What does it take to build a thriving luxury real estate business in Austin from scratch, with no connections, no clients, and no playbook? For Erin Scialabba, it started with a catering shift at the South Congress Hotel and a gut feeling she was meant to do something more creative with her life.

Laura sits down with Austin luxury realtor Erin Scialabba to talk about her journey from finance and data analytics in New York City to becoming one of Austin's most trusted real estate agents. Erin shares how her authentic home tour videos helped her break into the Austin luxury real estate market, why radical transparency has cost her listings and saved her clients hundreds of thousands of dollars, and what buying a home in Austin really looks like right now.

She also gets honest about building a small business without a roadmap, hiring her first team, and why protecting creative downtime is not a luxury but a business strategy.

Topics Discussed

• Leaving a New York finance career to start over in Austin with no connections
• How a catering job at the South Congress Hotel opened the door to luxury real estate
• Building an audience through authentic Austin home tour videos
• Why she turns down listings rather than oversell a property
• How she saved a client half a million dollars through radical transparency
• What buyers and sellers need to know about the Austin housing market right now
• Hiring an operations manager and learning to delegate for the first time
• Why stand-up comedy and a pandemic walk on the greenbelt changed everything
• Building systems, setting boundaries, and scaling a real estate business without burning out

Resources and LinksLearn More About Erin : https://www.erinsellsatx.com/Follow Erin on Instagram: @ErinSellsATXShop Living Oak: https://livingoakhome.comLearn More About Laura and Living Oak Interior Design: https://www.livingoak.com/about

What happens when a furniture marketing exec gets hired for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and spends the next eight years designing over 120 homes from the ground up? For Kim Lewis, it launched her extraordinary career in interior design. Laura sits down with Kim Lewis, founder of Kim Lewis Designs, to trace her journey from Four Hands marketing to lead designer on one of television's most beloved home renovation shows, to building a thriving seven team design firm in Austin.

Kim opens up about losing her mother at 10, the divorce that brought her back to Texas, and how meeting her husband Joey, who first DM'd her looking for bar stools, helped her finally finish the memoir she's been writing for years. She shares what it really means to build a business that feels like family, how she parents with intention and presence, and why the years your kids actually need you are a shorter season than you think.

Topics Discussed

• How a chance meeting at High Point led to nearly eight years on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
• Designing Jewel's home as her very first private client
• Building Kim Lewis Designs into a seven-team firm with 20 active projects at a time
• Losing her mother at 10 and how grief shaped her independence and empathy
• Parenting with intention and the questions she asks her kids instead of "how was your day?"
• Writing a memoir about death, divorce, and forgiveness and why she's finally ready to finish it
• Finding a partner who complements and encourages your walk

Resources and Links

Kim Lewis Design: https://www.kimlewisdesigns.com/

Follow Kim on Instagram: ‪@kimlewisdesign

Shop Living Oak: https://livingoakhome.com

Learn More About Laura and Living Oak Interior Design: https://www.livingoak.com/about

Laura sits down with Jane Ko, the powerhouse creator behind A Taste of Koko and the force driving Howdy Homes, Austin's newest collection of design forward residences. From building one of Austin's most beloved lifestyle platforms to stepping into interior design and real estate development, Jane shares the decade plus journey of consistency, reinvention, and trusting her instincts.She opens up about the pivot from corporate life to full time content creation, the evolution of social media from curated photos to raw authenticity, and what it really looks like to run a business while navigating new motherhood. Jane and Laura also dig into the vision behind Howdy Homes, the power of knowing when to take a leap, and why being a woman in business is actually an extraordinary advantage.Topics Discussed- How Jane built A Taste of Koko over 15 years, from a college blog to more than 200,000 follower Austin institution- The moment she was forced to choose between her blog and her 9-to-5, and why she chose herself- How Covid reshaped content creation and what creators had to unlearn about perfection- Launching Sunday House in Fredericksburg and how it sparked the idea for Howdy Homes- The origin story of Howdy Homes and what makes their South Austin properties different- Navigating postpartum, brand deadlines, and no paid maternity leave as a self employed creator- Her approach to short sprints in business, motherhood, and everything in between- Day to day rituals that keep her grounded, from nighttime baths to morning date teaResources and LinksA Taste of Koko: https://www.atasteofkoko.com/Follow Jane Ko on Instagram: @ATasteOfKoko Howdy Homes: https://www.howdyhomes.co/Shop Living Oak: https://livingoakhome.comLearn More About Laura and Living Oak Interior Design: https://www.livingoak.com/about

Laura sits down with Dr. Jessica Tranchina, DPT, Co-Founder of Generator Athlete Lab and Founder of Experts in Wellness. From growing up as a first-generation American to becoming one of Austin’s most trusted integrative wellness experts, Dr. Jess shares her journey of science-meets-intuition, entrepreneurship, healing, motherhood, and the power of listening to your body. She shares the path that led her to physical therapy, how she built Generator Athlete Lab which was ahead of its time, and why helping people reconnect to their bodies has become her life’s work.

Dr. Jess and Laura dive into everything from cold plunges and lymphatic health to the role of home environment, energy exchange, and daily rituals that regulate the mind and body. With humor, honesty, and deep experience, Dr. Jess shares what it really takes to build a purposeful, aligned life.

Topics Discussed

- Growing up between cultures and discovering her calling at age 12

- Training as a PT across every specialty to become a more complete practitioner

- Why she created Generator Athlete Lab and what makes it unique

- Cold plunges, vibration therapy, lymphatics, and why these modalities work

- Building a grounded life and business while raising three children

- Energy exchange, boundary setting, and rituals that support wellbeing

- Launching Experts in Wellness and stepping into her intuitive gifts

Resources and Links

Generator Athlete Lab: @generatorathletelab

https://www.generatorathletelab.com/

Experts in Wellness: @expertsinwellness

Dr. Jess: @dr_jesst

Shop Living Oak: https://livingoakhome.com

Learn More About Living Oak Interior Design: https://www.livingoak.com/about

Laura sits down with Miranda Cullen, Founder and CEO of Inside Stories and the visionary behind the Inside Stories Franchise. From taking a high school interior design class that changed her life to building a thriving multi division design firm in Denver, Miranda shares how her creative curiosity, resilience, and love for mentoring others shaped her thirty year career.

She dives into the launch of micro interior design, why quick hit projects can be more impactful than full scale remodels, and how she is turning a missed business opportunity into a national franchise model built to support designers who want to grow with confidence. Miranda also reflects on motherhood, entrepreneurship, and the moment she realized she was ready for her next chapter.

Topics Discussed

- How a single high school class launched Miranda into a thirty year career in interior design

- The evolution of Inside Stories and celebrating its ten year anniversary

- What micro interior design is and why small projects often make the biggest impact

- How the micro and residential divisions keep the business both profitable and steady

- The inspiration behind franchising Inside Stories and building a toolkit for designers who are not ready to leap out on their own

- Structuring a team for growth, hiring intentionally, and creating a company designers want to work for

- Goal planning, expansion, and why Austin is a key market for the next franchise launch

- The shift from designer to entrepreneur and finding purpose in the second half of life

Resources and Links

Inside Stories: https://www.insidestories.com

Follow Miranda on Instagram: http://instagram.com/mirandascullen

Inside Stories Design: https://www.instagram.com/insidestories_design

Stories Franchise: https://www.instagram.com/insidestoriesfranchise

Shop Living Oak: https://livingoakhome.com

Learn More About Living Oak Interior Design: https://www.livingoak.com/about

Laura sits down with Karen Zabarsky Blashek, Editor in Chief of Austin Home and founder of Ground Up. From her beginnings in New York architecture studios to shaping major real estate developments and leading Austin Home which is Austin’s preeminent design publication, Karen shares her multidisciplinary journey and the creative thread that connects it all.

She shares the power of building community, navigating big life transitions, embracing motherhood, and raising the standard for design storytelling in Austin. Karen also gives a behind-the-scenes look at the Austin Home Awards and what readers can expect from the years ahead as the city continues to evolve.

Topics Discussed

- How Karen’s background in architecture, art history, and creative direction prepared her for her role at Austin Home

- Building Ground Up and learning the power of community-driven storytelling

- The path to Editor in Chief of Austin Home and redefining what local design media can be

- How slow journalism, deeper reporting, and community engagement are shaping the magazine’s future

- Karen’s mindset shift stepping into motherhood, balancing two roles, and redefining what modern motherhood looks like

- Her approach to connection, authenticity, and building real community rather than traditional networking

- What is ahead for Austin Home, including the 2026 editorial calendar and expanded city-focused coverage

Resources and Links

Austin Home Magazine: austinhomemag.com

Follow Karen on Instagram: http://instagram.com/kzblashek

Ground Up: https://www.groundupideas.com/about

Shop Living Oak: https://livingoakhome.com

Learn More About Living Oak Interior Design: https://www.livingoak.com/about

This week on Here With Laura, we’re joined by Janine Starr, founder J9 HOMES a boutique remodeling firm in Austin, TX. She sits down to talk about how she built a respected, relationship-driven construction business from the ground up. After a long career in HR and consulting, Janine made a bold pivot at 40,. With a leap of faith and the support of her husband she stepped into the world of construction. What started with joining a remodel division turned into eight years of hands on experience before launching her own firm.Janine shares what it’s really like to build a business with your name on it, why she intentionally keeps her team small and tight knit, and how her background in people management has shaped her leadership style. From navigating a male dominated industry to building long term client relationships to balancing a busy project load with a new empty nester season of life, Janine offers thoughtful, grounded insight into the realities of residential construction today.Whether you’re a designer, a builder, a homeowner gearing up for a remodel, or someone considering a career pivot, this conversation is packed with wisdom about trust, communication, process, and controlling the controllables.Key Takeaways- Your past experience always shows up. Janine’s HR background informs everything from team development, client communication, and navigating tough conversations across trades.- You can’t hire too early or too late. Growth requires intention: hiring based on revenue, pipeline, and leaving enough time for proper training.- Relationships drive construction. Whether with clients, trades, or designers, long term success comes from collaboration and consistent communication.- Bring designers in early. Starting together ensures alignment, smoother decision-making, and fewer delays especially on remodels with unknowns.- Control what you can. Remodels always come with surprises; expectations, transparency, and documented processes help mitigate stress.- High-end clients still want value. Janine focuses on ROI, honest guidance, and thoughtful value engineering, not simply choosing the least expensive option.- Living through a remodel is tough. Timeliness and trust matter deeply, and most people benefit from moving out during messy phases.Resources and LinksLearn More About J9 HOMES: https://j9homes.com/Follow J9 on Instagram: http://instagram.com/j9_homes/Shop Living Oak: https://livingoakhome.comLearn More About Living Oak Interior Design: https://www.livingoak.com/about

In this episode, I sit down with Jesse Parker Stowell of Parker Phoenix Public Relations, a seasoned publicist whose career spans from the fast-paced world of New York and Los Angeles fashion PR to building a more balanced life and boutique firm here in Austin. Jesse shares how his early start in communications led him to work with major brands like Revlon and Victoria’s Secret and how he learned to navigate high-stakes events, celebrity campaigns, and business ownership through equal parts grit and relationship building.

We also talk about the lessons he’s brought from New York to Austin, why he keeps his agency intentionally small, and how authenticity and believing in your clients’ missions drive real success. Beyond PR, Jesse talks up about renovating his historic Austin home, embracing the local community, and finding joy in everyday rituals that keep him grounded.

Topics Discussed

• How Jesse got his start in PR and the pivotal moment that shaped his career

• Transitioning from corporate fashion PR in NYC and LA to boutique PR in Austin

• Lessons learned from working with global brands and high-profile events

• The importance of authenticity and believing in your clients’ mission

• Why Austin’s “play nice in the sandbox” culture makes it special

• Renovating a historic home and creating a space that feels personal

Resources and Links:

Parker Phoenix Public Relations: https://www.parkerphoenixpr.com/about

Follow Jesse on Instagram:http://instagram.com/parkerphoenixpr

Learn more about the Andy Roddick Foundation Gala: https://www.arfoundation.org

Learn more about the Farrah Fawcett Foundation: https://thefarrahfawcettfoundation.org

Shop Living Oak: https://livingoakhome.com

Learn More About Living Oak Interior Design: https://www.livingoak.com/about