She Walked Away from the Golden Handcuffs and Built a Tiny Home Village | EP#39
Tue Feb 03 2026
What would it take for you to walk away from a 14-year corporate career with no clear plan and bet on yourself?For Dedria Kolb, it was the pull to build something real.In this episode of the Local Real Estate Developers Podcast, Kristi sits down with Dedria Kolb, a former corporate attorney turned first-time developer who left the legal grind to build a tiny home village in rural North Carolina. With no prior development track record, Dedria bootstrapped her first deal, navigated zoning gray areas, managed construction herself, and opened a fully leased 10-acre tiny home community in under a year.This conversation is a raw look at what it actually takes to start from zero, learn in public, and push a project forward when the path is anything but clear. From hitting rock in the ground to hitting walls with banks and bureaucracy, Dedria shares the real lessons that don’t show up in textbooks but define every developer’s journey.If you are on the fence about development or knee-deep in your first project wondering what you signed up for, this episode is your reminder that you are not starting from scratch and that building with purpose is worth the long game.What We Cover: ✅ Leaving a 14-year corporate legal career to pursue development ✅ Why you are never starting from zero, only starting from experience ✅ Bootstrapping a first development and self-funding phase one ✅ Building and leasing a tiny home village with a lot-lease model ✅ Working through zoning, permitting, and legal gray areas ✅ Managing construction without a general contractor ✅ Lessons learned from rock, water, and blown timelines ✅ Why community, not just housing, was the real goal ✅ The long game of development and why money cannot be the only motivator ✅ Supporting more women at the development tableBold Truth:You do not need a perfect plan or permission to build. You need the courage to start, the grit to adapt, and the commitment to keep going when it gets hard.🎧 Listen now to hear how Dedria chose purpose over comfort and built something real when the path was anything but clear.Connect with Dedria: 📲 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hey_dedriak/ 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dedriaharper/ Listen + Subscribe: Watch full episodes on YouTube or listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.Want more from Kristi? Hear how she’s helping locals become developers in their own communities without the gatekeeping. 🎧 Local Real Estate Developer Podcast Playlist →👉 Ready to become a local developer in your town?Apply for the Mentorship:https://www.localrealestatedeveloper.com/dev-mentorship🎧 Access all platforms, the Developer Vault, and more:https://linktr.ee/localrealestatedeveloper🎬 Chapters00:00 Introduction to Deidre Kolb01:35 Transitioning from Attorney to Developer06:07 The First Project: Tiny Home Village11:33 Challenges and Lessons Learned16:11 Community Impact and Relationships21:06 Finding Contractors and Managing Construction27:26 Learning Through Experience28:55 The Importance of Mentorship30:36 Building a Support Network32:11 Staying Motivated in Challenges36:38 Advice for Aspiring Developers40:17 Future Aspirations and Community Impact#localrealestatedeveloper #realestateinvesting #womeninrealestate #mindsetmatters #communitydevelopment #realestatejourney #propertyinvestor #infilldevelopment #therealestatedeveloper #partnerships #elevateswfl
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What would it take for you to walk away from a 14-year corporate career with no clear plan and bet on yourself?For Dedria Kolb, it was the pull to build something real.In this episode of the Local Real Estate Developers Podcast, Kristi sits down with Dedria Kolb, a former corporate attorney turned first-time developer who left the legal grind to build a tiny home village in rural North Carolina. With no prior development track record, Dedria bootstrapped her first deal, navigated zoning gray areas, managed construction herself, and opened a fully leased 10-acre tiny home community in under a year.This conversation is a raw look at what it actually takes to start from zero, learn in public, and push a project forward when the path is anything but clear. From hitting rock in the ground to hitting walls with banks and bureaucracy, Dedria shares the real lessons that don’t show up in textbooks but define every developer’s journey.If you are on the fence about development or knee-deep in your first project wondering what you signed up for, this episode is your reminder that you are not starting from scratch and that building with purpose is worth the long game.What We Cover: ✅ Leaving a 14-year corporate legal career to pursue development ✅ Why you are never starting from zero, only starting from experience ✅ Bootstrapping a first development and self-funding phase one ✅ Building and leasing a tiny home village with a lot-lease model ✅ Working through zoning, permitting, and legal gray areas ✅ Managing construction without a general contractor ✅ Lessons learned from rock, water, and blown timelines ✅ Why community, not just housing, was the real goal ✅ The long game of development and why money cannot be the only motivator ✅ Supporting more women at the development tableBold Truth:You do not need a perfect plan or permission to build. You need the courage to start, the grit to adapt, and the commitment to keep going when it gets hard.🎧 Listen now to hear how Dedria chose purpose over comfort and built something real when the path was anything but clear.Connect with Dedria: 📲 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hey_dedriak/ 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dedriaharper/ Listen + Subscribe: Watch full episodes on YouTube or listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.Want more from Kristi? Hear how she’s helping locals become developers in their own communities without the gatekeeping. 🎧 Local Real Estate Developer Podcast Playlist →👉 Ready to become a local developer in your town?Apply for the Mentorship:https://www.localrealestatedeveloper.com/dev-mentorship🎧 Access all platforms, the Developer Vault, and more:https://linktr.ee/localrealestatedeveloper🎬 Chapters00:00 Introduction to Deidre Kolb01:35 Transitioning from Attorney to Developer06:07 The First Project: Tiny Home Village11:33 Challenges and Lessons Learned16:11 Community Impact and Relationships21:06 Finding Contractors and Managing Construction27:26 Learning Through Experience28:55 The Importance of Mentorship30:36 Building a Support Network32:11 Staying Motivated in Challenges36:38 Advice for Aspiring Developers40:17 Future Aspirations and Community Impact#localrealestatedeveloper #realestateinvesting #womeninrealestate #mindsetmatters #communitydevelopment #realestatejourney #propertyinvestor #infilldevelopment #therealestatedeveloper #partnerships #elevateswfl