WELCOME TO SEASON 3 | EPISODE 5

DEVELOPHER ALIX BLAKELEY

A LOT CAN HAPPEN IN A YEAR!

We always love hearing from our BuildHers and DevelopHers to find out what they’re up to. There are no many amazing women undertaking challenging projects and it’s an honour for us to be involved in their journeys.

Today Kribashini chats with one of these incredible DevelopHers, Alix Blakeley, who is a perfect example of why it’s so enjoyable to be part of the BuildHer community. Alix has had a big and busy 12 months and she talks about her journey of how she began developing for profit and where her current project is up to.

For Alix and her husband, the idea of renovating and selling their family home was something they always wanted to do but making the decision to go ahead was somewhat confronting. Alix talks about that journey, how she never looked back and how a house flood was the catalyst for making the decision to do the renovation they’d dreamed about.

After renovating and selling her family home, Alix and her husband purchased an original 1960’s home in Canberra. Alix talks about her renovation plans and how being part of the BuildHer community helped her to feel confident with her feasibilities and not just make an emotional purchase. Kribashini shares her insights on the design process and how a good designer will pinpoint challenges to come up with solutions whilst working alongside the client to make sure the design meets their needs.

Alix also shares her advice to anyone else out there wanting to renovate for profit and talks about taking small tangible steps to move in the direction you want to go. Kribashini and Alix also bring home the importance of surrounding yourself with people who are already doing the thing you want to be doing. And that’s yet another reason why the BuildHer community is so great.

If you have a topic or question you’d like us to cover, contact us here.

SOME TOPICS THAT WE COVER:

  • [1:40]: Alix shares about her work background in HR, how she enjoys renovations and how she and her husband always wanted to renovate for profit.
  • [1:40]: Alix shares about her work background in HR, how she enjoys renovations and how she and her husband always wanted to renovate for profit.
  • [3:40]: How the thought of shifting out of their family home felt scary because they both loved and valued their home.
  • [4:40]: How a house flood was the catalyst for a full renovation.
  • [5:50]: How Alix met other women through BuildHer who were doing the things she had convinced herself she wasn’t able to do.
  • [7:15]: How the process of an insurance claim is stressful enough but Alix took it a step further to complete a renovation to bring value to her home.
  • [8:25]: How we need to take tangible actions to get moving in the right direction.
  • [10:15]: When they were given the opportunity to move for work, Alix and her husband made the choice to sell instead of rent the family house out
  • [11:45]: How their house had 150 groups through on the first open house and they sold at auction at a great price.
  • [13:50]: Alix purchased an original 60’s house in Canberra and went into the auction with confidence knowing her feasibilities and not buying out of emotions.
  • [15:30]: How Alix kept her family’s needs and desires in mind when designing the renovations, creating a family home with a functional extension whilst maintaining the mid-century charms.
  • [16:30]: How Alix’s designer has been great to work with and helped communication between her and her husband in the technical and aesthetic aspects.
  • [17:30]: The floorplan is complete apart from the garage area and now they are moving on to the facade and creating mood boards.
  • [18:30]: How we often need to sit with ideas to make sure we look at it from different perspectives and situational point of views. Good designers will pinpoint challenges and come up with solutions.
  • [20:45]: Alix’s advice to others: if there’s something you want to do, think about the small steps you can take so you can propel yourself forward. Surround yourself with people who are doing what you want to do.
  • [22:50]: How we grow and expand by being with people who are doing things on a level we’re not on yet[24:30]: How Alix has achieved so much in just 1 year.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

We have several Facebook Groups at BuildHer Collective.

MEMBER ONLY FACEBOOK GROUPS

BHC DevelopHers Circle and BuildHer Collective Members Only – these are closed groups for women who are doing our Build Like a BuildHer course or who have joined our DevelopHers Inner Circle.

FREE FACEBOOK GROUP – Join Us!

Anyone is more than welcome to join our Women who Design, Decorate, Renovate & Build group. You will note that it’s a closed group but ask to join and if you’re into building and renovating, this is such an amazing and supportive FREE community, so come on and join in the building goodness!