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Episode 15: Design and Build an Uncommon Life - with Jon and Hanna Shiplett
184 Plays7 years ago
Loving what you do – helping realize other people’s dreams as well as your own – that’s what a good design/build team does.
On this episode of the Uncommon Life Project Podcast, hosts Phillip and Bryan talk with Jon and Hanna Shiplett. Together, Jon and Hanna own and operate Eden + Gray Design/Build.
Jon is a professionally licensed General Contractor with a background in welding, framing, trim carpentry, and property management.
Hanna is an Iowa State University graduate with a BFA in Interior Design. She worked as a project manager and commercial interior designer for 4 years before becoming her own boss. She is an NCIDQ (licensed) interior designer and before graduation received her LEED ID+C accredited professional a.k.a. professional tree hugger.
Jon + Hanna have a gaggle of children, and enjoy long drives with coffee. Hanna sneaks away from her design desk occasionally to take a ballet class, and Jon relaxes with a good book.
What you’ll learn- How working with your spouse can work!
- Gaining skills to support your career
- How to pitch the value of creative services
- Augmenting income with real estate investments
- Keeping priorities straight and having life/work fit together (we didn’t say balance)
- Giving clients all the fine-grain details they need to make informed decisions
- How to create efficiencies so “killing it” is not killing you
- Making lifestyle choices to support your entrepreneurial drive
- How through building and design, your work becomes a part of people’s lives for years to come
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to the Uncommon Life Project
00:00:02
Speaker
Everyone dreams about living an uncommon life, but how we define that dream is very different for each of us. And for most, it's a lifelong pursuit. Welcome to the Uncommon Life Project podcast. We're going to introduce you to people who are living that life or enjoying the journey to get there. We're going to also give you some tools, tricks, and tips for starting or accelerating your own efforts to live an uncommon life.
00:00:27
Speaker
A life worth celebrating and savoring.
Hosts and Guest Introduction
00:00:30
Speaker
Please welcome your hosts, Brian Dewhurst and Philip Ramsey. Hello and welcome everybody. This is Philip Ramsey. And I'm Brian Dewhurst. And you are listening to the Uncommon Life Project. Thank you so much, Dina, for that wonderful intro. It is always nice to the consistency that she provides for us. Just sets us off on the right tone.
00:00:47
Speaker
It's just her, yeah, it's just amazing. It really is. It's speechless. Okay, so today, great show for you. We have some of our close friends, Hannah and John Shiplet. They're a dynamic duo, kind of like Batman and Robin. They're married, they work together, and we have a huge kind of story how to, we're gonna unlock for everyone and our listeners on how that came to be, where they're at. But if you could just think for a second,
00:01:14
Speaker
I'd say Chip and Joanna Gaines, but in Des Moines and way more cool. So that's where we have it. We'll go with the bio and then we'll go from there. All right. John and Hannah, our husband and wife design build team. They focus on quality historic character and are blazing a new design trail. They love getting to know their clients, how they live and help them discover how design and structure can greatly improve their everyday lives.
00:01:38
Speaker
Welcome John and Hannah.
Hannah and John's Beginnings
00:01:40
Speaker
Thank you. Hello. I feel like we should have like a, you know, like a fake applause when we announce people, but. Budgets are tight here at the uncommon life projects. So this is the first time we actually had two people on the other line. This is kind of exciting for both Brian and I. And to be honest with you, there's always, we're talking about entrepreneurial things, paving your new path. And it's nice to be able to have two sides.
00:02:08
Speaker
that we could interview because there's always usually one person that we're talking to, but we never get the other side from the other perspective of the significant other of how are they feeling when their husband or wife jumped off to this venture. So now we have you guys. All right. Where do we start? Well, I've always kind of, I don't, you maybe know this, but where did you guys meet and what were you kind of doing or envisioning for yourself prior to meeting the other person?
John's Career Journey
00:02:38
Speaker
We were just little kids, 19 years old. We met at church and we didn't really have any sort of expectations for life or any sort of direction. It evolved into a lot of different things. Yeah, I wanted to be a ballerina. That was my plan. I was on my ballet track and also studying design as my backup plan.
00:03:04
Speaker
when I met John and he became the plan. After that, it wasn't too long. The only plan that I ever had was that I just did not want to work for somebody. So I didn't really know what that meant. Exactly. But we got to unpack that because we had your father on the show, Doug Shiplet. People might have remembered that if they're avid listener. Do you think that you got that from your parents or where did that come from? Where did that little
00:03:32
Speaker
I don't want to
00:03:44
Speaker
I had like an issue with authority or anything like that. It was just more like, I just kind of want to be on my own, just kind of doing my own thing and be in control of how that looks or, you know, whatever it may be. So, so did you go to college for that or like not? You were just talking about this. I went to a DMACC orientation.
00:04:07
Speaker
and left and said, no way. I'm doing that. I love it. And so that was that. That was my college experience. You go home from your college experience, which is orientation. And you tell your parents like, no, not for me, guys, I'm out. What did they, how did they react? And like, what's your next step? What's the next day look like?
00:04:29
Speaker
I mean, my dad was like, okay, you know, like, I think he was, he's always been really supportive of like, any sort of idea I ever had.
00:04:45
Speaker
And he is also entrepreneurial in that way too, so it helped a lot. But I think I could see it in his eyes like, okay, let's put some ideas down on paper and let's see what we come up with.
Hannah's Career Path
00:05:02
Speaker
But for the most part, it was pretty painless.
00:05:07
Speaker
Where do you go? Do you just start applying for places or do you start bidding people? I actually went, so grew up in California, so I actually went back to California, worked with my old youth pastor who owned a
00:05:24
Speaker
a like an international scout shop, which is basically like an old school, like off-road vehicle. And because I had this interest in sort of metal fabrication and I've always been kind of mechanically inclined. So I said, you know what, that's kind of a start. I'll just go out there and see some of my old friends and then just kind of like gain in some skill.
00:05:52
Speaker
and then maybe that'll lead to something else. So then I ended up after I think four or five months coming back to Iowa and I was making these metal bumpers for these international scouts in a shop.
00:06:12
Speaker
working for somebody else. No, now, now this was my own thing. Oh, like you like, yeah, just contracted me to build an X amount per month. Okay. It was, but it was a separate business. And, um, so I was just hired to do that basically, but my business was so, uh, yeah. And then that led into just like getting into, um,
00:06:40
Speaker
like another shop in Ames metal fabrication just to kind of try to gain in my skill. Then I just hit a point where I just like, I don't really like this anymore. I don't like, I liked working with my hands and kind of creating things, but like I didn't like metal fabrication. It was like a terrible job, super dirty, like every day. So this was like, I can't do this. And then, uh,
00:07:02
Speaker
started to get into construction. I've always liked houses. So then I worked on a framing and trim crew, which then I was approached by a banker at like it was 2009 when things were kind of going south and they had a bunch of foreclosures and I was a good candidate to acquire some rental properties. So I was able to make a few deals doing that. And then
00:07:31
Speaker
started to that kind of like propelled me into the rehabbing properties and then and then I was still sort of simultaneously working construction so then I just gained in all these skills around construction and Remodeling and and then At the same time Hannah and I are you know, we've gotten married and his
00:07:58
Speaker
I don't know, what were you doing at that point? Finishing school. Finishing school for design and then eventually that just has merged into, okay, we should just be doing this together, you know, and
00:08:16
Speaker
I mean, we've missed so much. There's so much there. We've got our back. I was just going to say, that was like a super fast snack. Good to bring our listeners where
Business Merger and Synergy
00:08:26
Speaker
we're at. But okay, so Hannah, you're on the other side of the fence and you are going to Iowa State to be a ballerina and do the design thing. Is that correct?
00:08:36
Speaker
Yes, I was actually studying in Des Moines, the Valley, it doesn't really matter, but and then I was going to Iowa State for interior design. So there was kind of a couple years where I was, design was sort of to keep my parents happy. They wanted me to go get a degree and I like school enough and I always had a bent towards design. I'd like design my hamsters cages and put dollhouse furniture in there and like do stuff like that. So there were some signs that that was kind of in my my future, but
00:09:02
Speaker
John and I were dating when he purchased the properties and I thought that was really cool and I'd like going with my paint deck and kind of mess around but those houses were pretty tiny and so I'd picked the colors and that was pretty much the extent of us working together. And then I graduated in 2009 which was also as John mentioned kind of the down the great downfall of
00:09:23
Speaker
of construction and so I spent some time as a barista which was like my favorite job ever because you meet people like every five minutes and it's so fun and then I got a job as a project manager which that kind of was the the it kind of laid the foundation for me being able to be an entrepreneur I didn't know that that was in me at all but I learned how because I didn't have anything creative in that job it was all
00:09:49
Speaker
just like I was on the project management side. So it was all schedules and all sales of other people's creative services. And so I learned how to have the conversation of here's what my, the creative services are worth and here's how they have value. So learning how to sell services. Cause people want a tangible thing. They don't want, um, they have a hard time paying for design, but if they can like sit in a chair, like they understand like, oh, I'm paying for this chair. But when it's kind of an abstract or idea world and you're selling those types of things, it's hard for people to
00:10:19
Speaker
Kind of like stomach that or see what they're paying for so I learned how to sell services during that time and And then I got a job just working as a commercial designer and for a couple years which was great for me to again just get my my feet wet as a new designer in that world because Commercial is a little bit more structured and usually have a little bit higher budget to work with so that kind of gave me the freedom to Just spread my wings as a designer and know that you didn't agree. Is that when that was started?
00:10:48
Speaker
Nope, that was I worked at Story Kenworthy for a couple years. You two were not working together at that point? No. You were just kind of running on separate tracks. And then Eden and Gray started when I came home after we had our first child and I wasn't planning on doing anything with design at that point.
00:11:08
Speaker
people to start asking for projects, and so I would take them on. And I was also studying to get my NCIDQ, which is the design license, and I wanted to follow up with that, because I had just enough hours when I left my job to qualify to be able to test and to go on that track. So I wanted to keep things alive a little bit, and then projects kept coming, and then I would say, hey, John, can you build a
00:11:31
Speaker
whatever door shelf like Like can you help me out with this and so he'd like we it was a little rocky So he finally said yes and would take some of my stuff on and so it's good like it's been just since the beginning of this year have we really made it official and
00:12:01
Speaker
joined everything together and kind of rebranded a little bit and it has been like a huge game changer
Challenges and Learnings
00:12:07
Speaker
for us. Yeah, I really want to talk about that. Yeah, I do too. So Brian, I'm just completely after this whole thing. So go ahead. Brian has great questions. I'm sorry. I think a lot of times we have, you know, people on and it's great to have both of you too, by the way.
00:12:25
Speaker
But we have people on and it sounds so easy. And I think this hasn't been easy for you guys. And you're both really talented. And so can you talk to our listeners about kind of merging two brands into one and what that has changed for you in your own words? Yeah. And to give a little bit of premise on that. So John has his own company.
00:12:46
Speaker
at one point, and it was, I would say, getting some traction. And then you have the other side, you have Eden and Gray. Which was Hannah's company. Which was Hannah's company, and that one's also getting traction. And so, at what point, and I want you to go back to Brian's question, but at what point we were like, okay, one of these has to go away if we're going to join forces, and how was that conversation?
00:13:08
Speaker
Are you just trying to get credit since it was your idea? Not where I wanted that to go. Do you want to take it? Yeah, I think for both Hannah and I, you know, up until like, you know, probably about a year ago,
00:13:31
Speaker
We are just focused on gaining the skill required to do the task and not really focusing on the business side of things. I think that we've gotten advice from you guys. We have another
00:13:49
Speaker
my business mentor that we kind of bounce ideas off of and he said to just you guys need to turn your skill into a business you know and i think that that's been the biggest sort of
00:14:02
Speaker
game changer for us. It's like, okay, we have to figure out how we can sustain. Because you can quickly, in any business really, but quickly, if you don't create efficiencies and systems, you just get eaten alive by the schedule. And I think that that was the biggest thing for us. We're like, man, we're just killing it all the time.
00:14:28
Speaker
But it's killing us. Yeah, exactly. And it's like, you know, it's growing, but it's not growing in the right ways. And so we've got the skill now, but now we're starting to, like this last year, we're just really focusing on putting all the right systems in place, getting our efficiencies, you know, really dialed in. And then the branding is a different sort of part of that, but it's a little different. I don't know.
00:14:55
Speaker
Yeah, I mean the thing that came to my mind is I my favorite t-shirt is it's an old ray gun t-shirt that I don't know that they make it anymore but it says art just another get quick or get poor quick scheme and I proudly wear that because I am definitely on the the side of just passion and I think that that's what John and I have always had a lot of and we would just spend all of our free time just driving around looking at houses and
00:15:22
Speaker
going to home shows and just looking at magazines looking online at houses and studying styles and we just have spent like john said acquiring our skill set and and beefing it up and loving that but then trying to focus it into a real business and figure out like i think everybody is sort of on the same path where you spend your 20s
00:15:42
Speaker
getting your education and you're figuring out who you are and then you hit 30 and all of a sudden it's like, there's a switch and you're like, okay, I know who I am at 30 and what my skillset is. And so that vision, we're like two years into our thirties now. And I think we just gain more clarity each year. There's kind of a theme every year and last year it was focused and this year it's discipline, you know, and it's, those are just things that when we were talking about what have been game changers, like our life was just sort of this,
00:16:09
Speaker
it got bigger than we were because we, you know, had our house and our kids and our business and everything was growing, but it was just like, you only have so many hours in the day and so much time. So we needed that focus. And this allowed, when we joined the business together, um, so much focus because it's, there's the practical side of one accountant, one lawyer, you know, one, everything. And then I was also running social media for both businesses, um, and running like any of the marketing strategies were,
00:16:36
Speaker
coming from me for both of the businesses. And it was just like, why am I posting like five different places when it could be two places? One, well, yeah. Yeah, so. Totally. Very cool. You know, I'll just say, like, I just want the listeners just to be on the same play field. My wife and I use John and Hannah for, we're actually gonna buy a new house. We're moving to end of this month. And it has been so freeing to be able to have resources that you know, like, and trust.
Real Estate Market Insights
00:17:06
Speaker
not only give you a design plan, but then also say, well, then who's gonna help me with the design? And oh, that's John's side. And so I feel a little bit and I've made that in jest, the Chip and Joanna Gaines, but I now know how their clients feel because it's a one-stop shop. Not only are you gonna tell me that that wall could move, you're gonna tell me who's gonna help me move that wall, if not do it all for me. And it is so freeing
00:17:31
Speaker
And I told Hannah this before it was recording, we just got some plans back. We love them. I mean, like so much so, like when can we start? So it's such a freeing thing to be able to have Hannah and John at our disposal to walk through some of these changes where, I mean, I'm out. I might have fish without water on this stuff. I don't know what to do or how to do it.
00:17:54
Speaker
Yeah, I do have confidence in their skills and how much they care for me. And so this whole process that they took my wife and I through wasn't one of like, what do you want? It was like, tell us your favorite beverage. Like, what? My favorite what? A beverage. Like, if you could drink any drink, like, what would it be? And just kind of off the wall questions. So they started getting to know us and how we functioned and how we work.
00:18:17
Speaker
And they came out with a plan that was perfect for us. And so, it's very freeing. You guys really are rocking it. And to have one brand for your clients not only makes sense to me, I'm a client, but it's also freeing, too, to know that it's a one-stop shop. This is where I sign my check to. This is where I send it. This is all this stuff. When I do business with you, I'm getting not only Hannah, but I'm also getting John. And it's a very, very comforting feeling.
00:18:45
Speaker
Yeah. And I think when you look at real estate now too, with everything that happened in no eight, no nine, I think there's a huge void in the marketplace for what you're doing. You know, cause so many houses are outdated and, or a lot of people can't afford to build the four or $500,000 house or $300,000 house. And so they're, but they don't know how to remodel anything. And so I think your, your services are going to be in strong demand for a long time for sure. Um, for sure. So yeah.
00:19:15
Speaker
So I also want to do this because I know we're taking, this is you guys's show, but in past we've had a lot of listeners who are like, how do we work with you, Brian and Phillip? Like, how do you fit into this whole, this whole, I guess, plan? And that's what I would say that we kind of do for our clients. And then hence the reason why we're so close with you guys is because we really want to know and understand who we're working with, what they're passionate about, what they get excited about, and just encourage them by saying you are your best asset.
00:19:45
Speaker
there's no other mutual fund or anything like that that's gonna have a better rate of return than maybe you just focusing down on what you know the best, what you're excited about and passionate about. You guys bleed your passion. Okay, so keep going. So you guys are doing a lot of different things. Now you've kind of talked about unifying the brand and I like the term because I heard it and it hit me like a ton of bricks but like niching down because there's a lot of things you guys can do not only individually but together.
00:20:14
Speaker
So when you now look at your business moving forward, what are you most excited about helping other people with? And what do you see in the real estate market? Because I think what Philip and I have even talked about a lot is just it's so, so many people are making money in real estate, but it seems so hard to the, I think most people. And so I kind of pulling that veil back of like, what do you guys see in real estate and how can you help, you know, that average couple that wants to have the nice house, but also have an investment
00:20:44
Speaker
I think there's two different directions in my mind that that question could go. I mean, specifically around the real estate market or just the price points for couples. Like you said that the new construction right now and the market changes a lot. And even what is specifically going on right now, it's a little, it's hard to find houses in that price point between like 175 and 250 and that because they just go so fast. I think recently I heard a real estate agent say it's like a,
00:21:11
Speaker
one to two month supply whereas if you get above 300 you've got more of close to like a six or seven month supply and so those that is a real challenge so I think that if someone is not afraid of taking on maybe a home that needs a little bit more work and they don't have the time because they're a young family or whatnot to do all of that that we would be able to help that aspect of getting into something and fixing it up right away so that you have that
00:21:40
Speaker
The benefit of a new home is that you're not working on it all the time and that it's not a distraction to what your focus is or your own passions are. And so to be able to come in and just take care of those things right away and then also focus your money in to the kitchens and the baths because in the Midwest, you typically get almost dollar for dollar what you put in. If you have sweat equity, you might even make money.
00:21:59
Speaker
On that if you're doing a portion of the work on your own but I say that that's where it's a it's a good value or to think of things like to get us involved as soon as possible in that process because You know and there's a certain aspect where you don't want to do it yourself for certain types of projects because you or if you have us you'll save money because You don't spend all that time looking for like the perfect tile that you don't know is actually not perfect tile because the maintenance of that particular thing or how you live or not compatible so
00:22:29
Speaker
I'm getting a little off track, but I was gonna kind of add to that too Just that like the thing that we get most probably passionate about in our businesses Creating the space for the people that are living in it, you know and but like I think the skill and sort of the know-how of like the years that we've been doing it it helps a lot because like I think you can easily create something that is
00:22:58
Speaker
too unique to you and that it's not sellable. So I think a lot of times we try to analyze the people, our clients, who are they, what do they need, and then try to create a space that's unique to them without it making it so odd that you'd never be able to sell it. You know what I mean? Unless they just want that and they just want it. Knowing how long that they're going to be
00:23:26
Speaker
In that space because and how often that you see eventually you just see trends are on a cycle I mean, they're really on a Probably an Iowa 10-year cycle but more than that they're on a five-year cycle and so it's sort of if you're gonna be there forever I like people to just design around what they love it's your forever home Just you enjoy it and don't worry about what trends you're going on but if you're gonna resell in the next five years and you're talking about a major renovation like a kitchen and
00:23:52
Speaker
I mean, you want to make some choices that are a little bit more universal. So that's great. I want to dive in on this because I think a lot of people don't understand this and I like getting into the mechanics a little bit more on the show because I want to make things tangible.
Entrepreneurial Sacrifices and Rewards
00:24:07
Speaker
So let's say someone comes to you and they're like, Hey, I found this house. It's 175 grand. It's a little rough. We, we could afford a house that's maybe two 50 to two 75, but we want it exactly how we want it.
00:24:21
Speaker
Can you walk our listeners through like a construction loan? How much do they have to get down? How do you guys get paid along the way? How do you go? How do they walk into that financially? And then how do they partner with you and then come out the other side? It's a good question.
00:24:38
Speaker
Um, I think there's, there's a few ways to kind of go about it. I mean, if they're just paying it out of pocket, then we can just sort of set up a week. Like from Hannah and I's side, we just set up a, um, like a draw schedule. Um, we require a little bit down at before the, um, 25% to get started and then we, um, start kind of going from there and there's a skit, there's a project schedule and then there's a draw schedule that's associated with those draws.
00:25:07
Speaker
And then it kind of works the same way with a bank. I mean if they're going and Financing it they would go and talk to their lender And then usually the terms are you know different for different lenders and however they want to kind of set that up but then Same kind of deal. It's just a draw schedule and we communicate mostly with the bank and then it it goes through the
00:25:34
Speaker
Homeowners eyes they have to sign off on the draw obviously make sure everything's up to their kind of standard and then and then
00:25:45
Speaker
Basically we just kind of complete the projects, you know, the bank is paying you the other draw on that. Correct. Yeah. And even just before that, I think it would be useful to know for a client or someone taking on a project like that, that we, especially if they have the house and they know they're going to close on it, or they already have access to it, or most people are living within their houses too, when you're doing these renovations.
00:26:07
Speaker
we provide estimates that are essentially line items like, here's drywall, here's framing, here's these, and then here's these specialty frames you have, like your clawfoot tub, and it's its own line item so that people can really take it back and make the decisions like, okay, here's the project overall,
00:26:22
Speaker
and we know we need to shave ten thousand dollars off of this so we're gonna cut out our excess and we're just gonna not do that bathroom but we'll do x y and z and so we do spend a lot of time with our clients in that process of here's what this would look like visually as your design like you can walk through it 3d and then here's what each of these line items of cost and and that comes after to what you were mentioning.
00:26:44
Speaker
about that kind of interview and getting to know the clients and what they actually need and want. And then we can kind of inform that whole aspect of, okay, well, someone living with five kids, you're gonna want that other bathroom, so let's go ahead and push for that. We try to not push people outside of their budgets, but we try to give them long-term advice that they may not be thinking of when they're making those financial decisions right then and there when it's hard to pull the trigger. There may be some things that pay off for them.
00:27:13
Speaker
that we've seen other people be really happy with.
00:27:17
Speaker
And with our process too, we're extremely detailed on the front end, so we really try to nail down exactly how everything's gonna go and really try to hone in on those costs for everything. That way there's no major surprises, unless there's something behind the walls or something that you can't foresee. We've all seen HGTV, if all's happened, isn't it? Yeah, right. And even that happens to us. Yeah.
00:27:44
Speaker
behind the walls we always have that clause like okay we can't we don't have laser eyes right so yeah huh okay let's talk about the sacrifices that you've had to make to be where you're at today could you talk through some of those i haven't sacrificed one drop of coffee i love myself but time yeah this is so much time yeah um i don't know i mean we sacrifice our weekends and you know
00:28:14
Speaker
It's worked out well in the sense that our whole family is kind of involved. We're able to now, as our kids are getting older, get them involved more and more with things. But you have to kind of do those things because otherwise you will sacrifice too much. But in some ways there's no way around it. So they're sort of like, you have to figure out, you know,
00:28:40
Speaker
how to make it work. And we have our priorities. Our priorities for sure is our kids over our business, but it all has to work together. So we've just... Need to pay the bills too. Yeah. We've just been able to do that. But we've had some
00:28:58
Speaker
hard weekends and, you know, hard days that are up. We're up so late and Hannah's really up late and it's crazy. I can speak to that. Usually I get emails about one 45 for me in the morning. There's some sacrifice there for sure.
00:29:14
Speaker
I would say too that, I mean, we're really committed to, it's been cool on this journey just in our marriage and with the business now that we have a few years to look back on. We sold our house a year ago, just about, and it was a house that I really loved. It had a lot of character and it was just a cool house, but it was just necessary so that we could focus. It was part of that whole thing. I mean, when you have a whole house to take care of and a yard and everything else, you have to,
00:29:43
Speaker
find what can go and with young kids they can't go anywhere and your marriage needs to be a priority so it was kind of just taking a few years and we're in a low maintenance living situation right now and it's actually been a huge
00:30:05
Speaker
blessing like it just is so in a way that it's that way I would put in the category of sacrifice but like we're so ready and willing I think as any entrepreneur you have to be you can't expect your life to look like your neighbor who they both work in insurance and they get paid their salaries and they know their insurance company is gonna be there and just like you have to figure out everything like you're paving the path and that to me is where I felt frustration along the way and wanted to throw in the towel when it's like I
00:30:35
Speaker
I can't look at another insurance policy. This is like the worst or do my own taxes. Like that is soul
Favorite Projects and Future Goals
00:30:41
Speaker
crushing. So those are the things that I don't love.
00:30:45
Speaker
If your kids, this is a random question, so hang on, this is a film question. If your kids end up going down the same path as you two, would you be happy for them? Yeah. It's a telling answer. And as much as we all sacrifice, you wouldn't trade it, right? Like you couldn't imagine going into the nine to five, hey John, I'm here. What do I need? What do I do today? We say that all the time. Well, we say that all the time where we're like, oh man, should I just go get a job somewhere?
00:31:13
Speaker
I just can't do it. I don't know. This is like somehow better that like John and I will call each, this is just sort of a side perk, but we'll just call each other in the middle of the day and just like hang out on the phone. I don't even know that we're saying anything and like, just cause we can cause we don't have the boss. It's like, and we have stuff we need to talk about with the business and, and family stuff. So it's legit, but it's, I love like being able to talk to John anytime that I want to and have that freedom.
00:31:39
Speaker
What's been the best project you both have worked on together? And you can't say Philip. I have my own project. We're not done with that one. I think Duckworth was really fun. That was fun, yeah. Why has it been fun? That was one of our first
00:32:00
Speaker
projects that was solely together and it was this small scale commercial project in Inkney and it's a family-owned business which we just love working with other businesses we just feel kindered and and we were able a lot of times a commercial you can kind of do some whimsical things like in hospitality and things like that you can come up so we came up with like this tree and this duck pond concept and that's where all the books were and it's like the idea that the kids could gather around it and
00:32:26
Speaker
And then John just can build it. So I'm like, hey, here's this crazy idea. And a lot of times in our field, designers and contractors don't really get along because designers come up with these weird things and it makes the contractor's life so hard. And so luckily, he can't escape. So I mean, you can chat now, but I just feel like that was a really fun project just to brainstorm and complete and was satisfying to see it completed and done.
00:32:56
Speaker
I think I didn't mean to cut you off, but even on a commercial space, knowing so many different people get to enjoy it, maybe than just the homeowner too. For sure. Yeah. I think the custom build. I mean, basically just taking a bunch of ideas and then there's literally just some
00:33:17
Speaker
just, you know, a lot of land and you're just building what you're imagining. I mean, it is really pretty rewarding when you see it and are walking through something that you've just kind of added in your mind. It was crazy to make a plan, like actually have a floor plan that was completely, never would have existed and it came out of our minds and then walking in it.
00:33:39
Speaker
Yeah, and you know, it's an original plan so I mean it's these are things that we're just like kind of communicating back and forth about and I don't know if for that like that reason alone is just kind of like man, it's pretty pretty cool to be able to do do that but
00:33:57
Speaker
I get a little misty eyed too. And I think about like that particular project or other ones where there's real families that meet and like that's where they're having their birthday parties and their anniversary. Yeah. Yes. And it just, it gives me like goosebumps just thinking about how I get to be a part of that forever. And even this, the future people that will move in there that if it can be better in a way for them just to have that experience. I just think that's awesome. I'd say even too is like the remodels. I mean, I don't know. I like,
00:34:28
Speaker
It's all kind of, they've got all their like pros and cons in each of them and with remodels though, like what's, I love just taking something that is like,
00:34:39
Speaker
A lot of times I'll find stuff that I'm like, dude, this is not cool at all. So either fixing it or improving it significantly and making it a lot safer and way more comfortable. There's something so satisfying about that. It's like growing out.
00:35:00
Speaker
How, what's the future look like for you too? What's the future hold for Eden and Gray, John and Anna Shipplin? A theme park. No, I'm kidding. I, when I've been telling people about our vision for this year, and then I kind of have this five year plan that could be a 10 year plan, but we really, really want to have a business where we are building new construction that has,
00:35:27
Speaker
the complete character of old construction. So like what people expect and what they buy those old homes for that we're just creating that new. And that every single project that we touch that I never want to do anything twice. I want to be from the design perspective. I want to always be on the leading edge. I don't want to
00:35:46
Speaker
do a trend just because it's trending and everybody's doing this thing. But we really want it to be completely around our clients. And if you drive around South of Grand down in Des Moines, every single one of those houses looks like probably the person that
00:36:01
Speaker
that built it.
Financial Strategies and Expansion Plans
00:36:03
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. And so I think that that would be our game plan is that in five years that solely our projects are building and it could be some remodeling work or restoring historic is also really fulfilling. But that would be, I think our vision is just to, to be creating individualized homes for people that are super unique and have a level of quality that matches the craftsmanship of a hundred years ago without the brick basins.
00:36:31
Speaker
For us, it becomes a job if I go into a project and I'm just there to get it done. It'd be unfortunate if that's what came to be for our business. Definitely the passion of just
00:36:49
Speaker
Um, making a space that's special, like to the people that are living in it, I think is definitely, we would, we just want to take that passion and make it a business, you know? Sure. Hopefully in the next five to 10 years.
00:37:04
Speaker
We haven't done it by then. So, and we've talked about, you know, on this podcast, the seven source residual income. So you do own a business. Like I want to just highlight that. Um, you do own even in gray and the business of home building. So that's one kind of, that's your primary source of income. And then you've owned rentals. I don't quite remember where you're at with that right now, but I know you've owned them in the past and it's a bit currently owned some. Yeah. Yeah. So you've got the real estate, uh, income residually coming in, uh, as well.
00:37:34
Speaker
And then you're kind of doing the, the uncommon banking strategy, um, with us. And then, um, as you look at kind of rounding out your portfolio or your business, what's, what are you kind of guys chomping at the back? I know you kind of talked about the old new homes, but in terms of like building,
00:37:53
Speaker
you know, that residual out and where you don't have to continue to maybe build new homes to make a living. What does that look like for you? I don't know. That's why we need another meeting. Well, you do have a vision around more rentals in the future using the life insurance. Yeah. I mean, you know, looking like 10 years,
00:38:15
Speaker
Within the next 10 years, I'd like to continue to acquire rental property and flips. That definitely fits within our business model and everything that we're doing. You guys are doing network marketing. I just want to throw that out there. Hello.
00:38:36
Speaker
So you got that residual income too. You did that with your dad, which I think is cool. I kind of forgot about that. Yeah. So you guys really do blueprints for people and build houses. Well, we kind of do blueprints for people's finances. And so it is something so cool to have something so customizable to your client and seeing something come to
Conclusion and Audience Engagement
00:38:59
Speaker
fruition. And so it has been a joy to see you guys come to us
00:39:04
Speaker
a year or so back into where you are now and the traction that you guys have from where you both were running your own business and now you are unified in one.
00:39:14
Speaker
I really, really am excited to see what happens the next five years, and I think that you can dwarf that 10-year goal in four or five years. So we want to continue to encourage you. We will totally be advocates for what you do and how you do it. Totally. Thank you so much for being on the show. If you have any questions for Brian and I, we would love to hear from you guys. The number is 515.
00:39:41
Speaker
You can email us at philipatuncommonwealth.com. And how would our listeners reach out to you too?
00:39:49
Speaker
Probably our website is a good place to start just to get familiar with how we work. And that's edenandgray.com. And it's E-D-E-N. And gray with an A. And then I usually talk to people most often on the front end. So that's 515-975-5527. And we just welcome any
00:40:11
Speaker
Conversations like a lot of times just come out and look at stuff. We don't even there's zero pressure and we love looking at home So it's never time wasted on our end
00:40:20
Speaker
And you love meeting new people, like your barista. I'm going to be a barista again. Yes, totally. Awesome. Well, thank you so much, guys, for joining us today. And if you want to follow us or subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play, please feel free to review this show and continue to listen. Have a great day, guys. Thanks, everybody. Good luck.
00:40:44
Speaker
That's all for this episode of The Uncommon Life Project, brought to you by Uncommon Wealth Partners. Be sure to visit uncommonwealth.com to learn more about our services. Don't miss an episode as we introduce you to inspiring people who are actively pursuing an uncommon life.