Physical energy and exuberance have never been in short supply for Lakshmi Jackman, who grew up on a ranch in central Texas. Her family nurtured the values of hard work, optimism, and integrity, while nature gave her an artist’s personality. She simply cannot stop at work that’s good enough for most but is driven to always achieve the “Wow” factor in all her endeavors.

Lakshmi started early in the construction field and had more than a decade of hands-on carpentry experience before she founded her own building and remodeling business in 1993. At 21 years old, her love of working outside led her to her first construction job. Although she had studied philosophy in school, she noticed how connected and “in the moment” she felt at her job on a construction crew. It was tremendously satisfying for her to see how her hands-on work produced artistic results every day. In a moment of spiritual reflection about what to do for her life’s work, she had the epiphany, “This is it! I am already doing it!”

From that declaration forward, she carefully grew her skills and experience, working on foundation crews, framing crews doing exterior work, and trim crews doing interior detail. She mastered all the phases of the carpentry trade, and then set her sights on the next challenge. She owned her own foundation’s company for three years, before expanding into general contractor work, and finally opening Transformations Custom Build, a full-service design and build firm. Along the way, she was usually the only woman on every job.