Penis Paraphernalia: The Ups and Downs of Entrepreneurship

The Hoovers discuss the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, weird dreams and the crazy things guests leave behind in their rental properties.

#HelloHoovers #WLW #BrookeEden #Hilaryhoover #Relationships #lgbtq

Listen to Hello Hoovers:
On Apple Podcasts

On Spotify

On iHeart

Hello Hoovers is a refreshingly candid new podcast from country artist Brooke Eden and her wife, Hilary Hoover, a powerhouse couple whose love story has quietly reshaped what authenticity looks like in country music and beyond.

Brooke is known for her commanding vocals, fearless honesty, and groundbreaking visibility as one of the first openly queer women in mainstream country music. Hilary is a former country radio executive turned real estate investor and LGBTQ family advocate. She brings the kind of calm wit and lived experience of someone who is both behind the scenes and in the spotlight.

Together, they take listeners on wild ride navigating marriage, music, motherhood, and modern queer life in Nashville with the same warmth and humor that made fans fall in love with them in the first place. No topic is off limits —from coming out in a conservative industry to balancing career and parenthood, no conversation is too real, too funny, or too tender to share.

Hello Hoovers - New Episodes every week. 

Subscribe to the Hello Hoovers Channel!  /hellohoovers

Follow Hello Hoovers on Instagram:   /hellohooverspod
Follow Hello Hoovers  on TikTok:   /hellohooverspod

https://www.hellohoovers.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey y'all, I'm Brooke. I'm Hillary. And we're the Hoopers. She's a singer. She's an entrepreneur. We're wives. We're moms. And a whole lot of other things. And this is Hello Hoopers.

SPEAKER_01 0:17

The boy has fallen asleep. Babies down. That's been a win. It's been the sleep training lately. But we had a day. We had a freaking day. It was fine, but it's just like one of those days where we wanted to talk about being entrepreneurs and like kind of our journey here. And it was just funny today because I was like, we are doing it in good ways, in that our schedules are our own, but also in like that you spend a lot of time talking about HVACs and electrical and plumbing and broken things and getting texts from your cleaner on things that are broken. So yeah. We lost a feather.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

And some blinds today. So yeah, today was one of those days.

SPEAKER_00 0:56

From our Airbnb because entrepreneurship. Yeah. Um, but yeah, I I do wish that I would have gone to school for HVAC because I have like I be righteous.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Having those skill sets. It's like hello trade schools. Yes, please. It's like we were we're over here going to business school, like idiots. Yeah. When we could have gone to electrical school. We both went to business school. I know. Crazy as hell. I know. And we could have gotten you should have gotten HVAC. I should have done electrical. I'm sure we could have gotten somebody else to get in on them. I know. But we didn't know. We didn't know we were gonna do the buy of too many houses and keep them full of people and all that. So um let's dig in. Yeah. Okay. Let's go. So the way we got into kind of the entrepreneurial stuff was kind of organic, kind of both of us.

SPEAKER_00 1:48

It was very accidental. Yeah. We met in the music industry. I'm a singer. And she worked at my record label.

SPEAKER_01 1:55

I'm an entrepreneur. Yeah, right. Okay. I was ready.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

She worked at my record label, and I was renting a house. I was renting the duplex that I lived in that we called the du-duplex because it was so shitty. And then she owned a house at the time because boss. And um, when we met, she was we we were collectively in a little bit of debt. And I was like, I want to spend every night with you, anyways. Why don't you just live with me? And then there's this thing called Airbnb, like, what if we just put your house on Airbnb?

SPEAKER_01 2:28

And it started with, we'll do it because I was traveling so much. So it started with, why don't we put it up in Airbnb when I'm out of town? And then it became like, wait a second. And this was right when Airbnb was kind of taking off. This was 2015, 2016. So Airbnb was kind of just becoming like, oh, you can rent out a room. A lot of people used it for like an extra room or something like that. And we were like, okay, let's try it when I'm out of town. And it quickly was like, wait, we can make some cash kind of fast because we didn't have it wasn't like an extra mortgage. It was like the, you know, bills that I was already paying. And all of a sudden, other people were paying them off by staying there. So we learned very quickly that that could be fun. So we started like little by little transforming that house into like place people want to come to, like to stay there.

SPEAKER_00 3:18

You had a great backyard. Yeah. You had like a three or four bedroom house, and it was pretty, I mean, it was so close to town. It was pretty perfect. Yeah. But then we were like 20-something and was it the HVAC or something? Like went out. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

I was with you. This is one of those like we live so many lives moment.

SPEAKER_00 3:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:40

I was with you at um stagecoach. And I was there just to support you. And I get a call from the renter that was like, I guess there was like a drip in the attic or something like that. And the whole like ceiling kind of like fell in in our in like a closet. And of course, at the time I just like didn't have my system set up. So I was like, ah, okay. And like got them a new place and like had to figure it out later. But then it became like, okay, just because this is a side hustle doesn't mean you can like half-ass it, you know. We have to like actually have systems set up and be able to help our renters when they're in town. And it kind of quickly became like, all right, I'm gonna move in with you. We're gonna get, oh, and we were cleaning the place ourselves. Oh, yeah. We didn't know how to clean her at the time. Yeah. So we were cleaning it ourselves. We were trying to take care of everything ourselves.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

And very both of us were on the road. On the road nonstop, just like go, go, go, go, go. And um, it was just like one of those things where you're 25 and life is going so fast, and you're like, if I have to get a new H back, I'm selling this down. Right. Oh, yeah, that's pretty much where I was.

SPEAKER_01 4:50

Like, yeah, totally look back, and I'm like, okay, I could have handled that better. But um, yeah, so then it was like, okay, we're seeing how the money could come in. We see how if you do it right, you can have like very successful Airbnbs in Nashville. And um, I was obviously still working um in music, and as were you, but we were kind of starting to head towards like the direction of like if someday I could um not work a nine to five in music anymore, but actually just work with you and be your tour manager. And it was one of those things where it went from this is happening naturally to um if we play our cards right and if we make some good business moves and pull in some passive income, then at some point I could, I would still be in the music industry, but it would be more of like a self-employment and I could work with you and tour manage you, and then we could have these other things happening on the side, aka real estate, and that's just kind of where it started. So yeah, it went from there. Um, then we actually bought a few homes to be full-time renters as investors.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

Well, we sold that house because the HVAC had to. Yeah, I don't know, I don't even know why anymore, but we sold that house and then we decided to buy another one specifically for Airbnb in East Nashville. And that one did so well that we bought another one um in Buena Vista, which is like just like North Nashville, close to Germantown.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

Yeah, yeah. So we this is the part where you know thing the entrepreneurship kind of hit us in the face. So we um buy this Airbnb, we buy this home, and it takes usually like a month, month or month and a half to flip these houses from normal homes into them being able to be rented. Yeah. So we bought in December of 2019, not knowing what was about to come. And then we get it ready for up until like February of um 2020. And then we had about, and then we get it up, and then we had about two sets of renters, and then it became March. Well, if you were living in Nashville in March of 2020, you'll know that a pretty horrible uh tornado came through and it actually did hit that property. And so it was like literally weeks after we got it up and running, and then a tornado hit the back of it. So that obviously put us for a loop. So I'm very quickly like, how I'm like thinking, how quickly can we get this thing back up and running so that we can start making money on these homes? Well, these are like big homes that are perfect for large groups to travel. And then the pandemic hit like a week or two later, and all of a sudden we went from this is gonna make us so much money to we have an extra mortgage. We've just put all this money into this home. We put a down payment, we've paid for furniture and decor.

SPEAKER_00 7:36

A tornado hit it. We luckily had insurance, and insurance took care of the rebuild, which took about six weeks, and then we were really excited to get Airbnb going again, and then the pandemic hits. So and our calendar was full. That was the good part. Airbnb did like half of that. They had their host back. I think that they still paid 25% of everyone's gone.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

Yeah, but we had a full calendar, we were so excited. We were like, cool, this is how much money we're gonna make, it's gonna be great. And then our calendar got cleared and it just everything changed, you know. So it's definitely was a moment of like entrepreneurship, it's got its ups, it's got its downs, and that um we've learned we learned that quickly. Yes, we've learned a lot of lessons. I feel like up until that point, like, yes, there's skill involved and there's timing involved. There's also a whole lot of luck involved. Yes, like as much as you can do everything right, some things are out of your control. And I think we had gotten really we had been smart, but we had also just like gotten lucky in a lot of ways as well.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

Yeah, I mean, Nashville, the the housing market was still really, really low at the time. And also we bought, I think around the time the the interest rates were like four and a half percent. So that was still really low. And then about a year or two relatively um after we bought our houses, the interest rates went down to like between two and three percent. Yeah. And we refinanced all of our homes so that, you know, our our mortgages were very low.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

Well, and I think that's great that we had that set up for us. But I will say that um some people will come to us and be like, I want to do what you guys have done. And there's different markets, they're always gonna be able to find someplace and a good deal. But in Nashville specifically, I mean, we talk about how we're lucky we are about our timing, like we wouldn't be able to do it now. Like we wouldn't be able to purchase now and still like make any sort of income on top of covering costs. So yeah, that is there is a lot of luck that comes into that aspect as well. And just like timing.

SPEAKER_00 9:38

Yeah, you we didn't know at the time that it was just like right time, boom, like the boom timing.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

Yeah. Well, and I think what's also surprising is to to me and probably to other people, is the amount of creativity that actually comes into this aspect too. Because there's there's the uh business aspect, but then there's also like a whole creative side to it, which is like when we first bought these houses, I was like, let's put in beds, let's put in a few lamps and side tables and say, Hey, this is a great place to stay. And as the market changed, we learned like, okay, no, we need to add more to these homes. We need them to be we now have a saddle in one of our houses. We have saloon doors, we have a lot of photo walls, neon signs, themed rooms, yes, a disco ball, disco ball, yeah, a working disco ball.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

Yes, but like when we started, we had none of the right. And so as the market has changed, you know, when people come to Nashville, they want to come the Nashville baby. Like they want to live in a Nashville house. So we really catered to like we really catered to like bachelor, bachelorette parties, birthday parties that are coming for the Nashville experience. And so that was always my favorite part. Like, you know, the real estate side of things was really more you, but when it came to um creating the creativity of it and like wanting to create themes and and rooms and like the whole experience of it, I was like, we have to have a Dolly Parton room and we have to have a stage, and you know, and I mean you're really good at that stuff too, but I feel like that's just naturally where my brain goes, and your brain naturally goes to like more of the business. And I do think that that's why our businesses have like done pretty well, is because two different sides of the brain.

SPEAKER_01 11:29

Yeah. We um our brains, our brains, two different sides of one brain or something, yeah. Um, we obviously only have cameras on like the front door and back door just for like security purposes and just to make sure everybody gets in okay. Obviously, we don't look in our properties, but what is funny is if we ever see something pop up, I don't like I don't care. You can sit on the front porch and do whatever you want. Like, I don't care to like creep in, but I sometimes will see a notification when I know our people are checking in. And so I'll glance at it just to be like, I want to make sure they get in okay. And my favorite is when you see them open the door and go, Whoa! Oh my god, guys, this is so cool or so cute. And I like feel this like burst of pride to be like, okay, we're creating this experience that makes it like unforgettable for them and makes it like that they and also like when you're booking something for like your friend or your sister or you're like the maid of honor and you're doing this. And you just want them to like be so happy, and so you're like, I want I'm so excited to like have them walk in the door and like feel special and feel celebrated. Yeah, and so I think that's what's one of the cool parts that we didn't expect to happen was actually enjoying like hosting all these groups, yeah. And we have um over the years interacted with a lot of drunk bachelorettes, yes, and the things that we have found.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

Oh yeah, oh yeah. We have like closets that have decorations and just like different things that people need, and it's almost like leave a penny, take a penny.

SPEAKER_01 13:03

Yeah, it's become it started with us just wanting to provide stuff for people to like be able to use whether it's like pink cowgirl hats or like fun interactive games and stuff, and we kind of got to where we were like, we don't care if they take it with them, and so uh some people would like leave stuff behind as well, yes.

SPEAKER_00 13:20

And but we have found some wild things, like just like the amount of penis paraphernalia that we have found in our home. And like if we have like a family coming in, I'm like, we have to go and PG this out.

SPEAKER_01 13:36

Yeah, well, because I would say like 95 to 99 percent of people are bachelorettes or birthday parties, but mostly like women who are ready to go to Nashville and like get their drink on. Yeah. So usually through a penis straw. Yeah. And so the the creativity of I don't know if it's like the bachelorette or the companies that are like advertising. Yeah, it's like they're just like literally putting penis paraphernalia or penis on everything.

SPEAKER_00 14:02

Okay, I was just about to say, let's do a categories of penis paraphernalia we found.

SPEAKER_01 14:07

But do we have to say the word penis over and over again? Yes, because it just feels like we've said it more times than than it's a proper word, it's a it's a body part and like we're in health class.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

Let's go. Okay. Penis confetti. Actually, sperm confetti. Oh yeah, sperm confetti.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

Um there, I don't even know what to call it. There was like a ring toss. Oh, the big, huge, giant, inflatable penis. Yes, and there was a ring toss.

SPEAKER_00 14:39

I was gonna say it's life size, but I mean like life size as a human. Human size.

SPEAKER_01 14:43

Not as a um, obviously penis straws.

SPEAKER_00 14:49

Yes, penis cake molds.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

Oh, true. There was a cake mold. Um well, I don't know if this counts in that, but like there were blow up dolls that we have found before, like actual dolls. And I'm like, I don't know what they were doing with those. But something. Yeah. They were doing something. Yeah. Balloons, penis balloons. Um do you remember when they we found one where they cut out like a calendar, like a men's calendar, like a playgirl or something? Oh, and just put the pictures all over the walls, and we had to like go in and like take care of something.

SPEAKER_00 15:27

I do remember that one specifically. I think something was probably going on with the HVAC. Well, the thing is not that we always we don't have a lot of issues with our HVAC.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

It was the old house that we um that we had had to go in during the stay, and that never happens really. Like, pretty much every single time we just see what's left behind. But there was one time where they had some sort of situation where it was this was years ago, where I had to go in to the house and everything was up on the wall. And I'm pretty sure they messaged me, like, we're out at the bars, but um, sorry for what you're gonna see when you walk inside, and we're just like laughing. We're like, we have seen far too much as lesbians owning a business. Um, listen, we are here to cater to all these girls, but unfortunately have seen too much um in the cleaning up process.

SPEAKER_00 16:12

Yeah, but it's great. I'm like, go on with your bad stuff. Yeah, live your truth. We have had some crazy, crazy shit go down with Airbnbs, like, but I think a lot less than most people think.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

Well, the stories are funny, but we've been doing this for nine years. Yeah. Or so. Yeah. And so you're gonna have crazy stories. A lot of people are like, is your life hell every weekend? And I'm like, no, but it's also you just don't know when it's you're when you're not gonna hear from your renter at all. Because when they check in, I send them like a whole spiel and I make sure that they're like very informed and make sure they're set. And if and so a lot of times, like they're like, thanks, cool.

SPEAKER_00 16:51

And you don't hear from them for like three days, but you never know when it's just gonna be a guess that like everything, like uh they're gonna let you know if a piece of silverware is out of place, yes, right.

SPEAKER_01 17:05

Like that does happen, and we try to do our best to accommodate everyone and make sure people are happy.

SPEAKER_00 17:10

And I mean, that is our job. Like, we want people to have the experience that they are paying for, and like we want them to love Nashville like we love Nashville.

SPEAKER_01 17:18

Well, and we just um completely transformed one of our Airbnbs. So hopefully we'll get a chance to um do a post or something that really showcases some of our new stuff because it is really fun to like give people different experiences. Like, I don't know another Airbnb that has a saddle, like where you can literally hop on the saddle and it has a neon sign above it and you can take pictures with it. And it's just like this, you know, do that under the disco ball. Like it has been really cool to create these experiences for people.

SPEAKER_00 17:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:48

But um, we've also had some crazy guests too.

SPEAKER_00 17:51

Yeah, we once had a guest pee in our laundry room. And which of course they didn't tell us.

SPEAKER_01 17:57

This is not something where they were like, hey, peed in your laundry room.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

No, and we've had the same cleaner for nine years. Her name is Jamie, and she's absolutely wonderful, and I trust her with my life. And when she walks into a room and she's like, Whoa, that's when you know that shit has hit the fan because nothing rocks this woman, like nothing rocks her. She is the superhero of our lives, and she has seen some shit just like walking into like our houses after Bachelor Art Pride. Lots of people's houses over the years, yeah. But to walk into a laundry room and it smelled like urine and there'd be urine on the floor, and then of course, like we had to reach out to the guests. Do you remember?

SPEAKER_01 18:35

And they like denied it. Well, that's the hard part, is that they're like, No, we didn't, and you're like, Okay, well, you did, but I understand nobody wanting to claim that. Like, what are you gonna do? Be like, hey girlies, someone peed in the laundry room this weekend. Who was it?

SPEAKER_00 18:51

Raise your hand, literally, like send uh this emoji if it was you, right?

SPEAKER_01 18:56

Like, you're not gonna want to claim that. Also, you might not remember because it you're close to Nashville too.

SPEAKER_00 19:02

Yeah, usually if you're peeing in the laundry room, you're not gonna remember that you peed in the laundry room because you're drunk and you peed in the laundry room. Right. So unfortunately, we've had have had some of those moments. Yeah, in one of the rooms, you have to go left to go to the bathroom, and then right would take you to the laundry room. Like we know what happens. Someone had a little drunken mistake there. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 19:24

Got their left and right a little wrong. Yeah. A little wrong. Well, too wrong. Exactly. So we've seen a lot and we've been through a lot, and I'm sure this will continue, but I'm sure we're not the only ones who've been hustling for their business, whether they own real estate or own a business or something, or I don't know, gotten into business with their spouse and it didn't go so well. I don't know. Or gotten into a business with their bestie and it really didn't go well. I know. I feel like this is a situation where I want to hear from other people too, because I'm like, we're not alone. Tell us your stories. We have an email. It's hello at hellohoovers.com. So shoot us your stories, let us know what you've been through so that we don't feel so alone in this crazy entrepreneurial hustle of it all. And um, then we can, I don't know, chat about it and just kind of share stories and have some back and forth.

SPEAKER_00 20:13

I personally love like there a lot of times people leave back like their cowboy hats, but like they have veils on them and they're like extensive like train veils or like really cool fringe hats and like nice stuff. People have left their cowboy boots before. Um, oh, one of my favorite things was like the blow-up horses that you like put between your legs and like giddy up around the house or take it on Broadway.

SPEAKER_01 20:44

We've also found things that like are strange to be left behind, too, though.

SPEAKER_00 20:48

Like what?

SPEAKER_01 20:49

I found a burner phone.

SPEAKER_00 20:51

Oh, yes. Like it was a cell phone, but it was clearly not like the cell phone. Clearly, someone had like a burner phone that they brought to Nashville. And they like stashed it in a drawer. Yeah, and like no one ever asked for it, and I didn't know who like it. I found it in a drawer, like who knows how long it was there.

SPEAKER_01 21:10

I found um uh someone's teddy, like teddy bear that had clearly been loved. And I felt bad because I was like, that's a lifelong teddy bear, like you've been taking that with you for some years, but I like they never reached back out and I couldn't track them down. But yeah, I know we've seen some things.

SPEAKER_00 21:28

Yeah, we've seen seen some things, and I mean, this is just entrepreneurship for you. Uh-huh. I think that one thing that was good was that in the beginning when we got started, we both were traveling a lot. And so what we would do is when we got a new property and we needed to take it to the next level for Airbnb, we would take like the two weeks that we always had off after Christmas at the end of the year, and we would go. And just get down on some decorations.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

I mean, that's that's some hustle because that's where you're supposed to like stop at the end of the year and like take a breather and like hang out. We didn't know how to do that. Well, also it helped like if we want to reset and we want to bring new ideas in and we want to bring new decor in and really make this special for them. Like, but we have jobs, you know. We were like, okay, we have to set aside time, and it was always at the end of the year. So it was, you know, we would like run off to Christmas, and in between Christmas and New Year's, we'd be like, You'll catch us at our Airbnbs, you know, putting up wallpaper, and yeah, putting it up.

SPEAKER_00 22:35

And we would sleep there. Yeah, we would just sleep there, we'd put up the bunk beds, we'd put on the sheets and the comforters and paint the walls and do the wallpaper and put up the disco ball and whatever it might be for that. Um, this year we wanted to take one of our Airbnbs to the next level. Yeah. And this was the first time that we did it with a baby.

SPEAKER_01 22:56

Yes, we did. And luckily, my dad came in town and he was just Tom Hoover. I know. My dad was like, we just couldn't have done it without him. Like we just he essentially came in. I remember when he came into town, we were like taking, we like took him out to lunch, like, hey, you're in town, let's go grab Mexican food. And we sat down and he was like, No, let's get to work, let's eat and go. I'm here to work. We were like, okay, dad. Yeah. So it just helped having that second set of hands, but it was also the respect that I have for, well, first of all, anyone and everyone who has a baby and is working, period. But for people owning their own businesses or going the entrepreneurial route, because every day is different. Every day is like, you don't know what you're getting yourself into, you don't know what's needed that day, but you're gonna be lugging your baby along with you. Yeah. So it is a hard like balance to figure out who's got the baby. Is the baby coming with me to the house? And just trying to keep him. I mean, we have like you're putting up TVs and all these things that have like small parts and boxes and oh my god, that was my scariest thing when we were keeping him safe while we're rehabbing a house. It's just it's it was a lot of huge learning experience as well. Of that, like us having jobs and having a real estate business itself was already hard. Now throw in a little being that you want to like make sure has your love and attention while you're oh wait, we gotta go paint that wall, but we gotta make sure the kid doesn't crawl into the paint period process. So that's a journey. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:26

And it's also, you know, figuring out like we've always done all of this together and figuring out like if it makes more sense for like one of us to take Bex and the other to go and do the work. Yeah. Right. Or both go and then one try to supervise him, which is hard. Forget about it.

SPEAKER_01 24:42

Yeah, it's just it's been a process. But I think another part of this has been kind of learning the work with the play. Like it is hard to, I'm sure so many people can relate to this, know when to turn it off. And luckily, a lot of our friends are entrepreneurial, entrepreneurs are self-employed, or we all kind of like work with each other as well. Where or they're artists and all that kind of thing. A lot of our friends are in the industry, yeah. And so it is so hard because I mean, the good thing is is like it's fun, a lot of it. But the bad thing is, is like there's no off button. Like we're all working all the time. Like, we're all like, let's get together and have a lunch. And then like one of us has to go take a call. And the other one, I forgot to put up a social media post that day. And then the other one just it's just you're pulled in a lot of different directions. And then the other one's like, Oh, I got this email, I have to respond. They need me to sign this paperwork in the next few hours. So I think it is that's been the biggest challenge has been when do you turn it off? Because especially when you're married.

SPEAKER_00 25:41

I was just about to say, not only when to turn it off when you're with your friends, but when to turn it off with your person when you guys are doing this together, right? You know, and it's like, yes, we are business partners, but like you're also the love of my life. And like sometimes I just am like, hey, can we like not talk about you know what tools we need next week?

SPEAKER_01 26:01

Or vice versa. We can drive each other a little crazy with that because sometimes I will be like, it'll be like 10:30 p.m. I'm like snuggle now and I'm okay, cool. Like, let's go to bed, let's snuggle and watch a movie. And you'll be like, Oh, hey, I forgot we didn't pay the HVAC guy today. So we need to like reach out to him and pay. And I'm like, can we just have a note on our phone where we do the things the next day? Cause I'm like, I'm trying to zen out and get away from work for a minute, and you're like, oh, babe. And that tends to be when you remember things, it's like as we're falling asleep.

SPEAKER_00 26:34

Because my brain, it like calms down, but then also like things rise to the surface, like, oops, I forgot I was supposed to do this today. Yeah, it's exactly. And I need to let someone know that isn't just in my brain. You need to let your notes app know. Right. And that's what we do now. But for a while we weren't doing that, and I also like dream at night. And you know, when the real estate market in the states got higher, and it just felt like the numbers didn't add up to buy any more here. We decided to buy two properties in Tulume, Mexico. And I when I'm falling asleep, I have like I dream about what that could be for us. Like once we're like retired and like our kids are out of it.

SPEAKER_01 27:24

I love dreaming. I am all about dreaming. I am like, let's toss cute ideas around. That that part's fun.

SPEAKER_00 27:30

I know, but like you're half asleep. I'm more than half asleep, probably sleep talking. And I'm like, hey, babe, what do you think about starting a couple's retreat in Tulume when we're 55 and all the kids are out of the house?

SPEAKER_01 27:46

Which, by the way, great idea for the record.

SPEAKER_00 27:48

But you're like, baby, can we go to sleep? Let's talk about this tomorrow. And I'm like, I'm dreaming now.

SPEAKER_01 27:56

I sound so bossy. I'm like, okay, honey. Or like I sound so like motherly, okay, honey, write it down and we'll talk about it tomorrow. Just write it down for me and we'll get to it. Yeah, like, I think that's how this all began was like the dream of it all. Like, to me, if you're not dreaming, like, what are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 28:13

Like, that's all part of a part of the way the reason that we got into this together was because we met working together and we work so well together. Yeah. And we weren't allowed to work with each other for a really long time. And so the goal was to work on these other projects and get some passive income so that maybe you wouldn't have to have a nine to five, and then we would get to work together again in the music industry.

SPEAKER_01 28:40

And it turns out now we work together in music and also in real estate. Like it's just, and you know, some other, some other fun things too. But like I feel like that's been a funny aspect has been we went down these like side gigs, which have actually kind of become a big part of like our businesses and stuff. Um, but I I don't know. I think that I'm all about dreaming. I'm like, I'm like, let's just I like hypotheticals, like let's go all the way there and just see what that would look like and then start building our way to get there. But you were talking about dreaming, and you've been in the habit lately of um sleep talking. So do you know that you know, do you know about this? This do you know about this week's?

SPEAKER_00 29:22

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 29:23

You talked to me.

SPEAKER_00 29:24

I thought you I know that okay, let me get to this. Okay, I know that I'm talking. I also don't I also know that I don't know what I'm talking about. Like in the moment, I'm like laughing at myself.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

The problem is I don't know the difference. Like, you'll be talking about let's open a couple's retreat in in Tulu, Mexico in 20 years, and I'm like, sounds great. But then in the same voice the next night, you're like cha cha dancing. I'm not kidding. I'm not kidding. Like two nights ago, you were like cha cha dancing, and I was like, what? And you were like, Yeah, we were doing the dancing competition. And in my head, I think that you're a sane human being. And so in my head, I'm like, what, babe? Like, I think that you're we're having a full-born conversation. Like, I hadn't fallen asleep yet. So it wasn't say much, but it was an insomniac right now. Yeah, it was only like 20 or 30 minutes after you fell asleep. Really? It was probably like 11:30 or something.

SPEAKER_00 30:20

I thought this was like 3 a.m. Are you serious?

SPEAKER_01 30:23

Yeah, so all right, y'all. So, Brooke, in the matter of 15 minutes, this is not an exaggerated story. This is real life, two nights ago. She starts to talk to me about um cha-cha competitions. And in between each of these segments, we'll call them, she's laughing, like hysterically laughing. So I'm thinking, okay, she started talking about cha-cha competitions and then started laughing. So I'm thinking, oh, she woke up, like she's laughing at herself for sleep talking, and now she's gonna talk for real. So then she'll be like, and she'll talk in like a very normal voice. You'll be like, something about a cha-cha competition. You'll be like, yeah, the girl in front, and then you'll start laughing. And I'm like, okay, she's back, she's with me. We're back, we're back, back on. And um you'll be like, um, yeah, the girl in front of me, I took her nails, I borrowed them. And I'm like, what? So then I think you're being for real. And then it's like, we're on to the next thing.

SPEAKER_00 31:16

Well, the truth, the thing is, in my dream, it wasn't nails like nails, it was like screws, nails, like metal. Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:24

And that had to do with a cha-cha competition. We don't know.

SPEAKER_00 31:27

I know there was something about a dive board.

SPEAKER_01 31:29

Yeah, you did jump off a diving board, and then I just kept on trying to jump back in. It was ridiculous. And then you ended with you ended with something about the word. It's not a word, it's a noise. I remember. And you were like, something ga, ga. And I was like, what? And you were like, I don't know the word. I just am thinking of that word. I was like, what have I gotten myself into? Who am I married to? How did I get here? That's the other side of the dreaming that we do. One is one is like, what dreams do we have? The other is what the hell is she talking about in her dreams currently, right?

SPEAKER_00 32:04

Now beautiful thing.

SPEAKER_01 32:05

You talking about Sims characters one time too. Like, yeah. Anyway, we have sidetracked, but you got a lot of dreams, babe. It's really cute. Oh my god. I always like to know what's going on in that little brain. Do you? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:19

I do want to say that I'm 90% sure that I took a gummy that night to help me fall asleep. And so, like, I also was like laughing in my dream because I took a gummy. So it's probably like a little high sleep. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:35

A little night giggle.

SPEAKER_00 32:37

A little night giggle. By the way, it only took like two and a half milligrams for me to just laugh. I just laugh. Yeah, it's a journey.

SPEAKER_01 32:49

So I'm pretty sure we were talking about owning businesses and how that went. But all that to say, so we do like to dream and talk about and talk about kind of what's next.

SPEAKER_00 32:59

Well, not to mention like our own, like me being on the road and like our family band of it all. Yeah. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 33:06

Like, well, we also, once we realized that the US market had, we had felt, not everybody obviously, but we had felt based on what our goals were, the real estate market for us had kind of bursted. Um bursted.

SPEAKER_00 33:20

But bubble popped. Bubble popped. The bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble, pop.

SPEAKER_01 33:24

The bubble had popped. The bubble had the bubble had popped. Um, and we were like, okay, what else do we want to do? And like, what's our next thing? And so we started looking into Tulum, Mexico. We actually went with our friend Ford, who was like, hey, there's this great place. And we went and we felt like real estate there was like very inexpensive for really great properties. And we were ready to invest. And so we bought two places in Tulume, which has been a journey. Um, we bought them what year? I don't even know anymore.

SPEAKER_00 33:55

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 33:55

2022, I think. Yeah, I was 22. And um just recently have gotten this properties. We bought them in pre-sale, but and and that's the thing with you have construction. With yeah, and you have to like be um like trying to figure out what your threshold for like waiting is. Like, we were like, okay, we're gonna buy these properties, and that was a few years ago, and we got a really great deal because it was in pre-construction, but then with that comes waiting for um developers and real estate agents.

SPEAKER_00 34:26

The good news is is that the reason that our properties took much longer than we were told they were gonna take is because they built a airport in Tulum and they also built a train that takes you from Cancun to Tulum. So it's much better for our renters and much easier to get down to Tulum. Just the tourism in general, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:52

But the government took away the workers, our builders, because they were building, you know, things for many, a mass group of people. Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 35:02

But um I will say the good one of the good things about um investing in Tulum has been that we get to kind of combine the work and play with it. Like we aren't going down there all the time by any means, but we do legitimately have to go down for um work and check on our properties and meet with realtors and developers and managers and make sure all the um HOAs and the utilities are running and all that kind of stuff. So um it has been kind of fun because we'll go down and we are working. Like there is no doubt about it. We are up in the morning trying to figure out how to make sure these places are successful and moving forward, but we also will be like hit the afternoon and kind of be like, all right, we kind of knocked off everything we needed to do today. Like, let's head to the beach for a few hours or let's hang out on the rooftop and get a tan or whatever.

SPEAKER_00 35:49

Well, it's also been great because um now our best friend Ford is managing my career. And so it is really fun because last time we went down to Tulum, he came down with us, and we got to mix Tulum that he brought us down there with Tulum work, Tulum play with Tulum work, with Tulum work, with music as well. And so it was like a really good mixture of things.

SPEAKER_01 36:21

And the properties that we have have co-working spaces in them as well.

SPEAKER_02 36:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 36:25

And so um we would be like, okay, cool, we're gonna go, you know, be in the conference room with your manager who's with us already, and like get a ton of work done. So we'll like work on the websites and you know, check in on gigs and take meetings and do all kinds of stuff while we're sitting there with your manager. So it worked out really well because we can combine both of them. And I want to continue that way. Like, I love the idea that like we are hard workers, we always have been. I mean, we're the girls working over Christmas, like we can't sit still. Yeah, I mean, we've always been hustlers in every way, shape, or form, but I do love the balance of like we pick our own schedules and we can kind of go at our own paces a lot, but also um let's play a little bit while we're getting stuff done. So that's always been a priority of mine to like hopefully have that in our family moving forward.

SPEAKER_00 37:12

But yeah, like while we were in Tulum on this last, our last trip. Yeah, we literally finished the imaging and the websites and like all the meetings surrounding this podcast that you're listening to right now.

SPEAKER_01 37:24

It really kind of was, I mean, we had had the idea before Tulum, but it is kind of wild to think like this was like made, like birthed in Tulum of like finalizing all the all of the logistical business setting of the social media accounts and everything like that. Like we were sitting in our co-working space in Tulum, you know, in between all the the meetings and everything like that.

SPEAKER_00 37:49

And in between Brooke Eden music meetings and Cowgays meetings and Tulum, like getting everything, the property management companies, you know, in sync.

SPEAKER_01 38:01

And I feel like some people would think of this, but I think that there is an awareness that if you're gonna go do business in any other country, well, it's like this in general. But if you're gonna go to another country, like there things are done differently in other places. So we were somewhat aware of that, but it was like that's the reason we had to go down there so many times. I mean, we are walking into like utility companies, like we're walking up to the water bill company, and luckily we have a friend who's now running our properties and he's amazing, and he's going, he has been and is going to run our properties beautifully. Um, but he's walking in with us, like talking to the shaking hands with the people that are like doing our water bill and like yeah, hey, this is wrong, and everything's in Spanish. So, like there are definite moments where we look at each other and we're like, what did we get ourselves into? Like it's become such a beautiful thing. We love going down there and staying down there. We love having some business down there. But there are moments like, I mean, we've stood, we've stood in these properties when they were just a jungle. We stood there with hard hats. We stood in them when they were concrete, just concrete. And we thought we were gonna have a full-blown property by then and we're just looking around with hard hats on. Like, what is happening? Yep. Um, so we've had our moments.

SPEAKER_00 39:13

Yeah, and that's the thing with entrepreneurship is like, you know, you can what's great is like setting aside the nine to five, and like, oh, you don't have to go into an office from nine to five anymore. Right. With that being said, you always are on the clock. Yes. Like then it's 24-7.

SPEAKER_01 39:32

Yeah, we never turn off.

SPEAKER_00 39:33

You never, I mean, weekends kind of we slow down a little bit, but then like if they're we have Airbnbs, then you know, something could go wrong, or even if nothing's going wrong, they might just have a question about the property.

SPEAKER_01 39:46

They might just be like, hey, how do you turn on this or how do you do that? And sometimes that's like, okay, well, if I'm away from my phone for two hours, then they're not getting that question answered. And sometimes it's not like a 9-1-1 emergency, but it's still just like needing to be a good host. You're like have to be on all the time. Yeah. I think that's one of the biggest things that like sometimes makes me be like, like this, this self-employment like is the life for us in so many ways. And I think from the outside looking in, it may look a little bit more glamorous than it is because it's like, oh, they're working from Mexico. Oh, they're, you know, it's a Tuesday and they're at the park, you know, there's some of that that I think can look more like glamorous when in the lobby.

SPEAKER_00 40:27

If you haven't been there when like something happens and we have to leave and go mosey on over to a house with a bunch of friends, and we're like, all right, we gotta get out of here.

SPEAKER_01 40:36

Like, hey, thanks for hanging out with us. But they need us at the property and and we're gonna go there right now to take care of it. Yeah. Because a lot of times, like, understandably, renters are like, hey, I need you to take care of this now. And you're like, okay, I'm on my way, you know. So um, that's the harder part of it. And sometimes it does make me think like the stability of having like one of us or something, we had some sort of consistent schedule would maybe be easier, even though we're loving the schedule that we have right now. But sometimes it's just like, oh, like, what if I just had a nine to five? You know, you definitely question like what the ups and downs are of that, you know.

SPEAKER_00 41:14

My personal favorite was like when one of us does have a nine to five. Yeah, but we also have passive income coming in because you always know, like, if you have a salary job, you always know that like you've never had a salaried job though. But when I say you, I mean we.

SPEAKER_01 41:31

We, one of us, and by you, one of us. I really like when one of us has a salaried job.

SPEAKER_00 41:37

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 41:37

Exactly. Uh-huh. Exactly. Um, I love when it'll be like, hey, why don't we take the trash down today? You know that's your job. And you're like, so me, so are you saying that I should take the trash down? That's kind of like this. I like when one of us has a salaried job. So yeah, there's pros and cons. And there's a balance there where you're like, okay, it's kind of nice when one person in the household has some more stability. And that's definitely something, especially with a baby that we've talked about, has been like the randomness of our days and our schedules. Sometimes we look at each other and we're like, I've been with you all day, but like you've kind of had stuff to do, and I've kind of had stuff to do. And we've gotten to the point where we're trying to um like manage the schedules of being um self-employed and still being focused on our baby. So it's kind of gotten to the point where I'm like, okay, why don't I step into the office or I go to our guest house or whatever and go and work for a while? Yeah. So that then you can literally have your phone down and be totally focused on our son and vice versa.

SPEAKER_00 42:38

Yeah. But the hustle is real, along with the first time momming of it all, along with being partners and knowing when to shut off work and like just be like there have definitely been countless moments in our lives when like one of us had to say, like, hey, baby, we gotta turn off that business side of our brain. Like, I just need my wife right now. Yeah, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 43:07

Well, and also like there's the aspect of it that's like you have to, if you're gonna do that, yeah, you gotta know you work well together.

SPEAKER_00 43:15

Yeah, that's the thing. If y'all, if y'all decide that you want to work with your partner because we work together, we're not liable if it doesn't work out because it we knew we already knew we worked.

SPEAKER_01 43:27

We already had some experience with it before we started, but it does not work out for a lot of people. And it also has its hard moments too. But yeah, yeah, disclaimer don't necessarily work with your romantic partner and become a business partner.

SPEAKER_00 43:42

Maybe start something small and get a dog. It's like not a business, but if you guys can like or like live together, I think that that is like kind of like doing a business.

SPEAKER_01 43:51

It's a good start, but having that separation isn't the worst idea in the world. You know, we like it, but we're crazy. So like we're nuts. So don't Don't take our advice ever. So that's the if that's a good way to um say, hey, we have all this advice, but don't take our advice ever. You know, it's a really good, really good summary, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 44:10

Yeah, don't listen to our advice, but definitely keep on watching our podcast. Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Yeah. It makes perfect sense.

SPEAKER_01 44:17

Um, we just it's funny they were talking about this. We just got a message on Airbnb. Just someone um asking us questions about their um their weekend this weekend.

SPEAKER_00 44:27

Oh, and it's this weekend. Yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_01 44:29

So okay, guys. On that note, that actually is a really good example of just like it's just constant. It doesn't matter if we're in the middle of a podcast.

SPEAKER_00 44:35

So doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_01 44:36

Bad things to do, places to go.

SPEAKER_00 44:38

All right, let's go answer some Airbnb messages, and we'll see you guys next week. Bye. Bye.