Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Lewis.
Hi Karen, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I had been laid off from the oil field at roughly the same time my father was diagnosed with a terminal illness. After discussing his wishes with my husband, we decided it was more important for me to be there in his last months than continue a full time job. But to make ends meet, I reached out to some attorney colleagues and started helping them in between my dad’s doctor’s appointments with general secretarial stuff.
An attorney called me one day to ask if I could handle an entire estate close out. I accepted. The couple had no relatives or children, everything being left to various charities. The husband passed in the hospital and the wife went home and took her life. The company we hired to do the blood remediation was curt, almost rude, and they did a terrible job; didn’t even remove the blood soaked carpet. I thought “I could do this so much better, and be so much kinder to people in this situation. I could really help them.” Once that mustard seed was planted there was no going back. So I started reading, researching, and delving deep on bio-cleaning. I put myself through school at night and started buying equipment piece by piece, as I had the funds.
My father passed away in 2016 and my mother had developed cancer by then; and her days were unfortunately numbered. Mom died in May 2019, and I started 3 Birds Bioremediation right after closing her estate at the end of 2020. I jumped in with both feet and never looked back.
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?
It was slow going at first. It’s still either fiest or famine. We either have multiple jobs at once or nothing for weeks.
The hardest struggles were having no one to ask questions of. It was sink or swim – I had no one to lean on other than myself. Everything from buying products and equipment to pricing out jobs. I knew nothing going in. The first year I had tons of unnecessary expenditures on advertising that wasn’t the right fit, employee struggles, knowing what to use to get blood out of 80 yr old hardwoods…there were so many questions. I’ve saved my son from all those struggles by bringing him aboard to help manage the day to day operations early on. And beginning in 2026, my son, Travis Brunet, will be taking over the business.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I own and operate a bioremediation business. We clean up the remains of people who have passed away at home from any number of reasons. Some are not found for weeks or months.
We remove all traces of human bodily fluids and remains, and clean the area thoroughly so that the space can be reused or construction can take place if so desired. We also handle hoarding jobs and perform the biocleaning for the City of Austin. We operate within the entire state of Texas, but most of our jobs are spread between Houston and the Hill Country.
My super power is the ability to genuinely care about my customers. These people are going through the absolute worst time of their lives. Nothing about their situation is happy or normal; everything is stressful and emotionally painful. I come in and take a significant load off their shoulders. I put myself in their shoes and go the extra mile for them. I have done many jobs at cost or for free when people are destitute.
This profession has gotten a bad rap from people believing they can come in and make a million by taking advantage of their customers and over charging. But I believe I have to answer for all my actions in this lifetime, so I cannot take advantage of people at their worst moments, I simply won’t.
What sets me apart from other companies is that I go above and beyond to help my customers. I will find their dead relatives financial documents, life insurance paperwork, the keys to the vehicles, wallets, and titles to vehicles, I will search through everything in the house so they don’t have to enter the space and subject themselves to more emotional pain. My goal is to help them get through this process as painlessly as possible. This is a hard process for people – most don’t even know who to call or what to do.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I am a risk taker. There is no doubt about it. I believe without risk there is no reward. Starting this business was risky – I had zero and started from nothing. I came from a very lucrative career and was well known in my industry when I decided to never go back and start 3 Birds Bioremediation instead. I firmly believe that we have to continue to push our boundaries, professionally and emotionally, especially by taking risks, so we experience the full growth we need to make the most of our lives.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.3birdsbio.com
- Instagram: 3_birds_bioremediation
- Facebook: 3 Birds Bioremediation
- LinkedIn: Karen Lewis, Owner 3 Birds Bioremediation Greater Houston
- Youtube: 3 Birds Bio
Image Credits
Karen Lewis, 3 Birds Bioremediation
