Lillie Cameron, a brand new mom who also runs her own business. She started EcoSafe Spaces with her now husband. The company provides design and building services for green, eco-friendly construction. She also works with Rackspace, which has recently revamped its policies for maternity and paternity leave.
Famous 5:
- Favorite Book? – The Advantage, with its six-question model
- What CEO do you follow? — Elon Musk
- Favorite online tool? — Trello
- Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — No
- If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Surround yourself with people who lift you up. Don’t be afraid to fail.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
- 01:13 – Nathan introduces Lillie
- 01:50 – Green construction
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- 02:10 – They had a friend who lost a child during pregnancy because of construction chemicals
- 02:30 – EcoSafe Spaces
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- 02:40 – Design and building services
- 03:10 – Their recent project in downtown Austin
- 03:50 – Around $500000 jobs
- 04:15 – “The most energy efficient homes in the city”
- 04:30 – The sales pitch
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- 04:50 – People in Austin understand sustainability
- 05:35 – Opened in 2007
- 05:45 – Margins vary – fixed rate vs. cost plus contract
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- 06:10 – Fixed rate
- 06:45 – The contract is much more flexible
- 07:20 – Fixed rate deal that went bad
- 07:35 – Now they do mostly cost plus contracts
- 07:50 – Up to 7 projects at a time
- 08:30 – The plan for EcoSafe
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- 08:55 – There are benefits to being a small business
- 09:20 – Lillie also works with Rackspace
- 09:25 – Recruited in 2009 by a former boss
- 09:55 – She did project management work, but wore multiple hats
- 10:45 – It is utility-based computing
- 11:10 – How this type of service was first received
- 12:30 – There are many different types of customers
- 13:20 – They have a unique angle
- 13:35 – Rackspace is a great place for new parents to work
- 14:10 – Maternity leave in this country
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- 14:45 – Canada does a year of leave
- 15:00 -- Paternity and maternity leave needs awareness
- 15:55 – ecosafespaces.com and Lillie Cameron on LinkedIn
- 17:50 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
- Find a business idea that solves an important problem.
- Consider maternity leave in the US and how it needs to improve.
- You can balance it all, as a business owner and a parent.
Resources Mentioned:
- Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
- Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
- Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
- Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
- Trello – Lillie’s favorite online tool for staying organized
- Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives