High Heels and Hard Hats Troutman’s following her passion for home improvement – messenger-inquirer

Malissa Troutman spent 30 years working for nonprofits American Red Cross community executive in Owensboro, executive director of the American Heart Association in Evansville, things like that.

Then, at 52, she had what she calls my midlife crisis.

Five weeks ago, Troutman created High Heels and Hard Hats, a home-improvement company.

Last week, she was remodeling a house on Merriewood Drive in Owensboro, wearing her red heels, but not her hard hat.

Remodeling is an inconvenience for people living in a house thats being remodeled, Troutman said.

But the benefits of remodeling outweigh the inconvenience for most people, she said.

Troutman said, My mom thinks Im crazy. But Im available more now for my family and I can work on my schedule.

And home improvement, she said, is a passion.

I could do this 24/7 and never sleep, Troutman said.

When shes not remodeling houses, shes flipping them.

Im on my third and fourth houses now, Troutman said. I made $50,000 on the first one, but I know I cant do that on everyone. Some I may barely break even on. But this is a very, very good time to flip houses.

The Greater Owensboro Realtor Association says there were 282 active single-family homes listed with it in February.

That was down from 378 a year ago.

The median price of homes sold last month was $152,000 up from $126,950 in February 2019.

Troutman said she started doing her own home improvements when she was 24.

I was newly married, living on Booth Avenue and we wanted the house painted, she said. We hired a painter, paid upfront. He worked two days and never came back.

I want to help people save time and their hard-earned money, she said. I shop for inexpensive ways to redecorate. And Im very mechanically inclined. Im a perfectionist.

Her nonprofit background is helping with her new business, Troutman said.

I was remodeling a house for a man and I discovered that he needed a lot more assistance with aging in place, she said. I worked with GRADD (Green River Area Development District) to find the resources available to him. He wasnt indigent but he needed assistance.

Troutman said, I have a passion about aging in place. There are 68 million of us who will need help as we get older. Im pulling together a task force for aging in place. We have to figure out what it takes to get it done.

She said, I show people how to do things to save money like rip out the carpet themselves. I can teach you how to do things if you dont know how.

Troutman said, I get you estimates on everything. Sometimes, the lowest bid is good, but not always. Sometimes, the low bid cuts too many corners.

When she was a kid, she said, My father owned a carpet, paint and hardware company in Lafayette, Indiana. I grew up in that.

This is Troutmans second venture into the for-profit world.

I owned Great Comebacks for seven years, she said. I made money, but not as much as the time I put in. Then, one day someone came in asking to buy it. I put more heart and soul into that place. But I sold it quickly.

See the article here:
High Heels and Hard Hats Troutman's following her passion for home improvement - messenger-inquirer