October 28, 2025 • 22 mins
Meet the husband-and-wife team behind Kept House, an estate sales company formed in 2021. Greg and Jamie Pipkins are joined by their SCORE Mentor Jerry Blais to share how they have overcome challenges and seized opportunities in their first five years in business. Kept House was a finalist for the 2025 SCORE Greater Cincinnati Client of the Year Award!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hello. My name is Michael Dawson. You're a host of
scores My Cincy Small Business Stories. In this episode, I'll
be talking with Jamie and Grid Pipkins, owners of Kept House. Also,
we have Jerry Blaze, their score Mentor. We'll be right
back after this message.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Did you know twice as many small businesses survive past
five years when they have the support from a mentor.
My sincey small business story is brought to you by
the volunteer mentors of Score Greater Cincinnati, a nonprofit organization
that helps launch hundreds of new small businesses and even
more jobs in Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and Indiana every year.
Our vision is to give every person the support they
(00:40):
need to thrive as a small business owner. Visit score
dot org slash Greater Cincinnati to request a free business
mentor or share your own expertise. You can also listen
and subscribe for more stories about overcoming challenges, clearing obstacles,
and owning a successful small business.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Welcome everyone, Hi, thanks for having us right.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
First of all, Jerry, why don't you tell me a
little bit about yourself? I know that you're their score mentor.
How long have you been doing this? And what's your background.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Yeah, I started with SCORE back in twenty twenty one.
My background is I have an undergrad and MBA from
Wright State and Dayton, and I have a thirty year
business career across a lot of different things, pretty diverse,
you know, from retail to restaurant operations to manufacturing and distribution,
all different sizes of businesses, a lot of different roles
(01:35):
from you know, junior obviously to most senior.
Speaker 5 (01:37):
Level type of roles.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
So a lot a lot of diversity in my background
and that's one of the reasons I was interested in
working with SCORE.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
So, Jamie and Greg tell us about kept House. How
did it get started? What is your line of business?
Just tell us, you know, give us the whole background.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
So, yeah, the birth of kept House started off with
the death of my grandparents here in Cincinnati, Ohio. At
the time I was living in Chicago. I had about
fifteen years of nonprofit operations and people slash HR experience,
and I was a reseller on the side, loved thrifting
(02:15):
and so I loved to make a profit off of that.
And so after my grandparents' transition during COVID, I noticed
that my father, who's the youngest of eight kids, did
not know what to do with anything in the house.
They felt overwhelmed with everything after they transitioned, and they
wanted to sell the home at the end of this process.
(02:38):
And so at the time Greg and I were dating,
and he knew he took affinity for seeing how selling
and helping people could be of advantage, and so we
decided to start Kept House to serve families moved back
here to Cincinnati and to provide auctions, estate sales, donations,
(02:59):
and clear out for those families in need in our
community who want to ultimately sell the home or move
on from the property.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
Essentially, we're a service built for people who are moving
on from a property, right, Folks who are overwhelmed in
the middle of dealing with the death or medical downsizing,
or even divorce. Right like folks who have to move
on and don't know what to do with all this stuff.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
So when did you start the business?
Speaker 5 (03:27):
We started it during COVID, which it sounds like a
lot of businesses got their start. After listening to a
couple of the recent interviews, and like they said, it
was just as crazy as it was with everything that
was going on. It was the perfect time, and we
had the perfect stew to start this business. So we
(03:47):
started it. We got officially our EI in in February
of twenty twenty one, so this is our fifth year
of rocking and rolling and we are We're in it.
You know it's going.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
So how did you get connected with SCORE?
Speaker 5 (04:01):
Great question?
Speaker 3 (04:02):
I have to say, so with my nonprofit career before
starting kept House with Greg, I attended workshops with SCORE
in Philly and Philadelphia in Chicago as well, and then
I knew the free of resources that it had for entrepreneurs,
and so I quickly thought that that was going to
(04:23):
be a true anchor in starting this business.
Speaker 5 (04:26):
And then Greg ran with it.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
I have to say that, you know, I knew as
an attendee and participant of the free workshops, but Greg
really spearheaded developing a relationship here in Cincinnati and taking
advantage of the resources to build our company.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
And how long have you been working with Jerry?
Speaker 5 (04:42):
Well, since I feel like hearing Jerry's intro story about
twenty twenty one, probably right around the time when he
got started, maybe a little after that a little laughter,
but it feels like we've been working together our whole lives.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
I'll take that as a cop.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
For sure.
Speaker 5 (05:03):
Yeah, there's a real familiarity here, Mirkael. I know we'll
get to other questions, but you know, Jerry was at
our wedding and we say that with a lot of
love because he's been so helpful to us in so
many ways.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
So Jerry, how are they to work with?
Speaker 4 (05:18):
Oh they're awesome, Michael. You know, they're well one they
just had. They're good people, you know, good humble folks.
You know, they're just they have a business that they're
trying to get off the ground to really help people.
They're passionate about that part of it.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
You know.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
Obviously it comes from their own family need uh, and
so you know when they think about their customers and
who they are and what they what they want to
help them with, they're just passionate about that. So it's
fun working with somebody who is serious about getting a
business like this off the ground, which we all know
that being an entrepreneur is not an easy thing to
(05:57):
do and it takes a lot of effort. And you know,
besides this job, you know, they have a couple other
jobs too, their day jobs, like a lot of entrepreneurs,
so you know, it's a lot of hard work, and
so we meet you. I'm sure we'll talk more about
this too, but I mean we meet weekly, believe it
or not, and we have for quite some time, just
to review things and check on accountability and what do
(06:20):
we need to be working, et cetera.
Speaker 5 (06:21):
So, yeah, it's Greg said.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
You know, we've developed a pretty strong relationship working working together.
We know each other pretty well.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
So, Jamie and Greg, what has been your biggest challenge
you face so far with your business?
Speaker 5 (06:36):
You know, Jamie, I'm sure we'll jump in and add
some thoughts as well, but for me, it's partly what
Jerry said. We're so passionate about it. And as a
business owner, there's a lot of different directions you can
go in, but you're limited by your capacity, right, And
so that's our biggest challenge is that we want to
do such a great job for our clients, and there
(06:56):
are so many people out there who need our service, right,
anybody who's moving on from a property could potentially use
this service from the high end to the low end.
So capacity and fulfilling you know, all these different needs
and the ways that we can serve our clients has
been that challenge, but it's also been like a great
opportunity for us to think through different solutions and come
(07:19):
up with some cool ways of getting things done.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Know you hit that nail right on the head. It's
we want to reach as many families. We know, our
phone does not stop ringing, and so you know we
are our calendar gets pretty booked quickly. So yeah, capacity
meaning reaching as many families as possible.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
So, uh, what's on the horizon for for you all?
Speaker 5 (07:48):
I apologize for jump here.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
You're so excited. I know you are. Go ahead, go ahead.
Speaker 5 (07:52):
There's a few things coming, Michael. But one of the
things that we're most excited about is we have a
lot of different partnerships. So we have a partnership with SCORE,
We have a partnership with the University of Cincinnati that
we are growing and expanding. This is our third year
being partners with our first year Experience course. It's a
freshman course for students and their college or business. But
(08:13):
from there we're expanding into them coming on board as
part of our sustainability initiative and helping out with donations
and that kind of thing, and also bring them in
to help with the awareness campaign and canvassing on behalf
of Kept House as a co op program. As a
co op.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Program, Yeah, very interesting.
Speaker 5 (08:30):
So that plus the app that is coming that will
also allow us to streamline our work process and make
things a lot easier, use generative AI to you know,
upgrade this industry and take it to a new level
of efficiency. So we're excited. Those are two of the
(08:50):
things that are coming and I'll chill out now.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
I'll jump in two other things that I think are
really important too, and that is Jamie got an auctioneer's license. Yeah,
so you think about the business and what it is
and how do you have how do you take control
of the entire business, not just pieces of it. So
they can control a fair amount of it, but some
items they had to use a third party auctioneer. So
Jamie went and got an auctioneer's license to be able
(09:16):
to do that not only for their own business, but
to expand their general business. And then Greg's in the
process to gain his real estate license. Yes, so they
can control that piece too. So they talked to an
intro about not only just to clear out, but it's
all about what do you do with the property afterwards,
and how do you capture that as a revenue opportunity
for the business as well and a complete solution for
(09:39):
that homeowner so they don't have to go somewhere else either.
Want one stop shop, so to speak, can take care
of it all.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
For you can until we talk every week.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
So, Jamie and Greg, what advice would you give couples
married couples who are thinking about starting a business or
running a small business? How does that go? How does
that work day to day?
Speaker 5 (10:07):
Well, I'll jump in and give Jamie the opportunity to
get the last words. But I believe it's such a
great thing to do because it creates such range in
the relationship, and you have to have very honest conversations,
and you also have to be willing to grow with
(10:29):
somebody and recognize that. Okay, I definitely have shortcomings in
this business, right, So I can't be all erupting when
I see a challenge in the other side. Right. And
so as we are dealing with that constant interaction of
needs and met needs and unmet needs, it is understanding
(10:50):
that it's constantly moving us in the direction of where
we want to go. So it's okay that there's things
that aren't perfect because we're seeing the balance it constantly
coming back together. So that's a little bit abstract, but
I really do believe that being married and owning a
business kind of go hand in hand, and being able
(11:13):
to do one successfully really helps the other. Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
I would also just give a tip, some tips because
our businesses ran out of our house for the most part,
our office, although you know we're kept house, so we
work inside of our clients' homes. Having structure around timing
with meetings, to making sure that we are business when
business needs to be had and discussed. And then there's
(11:41):
our personal lives together as husband and wife, because those,
of course you can't help but to talk about the
business twenty four to seven if you're married. This is
definitely pillow talk, but giving the structured professional time that
kept house is owed from a married couple that's still
is still needs to be respected. And then the other
(12:03):
tip would be just time. I think that's what Greg
was saying is my business partner is my husband, so
I need to make sure that I'm approaching him respectfully,
choosing the right time, all the things that we would
do with a colleague, but just ultra sensitive because this
is the person that I live with.
Speaker 5 (12:24):
He's my life partner.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
So it's just recognizing I think you said it like
it's good for our marriage. Just yeah, I'll stop there.
I feel like I'm being redundant there.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
So okay, walk me through it a little bit. Okay,
I call and one of you answer, and I say, well,
you know, we want to downside. Our biggest problem is
we become the storage unit for our adult kids. Yep,
and we need to we need to make some move.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
So what happens then, Yeah, so you pick up the phone.
You're most likely going to talk to Greg first. He's
gonna ask you some preliminary questions, where is this property,
who are you to the fat to the property, your relationship,
and how much are we talking about, you know, how
much of the inventory? And come at the next step
at the end of that phone conversation is scheduling a
(13:15):
walk through to see if our service is aligned. That
walk through is conducted by Greg at the moment, but
eventually we do foresee a sales team that will go
out and do that initial walkthrough with a potential client.
Coming out of that will be a scope of work
where we're getting footage, we're recording this walkthrough, seeing what's
(13:36):
in these drawers in the closets, tell me about this
aunt's china cabinet, all those things. And then we sit
down together operations and sales to see if it's a
mutual match. We do have a la carte services, So
is this a full transition meaning they're going to turn
the keys over and just let us work or are
we still thinking about you picking and choosing and then
(13:58):
figuring out where It is so funny Jerry and I,
we were just talking about this before you got on,
But how is it mutual for both us as a company?
But then the client does feel like they're getting repped services.
So then Greg will our sales team will send an
estimate of sales a service fee along with our contract
(14:19):
and the potential forecast over schedule. And then are the
client takes as much time as they need to figure
out what will be in the inventory. And then after
the signed contract, your handoff is with me, so I
handle most of the operations. I go in or the
(14:40):
operations team. We do a more thorough walkthrough and I
get to get all the stories. I get to learn
about Grandma's bridle set, I get to learn about everything
in this basement. It can turn into anywhere upwards to
about two to three hours, because I want to know
as much information as possible coming out of that walkthrough,
taking footage as many photos as I can for the items,
(15:04):
because I'm immediately going in and I'm going to tell
the story of the home on our website, tell the
story on estate sale platforms for future buyers. And so
our client receives we kind of just follow that schedule.
Usually that tends to be about three to four weeks
from beginning to end, and meaning donations and clear out
(15:25):
if that client chooses that, and then we hand over
the keys as a cleared home. And yeah, that's how
pretty much all works. And the client, well, we see
proceeds after we've paid the hauling on their behalf and
made the donations on their half on their behalf. Excuse me,
the client receives and check in the mail with the difference.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Okay, very good. So Kept House was a finalist for
a Client of the Year Scores annual event. How was
that process? How did make you think about your business
a little differently? Or was it you guys kind of
had it focused then and you know, just went right
(16:04):
for it.
Speaker 5 (16:06):
Yeah, I mean, it was it was an honor to
be acknowledged in that way, and what a pleasure to
be up there with a group of entrepreneurs who are
willing to jump in and take a risk and do
what we're doing. And you know, to know that we
were nominated by Jerry and and how he felt about us,
(16:27):
and and how that relationship has developed into that opportunity,
it's just great. It's another confirmation of the work that
we do and our ability to affect the community around us,
including our clients, our shoppers, our other entrepreneurs. We definitely
have been inspired by the entrepreneurs we've run into them
(16:49):
now in the city, and it's it's a beautiful thing
to recognize that there's a community out there, you know,
and that it's more than just singular entrepreneurs. But there's
a team, and there's Kimba, and there's Fifth Third, and
there's all these players out there who are helping us
make this thing go.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
So, Jerry, what did you see in their business that
led you to encourage them to fill out an application
for a Client of the Year.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
Yeah, I mean I kind of touched on a couple
of these already Michael, but I believe they have a
really good business model and solution. Right, there's a need
for what they're doing. They've done a great job of
defining those processes. Like Jamie just went through. I mean,
it's growing pains, right, it sounded really good, but it's
(17:40):
been a couple of years of that level, so it
just takes that work. So they've had that passion for
that client and that customer, and they've had a passion
for the business to be able to put the time
and effort in doing it. And you know, they're both
like I said earlier, they're both humble folks. So they
were looking for mentorship, which is why they to score.
(18:00):
But they you know, they have other mentors as well.
When they need help, you know, they try to seek
out that help and they try to hold themselves accountable.
I mean, we all miss things, but that's why we
meet every week, is to kind of keep the ball
in the train rolling down the tracks. So the culmination
of all those things is what I mean. I really
(18:21):
enjoy working with them, and that's what motivated me to
encourage them to submit their application.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
So, Jamie and Greg, what would you tell somebody who
if they came to you and said, I'm thinking about
starting a business. What advice would you give them?
Speaker 3 (18:39):
First, I say, do it. Yes, you got that idea.
You're solving a problem, so figure it out. Everything else,
we'll figure itself out. My next advice is, yes, definitely
leverage score all these free resources, a community, a mentor
all the things you think that you're by yourself on
(18:59):
this lily pad. As an entrepreneur, the questions or the
inquiries or the problems probably have already been solved, so
you don't have to start off from scratch. So you score,
use those free resources and find your community.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
And I will take find something that you're really passionate about,
because there's going to be bumps along the way, and
if you're not passionate about something, that big bump might
stop you right and you might go do something else.
But if you're really passionate about something, then you'll be
able to get over those bumps and it'll help you
create small goals that will keep getting you to the
(19:36):
next step.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
Very good.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Yeah, if I could add one there for you, if
you're okay with that is, are you willing to do
the hard work? Yeah? Being an entrepreneur is not for
the fant of heart. Starting a business from the ground
up is not easy, and you've got to be willing
to put the effort and continue that effort over a long,
sustain period of time. Most of us want that instant gratification,
(20:00):
and that's not likely in starting a business. It takes
a long time to grow roots. Generally, we all kind
of see these really successful people as entrepreneurs and and
you don't realize how many years they've been working at
it and how much effort they put in. And as
us Jamie and Greg just said, the highs and the
lows of that, Are you ready for that? Are you
willing to put that effort in and sticking to it?
Speaker 3 (20:23):
God, definitely have all that discipline personal discipline for that.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
So tell me where I can find you? Your phone number,
web address, social media.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Well, we're everywhere, so I think we're on the socials.
You can definitely find us on Facebook and Instagram. That's
pretty much where our buyers can find us. We have
our website kept at state dot com and if you
are looking for State sales or services, we are also
partners with other state sale platforms where you can learn
(20:57):
more about us there too.
Speaker 5 (20:58):
So Our handle on Facebook is kept House. Our handle
on Instagram is also kept House. And the interesting thing
about the website is that has not kept house, but
it's kept a state. So yes, sometimes it can be Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Well, what's your phone number?
Speaker 5 (21:18):
Five one three six zero nine four seven three one.
Once again, that's five to one three six zero four
seven three one polititext.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Yeah, very good, well, thank you. Today we've been talking
with Jamie and Bret Sipkins, owners of Kept House, and
their score mentor, Jerry Blaze. Thank you all for being
on the show.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
Good luck, thank you, it's our pleasure. Thank you, Michael,
thank you.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
If you would like to sign up with a mentor
or would like to become a mentor, go to score
dot org and click on the appropriate link. Please subscribe
to this podcast, share the link, and very much so
thank you for listening.
Hello. My name is Michael Dawson. You're a host of
scores My Cincy Small Business Stories. In this episode, I'll
be talking with Jamie and Grid Pipkins, owners of Kept House. Also,
we have Jerry Blaze, their score Mentor. We'll be right
back after this message.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Did you know twice as many small businesses survive past
five years when they have the support from a mentor.
My sincey small business story is brought to you by
the volunteer mentors of Score Greater Cincinnati, a nonprofit organization
that helps launch hundreds of new small businesses and even
more jobs in Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and Indiana every year.
Our vision is to give every person the support they
(00:40):
need to thrive as a small business owner. Visit score
dot org slash Greater Cincinnati to request a free business
mentor or share your own expertise. You can also listen
and subscribe for more stories about overcoming challenges, clearing obstacles,
and owning a successful small business.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Welcome everyone, Hi, thanks for having us right.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
First of all, Jerry, why don't you tell me a
little bit about yourself? I know that you're their score mentor.
How long have you been doing this? And what's your background.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Yeah, I started with SCORE back in twenty twenty one.
My background is I have an undergrad and MBA from
Wright State and Dayton, and I have a thirty year
business career across a lot of different things, pretty diverse,
you know, from retail to restaurant operations to manufacturing and distribution,
all different sizes of businesses, a lot of different roles
(01:35):
from you know, junior obviously to most senior.
Speaker 5 (01:37):
Level type of roles.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
So a lot a lot of diversity in my background
and that's one of the reasons I was interested in
working with SCORE.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
So, Jamie and Greg tell us about kept House. How
did it get started? What is your line of business?
Just tell us, you know, give us the whole background.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
So, yeah, the birth of kept House started off with
the death of my grandparents here in Cincinnati, Ohio. At
the time I was living in Chicago. I had about
fifteen years of nonprofit operations and people slash HR experience,
and I was a reseller on the side, loved thrifting
(02:15):
and so I loved to make a profit off of that.
And so after my grandparents' transition during COVID, I noticed
that my father, who's the youngest of eight kids, did
not know what to do with anything in the house.
They felt overwhelmed with everything after they transitioned, and they
wanted to sell the home at the end of this process.
(02:38):
And so at the time Greg and I were dating,
and he knew he took affinity for seeing how selling
and helping people could be of advantage, and so we
decided to start Kept House to serve families moved back
here to Cincinnati and to provide auctions, estate sales, donations,
(02:59):
and clear out for those families in need in our
community who want to ultimately sell the home or move
on from the property.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
Essentially, we're a service built for people who are moving
on from a property, right, Folks who are overwhelmed in
the middle of dealing with the death or medical downsizing,
or even divorce. Right like folks who have to move
on and don't know what to do with all this stuff.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
So when did you start the business?
Speaker 5 (03:27):
We started it during COVID, which it sounds like a
lot of businesses got their start. After listening to a
couple of the recent interviews, and like they said, it
was just as crazy as it was with everything that
was going on. It was the perfect time, and we
had the perfect stew to start this business. So we
(03:47):
started it. We got officially our EI in in February
of twenty twenty one, so this is our fifth year
of rocking and rolling and we are We're in it.
You know it's going.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
So how did you get connected with SCORE?
Speaker 5 (04:01):
Great question?
Speaker 3 (04:02):
I have to say, so with my nonprofit career before
starting kept House with Greg, I attended workshops with SCORE
in Philly and Philadelphia in Chicago as well, and then
I knew the free of resources that it had for entrepreneurs,
and so I quickly thought that that was going to
(04:23):
be a true anchor in starting this business.
Speaker 5 (04:26):
And then Greg ran with it.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
I have to say that, you know, I knew as
an attendee and participant of the free workshops, but Greg
really spearheaded developing a relationship here in Cincinnati and taking
advantage of the resources to build our company.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
And how long have you been working with Jerry?
Speaker 5 (04:42):
Well, since I feel like hearing Jerry's intro story about
twenty twenty one, probably right around the time when he
got started, maybe a little after that a little laughter,
but it feels like we've been working together our whole lives.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
I'll take that as a cop.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
For sure.
Speaker 5 (05:03):
Yeah, there's a real familiarity here, Mirkael. I know we'll
get to other questions, but you know, Jerry was at
our wedding and we say that with a lot of
love because he's been so helpful to us in so
many ways.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
So Jerry, how are they to work with?
Speaker 4 (05:18):
Oh they're awesome, Michael. You know, they're well one they
just had. They're good people, you know, good humble folks.
You know, they're just they have a business that they're
trying to get off the ground to really help people.
They're passionate about that part of it.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
You know.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
Obviously it comes from their own family need uh, and
so you know when they think about their customers and
who they are and what they what they want to
help them with, they're just passionate about that. So it's
fun working with somebody who is serious about getting a
business like this off the ground, which we all know
that being an entrepreneur is not an easy thing to
(05:57):
do and it takes a lot of effort. And you know,
besides this job, you know, they have a couple other
jobs too, their day jobs, like a lot of entrepreneurs,
so you know, it's a lot of hard work, and
so we meet you. I'm sure we'll talk more about
this too, but I mean we meet weekly, believe it
or not, and we have for quite some time, just
to review things and check on accountability and what do
(06:20):
we need to be working, et cetera.
Speaker 5 (06:21):
So, yeah, it's Greg said.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
You know, we've developed a pretty strong relationship working working together.
We know each other pretty well.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
So, Jamie and Greg, what has been your biggest challenge
you face so far with your business?
Speaker 5 (06:36):
You know, Jamie, I'm sure we'll jump in and add
some thoughts as well, but for me, it's partly what
Jerry said. We're so passionate about it. And as a
business owner, there's a lot of different directions you can
go in, but you're limited by your capacity, right, And
so that's our biggest challenge is that we want to
do such a great job for our clients, and there
(06:56):
are so many people out there who need our service, right,
anybody who's moving on from a property could potentially use
this service from the high end to the low end.
So capacity and fulfilling you know, all these different needs
and the ways that we can serve our clients has
been that challenge, but it's also been like a great
opportunity for us to think through different solutions and come
(07:19):
up with some cool ways of getting things done.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Know you hit that nail right on the head. It's
we want to reach as many families. We know, our
phone does not stop ringing, and so you know we
are our calendar gets pretty booked quickly. So yeah, capacity
meaning reaching as many families as possible.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
So, uh, what's on the horizon for for you all?
Speaker 5 (07:48):
I apologize for jump here.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
You're so excited. I know you are. Go ahead, go ahead.
Speaker 5 (07:52):
There's a few things coming, Michael. But one of the
things that we're most excited about is we have a
lot of different partnerships. So we have a partnership with SCORE,
We have a partnership with the University of Cincinnati that
we are growing and expanding. This is our third year
being partners with our first year Experience course. It's a
freshman course for students and their college or business. But
(08:13):
from there we're expanding into them coming on board as
part of our sustainability initiative and helping out with donations
and that kind of thing, and also bring them in
to help with the awareness campaign and canvassing on behalf
of Kept House as a co op program. As a
co op.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Program, Yeah, very interesting.
Speaker 5 (08:30):
So that plus the app that is coming that will
also allow us to streamline our work process and make
things a lot easier, use generative AI to you know,
upgrade this industry and take it to a new level
of efficiency. So we're excited. Those are two of the
(08:50):
things that are coming and I'll chill out now.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
I'll jump in two other things that I think are
really important too, and that is Jamie got an auctioneer's license. Yeah,
so you think about the business and what it is
and how do you have how do you take control
of the entire business, not just pieces of it. So
they can control a fair amount of it, but some
items they had to use a third party auctioneer. So
Jamie went and got an auctioneer's license to be able
(09:16):
to do that not only for their own business, but
to expand their general business. And then Greg's in the
process to gain his real estate license. Yes, so they
can control that piece too. So they talked to an
intro about not only just to clear out, but it's
all about what do you do with the property afterwards,
and how do you capture that as a revenue opportunity
for the business as well and a complete solution for
(09:39):
that homeowner so they don't have to go somewhere else either.
Want one stop shop, so to speak, can take care
of it all.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
For you can until we talk every week.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
So, Jamie and Greg, what advice would you give couples
married couples who are thinking about starting a business or
running a small business? How does that go? How does
that work day to day?
Speaker 5 (10:07):
Well, I'll jump in and give Jamie the opportunity to
get the last words. But I believe it's such a
great thing to do because it creates such range in
the relationship, and you have to have very honest conversations,
and you also have to be willing to grow with
(10:29):
somebody and recognize that. Okay, I definitely have shortcomings in
this business, right, So I can't be all erupting when
I see a challenge in the other side. Right. And
so as we are dealing with that constant interaction of
needs and met needs and unmet needs, it is understanding
(10:50):
that it's constantly moving us in the direction of where
we want to go. So it's okay that there's things
that aren't perfect because we're seeing the balance it constantly
coming back together. So that's a little bit abstract, but
I really do believe that being married and owning a
business kind of go hand in hand, and being able
(11:13):
to do one successfully really helps the other. Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
I would also just give a tip, some tips because
our businesses ran out of our house for the most part,
our office, although you know we're kept house, so we
work inside of our clients' homes. Having structure around timing
with meetings, to making sure that we are business when
business needs to be had and discussed. And then there's
(11:41):
our personal lives together as husband and wife, because those,
of course you can't help but to talk about the
business twenty four to seven if you're married. This is
definitely pillow talk, but giving the structured professional time that
kept house is owed from a married couple that's still
is still needs to be respected. And then the other
(12:03):
tip would be just time. I think that's what Greg
was saying is my business partner is my husband, so
I need to make sure that I'm approaching him respectfully,
choosing the right time, all the things that we would
do with a colleague, but just ultra sensitive because this
is the person that I live with.
Speaker 5 (12:24):
He's my life partner.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
So it's just recognizing I think you said it like
it's good for our marriage. Just yeah, I'll stop there.
I feel like I'm being redundant there.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
So okay, walk me through it a little bit. Okay,
I call and one of you answer, and I say, well,
you know, we want to downside. Our biggest problem is
we become the storage unit for our adult kids. Yep,
and we need to we need to make some move.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
So what happens then, Yeah, so you pick up the phone.
You're most likely going to talk to Greg first. He's
gonna ask you some preliminary questions, where is this property,
who are you to the fat to the property, your relationship,
and how much are we talking about, you know, how
much of the inventory? And come at the next step
at the end of that phone conversation is scheduling a
(13:15):
walk through to see if our service is aligned. That
walk through is conducted by Greg at the moment, but
eventually we do foresee a sales team that will go
out and do that initial walkthrough with a potential client.
Coming out of that will be a scope of work
where we're getting footage, we're recording this walkthrough, seeing what's
(13:36):
in these drawers in the closets, tell me about this
aunt's china cabinet, all those things. And then we sit
down together operations and sales to see if it's a
mutual match. We do have a la carte services, So
is this a full transition meaning they're going to turn
the keys over and just let us work or are
we still thinking about you picking and choosing and then
(13:58):
figuring out where It is so funny Jerry and I,
we were just talking about this before you got on,
But how is it mutual for both us as a company?
But then the client does feel like they're getting repped services.
So then Greg will our sales team will send an
estimate of sales a service fee along with our contract
(14:19):
and the potential forecast over schedule. And then are the
client takes as much time as they need to figure
out what will be in the inventory. And then after
the signed contract, your handoff is with me, so I
handle most of the operations. I go in or the
(14:40):
operations team. We do a more thorough walkthrough and I
get to get all the stories. I get to learn
about Grandma's bridle set, I get to learn about everything
in this basement. It can turn into anywhere upwards to
about two to three hours, because I want to know
as much information as possible coming out of that walkthrough,
taking footage as many photos as I can for the items,
(15:04):
because I'm immediately going in and I'm going to tell
the story of the home on our website, tell the
story on estate sale platforms for future buyers. And so
our client receives we kind of just follow that schedule.
Usually that tends to be about three to four weeks
from beginning to end, and meaning donations and clear out
(15:25):
if that client chooses that, and then we hand over
the keys as a cleared home. And yeah, that's how
pretty much all works. And the client, well, we see
proceeds after we've paid the hauling on their behalf and
made the donations on their half on their behalf. Excuse me,
the client receives and check in the mail with the difference.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Okay, very good. So Kept House was a finalist for
a Client of the Year Scores annual event. How was
that process? How did make you think about your business
a little differently? Or was it you guys kind of
had it focused then and you know, just went right
(16:04):
for it.
Speaker 5 (16:06):
Yeah, I mean, it was it was an honor to
be acknowledged in that way, and what a pleasure to
be up there with a group of entrepreneurs who are
willing to jump in and take a risk and do
what we're doing. And you know, to know that we
were nominated by Jerry and and how he felt about us,
(16:27):
and and how that relationship has developed into that opportunity,
it's just great. It's another confirmation of the work that
we do and our ability to affect the community around us,
including our clients, our shoppers, our other entrepreneurs. We definitely
have been inspired by the entrepreneurs we've run into them
(16:49):
now in the city, and it's it's a beautiful thing
to recognize that there's a community out there, you know,
and that it's more than just singular entrepreneurs. But there's
a team, and there's Kimba, and there's Fifth Third, and
there's all these players out there who are helping us
make this thing go.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
So, Jerry, what did you see in their business that
led you to encourage them to fill out an application
for a Client of the Year.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
Yeah, I mean I kind of touched on a couple
of these already Michael, but I believe they have a
really good business model and solution. Right, there's a need
for what they're doing. They've done a great job of
defining those processes. Like Jamie just went through. I mean,
it's growing pains, right, it sounded really good, but it's
(17:40):
been a couple of years of that level, so it
just takes that work. So they've had that passion for
that client and that customer, and they've had a passion
for the business to be able to put the time
and effort in doing it. And you know, they're both
like I said earlier, they're both humble folks. So they
were looking for mentorship, which is why they to score.
(18:00):
But they you know, they have other mentors as well.
When they need help, you know, they try to seek
out that help and they try to hold themselves accountable.
I mean, we all miss things, but that's why we
meet every week, is to kind of keep the ball
in the train rolling down the tracks. So the culmination
of all those things is what I mean. I really
(18:21):
enjoy working with them, and that's what motivated me to
encourage them to submit their application.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
So, Jamie and Greg, what would you tell somebody who
if they came to you and said, I'm thinking about
starting a business. What advice would you give them?
Speaker 3 (18:39):
First, I say, do it. Yes, you got that idea.
You're solving a problem, so figure it out. Everything else,
we'll figure itself out. My next advice is, yes, definitely
leverage score all these free resources, a community, a mentor
all the things you think that you're by yourself on
(18:59):
this lily pad. As an entrepreneur, the questions or the
inquiries or the problems probably have already been solved, so
you don't have to start off from scratch. So you score,
use those free resources and find your community.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
And I will take find something that you're really passionate about,
because there's going to be bumps along the way, and
if you're not passionate about something, that big bump might
stop you right and you might go do something else.
But if you're really passionate about something, then you'll be
able to get over those bumps and it'll help you
create small goals that will keep getting you to the
(19:36):
next step.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
Very good.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Yeah, if I could add one there for you, if
you're okay with that is, are you willing to do
the hard work? Yeah? Being an entrepreneur is not for
the fant of heart. Starting a business from the ground
up is not easy, and you've got to be willing
to put the effort and continue that effort over a long,
sustain period of time. Most of us want that instant gratification,
(20:00):
and that's not likely in starting a business. It takes
a long time to grow roots. Generally, we all kind
of see these really successful people as entrepreneurs and and
you don't realize how many years they've been working at
it and how much effort they put in. And as
us Jamie and Greg just said, the highs and the
lows of that, Are you ready for that? Are you
willing to put that effort in and sticking to it?
Speaker 3 (20:23):
God, definitely have all that discipline personal discipline for that.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
So tell me where I can find you? Your phone number,
web address, social media.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Well, we're everywhere, so I think we're on the socials.
You can definitely find us on Facebook and Instagram. That's
pretty much where our buyers can find us. We have
our website kept at state dot com and if you
are looking for State sales or services, we are also
partners with other state sale platforms where you can learn
(20:57):
more about us there too.
Speaker 5 (20:58):
So Our handle on Facebook is kept House. Our handle
on Instagram is also kept House. And the interesting thing
about the website is that has not kept house, but
it's kept a state. So yes, sometimes it can be Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Well, what's your phone number?
Speaker 5 (21:18):
Five one three six zero nine four seven three one.
Once again, that's five to one three six zero four
seven three one polititext.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Yeah, very good, well, thank you. Today we've been talking
with Jamie and Bret Sipkins, owners of Kept House, and
their score mentor, Jerry Blaze. Thank you all for being
on the show.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
Good luck, thank you, it's our pleasure. Thank you, Michael,
thank you.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
If you would like to sign up with a mentor
or would like to become a mentor, go to score
dot org and click on the appropriate link. Please subscribe
to this podcast, share the link, and very much so
thank you for listening.
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