seeingwhat we had done.
So in all reality we didn'tmake any money really in those.
We actually lost money but wewere able to jumpstart our
(01:21):
business, oakhearth Homes, whichwas really cool.
So a lot of learning and growingfrom the flipping business.
And that's a totally differenttype of business and not really
something I really enjoy.
It's a very cheap and, you know, cutthroat industry.
There's a lot of people in itthat don't know what they're
(01:43):
doing and they put cheapproducts and cheap materials and
cheap labor into houses and Inever liked that aspect of it.
I like to create spaces thatreally look beautiful, that
people are happy about and thathas a lot of real value and you
know you put your heart into it.
So that's how we got startedwith Oakhearth Homes.
(02:05):
We had some family friendsrecommend us for a kitchen
remodel and it kind of took offfrom there and just really
spiraled.
And you know, from that pointreally, our next step was
starting to build custom homes.
So this is last year, 2022, wesorry 2023, we built our first
(02:28):
fully custom spec home.
So everything was built off ofthe line over the top with the
desire to sell it at the end.
But when you walk in it doesn'tlook like the average spec
house, it looks like a custombuild.
So it was a long process.
(02:49):
We started the permits on thatin 2021.
That's when we went pending onthe lot, and so it was two years
to get the permit before wewere able to get going.
So yeah, but it was worth it,and now we're building more out
in a different part of town.
So we'll just keep going andkeep building.
Lindsay Fluckiger (03:09):
Yeah, man, I have so many questions.
That was great.
So much to talk about, which isperfect, since this is a
podcast.
So in your bio, you talk aboutyour work on social media and
how important it has been foryour company to provide good,
just like high quality photos,video footage of your work.
(03:32):
Can you tell us a little bitmore about how social media has
played a role in the growth andsuccess of your company?
Drew Prince (03:39):
Yeah, I mean, I think one of the things I was
looking at.
I used to work with a bunch ofbuilders and contractors that
did mainly exterior stuffkitchen, I mean not kitchen,
sorry roofing, siding, windows.
My company supplied them withmaterials and so you know, for
the most part, what I saw inthis industry was it was really
(04:02):
old school.
You know, guys are out in thefield working with their hands.
They don't provide people withpictures of what they actually
do.
Maybe they get a couplesnapshots, but typically this is
a word of mouth business andthat's real really, where the
people that succeed do very well.
But there's more to it because alot of homeowners they want to
(04:24):
visually be able to tell whatyou're capable of doing, and I
saw that nobody was really doingthat and you know there was no
pictures online of like this waswhat the kitchen used to look
like before, and now this iswhat it looks like after, and so
I just thought you know why notbe able to showcase what you
(04:47):
actually do and get stories thatpeople can follow daily, that
can show.
You know, we demoed out thekitchen.
It took this long, you know ittook this long to get the
counters in, the cabinets andthe floors, you know.
So people can actually get afeel for what it's like to live
through a remodel.
So then when we show up totheir house, it's not just, wow,
this is all brand new.
(05:07):
They kind of have an ideabecause they've seen it.
Lindsay Fluckiger (05:11):
Yeah, I got to say I manage most of our
social media accounts and wewere just over the moon at one
particular shower that you guyshave had basically viral a few
times and I was thinking like,oh man, I've got to figure out
who these designers are.
I had no idea you guys were likea custom home build company
because of the quality of theimages and video footage.
(05:34):
So you're right, you guys arelike making waves and your niche
, which is really, really cool.
Drew Prince (05:39):
Thank you.
Lindsay Fluckiger (05:40):
Yeah.
Drew Prince (05:41):
A lot of people involved in it.
I mean not a lot.
You know, we have a socialmedia marketing guy who's my
brother, who's amazing ateverything he does on the
computer, so it really standsout.
And then my wife is the onethat's mainly ran on the design
portion of that build.
(06:01):
We work together on that.
But that shower has definitelygone crazy and I mean the videos
have gone viral every time itgets posted.
So it's been really awesome tosee actually a lot of houses
gone viral.
So it's been awesome to seethat real in-house like the
things that my wife and I alwayshad a desire for and the things
(06:27):
that we always thought weregood quality ideas that other
people actually see that as well.
Lindsay Fluckiger (06:33):
Yeah, that's awesome.
It definitely the qualityshines through and your work is
incredible.
So you've mentioned your wife acouple of times.
We are a woman-owned company,so we would love to hear a
little more about her.
Can you tell us what role sheplays in the company view?
Drew Prince (06:51):
You know she does a lot of things that go unseen.
You know obviously there's alot of you know, paperwork and
just keeping me, you know,focused, she does all the
designs on our new builds.
So right now we've got anotherone going right now and she's
focused on you know, making sureeverything flows throughout the
(07:12):
space and she'll continue to dothat.
And we also have a new divisionwithin our company it's Oakarth
Homes Real Estate, and so she isthe backbone of that and
helping customers buy, sell, sothat you know we become
essentially one source, onesolution for homeowners.
(07:34):
So when they're looking to buya house, they call us.
When they're looking to sell ahouse, they call us.
When they're looking to remodel, they call us.
When they're looking to build,they call us so that you know
anything to do with their house.
They only have to call oneplace.
So it's really just gettinggoing.
She's been buying and sellingour own stuff for years, but we
really want to bring that tocustomers and be able to help
(07:55):
them out so that they have a.
They already trust us in theirhouse to do major remodels, so
why not trust us to sell it toor buy it?
Lindsay Fluckiger (08:03):
That's incredible.
I've never heard of like a onestop shop, like everything that
you guys are doing is you'rejust.
The entrepreneurial skills aresuperb.
I love it.
So let's roll into a little bitmore of the design aspect.
Obviously, we're a tile company, so we're all about floor and
wall coverings.
(08:24):
I'd love to pick your brain alittle bit about bathrooms and
kitchens, so we know that bothof those spaces are considered
the heart of the home.
What are some key elements thatyou guys focus on to create
like dream worthy spaces inthose particular areas?
Drew Prince (08:43):
You know, I think there's combining different
colors, you know,multifunctional being able to.
You know, there's a couple ofthings that we really focus on
with our last build, and thatwas being able to have neutral
colors and also bringing somegreens in there.
That will really make the spacelively.
(09:04):
And then having a wall colorthat doesn't take away from the
rest of the space.
And so tile.
You know, to me you have tofigure out in a kitchen whether
you want the tile to be theflash or you want the counter to
be the flash, and so there'sthere's a couple of different
(09:26):
ways you can go about it and youcan make your tile still really
stand out without taking awayfrom the rest of the kitchen.
And this last build the one inthis picture behind me that's
what we did.
We actually made a choice onlike a Carrera marble and I
realized it was taking away fromthe rest of the kitchen, and so
(09:49):
we went with something that hada more subtle look and the
amount of feedback on it wasawesome, and I just found it on
a whim online and it was amazing.
So we're going to use thatagain somewhere.
But bathrooms, bathrooms areall tile, you know.
So you really have to make.
Tile is the key in the bathroomand some people overdo it with
(10:13):
a lot of different variables.
You know, we try to again bringsome some natural wood tones in
the space, some neutral colorsand then some bold colors, and I
think when you combine allthree of those elements you
create a really inviting space.
Lindsay Fluckiger (10:33):
Awesome, y'all.
Great feedback, for sure, yads.
I guess also like seeing whatyour client wants, if they want
that statement back splashed or,like you said, do they want the
counter to be.
You know the show, but lookeverything that you had to say
about bathrooms for sure.
So, drew, your motto for thecompany is do great work, take
(10:55):
care of your customers and therest takes care of itself.
How does this philosophy guideyour daily operations and
decisions?
Drew Prince (11:04):
That's kind of been the thing since the beginning.
You know, unfortunately there'sa lot of really bad contractors
out there and they kind of hurtthe industry and you know
there's a lot of good ones tooand we get a bad rap and you
know we get talked down.
You know we just get treateddifferently than maybe other
industries and it's really sadsometimes.
(11:26):
You know, some of my guys, theyget treated differently in job
sites and I just think a lot oftimes it's disrespectful,
because you know we're out there, we're doing a job, we're
working as hard as we can tomake your space as beautiful as
possible and it comes with a lotof hard work and a lot of
sacrifice away from you know,your families.
(11:47):
But in the end, you know thisis what we do for a living, this
is how we pay our bills, and soI've always thought you know
that we're gonna do as good of ajob as we can do.
When something's not right, Itell my guys to rip it out.
You know we do it once and thenwe're done.
You know we don't wanna havecustomers that are upset about
(12:09):
things.
We have to go back and I don'tunderstand how contractors all
don't have that philosophy, butit's always been my mindset to
make sure that we do it once.
We do it right and make sureyou're always safe and carry
your customer yeah that'sawesome.
Lindsay Fluckiger (12:26):
We've interviewed several just
designers in the past and we'veinterviewed contractors as well,
particularly tile contractors.
But the common thread thatalmost every designer we've
talked to has said oh, we signedwith a contractor that we found
out later wasn't licensed, youknow, et cetera, et cetera, and
(12:48):
they're like oh, and then likethe plumbing and this and this
happened, and then it was$20,000 more or whatever.
So it's just so refreshing totalk to somebody that takes this
seriously and, you know, haspride in what you guys do, and
it's evident that what you do isthe best.
So that's so important.
We'll be shouting you guys outon our social media, for sure
(13:09):
and for our listeners, do pleasetake a look at Oakhearth Homes.
Just beautiful work that.
We know that if you're in thatPacific, is it North, pacific
North, or where are you guys?
Drew Prince (13:20):
Pacific Northwest, so we're in Washington state.
Lindsay Fluckiger (13:23):
Okay, nice, yeah, look them up for sure, and
Drew will provide all links forsocial website, anything that
you have to toss our way to giveto our listeners.
So let's see here.
I actually had my next questionwas about prioritizing projects
, making sure customersatisfaction, but we've covered
(13:44):
that.
And then you actually alreadycovered I had a question about
being a one-stop shop, so wewill skip that.
All this will be edited, edited, edited, Okay.
But I do wanna ask Drew, in therealm of real estate, what
unique advantages do you believeOakhearth Homes can offer to
homeowners and investors?
Drew Prince (14:06):
You know, I think you know we really have seen it
all.
We know good locations toinvest in.
You know we invest in homes inArizona, eastern Washington, and
so we kind of have an idea onlocation, size, space, what's
gonna be beneficial.
(14:27):
You know what you should putinto your house, where you're
gonna see a return or not see areturn.
So I think you know years ofjust doing the actual work and
then you know, being an investorin this industry has helped us
to understand the process.
You know, and that's come alongwith a lot of people that we've
known in the real estateindustry that have helped us as
(14:49):
well.
So we've learned from them andthen, you know, pass it down to
other people.
Lindsay Fluckiger (14:53):
Yeah, awesome , you're coming at it from all
different angles instead of justkind of one side of the story,
and I'm sure that is verybeneficial.
So are there any upcomingprojects or initiatives that
you're particularly excitedabout or that you wanna share
with our listeners to bewatching out for?
Drew Prince (15:12):
Yeah, we got a couple of really cool projects
coming up.
We're building the house in SanCadia, which is like a resort
town second home area, and wegot a couple that are coming up
here in the near future.
So stay tuned for those.
They're gonna be really cool.
A lot of special features, Ithink my wife calls them.
(15:37):
The first one is called amasculine mountain house, so
it's got some unique style to it.
Lindsay Fluckiger (15:48):
Very cool.
Love it.
We will definitely be on thelookout for that.
Got a couple more questions foryou, Drew.
So and I know this might be like, I don't think it's necessarily
a touchy subject I just thinkthat it's important for
listeners to kind of hear allaspects of what they might be
getting into when it comes tolike home renovation.
(16:09):
Of course, we know DIY hastaken the internet by storm To
some extent.
There are television shows andthings that are to blame, and
then we see just a movement onsocial media with a lot of
people that are like I'm justgonna do it myself, I can save
more money this way.
I would love to pick your braina little bit on your opinion,
(16:29):
because I know that you guys didstart kind of by doing your own
flips, but you've also been inthe industry for a while, so you
guys had that knowledge andknow how already.
What would you say to somebodywho is looking at a remodel
let's say it's not something toodrastic.
Maybe it's just they're doing aguest bathroom remodel or
something like that.
What would be the best adviceyou could give them as they
(16:53):
research a DIY route versushiring a contractor?
Drew Prince (16:59):
Okay, yeah, I mean, I think that this industry is,
it's not complicated.
I think I'm not doing anythingspecial.
You know, I think anybody couldreally do it.
I mean, and I tell people thatall the time I have friends that
I felt start a business in thesame industry.
You know it's, it's not rocketscience, you know you, just like
(17:23):
I said, like my motto is youknow, do good work and take care
of your customers.
You know, when it comes to DIY,it's really just doing your
research.
You know there's social mediathese days cuss companies like
ours.
Youtube has tons of detailsabout how to do things yourself.
So it's definitely doable.
But I will say there's, it's,it's an animal, so it takes it
(17:47):
takes a lot of research to getit done and do it the right way.
A lot of people skip stepsbecause you know there's a lot
of challenges, just like anyindustry that you're in.
So if you're going to do ityourself, I my recommendation is
do it right, because you don'twant to have to pay for it twice
.
And if you don't want to do itright, then hire a professional,
(18:10):
because we know what we'redoing and you won't have to do
it twice.
Lindsay Fluckiger (18:14):
Easy peasy.
I like it Awesome.
All right, so let me see here.
I've got two more questions foryou, drew.
This has been such a treat.
Thank you so much again forbeing with us today.
We're really excited to producethis episode and pump it out to
our listeners and yours as well.
Can you share a little bitabout what it's like working as
(18:39):
a family operated business, andwhat do you think are the
advantages and challenges ofworking closely with your family
members in the company?
Drew Prince (18:49):
That's a really good question.
You know, I think you knowthere's a balance of trying to
figure out you know when to cutoff work right when you're at
home.
My wife and I work together alot.
You know we're figuring outthings for real estate, for
(19:10):
remodels, for new builds all thetime, and so there's got to be
a fine line and it's a challengefor us trying to figure that
out when you know to cut thatoff and talk about other things
that are more important.
And then you know the samething comes with, you know,
(19:31):
working with my brother as well.
So you know we've grown uptogether, we're nine years apart
, so you know there's achallenge of just knowing how
you speak to each other and youknow how you can trust them, and
so you know it's just figuringout that balance, working with
(19:53):
family, knowing that everybodyalways has your best interest,
just finding the right balance.
I think a lot of peoplestruggle working with their
family members and I think we'vedone a pretty good job, but
again, there's challenges to itand you just try to overcome
them and get better and learnfrom them.
Yeah, awesome Something youwould recommend then, yeah, yeah
(20:18):
, you'll find the right peopleto do good work, and you know
they care about the overallpicture, and that's what it's
all about.
Lindsay Fluckiger (20:26):
Yeah, it seems like you guys would be
like pretty like-minded and then, at the end of the day, you
know, like you said, you've goteach other's backs and you know
where your heart's at, and Ithink that's awesome.
I love that.
Thanks for sharing that.
So my last question for todayis what advice do you have for
aspiring entrepreneurs in theconstruction and real estate
(20:48):
industry, based on your ownexperiences and journey with
Oakhearth Homes?
Drew Prince (20:54):
You know, I was asked the same exact question on
another podcast a couple ofweeks ago and I told them that
what I'll tell you, what we didto really get this going, is
obviously you've got to startwith people that you know.
You know just like any industry, and then from there you got to
build off of that.
I think social media obviouslyhas become a huge benefit to
(21:17):
people starting their ownbusinesses, and there's places
on Facebook.
Facebook community pages arevery powerful.
You can find people interestedin doing a project and be able
to bid projects through thatwebsite and then, once your
project's done, have them postthat on the community page and
(21:41):
people will trust theircommunity members that you know.
They know that if their friendsor their neighbors did it and
they use them, then it's likelythat you're going to do a good
job for them as well.
So I would say, using socialmedia, media as a tool to build
your business, find communitypages and then the other key
(22:04):
component is giving back to thecommunity that you work in.
So we do a lot of giveaways, alot of.
We've done things over theyears, like during COVID, where
we gave like 10 single moms orsingle dads dinner for a couple
of days during the week becausethey were.
You know, they didn't have jobs, things like that.
(22:26):
We've given away.
We have an Airbnb in Arizona.
We've given away trips to that,to a Gala, to raise money.
We've done that for golftournaments that are raising
money for certain awarenesses.
We've done sponsorships forschools.
You know, every year we do somesort of large event to try to
give back to the community.
This year we did a couple ofSanta photos, free Santa photos,
(22:49):
with people in the communityand so you know, being a part of
a community and building upyour business and letting people
know like you're family prettymuch and you know you can come
to you for anything and that youcan trust them.
And you do that over time.
It doesn't happen overnight,but the harder that you try to
(23:13):
make sure people understand thatyou're a good person, you're
there to take care of them, fixtheir house, make it beautiful
and get back to the community, Ithink more and more people will
trust you.
Lindsay Fluckiger (23:25):
That's so awesome, but your love for what
you do for sure just like comesthrough and that's it's just so
inspiring what you guys aredoing to build up your community
and it's clear to see why youguys have been so successful.
So thanks for sharing that withus.
Thanks again, drew, for beingon the show.
(23:46):
We're so looking forward togetting this out to our
listeners and to those whostumble upon us, and to your
following as well.
It's been such a pleasure tomeet you and to get to know more
about Oakarth Homes.
Drew Prince (23:59):
Thank you.
I appreciate you having me onAwesome.
Lindsay Fluckiger (24:01):
I'm gonna end the recording really quick.
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