Building Dreams and Crafting Sanctuary: Drew Prince's Journey with Oakhearth Homes

Join Drew Prince on a captivating journey through the evolution of Oakhearth Homes, from flipping houses to creating bespoke dream dwellings. With a blend of passion and resilience, Drew shares how he and his wife infuse craftsmanship and client satisfaction into every aspect of their business. Their story goes beyond construction, focusing on crafting spaces that resonate with homeowners' deepest desires.

Explore the world of bathroom design alongside us, where Drew's insights into tile trends spark visions of tranquil retreats. Oakhearth Homes sets itself apart with a commitment to integrity and personalized service, amidst an industry often lacking in both. Our discussion delves into not just creating beautiful bathrooms but also the broader impacts of DIY trends on home projects. Drew provides practical advice for navigating these shifts while hinting at exciting future endeavors.

In the final chapter, we uncover the heart of Oakhearth Homes: family and community. Drew reveals the dynamics of running a successful family business, emphasizing the importance of work-life balance and the role of social media and community engagement. His narrative serves as a reminder of the enduring value of authenticity and kindness in leaving a lasting impact—not just in constructing houses, but in building homes filled with trust and love.

LINKS:

Website: https://www.oakhearthhomes.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oakhearthhomes/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Oakhearthhomes/

Transcript

Lindsay Fluckiger: 0:03

Today we have a special guest joining us, Drew Prince from Oakhearth Homes, a company known for crafting beautiful custom homes. Welcome, drew, we're so excited to have you on the show today. Thank you, so we have been following you for quite some time. We are obsessed with everything that we've seen on social media, from custom builds to gorgeous tile installations. Can you tell us more about the journey that led to the founding of Oakhearth Homes, from flipping houses to now creating and designing custom builds?

Drew Prince: 0:38

Yeah, you know, my wife and I years ago. I mean, I've been in the construction industry pretty much my whole life. My family's been a part of it, mainly exterior stuff, but my wife and I had some goals to try to start flipping houses, and so that's what we did. We started flipping some houses and we didn't do very well, return wise on them, but they kind of helped us get to another level with other things and be able to connect with other people in the industry seeing what we had done. So in all reality we didn't make any money really in those. We actually lost money but we were able to jumpstart our business, oakhearth Homes, which was really cool.

Drew Prince: 1:24

So a lot of learning and growing from the flipping business. And that's a totally different type of business and not really something I really enjoy. It's a very cheap and, you know, cutthroat industry. There's a lot of people in it that don't know what they're doing and they put cheap products and cheap materials and cheap labor into houses and I never liked that aspect of it. I like to create spaces that really look beautiful, that people are happy about and that has a lot of real value and you know you put your heart into it.

Drew Prince: 2:02

So that's how we got started with Oakhearth Homes. We had some family friends recommend us for a kitchen remodel and it kind of took off from there and just really spiraled. And you know, from that point really, our next step was starting to build custom homes. So this is last year, 2022, we sorry 2023, we built our first fully custom spec home. So everything was built off of the line over the top with the desire to sell it at the end. But when you walk in it doesn't look like the average spec house, it looks like a custom build. So it was a long process. We started the permits on that in 2021. That's when we went pending on the lot, and so it was two years to get the permit before we were able to get going. So yeah, but it was worth it, and now we're building more out in a different part of town. So we'll just keep going and keep building.

Lindsay Fluckiger: 3:09

Yeah, man, I have so many questions. That was great. So much to talk about, which is perfect, since this is a podcast. So in your bio, you talk about your work on social media and how important it has been for your company to provide good, just like high quality photos, video footage of your work. Can you tell us a little bit more about how social media has played a role in the growth and success of your company?

Drew Prince: 3:39

Yeah, I mean, I think one of the things I was looking at. I used to work with a bunch of builders and contractors that did mainly exterior stuff kitchen, I mean not kitchen, sorry roofing, siding, windows. My company supplied them with materials and so you know, for the most part, what I saw in this industry was it was really old school. You know, guys are out in the field working with their hands. They don't provide people with pictures of what they actually do. Maybe they get a couple snapshots, but typically this is a word of mouth business and that's real really, where the people that succeed do very well.

Drew Prince: 4:21

But there's more to it because a lot of homeowners they want to visually be able to tell what you're capable of doing, and I saw that nobody was really doing that and you know there was no pictures online of like this was what the kitchen used to look like before, and now this is what it looks like after, and so I just thought you know why not be able to showcase what you actually do and get stories that people can follow daily, that can show. You know, we demoed out the kitchen. It took this long, you know it took this long to get the counters in, the cabinets and the floors, you know. So people can actually get a feel for what it's like to live through a remodel. So then when we show up to their house, it's not just, wow, this is all brand new. They kind of have an idea because they've seen it.

Lindsay Fluckiger: 5:11

Yeah, I got to say I manage most of our social media accounts and we were just over the moon at one particular shower that you guys have had basically viral a few times and I was thinking like, oh man, I've got to figure out who these designers are.

Lindsay Fluckiger: 5:27

I had no idea you guys were like a custom home build company because of the quality of the images and video footage. So you're right, you guys are like making waves and your niche, which is really, really cool.

Drew Prince: 5:39

Thank you.

Lindsay Fluckiger: 5:40

Yeah.

Drew Prince: 5:41

A lot of people involved in it. I mean not a lot. You know, we have a social media marketing guy who's my brother, who's amazing at everything he does on the computer, so it really stands out. And then my wife is the one that's mainly ran on the design portion of that build. We work together on that. But that shower has definitely gone crazy and I mean the videos have gone viral every time it gets posted. So it's been really awesome to see actually a lot of houses gone viral. So it's been awesome to see that real in-house like the things that my wife and I always had a desire for and the things that we always thought were good quality ideas that other people actually see that as well.

Lindsay Fluckiger: 6:33

Yeah, that's awesome. It definitely the quality shines through and your work is incredible. So you've mentioned your wife a couple of times. We are a woman-owned company, so we would love to hear a little more about her. Can you tell us what role she plays in the company view?

Drew Prince: 6:51

You know she does a lot of things that go unseen. You know obviously there's a lot of you know, paperwork and just keeping me, you know, focused, she does all the designs on our new builds. So right now we've got another one going right now and she's focused on you know, making sure everything flows throughout the space and she'll continue to do that.

Drew Prince: 7:16

And we also have a new division within our company it's Oakarth Homes Real Estate, and so she is the backbone of that and helping customers buy, sell, so that you know we become essentially one source, one solution for homeowners. So when they're looking to buy a house, they call us. When they're looking to sell a house, they call us. When they're looking to remodel, they call us. When they're looking to build, they call us so that you know anything to do with their house. They only have to call one place. So it's really just getting going. She's been buying and selling our own stuff for years, but we really want to bring that to customers and be able to help them out so that they have a. They already trust us in their house to do major remodels, so why not trust us to sell it to or buy it?

Lindsay Fluckiger: 8:03

That's incredible. I've never heard of like a one stop shop, like everything that you guys are doing is you're just. The entrepreneurial skills are superb. I love it. So let's roll into a little bit more of the design aspect. Obviously, we're a tile company, so we're all about floor and wall coverings. I'd love to pick your brain a little bit about bathrooms and kitchens, so we know that both of those spaces are considered the heart of the home. What are some key elements that you guys focus on to create like dream worthy spaces in those particular areas?

Drew Prince: 8:43

You know, I think there's combining different colors, you know, multifunctional being able to. You know, there's a couple of things that we really focus on with our last build, and that was being able to have neutral colors and also bringing some greens in there. That will really make the space lively. And then having a wall color that doesn't take away from the rest of the space. And so tile. You know, to me you have to figure out in a kitchen whether you want the tile to be the flash or you want the counter to be the flash, and so there's there's a couple of different ways you can go about it and you can make your tile still really stand out without taking away from the rest of the kitchen.

Drew Prince: 9:35

And this last build the one in this picture behind me that's what we did. We actually made a choice on like a Carrera marble and I realized it was taking away from the rest of the kitchen, and so we went with something that had a more subtle look and the amount of feedback on it was awesome, and I just found it on a whim online and it was amazing. So we're going to use that again somewhere. But bathrooms, bathrooms are all tile, you know. So you really have to make. Tile is the key in the bathroom and some people overdo it with a lot of different variables. You know, we try to again bring some some natural wood tones in the space, some neutral colors and then some bold colors, and I think when you combine all three of those elements you create a really inviting space.

Lindsay Fluckiger: 10:33

Awesome, y'all. Great feedback, for sure, yads. I guess also like seeing what your client wants, if they want that statement back splashed or, like you said, do they want the counter to be. You know the show, but look everything that you had to say about bathrooms for sure. So, drew, your motto for the company is do great work, take care of your customers and the rest takes care of itself. How does this philosophy guide your daily operations and decisions?

Drew Prince: 11:04

That's kind of been the thing since the beginning. You know, unfortunately there's a lot of really bad contractors out there and they kind of hurt the industry and you know there's a lot of good ones too and we get a bad rap and you know we get talked down. You know we just get treated differently than maybe other industries and it's really sad sometimes. You know, some of my guys, they get treated differently in job sites and I just think a lot of times it's disrespectful, because you know we're out there, we're doing a job, we're working as hard as we can to make your space as beautiful as possible and it comes with a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifice away from you know, your families. But in the end, you know this is what we do for a living, this is how we pay our bills, and so I've always thought you know that we're gonna do as good of a job as we can do.

Drew Prince: 11:59

When something's not right, I tell my guys to rip it out. You know we do it once and then we're done. You know we don't wanna have customers that are upset about things. We have to go back and I don't understand how contractors all don't have that philosophy, but it's always been my mindset to make sure that we do it once. We do it right and make sure you're always safe and carry your customer yeah that's awesome.

Lindsay Fluckiger: 12:26

We've interviewed several just designers in the past and we've interviewed contractors as well, particularly tile contractors. But the common thread that almost every designer we've talked to has said oh, we signed with a contractor that we found out later wasn't licensed, you know, et cetera, et cetera, and they're like oh, and then like the plumbing and this and this happened, and then it was $20,000 more or whatever. So it's just so refreshing to talk to somebody that takes this seriously and, you know, has pride in what you guys do, and it's evident that what you do is the best. So that's so important.

Lindsay Fluckiger: 13:05

We'll be shouting you guys out on our social media, for sure and for our listeners, do please take a look at Oakhearth Homes. Just beautiful work that. We know that if you're in that Pacific, is it North, pacific North, or where are you guys?

Drew Prince: 13:20

Pacific Northwest, so we're in Washington state.

Lindsay Fluckiger: 13:23

Okay, nice, yeah, look them up for sure, and Drew will provide all links for social website, anything that you have to toss our way to give to our listeners. So let's see here. I actually had my next question was about prioritizing projects, making sure customer satisfaction, but we've covered that. And then you actually already covered I had a question about being a one-stop shop, so we will skip that. All this will be edited, edited, edited, Okay. But I do wanna ask Drew, in the realm of real estate, what unique advantages do you believe Oakhearth Homes can offer to homeowners and investors?

Drew Prince: 14:06

You know, I think you know we really have seen it all. We know good locations to invest in. You know we invest in homes in Arizona, eastern Washington, and so we kind of have an idea on location, size, space, what's gonna be beneficial. You know what you should put into your house, where you're gonna see a return or not see a return. So I think you know years of just doing the actual work and then you know, being an investor in this industry has helped us to understand the process. You know, and that's come along with a lot of people that we've known in the real estate industry that have helped us as well. So we've learned from them and then, you know, pass it down to other people.

Lindsay Fluckiger: 14:53

Yeah, awesome, you're coming at it from all different angles instead of just kind of one side of the story, and I'm sure that is very beneficial. So are there any upcoming projects or initiatives that you're particularly excited about or that you wanna share with our listeners to be watching out for?

Drew Prince: 15:12

Yeah, we got a couple of really cool projects coming up. We're building the house in San Cadia, which is like a resort town second home area, and we got a couple that are coming up here in the near future. So stay tuned for those. They're gonna be really cool. A lot of special features, I think my wife calls them. The first one is called a masculine mountain house, so it's got some unique style to it.

Lindsay Fluckiger: 15:48

Very cool. Love it. We will definitely be on the lookout for that. Got a couple more questions for you, Drew.

Lindsay Fluckiger: 15:55

So and I know this might be like, I don't think it's necessarily a touchy subject I just think that it's important for listeners to kind of hear all aspects of what they might be getting into when it comes to like home renovation. Of course, we know DIY has taken the internet by storm To some extent. There are television shows and things that are to blame, and then we see just a movement on social media with a lot of people that are like I'm just gonna do it myself, I can save more money this way. I would love to pick your brain a little bit on your opinion, because I know that you guys did start kind of by doing your own flips, but you've also been in the industry for a while, so you guys had that knowledge and know how already. What would you say to somebody who is looking at a remodel let's say it's not something too drastic. Maybe it's just they're doing a guest bathroom remodel or something like that. What would be the best advice you could give them as they research a DIY route versus hiring a contractor?

Drew Prince: 16:59

Okay, yeah, I mean, I think that this industry is, it's not complicated. I think I'm not doing anything special. You know, I think anybody could really do it. I mean, and I tell people that all the time I have friends that I felt start a business in the same industry. You know it's, it's not rocket science, you know you, just like I said, like my motto is you know, do good work and take care of your customers.

Drew Prince: 17:27

You know, when it comes to DIY, it's really just doing your research. You know there's social media these days cuss companies like ours. Youtube has tons of details about how to do things yourself. So it's definitely doable. But I will say there's, it's, it's an animal, so it takes it takes a lot of research to get it done and do it the right way. A lot of people skip steps because you know there's a lot of challenges, just like any industry that you're in. So if you're going to do it yourself, I my recommendation is do it right, because you don't want to have to pay for it twice. And if you don't want to do it right, then hire a professional, because we know what we're doing and you won't have to do it twice.

Lindsay Fluckiger: 18:14

Easy peasy. I like it Awesome. All right, so let me see here. I've got two more questions for you, drew. This has been such a treat. Thank you so much again for being with us today. We're really excited to produce this episode and pump it out to our listeners and yours as well. Can you share a little bit about what it's like working as a family operated business, and what do you think are the advantages and challenges of working closely with your family members in the company?

Drew Prince: 18:49

That's a really good question.

Drew Prince: 18:52

You know, I think you know there's a balance of trying to figure out you know when to cut off work right when you're at home.

Drew Prince: 19:03

My wife and I work together a lot. You know we're figuring out things for real estate, for remodels, for new builds all the time, and so there's got to be a fine line and it's a challenge for us trying to figure that out when you know to cut that off and talk about other things that are more important. And then you know the same thing comes with, you know, working with my brother as well. So you know we've grown up together, we're nine years apart, so you know there's a challenge of just knowing how you speak to each other and you know how you can trust them, and so you know it's just figuring out that balance, working with family, knowing that everybody always has your best interest, just finding the right balance. I think a lot of people struggle working with their family members and I think we've done a pretty good job, but again, there's challenges to it and you just try to overcome them and get better and learn from them.

Drew Prince: 20:12

Yeah, awesome Something you would recommend then, yeah, yeah, you'll find the right people to do good work, and you know they care about the overall picture, and that's what it's all about.

Lindsay Fluckiger: 20:26

Yeah, it seems like you guys would be like pretty like-minded and then, at the end of the day, you know, like you said, you've got each other's backs and you know where your heart's at, and I think that's awesome. I love that. Thanks for sharing that. So my last question for today is what advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs in the construction and real estate industry, based on your own experiences and journey with Oakhearth Homes?

Drew Prince: 20:54

You know, I was asked the same exact question on another podcast a couple of weeks ago and I told them that what I'll tell you, what we did to really get this going, is obviously you've got to start with people that you know. You know just like any industry, and then from there you got to build off of that. I think social media obviously has become a huge benefit to people starting their own businesses, and there's places on Facebook. Facebook community pages are very powerful. You can find people interested in doing a project and be able to bid projects through that website and then, once your project's done, have them post that on the community page and people will trust their community members that you know. They know that if their friends or their neighbors did it and they use them, then it's likely that you're going to do a good job for them as well. So I would say, using social media, media as a tool to build your business, find community pages and then the other key component is giving back to the community that you work in.

Drew Prince: 22:07

So we do a lot of giveaways, a lot of. We've done things over the years, like during COVID, where we gave like 10 single moms or single dads dinner for a couple of days during the week because they were. You know, they didn't have jobs, things like that. We've given away. We have an Airbnb in Arizona. We've given away trips to that, to a Gala, to raise money. We've done that for golf tournaments that are raising money for certain awarenesses. We've done sponsorships for schools. You know, every year we do some sort of large event to try to give back to the community.

Drew Prince: 22:46

This year we did a couple of Santa photos, free Santa photos, with people in the community and so you know, being a part of a community and building up your business and letting people know like you're family pretty much and you know you can come to you for anything and that you can trust them. And you do that over time. It doesn't happen overnight, but the harder that you try to make sure people understand that you're a good person, you're there to take care of them, fix their house, make it beautiful and get back to the community, I think more and more people will trust you.

Lindsay Fluckiger: 23:25

That's so awesome, but your love for what you do for sure just like comes through and that's it's just so inspiring what you guys are doing to build up your community and it's clear to see why you guys have been so successful. So thanks for sharing that with us. Thanks again, drew, for being on the show. We're so looking forward to getting this out to our listeners and to those who stumble upon us, and to your following as well. It's been such a pleasure to meet you and to get to know more about Oakarth Homes.

Drew Prince: 23:59

Thank you. I appreciate you having me on Awesome.

Lindsay Fluckiger: 24:01

I'm gonna end the recording really quick.