Sarah was always destined to be a creator. Growing up with a builder father, she was exposed to building for as long as she can remember. But it wasn’t until she attended a party next door to Olivia Newton John’s farmhouse in Alstonville that her fervour for home design was crystalised. Inspired by the property’s detailed spiral staircases and parquetry floors, she’s set out to build what was to be their new family home on Kellett Street in Northcote.
Sarah is now happily settled in her modern, luxurious four-bedroom home that allows her to watch her kids play in the backyard from the island bar in her kitchen.
We help
women build
BuildHer Collective exists to empower women with the right tools to build the home of their dreams or develop properties for profit.
YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN US ON:
The brainchild of our founder
Rebeka Morgan
Rebeka is a proud mamma of 7 children, two older ones in their 20’s and then 4 under 10! Having time and quality experiences with them is so important and each child is individually quirky and amazing in their own way. Family is 100% Rebeka’s why and also her hardest challenge to date! Renovating and building has allowed Rebeka the time to take kids to their many different appointments each week, to drop them to school and pick them up. This time is so finite and so precious – she is grateful to have found a path that allows her to balance family life with a fulfilling career.
The brainchild of our founder
Rebeka Morgan
Rebeka is a proud mamma of 7 children, two older ones in their 20’s and then 4 under 10! Having time and quality experiences with them is so important and each child is individually quirky and amazing in their own way. Family is 100% Rebeka’s why and also her hardest challenge to date! Renovating and building has allowed Rebeka the time to take kids to their many different appointments each week, to drop them to school and pick them up. This time is so finite and so precious – she is grateful to have found a path that allows her to balance family life with a fulfilling career.
From the shop floor to the premier coaching business for women who are building their own properties and developing for profit.
Falling in love
with building
At a young age, Rebeka bounced between Architecture and Construction Management at university, working in roles such as builders side tender assistant, Client side Quantity Surveyor and then Project Manager, she finished up as General Manager of a Commercial Construction company.
Having achieved the role she always thought she wanted, she realised there was no place at that time for women who wanted to work hard and also be present for her children; an issue that is widespread in the construction industry.
When her boss came to her and told her she “needed a house husband” she knew there was no future in her role. She resigned to work on a business she was running on the side. A business that helped schools, childcares and charities fundraise. Driven by her passion for the construction industry, she also started to build a residential building business, dabble with renovating for profit and share her knowledge tutoring for a university.
Born Out Of Rebellion
Registering as a Residential Builder, backed with a degree in Construction Management and a Masters in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, she sold the fundraising business, but within a mere few weeks of finalising that sale, and a few people asking her if she ‘did the books for her husband’ she hatched a plan for BuildHer Collective. It looked nothing like it does now in those first thoughts, but Rebeka and her then business partner, Kribashini, just wanted to help women build and renovate and enjoy the process.
Falling in love with building
At a young age, Rebeka bounced between Architecture and Construction Management at university, working in roles such as builders side tender assistant, Client side Quantity Surveyor and then Project Manager, she finished up as General Manager of a Commercial Construction company.
Having achieved the role she always thought she wanted, she realised there was no place at that time for women who wanted to work hard and also be present for her children; an issue that is widespread in the construction industry.
When her boss came to her and told her she “needed a house husband” she knew there was no future in her role. She resigned to work on a business she was running on the side. A business that helped schools, childcares and charities fundraise. Driven by her passion for the construction industry, she also started to build a residential building business, dabble with renovating for profit and share her knowledge tutoring for a university.
Born Out Of Rebellion
Registering as a Residential Builder, backed with a degree in Construction Management and a Masters in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, she sold the fundraising business, but within a mere few weeks of finalising that sale, and a few people asking her if she ‘did the books for her husband’ she hatched a plan for BuildHer Collective. It looked nothing like it does now in those first thoughts, but Rebeka and her then business partner, Kribashini, just wanted to help women build and renovate and enjoy the process.
with the right tools,
Everyone can build.
If you ask Rebeka, she’ll tell you “It is a privilege to be able to renovate and build a home for your family” despite how stressful it can appear when you start. Yet so many women were having issues and coming to Rebeka to ‘fix’ what had already become a tumultuous situation and relationship between the women she was speaking with and their builders!
Many times she could see where the issues had started, really early in the piece and it was this lack of knowledge of the process and understanding that could have saved these women from such stressful and horrible experiences.
Build It And
They Will Come
BuildHer Collective started helping women build and renovate their own homes, but after a while countless members of the community asked Rebeka if she could show them how to renovate for profit. Thus the DevelopHer’s group was started! The DevelopHer’s Masterclass and Inner Circle is exactly what Rebeka wanted when she was starting her journey. There were so many mistakes and expensive learnings and so much time figuring out the secrets behind the builders and developers systems!
Cracking that code and being able to share everything she learned is what drives Rebeka to this day and is the essence of BuildHer Collective and the work that we do.
But enough about us
Check out these incredible BuildHers and DevelopHers
Built from scratch
A vision for renovation
Ever since childhood, Anita has shared a passion for property development with her father – a pursuit she’s carried with her into adulthood. While she was completing her Certificate IV in Building and Construction, she was eager to jump in when the charming property on Robert Street in Bentleigh came on the market.
Today, Anita beams when she welcomes guests into the space. With its beautiful leadlight windows, polished floorboards and expansive open-plan kitchen, Anita’s created a listing any real estate agent would die for.
Meet Jacqui
Like Jacqui, who needed to make the scary move of selling out of a venture with a family member to pursue her dreams! We asked Jacqui about what she would say to someone in your position:
Just do it! If you are reading this you clearly have an interest or talent so lean in, feel the fear and do it anyway. Don’t let money stop you pursuing your dream, there is always a creative financial solution to get you started and there is no shortage of joint venture opportunities for those looking to get their foot in the door.
I can’t believe how much our present and future has changed from decisions made over the last 12 months.’
A developer to watch
As the director and business operations manager of Kadabra Group, a domestic building company, Karen is a seasoned developer. And her Richmond project is nothing short of spectacular.
In addition to renovating the family home into a modern-meets-heritage masterpiece, Karen and her team built 5 two-storey residential apartments on the adjacent allotment – complete with a large basement car park.
All the cards on the table
Joni, who is taking on new challenges, redefining her life while pregnant and with young children in tow! Joni sold up and headed North when they reassessed how they really want to spend their time! Joni told us to tell you:
“Do it! I have never looked back and will wax lyrical to anyone that will listen to me about how beneficial the course is. I have learnt so much about the mechanics of developing for profit, but I didn’t expect to get so much out of the actual group of women who are also in the “collective”. Everyone is so supportive, enthusiastic and knowledgeable. They will freely give you their time to help you. The power is definitely in the amazing collective of women that are BuildHers.”