Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in home care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Edie Dillman, Co-Founder of B.PUBLIC Prefab, located in Santa Fe, NM, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
B.PUBLIC Prefab is a team of architects, designers, and change-makers meeting the climate and housing crises head-on. We're reimagining building for the better with technology that achieves extreme energy reduction, deep sustainability, and unmatched livability. We work with clients directly to design customer homes, architects and designers designing with our prefab components for high-performance buildings, and developers building NetZero and sustainable communities.
Tell us about yourself
I came to B.PUBLIC Prefab from the Education-to-Workforce disruption. At the same time, my partner was creating the first line of standard building components that would be rolled out as B.PUBLIC Prefab; I was working with a nonprofit addressing critical skills gaps in our workforce and innovative ways to train and attract talent to high-demand career paths. The eureka moment that inspired me to start B.PUBLIC Prefab was that labor shortages in the trades were the result of 30 years of attrition. We cannot solve that gap in skills and experience without out-of-the-box (or in-the-shop) disruption. We need to think smarter, work more efficiently, and attract huge numbers of new and diverse workers to fill not just the workforce crisis - but the housing shortage and rising construction costs. I realized that by creating jobs that train tradespeople and, importantly, offer job security and transferable skills with meaningful pathways, we might be able to create a shift. And the kicker for me is that our technology is also the future of sustainable housing and energy-independent healthy homes. B.PUBLIC Prefab allows me to make an impact on multiple issues while focusing on growing our one company.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I am very proud of building something that is segment-defining out of nothing. Of course, I am also incredibly proud and grateful that we could survive launching a company at the exact time COVID threw the business world upside down. Being an entrepreneur always has unexpected twists - and COVID certainly taught us that by being a mission-based public benefit corporation, it is helpful to have a central focus on solutions when the world goes sideways - our focus was clear.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Sleep can be a challenge. Both the thrilling and the worrying thoughts can keep you up or wake you up. I love my work and have a hard time turning it off. Lots of people preach about taking good care of yourself as crucial for the health of the company and your ability to be at your top performance. I have a hard time with that balance and will always have to practice walking away from the computer or prioritizing a hike to stay balanced.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Don't quit your day job until you have an MVP.
- Surround yourself with great advisors and ignore the folks to eat your time and don't feed your progress.
- Make sure you focus on doing better for the planet, people, or a purpose. Profit is no longer enough, and money will not keep you working through the hard parts. It helps to know you have a larger purpose and that your work is service.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://bpublicprefab.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BPUBLICprefab
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b.publicprefab/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edie-dillman-159a639/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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