Build, market, write, sell, and other plans for the future

We are almost done with salvaging the two Nacogodoches houses that we started in in early March.

I’m so happy that we’re almost done, and I’m counting the days until we can say goodbye one last time to that plot of land where two houses once stood.

After deconstructing these six old houses in 10 months  — one after another with just rainy days and short weekend breaks between them — there has been little time to spare for much of anything else.

(Those of you with full-time, physically demanding … or stressful jobs can certainly relate I’m sure.)

Everything we have wanted (or needed) to do has been added to a “to do” list.  That list is now quite lengthy and it’s time to get some stuff done.

We are so ready for a break!

First and foremost, we need time to rest, relax and have a bit of fun.  I have felt really worn down the past few weeks, and I have blisters that need to heal.  And, Mark and I have been talking about taking some personal “us” time.    Mark is lobbying for a family vacation, to a place with streams and mountains.  Tennessee or Virginia have been mentioned a time or two.

We need to get some personal projects done.  We must finish our house painting project, which was briefly abandoned after we fired our painter and the cold, rainy season started here.

And we want to build a chicken coop.

We need to paint bookshelves, build a bed, decorate our bedroom and a guest bedroom, finish a guest bathroom, unpack boxes that have been in storage for months … and well, I could go on, but you wouldn’t want to hear it.  It’s better if I just blog about it later.

Speaking of that, I want (and intend) to blog more often, or at least more consistently.    I have so many fun, inspirational things I want to share with you.

(I know I’ve been a bit absent lately, and I sincerely apologize for that.  Please do be patient with me!)

And, we need to work on some business projects.   Our two lumber storage barns are full, and I do mean incredibly full, and we need to build a third.

Barn #3 should be the last one we need to build because we will be pulling from our inventory soon to build and create … for fun and for profit.

Once we have depleted our stock somewhat, we will consider salvaging more old homes — there are so many in our area! — and the cycle of deconstruction and construction will begin again.

We want to build a tiny (or little) house .. perhaps one on a trailer.  That way we can show our work at area events like festivals, antique shows.  We’ve talked about buying a travel trailer anyway.

Speaking of events, I mentioned on Facebook that we attended the Earth Day celebration at Stephen F. Austin State University last weekend. We weren’t sure what to expect, but we’re so glad we made the effort.  We met a lot of new friends who support our mission and love what we do.     In fact, one of the organizers lives in a tiny house himself!  I can’t wait to see it in person.

We’re also looking into buying a small parcel of land in or near Palestine or Nacogdoches with the goal of building little houses in a small pocket neighborhood.  Equally desirable would be to partner with a landowner or developer who shares our vision.  Perhaps you know of someone?

We also need time for marketing and PR, to build awareness and advocacy of what we do.   After creating some buzz, sales should follow.  At least that’s our hope and goal.

Admittedly, we’ve made a good start considering that we’ve been in business for less than a year.  What we are doing appears to be working, and we are celebrating our small victories.

If you called me a marketing guru I would laugh at you, but I’ve read enough to not be considered entirely ignorant.

Right out of the box, I knew I needed to build awareness so straight to Facebook I went.  Our Facebook page now has 2,083 followers, and I dance a small jig every time someone new likes our page.

I also have a Twitter account, but admittedly, I’m not as active as I should be.  (No time .. and no smart phone … yet.)

Also, SEO from our blog appears to be working fairly well, and it will only get better as I write more.  (SEO is not the only reason I blog by the way!  I love sharing and reading your comments.)

Case in point:  a homeowner in the Bryan/College Station area contacted us after googling “Texas antique wood”.

The reason she contacted us is because she wanted a quote to install this big pile of old, lovely beadboard to her living room ceiling.  We’ve been awarded that project and will start on it sometime this summer.

The signs we made are also helping to build awareness.   We had many drop-by visitors at our Nacogdoches site and several individuals at the Earth Day event mentioned that they had seen our sign.

One of those visitors is a Nacogdoches homeowner who is interested in building a small vintage-style shed in her backyard using reclaimed building materials (both hers and ours).

And, that’s yet another thing I’d love to build on our property — a small gardening shed.  Maybe this one?