I started writing this on Instagram, but realized it was a little bit too long of a story. And it's one I want to remember. I just became the newest architectural designer for Ezra Lee Design + Build! This is significant in many ways, but let me just say that I have said I wanted to work for him for years.
Ezra Lee is an awesome design build company. I became aware of him because he usually has a home in the Parade of Homes every year. I always loved his style and how his homes stood out from the standard, boring, Utah home. They were always unique and well thought out. Then, four years ago, I saw him sitting in the office of one of his parade homes, so I decided to talk to him. I told him how much I like his designs and about how I have a degree in architecture. He said I should send over my portfolio because he is always looking for good talent. Of course, at the time, I was barely pregnant with Wes, my oldest was only 10 and it just wasn't the right time for me to work. I didn't send anything over.
I continued to admire him from afar and always had it in the back of my mind that I would love to work for him someday. I mean, I imagined myself working for some architecture firm, but this one was the one I really wanted. I even remember talking with one of my best friends a couple of years ago about how hard my little kids were. She said, "I think you should go work for that Ezra Lee guy, even it's only for a few hours and even if all of your income goes to pay for child care." I remember thinking about it, but it still wasn't the right time.
Throughout those years, I started getting into designing for other people on the side. It started when a friend asked if I could give her some ideas for finishing her basement. I decided to do a 3D sketchup model for her. Actually, I gave her a few different ideas to chose from. They loved being able to visualize the space in 3D. That was the beginning of my doing a bunch of other designs for people. Though I never advertised, I had various jobs through word of mouth. During that time, I got really good at and fast at Sketchup. I also began designing furniture plans in Sketchup.
Fast forward to the beginning of this year. I felt strongly that I should restart my website and put all of my plans, architecture and home projects on it. Jared helped me work out a lot of the website details and I started focusing on Clever Compositions (my website/business name). Then, one day at church they announced that our stake was starting some self reliance classes and for some reason, Jared and I decided to go. We had no idea why we were there and at that first meeting had to chose one of the four courses. We chose the Starting and Growing Your Own Business class and got assigned to a group. We both went the first time, but it was the same night as racquetball, and Jared didn't really have a business idea like I did, so I continued going without him. It was a 12 week course and it was excellent! I really explored so many different thing in that class and got out of my comfort zone a lot. Our facilitators had started 14 companies over the years and were so inspiring! I really feel like I was in the class and with the people I was with for a reason. In the process of the class, I added more things to the website. I thought that I would be able to work on designs for basements and kitchen/bathroom remodels if I just advertised my services, but I never got to that point.
Instead, something entirely different happened...
In June, I went to the Parade of Homes (because I wouldn't miss it for almost anything) and I went through the house of Ezra Lee. I saw him in the garage as I was leaving, but of course didn't talk to him. When I got home that night, I saw a job listing for Ezra Lee for their architecture department (because I follow them on Facebook). It was my perfect job, except that it was full time, so I didn't apply. I kept thinking about the job for a week and finally decided that I should just go back to that parade home to see if Ezra was in the garage again (he was). I just wanted to get my foot in the door for the future and for him to know who I was. He told me he had just filled the job an hour before, which was fine because I couldn't do full time anyway. But I kept talking to him and had a great conversation. I may have mentioned that I always said I would work for him (I still can't believe I said that!) It came up that they use Revit (a 3D modeling program that I haven't used since I was in school over 8 years ago). For some reason, he suggested that I could maybe come in to the office to relearn Revit since they had a couple of extra licenses and an extra desk. He also told me to send my portfolio over to him and Kelly, the head of architecture.
I spent the weekend working on my resume and portfolio and sent it in that Tuesday. Ezra emailed back and said they would get back to me. Kelly called me on Friday and asked if I could come in for an interview that same day. We had a great talk as well. They said they don't usually like to hire people for part time work, but I said it would be ideal to come in Monday through Friday in the mornings (when Hallie was at kindergarten and Wes was at preschool). That seemed to be okay for them, as long as I was there every day. He brought up the idea that I could come in to learn Revit and asked if I wanted to start the next Monday. Then if they liked me after a couple of weeks, they could possibly hire me for part time work.
I came in for a week in the mornings going through training videos and designing my dream house in Revit. The next week Ezra and Kelly decided to give me a design challenge. They took me down to a site and which had a 10'x12' billboard on it. They said they wanted me to design a mixed use office building for that site and that they wanted it to go on that billboard (if it was good enough!) They said they have given people lots of opportunities to show design skills and they are almost always disappointed. They really wanted the very top talent. So, no pressure for me on this project!
I started designing and the next day Ezra looked in on it (even though it wasn't even close to being done). There were things he liked and other things he didn't like. He made a suggestion which I began to implement. By Friday, I had a design but it wasn't that great. Kelly saw it and asked if I liked it. I said no, and he said, "then delete it". That was a really rough day because I knew this was my chance to show them what I could do and either be hired or not. I was kind of stressed. I came home that day and worked all weekend on a design. I put a board together to present to them and Monday morning showed Ezra. Amazingly, he loved it. And so did Kelly. That was a huge relief! He gave me some suggestions and said that I had a lot to do that day. That's when I said, "Or I could just leave because I don't actually work here." At that point, Kelly said he would have a chat with the finance guy and Ezra and give me a job offer the next day. They said they really liked me and were impressed with what I was able to do.
Today I accepted the offer and even got back pay for the work I did last week :) I still can't even believe all that has happened in such a short period of time. It really is my dream job. It is about 8 minutes from my house (did I mention the office is in one of the houses they designed?--it is so awesome!) and I kind of set my own hours, with lots of flexibility. There are four people in the architecture department and three of us are in a room together. They are all really nice and helpful. They just really make me feel comfortable and like I am supposed to be there. They are working on 3 and 4 million dollar custom homes that are so awesome! The job allows me to be creative and use my skills, and it definitely challenges me continually. When I am there, time goes by so fast. We are all so focused on our design work. It is so much more than just a job to me, because I continually think about what I can do to make designs better.
I have felt kind of envious of moms with jobs for a long time. It didn't even matter what the job was, but just the fact that they were doing something with their lives instead of just kids and housework made me envious. I would even look at different random jobs thinking, maybe I could just do that job... But then I would always remind myself that when it was time for me to get a job, that I should do something I love and that I went to school for, architecture. But just the thought of going through all the applying and interviewing process was awful! I always prayed that Heavenly Father would prepare the right job for me when the time was right.
I really feel like this was an answer to my prayers. I didn't even know that I would be getting a job right now, but I feel like Heavenly Father did. And everything seemed to fall into place at the right time. Even if this had happened two months ago, I could not have made it work with two kids at home. The timing of it being summer, when my older kids could watch the younger kids during the day made it the perfect time. And the fact that I had done that self-reliance class and had my portfolio ready to send over was another blessing. And just the "coincidence" of Ezra being there at the exact moment that I decided to go up there. And the fact that they had had a couple of people from the architecture department leave within the last couple of months made them have an opening at this very moment in time. I think about my vacations that I planned. None of them were during this time period, even though they were originally supposed to be. And all of my kids' activities also worked around my morning schedule (Erin's oboe was before work and Alex's band was right after).
Then there was the issue of what to do with Wes while I was at work. I had signed him up for two different preschools back in February, so he would be gone Tues-Fri. The only issue is that he is not potty trained and he can't go to preschool if he's not. I really buckled down at the beginning of the summer, but he would not do it. I was exasperated! You just can not force someone to be potty trained unless they want to. I knew he wasn't ready, but just the thought of being home all day with him again next year was something I just could not go through. He is such a hard kid! I even had a breakdown about it the night before Kelly called me. I just had to figure out something. I started to realize that maybe there was a reason that he was being so stubborn about it, that maybe he wasn't supposed to go to preschool after all. Then one day last week, my cousin came to mind. She has a daycare in her home and she lives in Lehi. I contacted her and explained the situation and she said she could do that! It literally was a huge weight lifted off me and an answer to my prayers. I had been praying so long that Wes could get potty trained, when the answer to my prayers was actually something very different, but something that would ultimately be much better for my situation. If I'd done the preschools, I still would have had to find extra babysitters on Monday and after school (since it was only 2 hours a day). And, this daycare will be cheaper than the preschools. Just amazing!
Even the fact that Ezra had the idea to let me come in without getting paid was the perfect way for me to get to know them. It was so unconventional, and something they had never done before, but somehow it was the right thing. Kelly mentioned to me that Ezra believed in serendipity and that things happen for a reason, and people come into your life or your business at the right time for a reason. This was one of those times. He could have easily just told me he's not looking for part time and that he already filled the position anyway, but he let me stick my foot in the door and I'm so grateful he did!
Just look at some of his design work. It's amazing!
