42. Restoring Broken Down and Forgotten Historic Buildings with Real Estate Investor, Social Media Content Creator & Influencer, and Former Public-School Teacher & Sales Rep – Sara McDaniel (Ep. 21 Replay)

Courage Becomes Her

Sara McDaniel is a Louisiana gal who loves kayaking on the bayou and traveling both near and far. She is a former public-school teacher who left teaching to sell education curriculum. In 2016 she turned her sights to her dream from 4th grade and began restoring a broken down and forgotten 1926 Louisiana cottage. Little did she know that her yellow front door would be showcased by Better Homes & Gardens, catapulting her into the social media limelight – resulting in her also being featured by Southern Living, Country Living, Cottages & Bungalows, and American Farmhouse Style, and having partnerships with Martha Stewart, HGTV, Orian Rugs, Macys, Rodan & Fields, and many more.

In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Sara talks about her restoration of The Villas at Spanish Court, an 8-room historic building built in 1931 that was abandoned in the 1980s and left to rot. The renovation was named as the 2022 Project House for Cottages & Bungalows Magazine and gained national media attention because of Sara’s decision to restore a building that most other people would have demolished.

I know you’re asking yourself why I’m having someone with a couple hundred thousand followers on the podcast when I committed to having Courage Becomes Her be about women we can relate to, women who are experiencing life just like you and I are. And that’s exactly, why – Sara is a normal Southern gal; she never sought or asked for the influence that has come her way. In 2015 when she and I started working together, she was simply a girl with a dream and a willingness to work hard.

Sharing her story is important because you all have dreams, just like I do, just like Sara did and still does, and I want us to be inspired by her faithfulness to her dream and her courage to chase after it. Though her story may have a little more polish than yours or mine, I can tell you from years spent with her that I deeply desire to have her humility, her bravery, and her gumption.

Resources from my conversation with Sara:

• The Five Love Languages by Gary Thomas
• The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau
• The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson
• Sara’s Website
• Sara’s Story about Her Divorce
• The Renovation of Sara’s Cottage
• How Sara Got Started in Real Estate and Some Tips For How You Can Too
• HGTV Episode featuring Minden, Louisiana
• Cottages and Bungalows Magazine
• American Farmhouse Style Magazine

Book your visit at The Villas at Spanish Court or Sara’s other properties through Mindenstays.com – she would love to welcome you.

Join Sara on Instagram or Facebook for updates about The Villas and The Creekside Apartments and her other projects.

Share Your Stories & Guest Suggestions:

www.couragebecomesher.com

#couragebecomesherpodcast

I’d love to hear from you!

Production by Studio C Creative Sound