Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Lisa Wise, co-founder of Birdwatch, located in Washington, DC, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Birdwatch is a home maintenance service. From one-off repairs like a leaky faucet to seasonal HVAC cleaning and enhancements to painting and baby proofing, we're a homeowner 24/7 wingman. Home managers act as concierge coordinators working with in-house techs and specialists in real-time to resolve member issues swiftly with in-house technicians and specialists. No more hoping you can find someone reliable, wondering if the price is fair or just putting off maintenance because it's a hassle to coordinate. Let's take that off your plate. We take the hassle out of home maintenance and give our members time back to focus on what matters most. Birdwatch is a membership service with low monthly fees that include access to We are here seven days a week. Members skip the line, streamline vendor visits and have access to support teams that can walk you through problems remotely, saving time and wasted visits. Our members are busy homeowners, professionals who travel often, and folks who aren't up for DIY maintenance anymore.

Tell us about yourself

I've been an entrepreneur since I was a pigtailed tomboy living in Idaho. My work has always been cause-driven, and I have focused on housing throughout most of my career. I grew up with housing insecurity and have made it my life's work to solve this problem for myself and as many others as I can. I bought a sweet little adobe duplex in Tucson, Arizona, in the 90s and became a landlady, and loved everything about it. Over time, I leaned on property management as a career, business, and enterprise. My Flock family of companies does 7 million in business annually and manages 2.5 billion dollars in residential real estate. I am the co-founder of Birdwatch, a tech-enabled home maintenance service that takes the hassle out of homeownership. Working on homes is always my home base.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

In 2020, I founded and launched birdSEED, a housing justice initiative granting no-strings downpayment grants to first-time BIPOC home buyers. In 2022, birdSEED was named a world-changing idea by Fast Company. I am the author of Self-Elected: How to Put People Over Profit and Soar in Business.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

Don't forget to invoice. Seriously. It's one of the hardest things to do when you first start out in business. And it remains hard. Remember to value your own work as much as we want (and need) our paying clients too.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Be a servant leader. You don't have a product, service, or enterprise unless you have a dedicated, loyal team. Put them first.
  2. Admit mistakes and study them. Allow your team to do the same. There is no way to improve our businesses unless we look critically at what didn't work.
  3. READ! I inhale (through my ears) as much content as I can about business, leadership, politics, AI, and junky detective novels. Because sometimes learning needs to take a back seat.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://birdwatch.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisa.wise
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisawisedc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chiefnester
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisawise/

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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