Intro (00:00):

You were listening to her time to retire a podcast dedicated to helping women gain the knowledge, confidence, and support they need to achieve financial success and emotional fulfillment when planning for retirement. If you are ready to finally take charge of your financial life, then keep listening. Your hosts are Glenn Price and Jonathan Scott founders of Keystone financial resources in Brentwood, Tennessee. Both men specialize in crafting individualized retirement plans for women and have a passion for helping women discover and achieve their retirement goals. Glenn is a husband and father of four, who was taught early in life through his relationship with his grandmother how a woman can not only take charge of her own destiny, but also positively influence the lives of her family and friends that surround her. Jonathan, husband and father of three, attributes his own success to the strong women in his life, including his wife, Brooke, and his mother, Susanne. Both men together want to help more women live out their dreams in retirement. As always, if you have retirement questions, their phone lines are open at (615) 661-9554. Or you can visit their website to browse information, view upcoming events or subscribe to the Her Time to Retire weekly newsletter. Just visit www.keystonefinancialresources.com. Now relax and enjoy the conversation.

Glenn Price (01:24):

Hello, out there to everyone who's listening today. I want to welcome you to her time to retire, the podcast for women navigating through their financial journey. I'm Glenn Price, co-owner of Keystone financial resources. And it's my goal to speak with women at the top of their industry and create a place where they can share their best ideas and advice with you our listeners. Today, I'm talking with Mindy Bledsoe. Mindy is the owner of tailored living of Nashville. Tailored living is a whole-home organization company that designs sales and installs the infrastructure that allows her clients to achieve organization in their homes, whether it is a custom closet, home office, pantry, or well-appointed garage, their team of experts are passionate about exceeding the needs of their clients. Mindy has been designing custom home storage for 17 years with the past four years as the owner of her own business. Although Mindy was one of the top 10 designers in the country for a nationally known brand, her purpose for starting her own local business is best summed up in her company's mission statement, "tailored living of Nashville seeks to improve the quality of life of our employees and our customers through exceptional design, products, services, and relationships, where we value the individual above the transaction. We take pride in leaving homes better than we found them and are grateful for the opportunity to help tailor an environment that brings organization and beauty to the lives and homes of our customers." Well, Mindy, I want to welcome you to our podcast today. How are you doing?

Mindy Bledsoe (03:05):

I'm Excellent. Thank you for having me.

Glenn Price (03:07):

Well, we're so excited that you're here. And one of the things that I enjoy most about these podcast is, you know, you think her time to retire that it's just about a bunch of financial stuff and that's really not what it's about. Our desire is to, is as, as as I just mentioned, there is to bring folks in like yourself and find out the value that you bring to the marketplace and how your story can help make their life easier or better. So let me start out by asking you, we had a great conversation on the phone the other day, and and I loved hearing your story, but why don't you tell us a little bit about you and tell our listeners about you and, and so they can relate to who you are and, and why you got into doing this.

Mindy Bledsoe (03:53):

Okay. So I am a married empty-nester. I am enjoying this phase of my life and my children's lives. And but 30 years ago I was, I've always been a full-time working mom the whole time I've my kids have grown up, and 30 years ago I was juggling all of that and home and marriage and career, and very busy. I, I traveled for work. I did manage the design department for a bank and did all of the branch bank renovations and you know, organize their space planning for their operations departments and all that. So it required a lot of overtime hours, as you can imagine, banks, don't like to shut down during business hours. And so the work I did for them required extra hours. So mom guilt was a daily struggle for me that am I, am I good enough? Am I there enough? Have I done enough? And I think, I think that a lot of women can relate to that, that it's, we, we struggle certainly, you know, in the eighties it was, you know, we could, women could have everything, we could do everything. And maybe that was true for some women. For me, it was a struggle, right? I felt like I was not quite good enough and I'm a person who tends to be a perfectionist. Anyway, and so, and I'm not a person who gives myself a lot of grace. And so that, that certainly made for a struggle. 17 years ago when my kids were too old for daycare, but not old enough to come home and be alone, I decided to make a career change. And I went to work for doing sales and design for a closet company. And it was immediate fit for me. It was one meeting women like myself in their homes, where they were at, what they were struggling with and realizing that they had the same, I'm not good enough. This, you know, the first thing out of their mouth was like, I'm so sorry. My house is a mess. Well, you know, they wouldn't have called me if they didn't have some sort of organizational challenge on their hands. And so it, it brings me such a joy to work with women and help them remove some of the stress from their lives. So changing to that role allowed me to be more available to my kids, but then it also helped me to start passing on to other women, the ability to just gain control of some of those, you know, messy areas of their lives, not just their homes, but the, the, the joy that's stolen from us every day by the, the little things that are out of order or that causes stress in our, in our households. So I'm super passionate about that. You might've noticed my mission statement doesn't say anything about selling closets because that's not my goal. When I meet with someone, my goal is to help find a way to solve a problem that they're having in their home or with their family or in their communications. And, and I think it just connects well with other women.

Glenn Price (07:06):

Well, I can, I can hear your passion today heard your passion that day on the phone. And you know, what resonated with me is just how you could take what you experienced in your own life. That challenges, like we said, that so many women, I mean, my wife has gone back to school to get her degree. She never got her degree. And so like, I can see golly, she's been home. Also all of our kids' lives, how will we got two gone? And we still have two at home. And now the time that it takes for her and the challenge that she faces and you know, and of course we work together as a team, but at the same time, there's just this guilt and shame sometimes that she feels that, Oh my gosh, I can't do this. And so I love how, what you do is you go in and you really help these families and these women cause you, you understand. And help them be more efficient in their home. And but let's talk about, you know, you know, you've got organization, all right. And it's very, very important. But let's talk about like, what's the real value, you know, people that are listening, ladies that are listening, you know, it's more than just moving your stuff from this side of the house to this side of the house or sticking it in this closet versus that closet. Right. What, what what are, what's the value, the intrinsic value, the emotional value. That, that why this is important to do. Can we talk, can you talk about that?

Mindy Bledsoe (08:39):

So I think the real value is the, you know, I, I have met with women who expressed, you know, it, that it seemed indulgent, right, to get a custom closet that's you know, seems excessive or, but, but I think what people forget is these are spaces in your home, whether it's a garage or a closet or a pantry, it's a space you interact with multiple times a day. And if it's a space that brings you stress because you can't find your things or you know, if you're sharing your closet with a partner and maybe they don't have the same level of tidiness that you have, you know, then that's potentially conflict between you and your partner, because you're trying to share a very small space. So I think that the real value in it is time, it's sanity. It's, it's having control, I know gets kind of a negative negative buzz, but like there, there are things in our life that if we had better control of, then they could sort of be on autopilot, right. If you knew where everything was in your pantry, so that you could open the door and make a grocery list. Now you're not stressed about trying to determine, you know, what you need to buy at the store when you have very little time. So it's eliminating stress and maybe eliminating conflict in spaces that are shared. So my pastor has said for years that when you marry someone, you find out that they were raised wrong. I mean, it's, it's funny, but it's true. And it really comes to play, you know, in those first years of marriage, when you're just trying to figure out, you know, whether the toilet paper should go over the top or under the bottom, or do you squeeze the toothpaste tube from the middle or, you know, and it's those kinds of little things that can create tension in a relationship and start to build up. And you know, if we can eliminate some of that by coming in and listening to what both partners need in this space, what matters to them in terms of how tidy it is or how accessible things are then we can eliminate one of those little things that creates tension and that's absolutely priceless.

Glenn Price (11:09):

It's, it's priceless. You know, you, you mentioned time, which I think is the most valuable quality, you know I mean commodity that we all have, right. We all value our time and it's like, it's really whether you're organizing helping a family with a closet, you know, or a garage. It same here with us here at Keystone. You know, we're, we're taught, we're always talking to our clients about the importance of having a plan, the importance of having a a system in place because what that allows you to do is it frees you up to, to, to be present with those people in your home, in the, in those relationships, doing the things that you really want to do. And once you get that in place and you know, now you just, now you're just follow the follow the system, right. Then, then the the tension that it relieves, because so many of our clients come in and they've got an investment plan, but they don't have a they have investment portfolio, but they don't have a plan. And we talk about creating a roadmap of that's going to help them get to where they want to go, but enjoy that. And so really a lot of what you're doing is you're helping families have a plan, have a system to create these stressors in their, in their life.

Mindy Bledsoe (12:34):

Right. So a great example of that. I met with the busy mom, three kids, and she made the comment as we were talking about it. It was a mudroom space we were looking at and she was, you know, frustrated that it was just this pile of shoes and coats and stuff. When you walk right, when you walked in from the garage. And she said, it's a battle every morning with my children, because we can't find the right shoe. Or we can't, you know, where's their backpack, or what did they do with their lunch box when they got home yesterday? And so part of the design was to create cubbies for each of the kids' spaces, specifically for shoes, so that we could create an environment where the kids knew this is where now there, obviously some training went into that. They had to learn that, that it's no longer acceptable to just throw it in a pile, but we gave them a path. We gave them a system that they could adhere to and know where their things went. So we could eliminate the morning battle because nobody wants to start, you know, if, if mom guilts real, then, you know, leaving for work. And, you know, the last thing conversation you've had with your kids is you're yelling at them because you're running late. Cause they can't find their stuff. So, you know, it's a simple thing like that, that just, again, relieves some of that tension that can happen and lets her focus on, you know, sending them off well and not fussing about having their stuff.

Glenn Price (14:02):

And that is just so important. I mean, you, you, you give people a system that really the gift that you're really giving them and the ultimate, you know, what they're really after is the relationship and the time with each other. Right. Because when that time is gone, it's like, you know, as we're, there's a sadness and you mentioned being an empty nester, you know, I see, as my younger two get closer and closer, you know, that sadness, I begin to feel even more. It's like, Oh my gosh, you know, there at one time, like, I can't wait until they're gone. And now it's like, Oh my gosh, no, don't go, you know, I want, I love having them there. And I have to grieve the, the sadness in the, the time that I lost, because I was so focused on like what you're talking about, you know, the arguments in the morning on the way to school, did you make your lunch on time? You know, there wasn't, and I can't find this or I can't find that. And we're looking around and, and and that's so true in most all homes, we all, as parents look back and go, Oh yeah, I wished I would've done that. I wish I would've known then what I know now. Right. And so the value in what you bring is helping families eliminate those stressors. I love what you're saying there, even in in, in marriage, right? I mean, you, you were talking about the, the closet, if you ever have any stories about husbands and wife, where I think you were sharing one where one was going to move upstairs and the other one was downstairs.

Mindy Bledsoe (15:28):

Yeah. So I met with a couple, actually I've met with the wife, the husband wasn't even home. And she said, okay, we've decided we can't co-exist in this closet anymore. He's going to put all his stuff in the upstairs guest closet. This is going to be my closet. And that was my, the guidance that was given to design the closet. So I, I inventoried the, the closet was packed. And after talking with her, I realized they had all of their clothes in there. They didn't, there was no seasonal swap out everything they owned, both of them was in the closet and it was jam packed full. And so I asked her if I could see the upstairs closet and just to get a sense of how much space there was. And and I just wanted to throw out the idea if they were settled, that this was a good plan, then that was of course fine. But had they considered the option of maybe the out of season closet being the upstairs closet to give them a little bit of, you know, a pressure valve, if you will, to make rooms so that they could both continue to co-exist in the closet. And so she was, she thought that might be a good idea, but she called her husband and he was so excited. He told her to sign the contract with me right away. So I had to tell him, like, I don't, I don't even know what it's going to cost. I haven't designed it yet. But you know, the, she was surprised when she got off the phone with him. She said, well, he told me he was fine with this. And he was of course being, you know, lovely and sacrificial about it, but he was completely dreading going up and down the stairs every day to get his clothes, to get ready for work. And so, you know, I'm, I'm able to think outside the box from what they had, you know, come up with as a solution, good for them for coming up with a solution. Because very often when I meet with couples, you know, it's, it's still very much in conflict. And so I'm trying to resolve that conflict. He was already willing to take the high road and take the upstairs glass it, but, you know, we were able to come up with a way that allowed him to still, you know, reside in the master bedroom

Glenn Price (17:30):

And you know, what came to my mind. It's like, okay, there's this broad tension in their relationship, obviously. And then, you know, with him having to go upstairs, okay. The solution is just art to go upstairs. But then the resentment, right then he was going to, that was going to start building from him having to start going up the stairs. And it was, but you came in and provided a solution where they could stay together in, in, in our business you know, our, our, our clients are like family. And when people come here you know, we just, they just don't leave. And which is a lot of fun. It's a blessing. But the sad part of that as many times, we're there when, when, when one spouse passes away. And I can't tell you the, the number of times that I've had conversations with a widow or widower and most of the time it's the, it's the women, the, the, the guys usually go first, but, you know, they'll say, you know, I just wish I had more time, more time in the morning, you know? And it made me think about even in the morning when I'm in the bathroom and my wife's there and we're getting ready, we're talking about our day, you know, we're talking about, that's our time to kind of talk about the game plan for the day and reminder of, Hey, this is what, you know, our son has to do, or our daughter has to do, Hey, remember to this in the afternoon. So we're kind of having that conversation while we're getting ready, but, but I've really come to appreciate that time. And it's a real intimate time that I just get to be with her because we're usually, you know, one's going one way and the other's going the other a lot of times. And so but just the thought of, of getting something organized could, could, could, could really help, you know, add be a positive thing in a relationship you know, that never people don't think about that. Right. They're thinking, okay, well, the problem is his messiness or her messiness. Well, you know, we're all different in how we do things, but you know what? You need a system that works for you, right. So I love, that's gotta be very rewarding.

Mindy Bledsoe (19:32):

It is. And, and sometimes it's, you know, customers don't come to me and say, you know, the reason I'm having you in here is because my husband's a slob and I need you to fix that for me. Like, that's, they're saying like, are our closets a mess? And I don't know what to do. And sometimes it's just comments that are thrown in about, well, you know, that pile of stuff in the corner is, you know, his dry cleaning that he needs to take to the dry cleaner. So, you know, maybe the solution is as simple as me just putting in a hamper and that's the place where the dry clean clothes, and now it's not an unsightly pile. You know, if he can't keep his folded garments tidy on a shelf, then you know, maybe we just put doors on the shelf so that you don't have to look at it.

Glenn Price (20:16):

What are some of the the challenges if you said, Hey, here's maybe the top three or four things that I see can you share some of those things and then just some simple ideas of things that, where you come in and help that people could go, Oh my gosh. Yeah, that's me. And I don't know what to do with this. Is there anything that comes to mind as you think about that?

Mindy Bledsoe (20:39):

So probably the biggest challenge that I see very consistently is that what builders are putting in homes just isn't adequate. It's not you know, it's wire shelving or it's a shelf and a pole, but you know, most women, women on the average have 50 to a hundred pairs of shoes. Which 17 years ago, when I started designing closets, I was like, what, who has a hundred pairs of shoes? But when I stopped and counted, I had like 75, most women don't even know how many pairs of shoes they have, but you know, most closets that builders are providing have very little shelf space. And so, you know, we're, people are buying more and more containers to try to stack things up. And, and at some point I usually get called in after they've accumulated a bunch of containers and they just can't get there. So I think what people need to know is that, you know, I, I, people joke with me about being a hoarder and I it's obvious to me that they're not there's someone who has a storage problem. And so people aren't disorganized because they're slobs or because they're hoarders very often, they're just disorganized because they've run out of places to put things. And so that's what we're able to offer is we look at the stuff that they have and we provide a place to put those things. So, you know, if they love their shoes, then we can have plenty of shelves for shoes. One of the most common requests, we get a couple of our common requests we get are having a built in hamper. Because again, that's something that tends to be an afterthought. And so they end up putting a basket they don't like, or a pile in the floor. So just having that built in is, is a nice, easy solution. And then almost all master closets are attached to the master bathroom. And so being able to have some drawers in the closet so that if your partner doesn't get up as early as you do in the morning, you can go into the master bathroom, take a shower, get fully dressed because your foundational garments are all in the master closet and be able to quietly slip out and not wake your partner when you leave. And so just having a few drawers for undergarments in the closet is super helpful. So those are probably the most common requests is how do we accommodate the, the little things, the scarves, the ties, the shoes you know, in addition to the hanging, which is usually almost all that people have, are given in a new construction house, for sure. Yeah, but it's, but it's custom per person. Right. There's,

Glenn Price (23:22):

Everybody's different. So you guys come in and like, you walk, do a walk through, through the house, and I guess you're taking notes and writing down what their concerns are. And then, and then you design your plan.

Mindy Bledsoe (23:34):

Yeah. So we use a, we use a design software, which helps I'm, I'm meeting with a client, we're talking about the things specifically that they've, they know that they need more X, whatever that is for them. I'm doing a physical inventory of the things that I see if it's new construction, then it's a little more question and answer so that I can try to get to the heart of what we're accommodating. And I'll ask them some questions about things they might not have thought about how or where to store their jewelry or their laundry or those kind of things. And then and then I will do a design for them and we're able to provide a 3D rendering of their closet. A lot of people can't just can't visualize what's possible in their space. And so our 3D software allows us to, they, they don't have to imagine. They can literally see. And then I'm also able to give them account where we're going to increase your hanging capacity by 25%, or, you know, you can go out and buy another 25 pairs of shoes, or we can just, you know, we can now fit your husband in the closet with you because we're really using the space well. So and then from there, they, they decide, I always like to give my customers a preliminary design because it's a collaborative process. I'm an expert in designing closets, but I'm not an expert in my clients. They're, they're new to me. Most of them, you know, I haven't, I've only briefly met and I try to understand their needs, but once they've seen a literal picture, then I can, you know, take it from there. And together we work through what changes need to be made. So that budget and function and design aesthetic all come together in something that they're going to be happy with.

Glenn Price (25:23):

Yeah. We talked to our clients so many out there in the financial world when, when clients or our new prospective clients come in Jonathan my business partner will, will invariably see their statements and we'll know what their portfolio is because it's a cookie cutter deal. And, and we're about designing and it being customized, tailored to them, which is exactly what you're talking about you're doing is you're customizing it to them. You know, there's, there's listeners out there today. There's, there's such a, I was at a, in a meeting this morning and they were talking about how fast homes are selling and how hard it is to find that home. And then of course the prices are so high right now. You know, but let's talk about someone that, you know, maybe they're wanting to move or but they can't get the house they want, you know, it sells too fast or it's too high. We were talking yesterday in those lines, let's go back to that conversation because there's listeners out there that may be in that place to where, okay, this is not really the home that I wanted. Right. It was like, I can't customize it the way. Exactly. So are you seeing a lot of that out there today in the morning,

Mindy Bledsoe (26:35):

We are, the houses are moving so quickly and you know, people are not necessarily getting, if, if they want to move in quickly, they are not, they don't have a year to wait for a new house to be built. They're buying what's available on the market and that they were fortunate enough to be the right bidder on, in this real estate market. And so it may not have quite everything, you know, if they could have been choosier you know, they would have picked some different things for organization, whether it's, you know, it's the, kitchen's not great. They need to renovate the kitchen. The closet's not great. We need to renovate the closet. You know, we settled for a house with a two car garage. We wanted a three. So how do we make sure we maximize the storage so we can actually park two cars in there. And so I think that people are getting more creative about renovating homes to be what they want. And that's, that also applies to people who they didn't just buy a house there, but they've decided to stay in their house because they understand if they sold right now, they'd probably make great money, but then what would it cost them to replace what they had? And so I've seen more and more people decide that instead of downsizing in their empty nest years, they want to convert their house to their age in place home. And you know, what accommodations do we need to make to make that happen and make this work well for us long term. So I think that the entire home or home services industry has flourished in this market because so many people are buying homes that aren't their dream home, but we can make them their dream home

Glenn Price (28:18):

Well I just, I just, I love what you're doing. And you're really going and helping families because this is a problem, not just with a few of us, but with all of us. And so, well, what is one piece of advice that, that you can share with the audience that's really led to, to where you are today? Women that are listening there may be some women like, ah, you know, even starting your own business, you know that had to be scary, but, but to that lady out there that, Hey, maybe she's listening to this going, "Hey, I admired the fact that she went out and started her own business." So what's one thing that you would share to a mom or a lady that's having those thoughts or some ideas about what to do of how to do that?

Mindy Bledsoe (29:09):

So first I would say, do it, if it's something you really love, just do it. It's, it's worth it. It's hard, it's so hard. But it's absolutely worth it. And to go back to where I started with my inability to give myself grace, I would say, give yourself some grace, cut yourself some slack and trust that you are enough to be successful at whatever this thing is you're passionate about because I don't know if I'm great at sales. I'm pretty sure I'm good at design. But I completely trust my motives when I work with my clients. And I know that my skill set is enough to help them get to a better place.

Glenn Price (29:58):

I love that. And, you know, and, and you doing that the fulfillment that comes from you are, comes in, comes with that in you, right. When you're able to do something that you're passionate about and you, and you care about. So Mindy, I want to thank you so much for grabbing some time with me today and really appreciate it. And I can't wait to get this, this, this, this message out for women out there that are wanting to know, Hey, how do I manage the chaos in my home, or even I want to go chase my dream like Mindy is so if someone needed to, wanted to talk to you, how would they, how would they find you, you know, your, your website phone number? Like how would they, how would they find your company?

Mindy Bledsoe (30:45):

So our, we do have a showroom in Nashville and to reach our office at (615) 590-8775. And our website is tailoredliving.com/nashville. So we would love to hear from folks, we do free design consultations and provide a first preliminary designs for free and, you know, are ready to help people achieve those dreams.

Glenn Price (31:14):

Well that's awesome. And thank you again so much for coming today. Look forward to, hopefully maybe we can do this again sometime and but as always, if anyone out there has any questions feel free to give us a call here at keystonefinancialresources.com. Our number is (615) 661-9554. Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend.

Intro (31:40):

You have been listening to her time to retire with Glenn Price and Jonathan Scott. Glenn and Jonathan would love to talk to you and answer any of your retirement questions. All listeners can take advantage of a free 15 minute consultation with Glenn and Jonathan, whether via phone call, zoom meeting, or in person. You can schedule your consultation by calling (615) 661-9554, or by visiting our website at www.keystonefinancialresources.com. Thanks for listening. The opinions expressed by Keystone financial resources and guests on this podcast are their own and do not reflect the opinions of this station. All statements and opinions expressed are based upon information considered reliable, although it should not be relied upon as such. Any statements or opinions are subject to change without notice. Investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated are not guaranteed. Past performance cannot be used as an indicator to determine future results. Strategies mentioned may not be suitable for everyone. Information expressed does not take into account your specific situation or objectives and is not intended as recommendations appropriate for you. Before acting on any information, please consult with a qualified tax or investment advisor to determine if it is suitable for your specific situation. This program is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to subject covered. Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone capital management, LLC, or BCM, a registered investment advisor, BCM and Keystone financial resources are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents.