If you visit Open House Austin online, you’ll first be greeted with an option to download their free ebook: ‘How to Buy a House in Texas?’ Founders and Woke Beauty members, Kristina Modares and Stephanie Douglass lead with buyer education and empowerment, using their own experience (both own multiple properties and units in Austin) to make home buying easy and achievable. (Yes…that’s a thing!)

I first met Kristina and Steph for Steph’s one year celebration of working for herself. We commemorated freedom, entrepreneurship and true happiness in Steph’s charming bungalow (featuring a wide open deck…pink toilet…Fall breeze) with over a dozen other local, female entrepreneurs. We sipped gin martinis from the bar and indulged in a DIY charcuterie board while connecting over a world many can’t understand. Finding camaraderie and community as a small business owner is even better than a perfectly baked carrot cake (random but now you know my favorite cake). Needless to say, I left with a sweet buzz and it wasn’t because of the gin martini.

Kristina and Steph could’ve simply kept it to real estate but what sets them apart is that extra mile. They haven’t just created a passionate, skilled team - they’ve built a network. They haven’t just developed their own headquarters - they’ve invited the community to utilize it for community, education and art events (myself included!). They haven’t just built workshops or provided education tools - they’ve lowered housing costs while building equity. They’re not just women, they’re…what do you call it?…oh yeah, badasses.