Lighting The Way: Kimmy The Sparks on Life as a Tradie

From Lithuania to London and back, meet Kimmy the Sparks, the electrifying force rewiring what it means to be a female electrician. In this honest chat, Kimmy opens up about her personal development, breaking into what’s known as a male-crowded industry, finding her spark in the electrical trade, and using social media to empower and connect with others in the skilled trades community.

From her roots to her rising influence in Lithuania’s electrical scene, Kimmy shares real talk on career growth, mental health, and why helping others is the most rewarding current of all. Plug in for an episode that’s equal parts bold, inspiring, and brilliantly charged.

Key Takeaways

• Kimmy's journey began in Lithuania and transitioned to the UK.
• She became an electrician out of passion, not just for a pay check.
• Her experience includes working with vulnerable people in social housing.
• She emphasizes the importance of trying different aspects of the trade.
• Advice for aspiring electricians includes thinking long-term about their careers.
• Personal experiences can significantly impact professional growth.
• Social media has become a powerful tool for her brand and outreach.
• Kimmy is pioneering the presence of women in trades in Lithuania.
• She plans to expand her work internationally, focusing on smart home systems.
• Community support is crucial in the trades, especially for mental health. 

Follow me: 

Instagram: @lifeofafemaletradie_ 

Tiktok: @loaftpodcast

Facebook: Life Of A Female Tradie

Follow Guest: 

Instagram: @Kimmythesparks

TikTok: @Kimmythesparks

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Kimmy the Sparks

02:02 Kimmy's Journey into Electrical Work

05:44 The Challenges of Social Housing Work

09:27 Balancing Personal Life and Career

13:19 Advice for Aspiring Electricians

16:50 Overcoming Personal Struggles

21:05 The Importance of Community Support

25:12 Navigating Life Between Countries

28:45 Building Authentic Client Relationships

31:43 The Evolution of Social Media Presence

36:06 Exciting Projects in Lithuania

40:26 Quickfire This or That Round

43:52 Connecting with Inspiring Tradeswomen

46:42 Thanks for listening 

Transcript

Kimmy (00:10)

Hello, I am Kimmy the Sparks and I'm an on-site global electrician. Mic drop.

Laura (00:18)

Bosch.

Awesome. Thanks for sharing your time with me this morning. I really, really appreciate it. I know there's a bit of a time difference at the moment. Where is it that you said you are at the moment?

Kimmy (00:30)

So I am in Lithuania, Northern Europe. Yeah.

Laura (00:33)

Wow, wow,

okay. We'll dig into that a bit more in a bit. would like to just start by asking you where your journey started. Tell us a bit about your background,

Kimmy (00:46)

I'll start a little bit from the beginning because that will tie into why I'm here now again. there you go. So I grew up in Lithuania up until the age of eight and then my mom relocated us to the UK for a better life, which I do think I had. And then I lived there for what more than 20 years now since 2005 in the UK and became an electrician about I think

Laura (00:51)

Cool cool.

Kimmy (01:10)

11 years ago, I first signed the official papers with the college. did the colorblind test that I passed and they're like, you can become a spark. And I was like, yes. So December, 2011, no, 2014, I signed the papers and since then I've been on an amazing journey to becoming the best electrician that I can be. And to me, it's more than a job. It's more than a paycheck. It's like a full on passion.

So yeah, and since then it's just been a journey of, you know, trying out domestic commercial, trying out everything under the sun that you can do as a spark to see what is for me. And so far, I haven't found the thing that's for me, except for realizing that actually, I think my thing is to try everything. Yeah.

Laura (01:40)

Love that.

Okay, yeah, why not? That's it. I mean,

if you don't try everything, there's gonna be something missing, isn't there? You've got to keep searching for that passion in the thing that you do day in, day out. And yeah, if you've not found it yet, keep looking for it for sure. where did your electrical journey start? What did you start doing? What was your focus?

Kimmy (02:21)

next

Yeah, so took a gap year before I went to uni to do my psychology degree. And I ended up getting a little job doing a bit of admin in in a company electrical firm that done work for the council. ⁓ And I was so good at what I did, they promoted me to like voids manager within a few months doing the accounts and everything. And

I used to do all the reports every morning for the call outs and everything else and you know, send off the snag list, just do all of that kind of backend stuff. And then slowly, slowly I was like, wow, they make a lot of money compared to me earning my little, you know, 1000 something pounds a month and doing the same amount of hours. And I thought their job looks so cool because I'd get to see all the pictures of before and after and I'm like, so wait, you spent 45 minutes and there was nothing there and now there's sockets. I'm like, this is amazing. And ⁓

It kind of sparked a little idea. was like, Oh, I love to become an electrician. And yeah, my boss said, mate, don't be silly. My manager said, don't be silly. Everyone said, don't be silly, you're a girl. Just stop it. And then I thought, actually, And that, cause I'm a stubborn, I'm sort of, you know, star sign wise, I'm an Aries slash Taurus. tell me I can't and I shouldn't, and it's not for me. You know what? I'm going to go and do it. Just.

Laura (03:27)

Whaaaa-

I,

Kimmy (03:47)

Just because. yeah, so then I went and spoke to one of the other guys. He, you know, told me who I can go train with and I called loads of people and then, yeah, just ended up paying for the course and I had to continue my life sort of paying for the course training. And then at the young age of 18, I was like, you know what? I'm ready to start a family.

So I ended up having a baby at the age of 19 while I was studying. So I had to kind of juggle, get an apprentice money with the mother life, with work, with everything else. And what I ended up doing with my electrician career from the beginning while I was still training was basically starting up my own subcontracting thing where I would get the jobs from the clients and then I would get one of the electrician friends to go and do the job and then bring me as an apprentice.

Laura (04:17)

Wow.

Kimmy (04:41)

So then my pay would be the profit from the job. Basically, some of the days I did make more than the actual electricians, but they were happy because they got a good, you know, good deal. then I was happy because my bills were getting paid and I was getting paid well as an apprentice. But yeah, that was just the sort of idea I had. And I know a lot of people don't, you know, think of that in a way where, you know, they're struggling to get experience these days and then like, oh, you know, no one will take me on.

Laura (04:42)

Nice.

Fair play!

Absolutely.

Kimmy (05:10)

That is one option that you can possibly do. Obviously, if you are down like the apprenticeship route, I think there are like terms and conditions on what kind of job you have to have. But if you're just doing like a college course, it's a lot more flexible. So you can kind of get experience that way and yeah, sort of thinking outside the box. And yeah, that's what I did to begin my career, which was I kind of in one way do regret that in a little sort of way because

I got to pick and choose the jobs I wanted to do. I picked all the nice fun jobs, anything that needed a ladder. I'm like, nah, know, we're fully booked, we're not taking that job on. So there was a lot of things that I didn't do in the beginning that I feel like I could have done to make me a better spark in the beginning. But then obviously eventually when I realized that I ended up sort of going back to...

Laura (05:40)

No.

Of course.

Kimmy (06:01)

being an apprentice in a way and then doing all the rough things that I didn't get to do, such as, know, pulling up all the ladders and going up all the tall, all the grubby bits that I didn't get to do. So I kind of done it in like a different sort of order. It worked for me and that was the beginning of my journey. So a lot of social housing that made me the kind of spark that was, which was yeah, just sort of emergency call outs, nighttime work,

Laura (06:08)

Yep.

Mmm.

Kimmy (06:27)

communal lighting, pulling mains, laterals and all these kinds of things and working with lot of tenants who are vulnerable, had sometimes disabilities and whatever else and sort of having to accommodate them while being a spark. sometimes half my job was being a psychologist, which is what I wanted to be originally. So I had one job where, must've been a one hour job, literally change three light fittings.

Laura (06:29)

Okay.

Kimmy (06:54)

like for like sort of in terms of the fitting. So a bulkhead for another bulkhead. And that job took me one day, full day because the tenant, she had two carers, but obviously they couldn't fully control her and then they weren't able to take her out of the house for some reason. I can't remember what it was now. But yeah, she would like kind of like run into the room and like, you know, shake my ladder and run off or like take my tools and that.

Laura (07:04)

Wow.

Wow.

Kimmy (07:23)

kind of, you know, slow down the job a lot. And it took me like one full day to do that. So a lot of my career, a lot of the years were spent doing that, but that was financially, it's probably one of the worst things you can do as a spark, which is working for the council. They don't pay a lot. The work is ⁓ just same sort of thing, day in and out, cheap materials, cheap everything. You know, you're like back to back with jobs, but the reward that you get, knowing that you're helping people that

Laura (07:36)

Okay.

Kimmy (07:51)

Most people don't really care about that push them to the side, mold everywhere and they're like, know what, whatever, don't want to do that job. Whereas me, you know, I kind of like had that reward of, yeah, you know, I'm helping people out and the money will come eventually. And yeah, I spent a lot of my career kind of doing that. But then again, that made me, ⁓ sort of, behind a little bit in terms of being the best spark that can be, cause people are doing like LED light fittings and all these, you know, new innovative things and council stuff.

Laura (07:53)

Yeah.

Yep.

Kimmy (08:20)

that's not something you'd ever really touch any, you know, LED strips and nice decorative light fittings and chandeliers and whatever else. So yeah, you know, and then eventually I kind of progressed to doing those kinds of things now. And then now I'm starting to learn smart home systems. And yes, it's been like a long 10, 11 years of just becoming the best spark that can be.

Laura (08:35)

Wow.

Yeah. So it

sounds like you really, brought in your psychology I do believe that half the job almost being self-employed in a trade is

Kimmy (08:45)

Mm.

Laura (08:52)

working with that person in the property and making them feel at ease and also managing the time efficiently so that you know, can get the job done. I mean, I bet, as you say, I bet it was really rewarding leaving these, leaving vulnerable people, people like say, unfortunately, that aren't really cared for in society as much.

as they should be, as everybody should them with a home that, fixtures that would work. mean, at least like the bare basics, work in your home, don't you?

Kimmy (09:28)

had that loads of times,

thank you. This light has not worked for three years. I'm the first one that kind of went in, I was like, look, mate, I'll get sorted out. I'll get onto the council I'll be like, look, I'm getting this done. I'm ordering it. I'm gonna go pick it up, know, reschedule like the other jobs that are just, you know, sort of just come up and whatever else. And yeah, we're getting this done. And yeah, the satisfaction of people saying thank you, it's been years. I've lived without a light in my bathroom for years.

Laura (09:32)

That's shocking.

Kimmy (09:54)

or without a socket or half my sockets have not worked for well over two years and these kinds of things. yeah, even now it's kind of like that sort of a reminiscing nostalgia sort of flashback where a lot of, a big part of me would love to go back to doing that kind of work, but then that's when again, this sort of prioritization of ⁓ finances and more money and whatever else comes in where I'm like, look, I am a mom and there's things I need to purchase for my kid and whatever else my future.

Laura (09:56)

Yeah.

Kimmy (10:23)

So as much as I'd love to do that work, just, it doesn't align in that way.

Laura (10:28)

Yeah,

it's prioritizing your progression, isn't it, as well as finding that reward in the work? Because like you say, you always want to strive to be the best tradeswoman that you can be. And if that isn't necessarily in that section, ⁓ then you've got to pursue a life for yourself, haven't you? You you've got to be happy with the work that you're producing, you're doing each day. ⁓

Kimmy (10:32)

Yeah.

Mm.

Laura (10:57)

If there was a bit of advice you could give to someone looking to get into electrics, what would that be?

Kimmy (11:08)

I think, just letting people know to think long term as well as short term, just because some people come in for financial reasons, because as a tradesperson you can make a lot of money, other people come in because their dad did it or whatever else and they come in for that to carry on their legacy. There's so many different reasons why somebody might do it. So ⁓ I'd recommend seeing where you want to be.

where you wanna go and what kind of electrician you see yourself being in, not just a year's time, three years time when you're qualified, like five, 10, 20 years time, do you still plan to do it? If not, then maybe go into something that will get you the most money that you can do and then go off and do what your actual passion is. Or if you do see yourself being an electrician for the longest time, then see what you can start doing to build where you want to be. Because sometimes people come to me and they're like, oh, what would you recommend? I'm like,

my God, I can't just answer that question because I need to know, do you plan to be into commercial, domestic? Do you want to do like events? Do you want to interact with people or do you not want to interact with people? Cause then, you know, you can work on a building site or you can be working in people's homes. And there's so many things that people don't consider. ⁓ but there's so many different variations of an electrician and starting off.

Laura (12:24)

Yeah.

Kimmy (12:31)

alignment with where you want to be and what kind of electrician want to be, whether it's industrial, commercial, domestic, or like I said, events or whatever else, to set yourself on the right trajectory, you have to start off kind of, you know, on the right path. So that is my biggest advice, sort of see the long term and then align which way you want to go so that eventually, you know, you can build up your skills. Yeah, that way.

Laura (12:54)

Along

the journey. I love that, thank you, yeah. I think it's really valuable to ask these questions because you typically think from a young age, you do the whole school regime and in my mind, the apprentice route seems to be the typical way for youngsters to get into the trades.

currently, and to kind of understand from someone that's already progressed in their sector and looked at things way ahead and figured out, maybe not figured out completely, but figured out a current path to where their end goal might be is really valuable. I think we've really got to understand the paths that people can take and share them.

because even not necessarily youngsters. mean, how many of us nowadays are choosing to change path from a typical, typical job and go into a trade, you know, any age, any aged person can do it, can't they? So, yeah, it's really valuable information just want to go back.

Kimmy (14:03)

Mm.

Laura (14:07)

to your mention of your psychology course. That is very interesting to me. Tell me a bit more about that. Where did you study that?

Kimmy (14:17)

So at college I did sociology, philosophy, psychology and law. Planning to kind of, you know, become a psychiatrist or, you know, I had grand plans of writing research books and all these amazing things that kind of feel like a Ted Talk speaker about psychology and whatever else. And yeah, I applied to Birmingham University and I was supposed to be on my way there and then the gap year. And

Laura (14:23)

Mm.

Kimmy (14:45)

Yeah. And then what I realized actually, it's good that I didn't do it as a paid job because it might've taken away the joy that I had and the passion I had for it. Whereas, know, having to, you know, work to do psychology, which I enjoyed to pay my bills. don't know. Obviously in terms of electrical, I've kind of set that up in a different way, but anyways, sorry, let me not ramble on, go back to that question. yeah, the psychology thing, ⁓

Laura (14:55)

Okay.

Kimmy (15:11)

since then I've done a lot of things in to do with psychology, philosophy. I'm even writing a book at the moment in terms of that, but it's just more like a passion and a side hustle thing. And I've done like some workshops and I plan more workshops in the future. So yeah, there's, still more plans to do all of that, but it's just, yeah, like a, like a side thing. I don't think I'll be going to uni for psychology. I've realised that there's a lot of things that you can do as like a philosopher.

Laura (15:17)

Ooh.

Kimmy (15:36)

where you don't really need the psychology degree with it, especially this day of social media. I don't need the title that says I went to uni to be something these days with the power of social media. You can kind of take any route and next thing you know, you are reaching a huge audience without all of that. yeah.

Laura (15:37)

Okay.

Yeah.

I've noticed that you, the way you through, obviously I've been checking your social media and following you for a while, as you do. I've noticed the odd post, but also your recent path has almost changed a little bit in the way that it feels like you've done a lot of self-reflecting. Is that, am I right?

Kimmy (16:16)

Hmm.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, you know, it's it's been a really, really interesting one. So I kind of talked about it on the last podcast I went on. ⁓ But it was just very briefly because it's it was it was one of those quarter life crisis type of things, not something that you initiate yourself. It's just sometimes life just comes in. Like, that's it. And you've just got to deal with it. And so 2023.

Laura (16:45)

Yep.

Kimmy (16:50)

summertime, I literally went through a month August where my whole life collapsed as i knew it. So my home, I ⁓ basically was homeless. ⁓ And my mom had to cut contact with her, my two brothers cut contact with them, my son's dad cut contact with him. I was supposed to get married, that was all cut off. And then it was literally like every single aspect of like the foundation of your life was just gone.

Laura (17:14)

Wow.

Kimmy (17:19)

in a matter of a month. And it was just such a coincidence that kind of pushed me to be like, look, prioritize yourself. And then I realized that those are toxic environments. And, you know, it's so weird because I've my whole life researching, you know, what a narcissist is and what autism and ADHD is and, you know, what, what these psychological things mean. But when it was happening to me, I just, I just didn't notice it. And yeah, after, you know, I got rid of all these

people that were literally my whole life, ⁓ moving home, everything else. realized that actually I'm at so much peace now. I don't have somebody putting me down every day. And it was quite a hard cut in your family members off ⁓ and everything else at once. you know, I got through, got through, through it. the next, however many, what is it? Two years now it's been, has just been recreating my life, ⁓ grieving, sort of losing a family member who

is still alive, ⁓ family members, my brothers and my mom, no contact for two years, my son's dad, no contact for two years. Everybody else just sort of disappeared at once and you know, going through all of that while still maintaining my work, being the main provider for my kid and everything else and ⁓ moving on, everything just at the same time. And ⁓ that really does make you find yourself because you realize how strong you are. ⁓ slowly, slowly just kind of, yeah, just

Laura (18:20)

Yeah.

Kimmy (18:49)

pushed me to realign everything to prioritize myself and my future. Yeah, and sort of taking on like global projects, seeing what else is out there, traveling more with my son, doing jobs where I could kind of like blend it with, you know, being with him. in the summer, I took him with me, went for a two month sort of trip around Europe and yeah, and it's just been... ⁓

like an interesting journey. And then I had the knee injury and everything was just like back to back to back blows. And there was one point where I literally said, I was like, I don't want to do this anymore. I'm out. Bye. Obviously it wasn't like that. was like crying. And my friends were like, no, you can do it. And behind the scenes, this has happened behind the scenes, but obviously the front of it is me pushing, not giving up. So everyone just seeing my content, they're like, wow, Kimmy, you're doing amazing. And I'm like,

Laura (19:26)

Ha ha!

Yeah.

Kimmy (19:44)

You even know, I've literally just been sleeping on my friend's sofa for like a month or two and then this and then like, I've got like my whole life collapsed. And then after that little episode of me not wanting to be here, because everything was just too difficult with the knee injury, else, literally two weeks later, I was on stage collecting an Electrician of the Year award. And everyone's like, wow, Kimmy, you're smashing. I'm like, ⁓ my God, you guys don't even know what I'm dealing with on a daily basis. But again, this is what made me shine because...

Laura (19:50)

Wow.

Kimmy (20:12)

I've rediscovered how strong I am to go through everything. And you know, there's a whole big story of like the smaller details behind all of that. I shared it with a few people and they're like, what? Yeah. So yeah. And then this is where now I'm kind of like relocating part-time to Lithuania. was like where I'm from. I've got my friend out here. And cause I've had to take myself away from all the drama that I had in London with all of that, that was happening.

So that I'm not sort of like looking over my shoulder like, that them? that them? Are they going to, you know, attack me or is there going to be some kind of like hostility? So yeah, I'm kind of like out here part-time. I've taken on some new rewires up in Lithuania and I'm kind of like back and forth, you know, I'm driving back and forth and flying back and forth with all my tools and working in between and just create like this whole new setup that I've never wanted, but then I realized how much I actually enjoy it. So yeah.

Laura (20:41)

Yeah.

Nice. Wow.

Wow. It's so strange you you say about the period you had from 2023 because I can kind of relate. had a similar part of my life at the same time as you pretty much where it must have been, you know, there was something going on with the energies. The universe was saying

Kimmy (21:08)

Yeah.

It must have been the planets.

Laura (21:34)

you've got to, things have got to come down for you to rebuild, you know? And I can't relate to you on your circumstances, because everybody is different, everyone's life is different, but rebuilding your strength and trying to build a new path forward, it takes some energy, doesn't it, to carry on because you do.

Kimmy (21:40)

Mm.

Yeah.

It does.

Laura (22:04)

You can get to the point where you just, what is the point? What's the point of everything? You know, I've got nothing.

Kimmy (22:07)

Yeah. Because you're with

you're dealing with processing what happened. And you're also dealing with building the future while also maintaining what you're already doing. So you're literally juggling everything at once and it, can get overwhelming. And obviously, the whole, you know, sort of dark side of being a tradesperson with you know, how many suicides and things like that that happen. And it's just like, I see why it's so easy just to just to give up. ⁓

Laura (22:12)

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Kimmy (22:33)

Unfortunately, yeah, and we've got this amazing WhatsApp group, you know, called the ESK Elite Sparky Crew. And they've actually got like this group called Welfare Check. And every now and again, I open it up and I'm like, wow, it's actually really nice to see how people just help each other. But then also how many people actually are going through things. And when you look at their like Instagram profiles, it looks like sunshine and rainbows and behind the scenes, you know, they're, kind of like, yeah, just trying to do their best.

Laura (22:44)

I've lost you Kim.

Yeah, that's it, that's it. I

Kimmy (23:02)

it's like a whole thing, but you know, it's one of those things where it's really hard to get anybody else out of that place. It's one of those things that I personally believe is a personal journey. It's good to have support, but sometimes you can have everybody supporting you and you might not, you know, be able to appreciate it or utilize it or accept it.

Laura (23:11)

It is.

part of it is knowing you've got someone there that will listen and You don't necessarily have to have them there for their advice, because you don't always want their advice, do you? Sometimes you just want to vent or you literally just want to sit in the company of somebody else and just watch the telly or...

Kimmy (23:31)

Yeah.

Yeah. Well, sometimes it's even just,

I would say like when I was going, I was like, I don't even want to talk about what's happened anymore because I've spoken about it enough. I just want to talk about like, I don't know, can we just talk about like the different types of clouds and different types of like trees or something? Just, just anything that's just like totally different and just having people like, you know, I'm there for you. And then just chatting to them about football. I don't even care about football. I'm like, yeah, just tell me more about football and just, you know, get your mind off of things that way. It really helps. So yeah.

Laura (23:49)

Yeah.

Yes.

Absolutely, it clears the mind doesn't it and allows new energy and new thoughts to come in and it all just yeah, it just helps to move you forward doesn't it?

Kimmy (24:16)

Mm.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's one of those life initiations, you know, go through and then you level up and you become like the real adult.

Laura (24:30)

That's it.

That's it. It's all about progression. It's all about reaching that end goal in it and just growing in the process. mentioned you've got a little boy. Is he he little or is he a little man or? OK, Yeah, is he there with you in Lithuania? Awesome.

Kimmy (24:36)

Yeah.

He's gonna be 10 in December. amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah,

yeah, he's here with me. Honestly, he's my biggest fan. Like when we're driving around, he'll put the windows down. He's like, subscribe to Kimmy the Sparks. She's the best electrician in the universe. And he's amazing little thing. He's so funny. Yeah. Sometimes I'll take him on jobs with me since he was little, really.

Laura (25:02)

what a guy.

Kimmy (25:08)

you know, just, just help do whatever else and yeah, he loves it.

Laura (25:12)

Awesome, that's awesome. And are you, do think you'll be in Lithuania for the foreseeable? What have you got, a plan of action?

Kimmy (25:20)

Yeah, so I've been like back and forth because flights like in spring, winter and autumn are so cheap. It's literally like 50 quid return, ⁓ which for some reason is a lot less than a train ticket in the UK. I don't know why it's cheaper to fly in and out the country than it is to get around the country, but We won't get into that. ⁓ 50 quid return. So sometimes, no, if I've got like a, I've got a job there, got a job there, ⁓ you know, just...

Laura (25:30)

wow.

Nope.

Kimmy (25:48)

jump on the fly, go then I've got a set of tools here, set of tools out there. then, yeah, I've kind of like kept all my clients because most of my clients I've kept are ones that I've had for so many years. And they kind of like understand my circumstances. And they love how I do my work so much that they're like, okay, let us know when you're back or you know, I will let them know like, okay, let's plan that I'll be you know, back for, you know, mid October, and then they'll just hold off all their jobs for me mid October. And then I come in and I smash it all out and then

you know, then I come back and forth and that's sort of like the setup right now where it's, yeah, it works. It's, yeah.

Laura (26:22)

Nice.

it keeps it exciting, doesn't it? Bit different, you know, it's not the same old, same old. I like that, said this before to people, it is so lucky when you find customers that understand you and want to work with you instead of looking for the difficulties in the process, It makes things so much easier love it.

Kimmy (26:27)

Yeah.

Yeah.

a

full band client list on my phone. I put like a little cross emoji. So it's like, as soon as I see somebody calling with that emoji, I'm like, nope, not even running to the remember I had one guy who called me about, I think it was like 2am on like a Tuesday or something like that. So obviously I thought, okay, it's an emergency and you know, I'm used to answering the phone and I was like, hello. And he's like, you're right. I'm like waiting for him to tell me what the emergency is. And he's like, so when I, when would you be free to put up a TV bracket?

Laura (26:56)

Mm-mm.

MATE!

Kimmy (27:16)

I was like, brother, listen, I said to him, I'm gonna ban you, never call me again, and tell your brother to never call me again. That is so rude, like so inconsiderate. And yeah, I banned him and his brother who actually, they were on the last sort of, last five or so thing already. And that was, was, that like a three strike show out. So yeah, kind of like sifting out people like that, that don't respect you, to, you know, leave in the clientele who just.

Laura (27:31)

with a-

Mm-hmm.

Kimmy (27:43)

yeah absolutely love what you do so the client I've got now he ⁓ when I said I'm winning an eletrician of the year he's like okay we'll come like let us know how much the tickets are and we'll all just come there to support us like what? Really?

I'm just like, wow, so yeah, you get really lucky. And, you know, I think the most important thing is to be like your authentic self, because in that way, your clients who see you for who you really are, kind of like, you know, gravitate towards you, gravitate towards them. And, but again, this doesn't work for everyone. This is why I say like long-term vision, what do you yourself doing? Because, you know, some people just see it as a transactional thing. Like this is the job, this is the money. Thank you very much on your way.

Laura (28:22)

Mm-hmm.

Kimmy (28:26)

Whereas me, I kind of see it as like a long-term partnership. We're kind of like friends, but through work. And yeah, this is, yeah, this is I'm important, to see what you want and then kind of align yourself and your clients to the vision that you have or what you prefer.

Laura (28:41)

So social media is, we've obviously,

brought that into the fold in this discussion. How demanding is it on your life and your progression going forward?

Kimmy (28:59)

So for me, social media, when I first started out, was just, I'm kind of like that generation where you just post things online because that's just what we do. I don't even know why. I think it's the ego thing. I don't know. So it just started off like that. I've always had a personal Instagram. And then obviously before that we had the MySpace and the Facebooks and whatever else. So opened up Instagram as a personal thing, had that, and then when I became an electrician, I was like, it only makes sense.

Laura (29:19)

Yep.

Kimmy (29:26)

to just post for whatever reason. And yeah, I used to post like anonymously because I didn't want people to know I'm a girl, because I was a bit like, oh, will they judge me? So I was called professional electrician, because my favorite magazine was professional electrician and they didn't even have Instagram yet. Yeah, okay, that's my name, pro electrician. then, yeah, I just used to post stuff. Never used to put like my hands in it or whatever else. then, yeah, eventually I must've sent a voice note.

Laura (29:35)

⁓

you swiped it.

Kimmy (29:56)

to somebody and I slipped up and there's like, wait, are you a  girl. Sam said like, yeah, you know what, why don't you just show that you're a girl you can inspire people. like, inspire? I thought like people will laugh at me. He's like, no, no, trust me, do it. He's like, you know what, call yourself Kimmy the Sparks. And I was like, all right, mate, I'll do it. So literally that same night changed the name, posted up a picture saying, hey guys, I'm Kimmy the Sparks. And then it just blew up and people were like,

Laura (30:22)

Nice.

Kimmy (30:23)

and social house, we've not seen this is so cool. And this was quite a few years ago, I don't remember like to any, like way before COVID times, maybe six, seven years now. And yes, since then, I've just been kind of like building, building, building, but it was just more like making it for the sake of it. And it's only in the last year or two, that's when our brand started approaching. And slowly, slowly, it was just like huge brands with quite huge sums of money as well. And you're like, wait, you're gonna...

Laura (30:44)

Okay.

Kimmy (30:51)

pay me to do what I'm going to do anyways. then like, like I've worked with ESSO Santander, Ford, do you know what mean? I'm like, wow. And then it kind of became like a side hustle in a way. And obviously that has its pros and cons. So, you know, when you do get the brand deals, you do sign terms and terms and conditions to say, you won't talk about religion and politics, which is basically, I love to talk about religion. And I'm like,

Laura (30:57)

Yeah!

Mm.

Kimmy (31:18)

you know, we won't talk about it and then I made like a close friends group or whatever else to compensate for that, you know, so then social media became like a side hustle and then I kind of got drawn into like, ⁓ gotta be politically correct this and that and then my content wasn't really me anymore. So then I was like, wait, like I'm not even enjoying this anymore. It's become a chore, it's become a job. then...

Laura (31:24)

Nice, find a way around that, yep.

Yeah.

Kimmy (31:43)

I scrapped all of that. I disappeared for like, I don't know, like half a year or something like that. Just barely posting anything. And then I came back with a, you know what? I'm just going to post whatever I want to post. So this is why my content doesn't have like a, I don't know, like a style. Cause I'm like, whatever I feel like, whatever I've got time for, I'll just create because I actually enjoy making content, creating content. And then yeah, now it's just sort of become a thing where I use it mostly to connect with other people.

I feel like in terms of brands, like I've worked with so many now that it's just kind of like the novelties that worn off in a way. Like when I've got like the 10th Lighting Company reach out to me, I'm like, you know, the first one's like, yay, Lighting Company. And then it's like, a socket thing. And we're just like, another lighting Company. So yeah, I've got to that point now where

Laura (32:21)

Okay, yeah.

Hahaha!

Kimmy (32:41)

social media for me and I is just used to connect with people and share my story and obviously the long-term vision is kind of like public speaker vibes I've already done quite a few public speaking things without realizing actually so like I you know Installer Show and things like that with a mic talking about my journey so yeah I kind of plan to use my social media now for the future to just yeah outreach to more like-minded people and just kind of

Laura (32:49)

Nice.

Kimmy (33:04)

talk about my journey, inspire people, and then eventually, you know, give back to like the younger generations that's trying to come in or, ⁓ you know, people that want to retrain and come into the industry and then obviously taking it global. So I've already started doing it out here in Lithuania and I plan to do it across other countries in Europe. That's all in talks, loads of little meetings, actually a few meetings, ⁓ big things. it's, really, I'm utilizing the power of social media now for building more like my personal brand to help give back.

Laura (33:23)

Woo!

Yeah?

Kimmy (33:34)

I feel like after all of that life collapsing, I'm in a position now where actually I've rebuilt a nice peaceful life now. Gonna continue building that. And I'm in a position where I can actually give back now because I'm not just running on fumes anymore. So yeah.

Laura (33:48)

I love that.

Finally reaching that Ted Talk phase, yeah? Get in there, get in there. Love it, love it. sure.

Kimmy (33:52)

It's soon. Yes.

I

always think, oh no, that sounds ridiculous. But then I'm like, wait, no dream big because ridiculous things happen. again, Santander, like who would, who's going to think you're going to be an electrician and get a brand deal with like a bank. It sounds like insane, but it happens. There you go. I'm like, you know, it's Ted talks.

Laura (34:11)

Yeah.

Bring it on. This is it. mean, the like Santander is a, if you break it down, it's a bank. All of us have a bank. Well, 99 % of us have a bank. So why not? know?

Kimmy (34:30)

Yeah

with that, obviously, you do have that the whole debate where it's like, know, you just like, you know, sell yourself out, whatever else, but it's like, they don't see behind the scenes, you know, how many brands I end up rejecting big brands as well. I'm like, no, doesn't align where I've had people, know, saying, we'll send you this and that. And I'm like, I don't want to sell this app because I don't use apps. So you don't see me selling like, you know, all them job service apps or whatever they are. They're offering huge money, but I'm like, I'm sorry, but

Laura (34:45)

Mmm.

Yeah, yeah.

Kimmy (34:59)

I don't use it. I'm not going to use it. And I've built my community. I'm not going to sell them stuff that I'm not going to personally use. So I've kind of, you know, they don't see that. Then they're like ah, you know, doing all these brand deals, da da. But yeah, there's a sort of integrity of only sort of partnering with brands that I like or find interesting or find it cool. But yeah, ⁓ I'm the kind of person that I still use Excel spreadsheets to do my invoices. I use Excel spreadsheets for everything. ⁓

Laura (35:05)

Yes.

Me too.

Microsoft all the way.

Kimmy (35:29)

I'm

literally, ⁓ and that's it really, apart from them, like all them apps, I'm not, as much as I love tech, I'm into tech. I'm not a techie person, like my brain just can't comprehend change. So yeah.

Laura (35:44)

Fair play. Gotta keep it simple.

It's gotta work for you, hasn't it? So each to their own and all that. we've obviously established you're in Lithuania and what, have you got any big projects coming up over there? Anything exciting or are you gonna venture over to another country at any point on the horizon to expand things?

Kimmy (35:47)

Okay.

Yeah.

So at the moment I'm doing a, keep saying rewire, but it's not a rewire. It's a new install, new build. But just by default, because I've done so many rewires, it's a rewire to me. So I'm doing a full install, brand new, and it's so different. So it's going to have two 200-way Hager boards. So that's like a 400-way board. you even know, in a house?

Laura (36:19)

Yeah.

Kimmy (36:35)

Is it a three bedroom house? No, what? Four bedroom house. It's crazy, but it's all like smart home. And the way they do it, it's like I've never seen it before. And I've not really done much smart homes to compare it to, but it's like every cable goes back to the board and then gets connected into like smart modules. like every room's got three, four different groups of lights. So you've got the wall lights on a different sort of switch. You've got the dimmer.

Laura (36:36)

What?

Kimmy (36:59)

lights and then you've got like the walkway lights, everything's smart home, everything's connected to, know, after nine o'clock these lights will come on on a sensor, da da da da. And all of that is new to me. So I'm working with somebody, I found a really cool person, literally this was about two weeks ago when I came back from summer and then they said, okay, what I'll do is I'll put you on that project, you do your thing. Anytime you have a question, call me and I'll just come down and explain it. And I'm like, this is a perfect learning opportunity. So

You know, the first two days I was like, okay, I've literally just like completed like two sockets because having to learn how to do everything differently, like we've got these square sort of rectangular back boxes in the UK out here. They're circular. How'd you cut circular back and align them? I'm like, wait, and I'm learning everything, just figuring it out on this job where it's just kind of like, do what you want. And yeah, it's just been sort of really interesting. And obviously after this,

They're already so excited because they've never seen a woman. I'm the first woman doing a tradeswoman's job in Lithuania that anyone's ever seen like on the internet or whatever else. And in real life, I'm like the only electrician that anyone's known. It's insane. So word spread around. So I've already got so many projects lined up and I've just got to pick and choose. Everyone's excited that a woman can...

Laura (38:07)

Wow.

Wow.

Kimmy (38:25)

apparently, like comprehend it. It's actually quite crazy. I've already been like on national TV, I think two, three times out here. I've been on the magazine already twice. I've already got like a few brand deals out here. People are like, woman, you can do man things. And that was quite eye-opening as well to see like how much we've progressed in the UK. And, you know, I will give myself a little shoulder, shoulder spank.

Laura (38:32)

Okay.

Boom.

Yeah

yeah.

Kimmy (38:52)

I did contribute to a lot of progression for women in the UK, think, know, being one of the pioneers. Seeing all that progression out there and then traveling the rest of Europe and seeing like, actually, there's not much progress anywhere else. So kind of like, you know, taking it upon myself to, you know what, let's spread it around. And I do plan to maybe go back to Morocco to do more smart home stuff in maybe January. I do have a few more offers to go to a few more countries, but.

It's just kind of like finding the time for everything, which is difficult. You know, there's, all have 24 hours in a day and we've got to do the best we can with it. And right now I'm at my limit. Sometimes I've got to choose. I wash, you know, do I wash the dishes, do the laundry or edit content? And I'm like, you know.

Laura (39:23)

Yeah. Yeah.

Yep,

yep, I'm the same, honestly.

Kimmy (39:44)

to

a sleep or edit content. ⁓

Laura (39:47)

I was like that

last night, honestly, I don't think I got to bed until yeah, about one o'clock. And then even then when I got into bed, I was thinking, oh no, I've not sent Kimmy the link for tomorrow. I was like, oh gosh.

Kimmy (39:53)

Yeah

Yeah, I had to choose to see a friend instead of editing content. I was like, I haven't seen her for ages, but I'm like, literally, I wish I had more time in the day. And then yeah, that way I could do so many more things. But yeah, that's sort of the plan now out here. Got a few projects, got a few more lined up, more of my things in the UK that I'm juggling sort of 50 50. And then a few invitations to other countries I'm considering, but depending on yeah, the time's up. But yeah, crazy.

Laura (40:22)

Okay.

Wow, exciting times

ahead, mental, I love it. So exciting, Okay, so we've come to the part where I like to play a little bit of a this or that quick fire question round. ⁓ So I'm just gonna give you some this or that type things. Feel free to elaborate on your answer ⁓ and we'll, yeah, just see if we have a bit of a laugh.

Kimmy (40:40)

Okay.

Laura (40:52)

So, tea or coffee?

Kimmy (40:56)

Tea

Laura (40:56)

Hilti or JCB?

Kimmy (41:00)

wait!

You're an OG fan. Funny actually, was at Lex in Coventry and all parts of JCB and like just reminiscing like, wow, started from the bottom now I'm Team Hilti

Laura (41:07)

Yeah, gotcha!

Fair play,

fair play.

A new tattoo or a new tool.

Kimmy (41:25)

Ooh, I would love a new tattoo, but I'm not doing on that new tattoos anytime soon. It's gonna be a tool.

Laura (41:33)

Fair play. ⁓ Chasing out or conduit.

Kimmy (41:36)

Chasing out.

Laura (41:37)

Gotta keep it tidy at the end of the day, A driver or passenger?

Kimmy (41:42)

Driver.

Laura (41:42)

fitting switches or sockets.

Kimmy (41:44)

Sockets. There's something about lighting circuits that just sometimes I'm like, I really need to focus. Do you know what mean? Especially when there's just a lot happening, like, focus. Sockets, easy.

Laura (41:55)

Okay, okay, interesting. This is a bit of a wide one. Disco fancy dress or Halloween fancy dress?

Kimmy (42:05)

Disco fancy dress. I love fancy dress. Fairy disco, love it.

Laura (42:07)

I know you like a bit of fancy dress. Oosh,

love it, Okay, last couple of questions and I will let you carry on with your day. If you could be any other trade, what would it be and why?

Kimmy (42:26)

Mmm, good one. I think I would be a plumber. So originally when I first started considering electrics, I did actually go on site and do element changes. And that's sort of like a 50-50 thing, plumbing and electrics. And then from there I had to pick and choose obviously what I was gonna actually sign up for. So doing a bit of plumbing, was like, yeah, great. But obviously there is the sort of mucky bit of it, which I'm not too much of a fan of.

But what I like is I think plumbers are the most fun kind of tradespeople. If you go out with plumbers, you're guaranteed a good time. The night I ended up in a wheelchair, I was out with the plumbers. So yeah, I would be a plumber as a secondary trade. If I could have a trade.

Laura (43:02)

Yeah?

Ha!

No! ⁓ my gosh.

I've noticed that plumbing and electrical, they kind of overlap a little bit sometimes, don't they? Yeah.

Kimmy (43:26)

Yeah, know, sounds like heating controls, electric showers

like these kind of things. It's like a... Yeah.

Laura (43:32)

Electric showers

blow my mind. Like that's water and electrics in the same place. Like. ⁓ brilliant. So plumbing. Okay, sweet. Who do you think I should have on the show next or what trade?

Kimmy (43:37)

But that's okay, you just don't have to start anywhere near it.

I,

ooh, what trade? Well, there is one person I'd love to see on here. ⁓ Electrician, lighting engineer, Abigail, Abby Sparky Woman is her Instagram and she's got like a little blue picture of her doing the disco lights. So I've worked with her. She's, my God, we even ended up going to Amsterdam for her birthday this summer.

Laura (44:01)

Okay.

Kimmy (44:14)

doing our little trip and she's so amazing. I've got to work with her. She does amazing projects. She's done things like, I don't know, like the O2, Chelsea football lights, you know, the Chelsea football club. She does like the lighting engineering. She connects all the light fitting. like does all the rigs for, my God, she is amazing. And she's done like, know, Battersea power station. She's done like the lights for that. Everything is her. So I would love to see her come on here and talk about her journey and her journeys.

Laura (44:34)

Yep.

Kimmy (44:44)

she's so inspiring. She's like, yeah, I love her. She's like, probably like my favorite female electrician. And I don't think she's really been out like that much in any podcast or anything else. I think it will be like a unique thing to see her come on and her journey and her skills. So good. So creative. So yeah.

Laura (44:50)

Okay.

Awesome, awesome, okay. So Kim, where can people find you on social media and everything? What's your handles?

Kimmy (45:11)

My main hub if you want to DM is Instagram Kimmy K-I-M-M-Y Kimmy the sparks and I'm on tick tock as well. I just don't really check the DMs there. We can find my content there and then YouTube I've got LinkedIn as well if you want to connect on LinkedIn, but that's my government name, which is Kamile M, Don't know if you you know the spelling for that you might have to DM you on Instagram to get

And I think that's it. Yeah, no, that's all I have. I'm not on Facebook or anything else. ⁓ So yeah.

Laura (45:44)

Awesome. Love it. Okay, well, thank you so much. I've really enjoyed learning about you and getting to know you as well. I love your path that you are taking currently and exploring what other countries have to offer and sharing with the rest of the world that women can do a trade, a hands-on trade. know, love it.

Kimmy (45:52)

Thank you.

Yeah. Yes!

Laura (46:11)

Absolutely

love it. Power to you. So yeah, thank you again. no, you're welcome. You're welcome. And yeah, I hope we can continue speaking when you get the time. Awesome. Right, I will let you go.

Kimmy (46:14)

Thanks for having me. Yes, it's good one.

Yeah, definitely, definitely.

Cheers! Bye!

Laura (46:31)

Thanks, bye.