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Over the past few weeks, I’ve had 172 conversations with women who want to renovate or develop property. Some were excited. Some were overwhelmed. Some were convinced they couldn’t get started. And yet, as I listened, a pattern emerged.
Across all of these women, there were three common sticking points. Three things that made them think they were stuck, when in reality they were only one piece of information away from being unstuck.
If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re “missing something” or whether you’re secretly not cut out for renovating or developing, this article is for you.
Let’s walk through the three biggest obstacles I see, and the truth behind them.
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Not Knowing Where to Play (Or What Type of Project Makes Sense)
This one came up so often it could have been a chorus.
Most women were either:
- looking only in suburbs close to home
- wandering through renovators’ delights hoping one would magically stack up
- or running a scattered search across dual occs, knockdown rebuilds, and renos in three different postcodes
And then they’d say:
“I can’t find anything that works.”
But here’s the truth:
If you don’t know which areas give you the highest likelihood of profit, or what project type works best in that area, of course it’s going to feel like searching for a needle in a haystack.
When you analyse suburbs properly – the uplift potential, the demographic, the product type that sells, and the projects that have historically worked – suddenly the field narrows.
Instead of looking everywhere, you look in the right places.
Once you know where to play and why, everything else gets easier. Your confidence increases because you’re not relying on intuition or hoping you “just get lucky with a good one.” You’re making informed, numbers-backed decisions.
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Not Knowing the Numbers (And Not Having a Feasibility You Trust)
The second major hurdle is numbers.
Not because women can’t do numbers – you absolutely can – but because no one has ever shown you how to run a feasibility properly.
Many people:
- don’t have a feasibility template
- have a template but don’t know what numbers to put in
- don’t know how to justify the inputs
- or rely on numbers given to them by people who aren’t aligned with the product they’re trying to create
That last one is sneaky.
I had a woman recently come to me saying an architect quoted a build cost that made her project unviable. But the architect was referencing a high-end architectural build with a different structure, different systems, and a different price point.
Not what she was planning to do at all.
Numbers only work when they match the strategy.
Your feasibility needs to show:
- what the project costs
- what the project sells for
- the bankable profit today
- and the real likelihood of that outcome
Not based on a rising market.
Not based on hope.
Based on what is reasonable and justifiable now.
I told one of our women to run ten feasibilities in a week. Within days she came back with one that hit the criteria perfectly, because as soon as she stopped guessing and started analysing, the opportunities became clear.
You can download our free feasibility template if you need a place to start. It won’t solve everything, but it will stop you from flying blind.
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Not Understanding Finance or Funding Options
The third sticking point is finance.
Not just bank loans. Not “can I borrow enough?”
I’m talking about understanding the full menu of funding options that exist for renovators and developers.
Most people think their income determines their borrowing capacity.
It does, if you’re using the wrong type of product.
But there are:
- low-doc loans
- development finance that doesn’t look at income
- joint venture structures
- superfund lending
- products specifically designed for projects, not pay slips
- ways to borrow against assets, not employment
And because most women don’t know these exist, they assume they’re stuck.
One woman I spoke to owned a large site outright, had done all the design work, had the approvals lined up, and was about to give half her profit to money partners.
She didn’t need money partners.
She needed the right loan product.
Another had done four or five projects and thought her journey was over because her partner had changed jobs and they no longer had stable income.
In reality, that shift actually unlocked new financing options that suited where they were in their journey.
You don’t know what you don’t know.
But finance is one of the easiest things to straighten out once you understand the landscape.
So If You’re Feeling Stuck… You’re Not Alone
Every woman I spoke to had her own version of:
“I can’t find anything.”
“I don’t know if it’s the right area.”
“My numbers aren’t working.”
“I don’t think I can borrow enough.”
But here’s the thing:
These aren’t character flaws.
They’re knowledge gaps – and they’re all fixable.
I’ve had to learn these exact things the long way.
I had to refine feasibilities over years.
I had to learn how different suburbs behave.
I had to understand finance because with seven kids, no traditional job, and multiple projects happening, it was the only way we could keep playing the game.
We’ve done this while juggling school drop-offs, newborns, teenagers, and everything in between.
It was never the “perfect time.”
But it was always the right move.
Renovating and developing is a game worth playing. A game that can change the trajectory of your family’s life, your finances, and your future. And it’s a game that women play exceptionally well once they have the right pieces of the puzzle.
If You Want Help Finding Your Pathway
If you want clarity on:
- your suburb
- the right project type
- whether your numbers work
- what your best funding pathway is
- or how to move from “thinking about it” to actually getting started
…book a call with me or my team.
We’ll look at your situation, your numbers, your suburb, your constraints, your goals – and help you map out whether renovating or developing for profit is the right pathway for you. If it is, we’ll show you how to move forward confidently.
And if it’s not, we’ll tell you that too, so you can free up your brainspace and focus on the pathway that is right for you.
You can also download the free feasibility template now and start getting your numbers in order.
There is no one-size-fits-all formula.
But there is a pathway for you – and it might be much closer than you think.
Book a call with one of our team members today – here!
Rebeka recently spoke about this all further on our podcast! Listen to the episode in full here.
