Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Golden-Champ.
Hi Michelle, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hi my name is Michelle Golden-Champ, I am one half of The Flipping Champs. I am originally from the Tri Cities area and relocated to Sevierville in 2011 then Knoxville in 2012. I grew up competing in clogging with the Tennessee Hoedowners and also preformed in The Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Show. I am a graduate of East Tennessee State University as well as King University. My early career began in restaurant management then later evolved into B2B and pharmaceutical sales once I moved to Knoxville in 2012, after I met my husband Nick. Nick Champ and I met at a Halloween party in 2011 and the rest is history. Nick has always been a very hard worker with an entrepreneurial spirit. He has created, ran and grew businesses, starting with mowing yards in his teenage years. We got married in 2016 and I always wanted to be a business owner as well. In 2017 we started Beach Bums Shaved Ice, a specialty shaved ice business. Unfortunately, I decided to close the business during the covid pandemic due to health and safety concerns as well as time constraints from a full time job. We had talked about flipping houses for several years, however we had a failed partnership in 2018 which delayed that dream. Finally in 2022 we decided to jump in and Flipping Champs were off and running. Nick is an extremely skilled contractor and I obtained my real estate license, quickly trying to learn that side of the business. We began by renovating personal homes and moved into much larger projects. Our next goal is to start building and selling new construction homes. Currently we do a lot of the demolition and finishing work on our projects and personally mange subcontractors as well. Recently I wrote a children’s book as well, Flipping Girls, which will be available on Amazon soon! In our spare time Nick and I enjoy spending time with our 3 dogs, we also love to travel, go to the lake, snowboard and both love the VOLS!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
None of this has been easy. It was a hard decision to leave a comfortable job with good benefits, a decision that I sometimes I still regret. Learning real estate has been tough as well, there are so many moving parts and every transaction is unique. We have also had to learn building codes, manage contractors for quality of work and to be honest the physical work can be demanding. We are still learning new things 3 years later. Also, there are plenty of times that we disagree on things and patience runs short, so we’ve learned to put up votes on social media to settle debates!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Specifically The Flipping Champs buy houses with needed maintenance. We do full renovations including; structural work if needed, electric, plumbing, hvac systems, drywall and top the houses off with modern updated finishes. Our next venture will be building and selling semi custom new construction homes
What do you like and dislike about the city?
Nick has been in Knoxville since he was a young child and Knoxville is his home. I love Knoxville, especially in the fall! Football, the sea of orange and constantly hearing Rocky Top makes me love this city. Growing up I always thought of Knoxville as the big city, I came from a town where everybody knows your name. It was hard for me to find my place here at first and being the new kid in real estate in this town is tough! For Nick Knoxville is and will always be home sweet home!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://TheListingChamp.com
- Instagram: theflippingchamps
- Youtube: theflippingchamps
- Other: Tiktok @theflippingchamps
