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When you’re told by your teacher that you’re not going to be good at much other than using a shovel, it’s hard to imagine how you’d work with that information. Most normal human beings may lose a little self-confidence, feel a little less than adequate and shy away from pursuing any big dreams. But thankfully our guest today Neil Hipwell from Futureflip is some sort of superhuman that never let these words stop him.
After dropping out of school at 14 years old to pursue an apprenticeship, Neil realised that not only was he good with a shovel, he had a passion for building and was willing to work very hard to achieve a quality, functional and beautiful product. At just 19 years of age, Neil went out on his own after completing his building and carpentry apprenticeship and founded his company, Futureflip. His ethos is different than most in residential building which we’ve found to be very refreshing. Neil takes commercial building principals and applies them to his residential building developments. Working on up to 20 projects at once, Neil and his team are still able to deliver a finished project within 12 – 16 weeks, which is just insane. We told you he was superhuman.
On this week’s episode of Building with BuildHer, Rebeka chats to Neil about how he’s able to achieve these results in luxury builds within such a short timeframe and within a reasonable budget. He’s kicking so many goals, and we want to know all his secrets!
Speaking of secrets, if you’re a part of our DevelopHers Inner Circle, you’ll have access to a whole lot more of Neil’s insights from our recent trip to Sydney. Learn more here.
SOME TOPICS THAT WE COVER:
- Being “book smart” isn’t everything.
- Learn from those in the industry around you. Look at their attention to detail, ask a lot of questions and be aware of ways you can improve.
- Working to a timeframe, budget and design.
- There are always going to be aspects that are out of your control, but you can work to mitigate unnecessary risks.
- How to not fall behind on a project when you’re working with unreliable tradespeople.
- The importance of a well-utilised Site Manager.
- Word of mouth when picking your building team is paramount.
