We’re back with our latest Member To Meet introduction. Throughout the year we are taking you behind the scenes of our featured members, sharing their story, how they overcome fear and persevere. Our next feature is with Samantha Grose, Founder of Oak & Arrow Homes. Read on to see how Samantha chooses courage over fear, as she recently took over 100% ownership of her company in 2019.
Samantha Grose, photo by Ana Taylor Photography
How long have you been in business and please explain to our audience what you do. I’ve been doing this for 15 years and took over ownership at the start of 2019. I’m the owner and principal designer for Oak & Arrow Homes. What I enjoy most is working with homeowners and taking their laundry lists of what works, what doesn’t, what’s needed, in their home and create a vision for them and direction for making their dream a reality. We collaborate on the full design, handle all the construction estimating and the full construction process. Together we create happy and healthy homes for each family we work with.
How long have you been a member of the BWC and how has this helped you with your business growth and development? Almost 2 years now. Having another set of 10 eyes on the challenges that I’m facing has given me a tremendous amount of perspective and ability to solve issues that come up quickly. The feedback and recommendations from my circle and those I’ve met through my membership have truly been invaluable.
What are 1-2 goals you have for 2020? Our big goal for 2020 is growing our design and management side of the design/build process and collaborating with other builders. We have done this on a few out of state projects in the past but formalizing our process and being able to work with more families is our goal. We have a unique design process that focuses not only on thoughtful design but also on creating healthier living spaces.
What motivates you to reach these goals, also, what holds you back? I love the design process, taking clients from the very beginning to then seeing the plans come to life. It’s a big process so handing that completed home over at move in time is very rewarding and I always feel a major sense of accomplishment.
What holds us back? Definitely the complexity of construction! Remodeling especially since we are working with an existing home and all its character. Then throw in the chaos of Minnesota weather and it keeps every day lively!
Can you describe a time you were faced with fear as it pertains to your business and how did you persevere? If you’re currently facing fear, what is causing this? We are currently working on a small cape cod where every foot counts. We just finished demo and had a couple of changes we had to make based on what was behind the walls. Our crew and I looked at it from every angle but only had one option which made a wall opening much smaller than planned. I hated having to be the bearer of bad news for the homeowner. It’s the worst! But we met on site, walked through the challenges together and they were ok with the solution. This comes up on every project. It’s definitely the nature of the work but it is still hard.
Do you have any best practices to share on how to overcome fear? I always try to take some deep breaths, say a prayer, then think through every possible scenario so I can bring options to our clients. I try to remember it’s never going to be as bad as I think in my head.
Who is a current role model for you, and why? Shea McGee is definitely one. Her studio has a beautiful aesthetic to all their design work and the way they have grown their business in just a few years is so impressive.
What are 2-3 things you always take with you when you leave the house? My phone and boots...I usually have an assortment in my trunk for site visits in all weather conditions.
Favorite book, podcast or THING from 2019? Extreme Ownership by Leif Babin and Jocko Willink
Anything else you’d like to share?: I really appreciate the opportunity to be featured! This has been a wonderful community to be a part of and it has definitely made entrepreneurship much less lonely!
How can we stay in touch with you?
Phone: (952) 994-5877
Business Name: Oak & Arrow Homes
Business Website: http://oakarrowhomes.com
Best Way to Find You (website): samantha@oakarrowhomes.com, Instagram @oakarrowhomes
Samantha, it has been so inspirational watching you take over ownership, with a rebrand, new name and now new goals that you’re doing so well on this year. We love following along on Instagram too, your feed is swoon worthy and full of interior goals, so thank you!
The BWC Team