Vanessa Van Holland

I would say my upbringing and just experience. I like to be a kind person, and my parents were very hardworking individuals. My grandpa, I remember telling him, like, I work 60 hours this week and he's like, mija, work harder. You know, we live in the United States, there is always opportunity, and the harder you work, the more the value you create for yourself as an individual, not just working hard, but also your characteristic, like, who you are as a person. Be honest, be nice, you know, be somebody that people can come to you and trust, like, your integrity. All of these things create and shape who you are as an individual. And I think, you know, I try to live that out every single day. In the construction industry, we've been approached and have been asked to do some slimy things, and Kenny and I are like, absolutely not, it's not worth it, because to lose our license, I mean, we have a contractor's license, which was very... it's not easy to get. And we're an IICRC-certified firm, you know, and like, this is who we are as people, and to do something not right for a couple thousand dollars is not worth it for our family and the legacy for our children. Just that strong work ethic, and Kenny too, Kenny's parents just are really hard workers and never make excuses for anything. They're just, you know, like, there's opportunity out there, and go after it, go get it. Just like that no-excuse personality. If you want it, it's available, go figure out how to do it.

Work harder. There is, we live in a world where many people are still thriving, and there is opportunity everywhere. It's just a matter of finding it. Look good, dress good, speak professionally, and just do good work. The companies that have been around for a really long time, they're like, if you do a good job and you're a trustworthy company, you will survive in this business. It's the ones that are trying to take advantage, cut corners, those are the ones that get in trouble eventually. I appreciate what my old job taught me - they didn't really teach too much. They're like, here it is, figure it out. If you want it, it's available, go figure out how to do it. You know, you're either going to sink or swim.

The challenges are with insurance carriers. With the environment that we're in, just especially with the wildfires that happened here in Altadena and Pasadena last year, the insurance carriers have really, they've not necessarily become more strict, but they're more tight on their policies, regulations, and approving claims. It's a lot more documentation. They are reading policies, really going through it to make sure that the coverage can be extended. A lot more documentation is being required. The payment process has slowed down, even from last year. I know people were already complaining, but yeah, the time to get paid, so I really feel like that's a challenge within the industry overall, because sometimes we're waiting 30 to 60 days to get paid. We do the work up front. We don't get a deposit, we don't get half of the payment up front or anything like that. We have to wait until the end. So I do feel like that's really the biggest challenge right now, is dealing with the insurance carriers and them fighting homeowners, fighting us on things. And these poor homeowners, they've been paying for years the premium, and then when it actually comes to an emergency, the insurance carrier wants to fight it and doesn't want to cover it. At the end of the day, it's a business, and their duty is to make sure that their shareholders are making money. So they're going to do whatever it takes to make sure that they are in the positive, whatever that looks like. And it's unfortunate that these natural disasters have happened, but it is also their responsibility to make sure that it is covered. They're putting it back on the homeowner and saying, okay, well, we denied it, what are you gonna do?

Integrity, honesty, kindness, and just being an approachable and kind person. I always say, like, people don't know what you told them, but they always will remember how you made them feel. And I think that that's very important, personally and within business, you know, is to make sure that you're uplifting others and just spreading that energy, that positive energy, because our world that we live in is so negative, and everything that you watch is negative, and to just be a positive light in this world that we're in.