#265: Mom, Lawyer, Renovator, Boss: HGTV’s ‘Good Bones’ Karen Laine Shares Tips on Transitions and Business Planning

On today’s show, Karen Laine from HGTV’s ‘Good Bones’ will be talking about business transitions and planning. She will also be talking about what it was like to take a backseat while her daughter took over the business and took it to the next level. She goes over all of the successes and challenges that came with that transition, and she’ll also offer some tips on how to overcome some of those challenges.

She’s also a mom, a lawyer, a renovator, and boss. She practiced law as a prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney in the 1990s. Then, in 2007, Karen and her daughter Mina began to transform and rehabilitate neighborhoods in Indianapolis. In 2014, they were approached by High Noon Entertainment (the same production company who made Fixer Upper). They met via Skype and after some negotiations, Good Bones was born and aired on HGTV. In 2021, season six of Good Bones will premiere as the production of season seven is ongoing.

If you’ve worked in a family business with multiple generations, you know all about the different challenges and the various relationships involved in this sort of partnership. How do you align your visions alongside the transitions, family buyouts, and all of the other ingredients that go into that blender? Karen and Mina are so open about these challenges on the show and Karen is just as open as she answers my questions in this episode.

What You Will Learn In Today's Podcast Interview

Karen’s transition from mother to lawyer to businesswoman
The journey to HGTV
Challenges associated with partnering with family
Pros and cons to different mindsets in a business partnership
Healthy communication within a multi-generation business partnership
Knowing when you need to wear different hats
The division within the business
What to do when your visions evolve and possibly misalign
How different generations can work well together
Finding appropriate outlets for creativity
The importance of reinventing yourself and redefining yourself after an exit

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About the Guest:

Karen Laine is a businesswoman, attorney, TV personality from her show Good Bones, and mother. After growing tired of her regular routine as an attorney, she discovered her love of renovating. She paired up with her daughter Mina and started “Two Chicks and a Hammer,” a home renovation business.

Quotes:

05:07 - “Lawyer was after mom. So I was a mom and then I went to law school and became a lawyer. [So diapers, then paperwork.] Yes, right. It, kind of, prepares you. ‘Cause what you find in diapers is often what you find in legal cases. It’s the same.” – Karen Laine

13:33 - “I’ll be out in public and someone will say, ‘Hi Karen.’ And I’ll say, ‘I don’t remember where I know you from.’ And they will say, ‘You don’t know me. I know you from TV.’ Oh, that’s right. I have a TV show.” – Karen Laine

16:15 - “She is more motivated by the financial aspect, which is really important when you’re in a partnership with someone like me, who is more motivated by the emotional aspect.” – Karen Laine

34:25 - “I think part of it was the different personalities. I saw my value as intellectual property. And Mina saw her value as time property.” – Karen Laine

35:41 - “That’s the problem with doing business with family, is that it’s not just business. It’s not. All the family stuff gets brought into the business and so things that don’t belong in the business become emotional triggers for business decisions.” – Karen Laine

43:51 - “The main thing is, family is way more important than any business. It just is. If business is creating a conflict in any family, the business is what has to go, because the family is what has to stay.” – Karen Laine