Have you considered renovating but feel lost?
Laura Faulkner from Adelaide founded Own Your Reno to help with exactly that.
Below you can find her guides and she shares her side hustle advice as part of our side hustle series.
What is your side hustle?
I write and self-publish renovation books under the brand Own Your Reno.
First one is Own Your Reno | Bathroom Edition — kitchen, laundry and other rooms will follow.
Why did you want to have a side hustle?
My main job is being a director of our family’s property renovation company, but most of my day is spent on the admin side — office, phones, paperwork.
Even though I’m a director, some days I feel like a glorified receptionist, sitting on 20+ years of renovation knowledge that’s basically going to waste.
And with kids in sport, extra cash never goes astray either.
I wanted to feel productive and actually use what I know, not just get through whatever admin was in front of me that day.
How did you decide this was the right one for you?
I just asked myself, what do I actually know about? Property.
I’ve been renovating properties for over 20 years to get the best resale profit — I know where to spend the money and where to save it.
I also noticed a gap.
There are a million generic DIY renovation books out there, but hardly anything for people who want to work with a renovator and actually understand what’s going on — the options, the decisions, all of it.
Put those two things together and it was pretty obvious.
How long have you been doing it?
About six months from when I started writing to when the Bathroom Edition was published, and it’s live and for sale now.
What did you need to get started?
Nothing but what was already in my head, honestly. That part was free.
I sat down one night, started jotting everything I knew straight onto paper, and 40 pages and about six hours later I’d offloaded it all — my brain literally felt lighter afterwards.
The money side came later, once the book was actually written, when I needed cash to print a batch of stock before any sales money was coming in.
What have you needed to help it grow?
Mostly just sticking with the social media side, which doesn’t come naturally to me at all.
I’m still trying to get my head around TikTok and reels and keep up with how my kids use it — that’s a very different skill to writing a book.
How much time do you spend on it?
Writing it was quick — I already knew it all, it was just a matter of getting it down.
The marketing is the opposite. The reels, the posts, staying on top of it all — that takes hours, days, sometimes weeks, and it never really stops.
I do enjoy it though, which helps.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome those?
Selling the book, by far. Writing it was easy.
Selling it is a whole different story — I’m not a salesperson, that’s just where I fall down.
I struggle with the fact that I have to sell myself to sell the book, because if you haven’t read it you don’t know its value — but how do I convince you of the value without reading it first?
I really don’t want to put up some cringey video of myself selling it, it feels fake and a bit scammy.
I want the book to be known for what it is — a genuinely useful tool that could save someone thousands on their renovation.
It’s all there in black and white, why should I need a funny meme or a reel for people to get that? I’m working on it, but it’s still my biggest hurdle.
What have been your biggest achievements or happy moments through your journey?
That first night of writing — getting everything out of my head and onto paper — felt amazing.
Then six months later, having an actual published book for sale felt empowering.
And once it started selling, slowly but steadily, and I started seeing a return, that felt amazing too.
Proof that what’s in my head is actually worth something to other people.
What advice do you have for someone considering this as a side hustle?
Look at what you already know. I’ve done over 500+ renovations, and most bathrooms are the same — white walls, dark floors, safe and generic — because people don’t know what’s out there and are scared to try something different.
If you’ve got real knowledge in something, chances are people need it, they just need it handed to them in a way they can actually use.
Also — the bit you’re good at might be the easy part. For me that was the knowledge and the writing. The bit you’re not good at is where the real work is.
For me that’s the selling. Go in expecting that.
What are your future plans?
Kitchen and laundry editions next, then outdoor kitchens down the track. I’d also like to build some online courses to go with the books eventually.
Special Offer
Go to Own Your Reno for a free bathroom renovation checklist.
Website: www.ownyourreno.com
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