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- [00:00]
A
Let's now talk about the changing the industry. Right? So you said that you know, you want to change the stigma and how people perceive the industry.
- [00:10]
B
I mean, there's obviously a stigma attached to women in the industry. I want people to know that you can sort of wear cool clothes and be a bit girly, but also still be in the trades. They're going to notice, like, why is there a lady in a room full of men wearing all pink and sparkly shoes? They'll come to me.
- [00:26]
A
Ashley Flynn is the CEO and lead designer of BlackRock Developments, a multimillion dollar residential and commercial design build firm transforming Ontario's construction and real estate industry. She's breaking barriers for women in the trades while redefining what clients expect from contractors, delivering trust, transparency and tailored service at every stage.
- [00:46]
B
Women can be awesome boss business people too. At the end of the day, if my, my friends, my family, my community is proud of what I've done and I was able to carve the way for at least one person because they were inspired by my story, that would be enough for me.
- [01:02]
A
If someone's watching this and maybe they are inspired to do their first flip or to start a firm, where do they start?
- [01:08]
B
There's a few different avenues. Number one.
- [01:13]
A
It spans the globe like a super high cold Internet. Elvis Preston. I agree. Today Apple is going to reinvent Lefon. It's not over until I win the Living youg Legacy podcast. For those who live to leave a legacy. Jordan Open Chicago with the lead Usain Paul is the fastest man on the planet. You can live your dream. Hello and welcome back to another episode of Legacy Makers. Joining me today is Ashley. She's changing and revolutionizing the construction industry as we know it. She's very successful entrepreneur, won a ton of awards and leading the way in a business that I've also been involved in for many years, which is construction and real estate. Ashley, welcome to the show.
- [02:12]
B
Thank you for having me.
- [02:13]
A
So I'm excited to dive in. You know, we were talking offline about all you're doing and you know, obviously you've got a big team. You manage over 100 contractors doing some really cool developments, full electric housing, some really high end stuff and you've managed to escape the cold and come join us down here in Miami. So welcome.
- [02:31]
B
Thank you.
- [02:31]
A
Yes, it's great to have you. If people don't know who you are, do you mind just giving them a minute summary?
- [02:36]
B
Yeah. My name is Ashley Flynn. I am the CEO and lead designer of BlackRock Development. We are a Full service design and build firm located in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. And we service a 100 mile radius of that. We build everything from commercial and residential projects and it's fully customizable to our clients. Tailored services. So I can hold your hand as much as you want or I can back off as much as I want. But we, we are there from very beginning to the very end.
- [03:07]
A
And the bigger part, you know, obviously we were talking. The bigger part is you're trying to kind of change or almost disrupt that industry a little. Right. You want to just talk about how you're doing that.
- [03:16]
B
I mean, there's obviously a stigma attached to women in the industry. I want people to know that you can sort of wear cool clothes and be a bit girly, but also still be in the trades and you don't have to have that blue collar negativity associated with it. I want people to know that there's a lot of money to be had and there's a great work life balance as opposed to some of these stereotypical desk jobs.
- [03:40]
A
Yep. So, and I, you know, I know you've been very successful yourself. Built the team of a hundred and obviously started at zero, making multiple millions. Now can you talk about that business growth and journey you've had?
- [03:54]
B
Yeah, so I started pretty much from nothing. I was flipping houses for a long time and started to see the income potential there. And yeah, we, we literally started with a truck and our hand tools and there was two of us. I was all the business sort of aspects and I had an actual contractor working with me. And the team, one by one started to grow as we started landing more and more projects. Most of it actually came a lot from social media. Okay. And yeah, like I, I, it was, I was extremely fortunate to put myself in the right rooms. I think networking is a huge, basically the biggest attribute to my success was putting myself in the right rooms.
- [04:32]
A
Cool.
- [04:32]
B
Yeah.
- [04:33]
A
So we'll come back to the networking side later because I'm, you know, I am a massive believer in that. But let's now talk about the changing the industry. Right. So you said that, you know, you want to change the stigma and how people perceive the industry. If someone's watching this and maybe they are inspired to do their first flip or to start a firm, where do they start?
- [04:55]
B
There's a few different avenues. Number one, the trade schools are great. They actually give better incentives for females to sign up. They give you bonuses. So that's a big one because you'll get paid to go to, to learn a trade. If you're sort of thinking about, you know, you want to. The industry excites you, but you're not exactly sure which avenue. I would say cold call companies and see if you can go and test out different avenues for like, and work for maybe free. We do that all the time. I will bring females in that call and ask if it's possible for them to try something like they tile it sites and they like the way tiles look. They'd like to learn how to lay it. They'll come and work with us for a couple days or test out drywall. And most of the time we'll end up paying them to come and work for us. But I want them to go physically to a site. Another thing you can do is literally walk onto a site. If I had a female walk onto any of my sites, they'd probably be hired immediately because they took that initiative.
- [05:51]
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [05:52]
B
There is. Yeah, like cold calling is. Is definitely a good one. People want females in the trades.
- [05:59]
A
And then the flip of that, if there's someone watching, male or female, but especially maybe a female entrepreneur, and she's like, I don't want to go and do the skill, but I want to get into real estate investment. Right. I have a business making money. I've always wanted to doing flips or whatever. Right?
- [06:13]
B
Yeah.
- [06:14]
A
Where do they start?
- [06:14]
B
That was me. So I just saved all my pennies to buy my first house. And it wasn't a great house, hence the flipping.
- [06:22]
A
Me too.
- [06:22]
B
Right? But it is what actually ignited my passion because I learned the hard way, which I think is the best way to learn. And then I learned from other people's mistakes, which is the second best way to learn, I think. But yeah, save your pennies, find an investor, buy with your parents, buy a house with your friends, and physically get your hands dirty for a little bit. At least that way you're able to understand the project management side and like, the different aspects. Because there's so much more than just like paint on a wall or floor on the ground.
- [06:52]
A
Well, I think it's. I teach it, you know, in market, and I'm like, hey, you don't have to be like the world's best marketer or run all the ads, but you should know enough to understand it because if not, you just get taken a fool. Right? And I think it's kind of the same. Like, I've got a bunch of real estate and like, I learned in the first few years, like, what I should pay someone for a kitchen and why, you know, how long should it take and if they were taking advantage and what order to get things in. So I think it's a great, great way to look at it. So let's talk a little more about you in the business. Right? How have you grown this business? I know you've got like up to 100 contractors now on sites and you know, multiple big housing projects. Can you talk about like some of the steps to grow it?
- [07:34]
B
Putting myself in the right rooms, that was networking, I think was the key. I'm very fortunate because I don't advertise, people come to me. But I make a very big point of putting myself out there, putting myself in the uncomfortable situations, breaking the, you know, my normal comfort zone. I'm, I'm a homebody, I want to be at home, but I wear crazy clothes and I put myself in a room where people are going to look at me, they're going to notice, like, why is there a lady in a room full of men wearing all pink and sparkly shoes? They'll come to me and I make that spectacle. I've always put myself in a room where there's richer or smarter people than me because that way I'm able to learn if I'm the richest or the smartest person in the room, I shouldn't be there. I'm not gonna get anything from it because I've done that. I was able to find the right people, ask the right questions, draw enough attention so that people could see me. And it's me that brings the business in, but I'm doing it for the greater good of other people. And it was, yeah, literally networking in the right rooms, putting myself in the right social media groups, doing a lot of social media content too, which sometimes seems a little silly to people.
- [08:43]
A
I think that's so important because in that industry a lot of people don't do it. So when you do it, you stand out.
- [08:49]
B
No, yeah, that's exactly it. People don't do it. Yeah, usually it's, you know, 50 year old men that don't know how to use a cell phone. So to have people under the age of 40 in there and a lot of my project managers, they're in their 20s and they're making Tiktoks dance run on sites and like people like that, right. It's showcasing the progress, the fun. The fact that we're actually on site every day and the fact that we're. There's a post or some sort of content every single day, literally shows potential clients, holy smokes. These people actually show up.
- [09:18]
A
Well, I want to add on, especially talking about the females getting in the industry. There's a couple on Instagram that, like, they do, like, they go viral all the time because they're building these cool projects, right. And I follow a lot of them because I have so many offices and studios. And we're always looking at cool backdrops and stuff to add to our studios. And I see these, you know, a couple especially big influences in the DIY space. They've really nailed it because they're like this, you know, attractive female doing this crazy DIY projects. And I'm like, good for them because they've, like, figured out this niche, right? So sometimes. And what I'm trying to go with this is sometimes there's an advantage and a disadvantage, right?
- [09:59]
B
Yeah, absolutely. I've definitely used that to my advantage a hundred percent, is that I don't fit the normal. The normal box. And that is one of the reasons why people hire.
- [10:09]
A
And a lot of times it's harder to get started because of that. Right? Because they don't accept you. But then once you, like, prove yourself now, it sometimes actually becomes easier because now you can stand there.
- [10:19]
B
Absolutely. Not to say that I don't still have those challenges. I always will. I find a lot of the time when we get mail, contractors cold calling to see if we're looking for people, they will talk to every single other person on the job site before they even look at me. Because they almost always think I'm an interior decorator or I'm the homeowner, and immediately they're black. Like they're banned. Like they're blacklisted from. From my short list of contractors. Because if you won't give everybody the same opportunities, you're not for me.
- [10:47]
A
I'm sure you got some fun stories out of those misalignments of expectations, but, yeah, I mean, it's. It's great that you know that. And that's, you know, part of what legacy makers is, is, you know, a common trend is people that have pushed for adversity, they define the norm. Right. And they come out the other end on top, which is kind of what we want to showcase, but also not showcase just for us own sake. Showcase to inspire others. So if someone's not quite there yet, they're maybe in the early phase, struggling with those battles not being accepted. Right. And it doesn't just have to be a female in the construction industry. Right. Everyone faces that in some way most of the time. What would you say to them?
- [11:27]
B
I'd say, don't be scared. And trust your gut. And I waited far too long to actually do what I wanted to do because I was worried about what other people were going to think or I didn't trust myself. I didn't believe in myself enough. And it wasn't until I decided I literally woke up one day and said, no, enough is enough. This is what I want to do, and I'm just going to do it. It doesn't mean that because I put myself out there and because I'm constantly, you know, having to kick down doors and do things a little bit differently, that I don't have struggles every day, that we don't still run into the same stigmas or whatever, it just means that I honestly, I go to bed at night and I think, yes, I did it right. Like, I'm proud of. Of that fact.
- [12:10]
A
Yeah. And I think when you start, you have to get, like I always say, you have to get comfortable being uncomfortable, Right? Like, you know, when you start a sport, say you take up running, right? It's going to suck for the first three or six months, but then you're going to get really good at it. And it'll still suck because whenever you run, you run hard and get out of breath, but you'll be more used to it. And I think, you know, I remember when I started in as a personal trainer at 17, you had to go up and sell to someone running on a treadmill, sweating, out of breath, and you just kind of coming up to them cold, trying to pitch yourself. And it's very uncomfortable at first, but you get your reps in and you get used to it. And I feel it's kind of the same for you, right? It's like, it's never easy, but it's like that running analogy that it really sucks for a few months, and then you get more comfortable being uncomfortable.
- [12:55]
B
You have to build a tolerance to it. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And it's funny that you use the running analogy, because I use that all the time and literally took up running to be able to, like, practically use it.
- [13:05]
A
Well, I think running, honestly, it's like, you know, off topic, but one of the best discipline builders, because when I'm running, every minute I'm. Part of my brain is saying, you should quit and walk. Part of your brain saying, keep going, Right? And I'm sure that's how you felt at times. You were, you know, really diving into this, but you got, you know, someone being rude to you or disrespecting you, and you want to quit, but then you get up the next day and go at it again.
- [13:29]
B
Yeah. It actually drives me to push harder. Right. And I think that's where you need to take those negative thoughts, those negative aspects, and use it as fuel to turn it positively. And you can like, you know, that whole manifesting what you want, that positivity mindset, I thought in the beginning was bs. Now I know it's real. It is actually real. If you want something bad enough and you fight hard enough for it, you'll get it.
- [13:53]
A
Yeah. Love that. Love that. So if someone sat there watching, they're starting to get inspired by, you know, everything you've pushed through. And these words of wisdom and motivation, which I love, tell them a little about what's inside your episode. Right. What are they going to learn from the main episode and take away? Is it more of this? Is it your story?
- [14:11]
B
Definitely this. My story, I think is also what's, what sells us. I, I, I had a pretty rough go as a kid and an early 20s. I was a, a survivor of domestic abuse. And so I took all of that. I had nothing like nothing with a, just a baby. And I used all of the negative things that ever happened to me to, to create a legacy for, not just for me, but for my daughter and to show other people who have dealt with abusive situation that they can rebuild and they can come up better on top.
- [14:46]
A
Yeah. And I think that just like the even more powerful maybe than the female construction side. Right. A lot of people stuck in those situations, especially hot. You know, I don't have children, but I imagine 10 times harder when you have a child to figure out two. And it's like at one point, I'm sure it's like you're lost and stuck. I'm saying, where do I go from here? And now look at you. Right. So again, what would you say to someone that's maybe in that sort of relationship and stuck?
- [15:14]
B
I would say there's always a way out and not to be scared. It's hard not to be scared. But there is always an escape route, even when you think there isn't. And if you find that escape route, don't wait, take it. Because there's a better life, better life.
- [15:29]
A
On the other side.
- [15:30]
B
Absolutely.
- [15:31]
A
I say when you push through the pain and the darkness, when you get to the light at the end of the tunnel, it's normally always better. So I love that. And what else in the episode? Any other nuggets or sneak peeks?
- [15:42]
B
Yes. Talking about again, not just the females in the trades, but Canada has a pretty Big housing crisis and there's a lot of red tape trying to get people to build. So I'm in there trying to, you know, break down those political barriers and let everybody have a chance to be able to create a better country. Yeah, more housing for everybody.
- [16:06]
A
So you're not for. I did see in the news, you know, Trump joked about Canada joining America. You don't think that's going to happen?
- [16:13]
B
No, we definitely want. Canadians are so nice and we really are. But if you mess with us, it's not a good time. Right. We can definitely win a snowball fight. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [16:23]
A
Good. And what about, you know, when we get to the legacy side? Right. We've talked a lot about, you know, your personal journey and then the links to adversity and mindset and pushing through it, which is what this is all about. But what does the legacy side mean to you?
- [16:38]
B
I want to be able to create a. I guess the lasting impression on my daughter is the biggest thing. And to show other females that women can be awesome boss business people too. And at the end of the day, if my friends, my family, my community is proud of what I've done and I was able to carve the way for at least one person to be able to follow their dreams, it doesn't have to be in construction, design, any of that sort of stuff, but they took a leap because they were inspired by my story. That would be enough for me.
- [17:10]
A
Well, and I think just in line with the, you know, the female and construction side, there's maybe not quite as bad, but still a gap in female in entrepreneurship and CEOs, executive C suites. I mean, you know, and we really try to support that. I've seen a lot of statistics in corporate America still, you know, a big discrepancy between male and female. So what? And obviously, just like with construction, you become very successful as a female entrepreneur. So what would you say to an aspiring female entrepreneur?
- [17:42]
B
Do it 100 do it. Don't wait. Don't worry about the things people may say. I know for females it's always hard, right? Like you've got to fit a bunch of different boxes.
- [17:53]
A
So similar problems almost as the construction.
- [17:56]
B
But don't wait because the longer you wait, the less time you have at kept succeeding.
- [18:01]
A
And you know, I have some close friends that are very successful female entrepreneurs and I think it's the same. It's like, it's harder to start, but once they get really get going, it's like they have way better like tribes and communities than the guys do. You know, because we're. We're kind of like, yeah, we'll shake hands at events and see each other at events, and then it's like, we'll see you again in three months. But, but the, you know, the females are like, doing these weekly zooms and accountability and texting and supporting each other. So that's really cool. I love that.
- [18:30]
B
For us, it's about community over compet.
- [18:32]
A
Yeah, yeah.
- [18:33]
B
Right. There is definitely a place for everybody and we want to encourage more females to be leaders. Yeah, we need them.
- [18:40]
A
Yeah. I mean, guy may guys is maybe a little more ego and competent, you know, big numbers competition. But yeah, I really see that supportiveness, which I love. And I'm kind of. I think more like that, that, you know, I don't. I always say I don't have any competitors. They're all my best friends, most of my quote unquote competitors. And I think everyone should win. And I believe there's enough opportunity for everyone too, which I'm sure you see too. So in terms of legacy, how do you. How do you want your legacy to be? Be kind of seen and told.
- [19:11]
B
I would like people to see that you can completely change your life. It's absolutely possible to. To be one way and then end a completely different and in a positive way.
- [19:23]
A
And that's your story in the episode. Is that sort of 3? 6?
- [19:27]
B
Absolutely.
- [19:28]
A
Yeah. Love that. Excited for that. So anyone watching last couple of questions and they're like, motivated right now. They want to go start building their legacy. Any more tips or tricks you'd give them?
- [19:37]
B
Yeah. Put yourself in the right rooms for sure. Get yourself out there, like you said, being uncomfortable, you need to get comfortable with it because if you don't take those leaps and you don't try, you're never going to know. And to me, nothing would be worse than regret. Right. I'd rather try and fail at something than not ever try.
- [19:56]
A
Yeah. I always say one of the scariest things in life, it's not the. The lawsuits or the bad moments where someone steals from you. It's to me, sitting in bed at 70 years old and doing nothing. Right. And saying, working a job for 40 years you hated and thinking, what could my life have been? So, yeah, I think the great thing about entrepreneurs is we take all the risks and all the adventures and we'll never. We'll never wonder what if. Right. That's the good thing. So I love that. So, last question. If people are inspired, they want to follow you on social, see everything you're doing. Maybe they're in the area and they're looking for a new house. Right. Where do they find you?
- [20:34]
B
Www.blackrock-developments.ca or on Instagram@blackrock.developments or Facebook. You can find us. And yeah, we're in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, but we sort of will go anywhere if you pay me enough.
- [20:49]
A
Good. Well, I love this episode. Love, you know, all the motiv innovation and talk about, you know, really pushing through. And that's what I think most people need to hear because most people have goals and dreams and they've maybe wanted to get into real estate. Like, I've talked to so many people about getting into real estate, and I was this 20, like buying a house at 20, which is when I started in a small town in England. Unheard of. You know, everyone thought I was crazy. I put all my money and student loans into it and it paid off and you just got to take the risk. And real estate is so fun.
- [21:22]
B
Like, I love it and it's a constant. It's not going to go away.
- [21:25]
A
Yeah, it's. It's pretty. It's. I mean, there's always a risk in every part of business or investment, but to me, it's one of the safer, more stable things. And if, especially if you've got a good eye for it, you can do very, very well from it. So it's a pleasure. Excited to dive into your episode and see more guys. Until next time, keep building a legacy and I'll see you soon.