Women in Business 2023 - Simone Bruni

Simone Bruni

Demo Diva Demolition

Anyone who knows Simone Bruni knew she’d be a phenomenal success at something. It was just a matter of what and when. Of course, nobody expected that success to come in the gritty world of demolition. But that’s what makes her story so intriguing.

Raised in New Orleans, Bruni took a natural career path throwing herself into high-end corporate event planning in a city with a seemingly endless supply of events and activities to organize. Then came Hurricane Katrina and, like many, Bruni found herself without a home, without a job, without any prospects, and with no idea what to do next.

She did know one thing. The city she loves was hurting. She looked around to see what she could do about it. “The nation has never seen devastation like that before,” Bruni said. “But they’ve also never seen the sense of compassion that was poured out on our city with people coming from all over the country, spending their vacation time to come down and help however they could.”

Bruni got busy volunteering, helping route Baptist youth groups to areas around the city where they could help. “There were no street signs, but I was able to help them navigate the city,” she said. She jumped into helping feed work crews and keeping them supplied with water.

Meanwhile, Bruni’s Lakeview neighbors were scattered across the country and, for many, she became their only contact at home to keep them informed on what was happening in the city. She worked hard to be their voice of hope. It was during one of these gut-wrenching phone calls she realized the things that were making her feel vulnerable and exposed—being alone without a husband or family—were actually her strengths. “Because I didn’t have those responsibilities, I was able to pivot and help others who did. It’s all in the way you look through the prism,” she said.

The hospitality had taught Bruni to be successful, you have to put others’ needs before your own. She looked around and thought, “How can I serve my New Orleans neighbors?” Even as she waited for her industry to snap back, she decided she could help other women who were feeling vulnerable, who were fearful of being taken advantage of, fearful of making the wrong choices.

Bruni started with $250 dollars in her pocket, spent $30 on a box of business cards, bought a magnetic sign for her car, and spent the rest on yard signs. Now, here’s the brilliant part. As out-of-state companies blew through the city, tearing down structures at a frenzied pace and moving on to the next demolition, Bruni slipped in behind them and placed a Demo Diva sign on the site. “Within a week, it looked like I’d done 100 jobs,” she said. Her phone began to ring.

She knew enough about branding to come up with the now iconic hot pink Demo Diva sign, and she had enough moxie to try her hand at an industry she knew nothing about. At first, she simply worked as a general contractor, directing crews around the city, connecting homeowners and business owners to much-needed demo crews. Being fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese helped her communicate and translate. And the little girl who didn’t even know the names of the demo machinery soon grew to love the sound of heavy equipment.

“I realized we were the cavalry of hope,” she said. “After a disaster, the first people called in are the heavy equipment operators, the metal cavalry. I wanted to be a part of that hope. Demolition isn’t an end. It’s a new beginning. I wanted to be a part of bringing hope and a new beginning to my city. Demolition allowed me to do that.”

The next step was to purchase her own equipment, beginning with trucks and excavators, even arguing with the manufacturers who balked at painting their products hot pink because it would depreciate the value of them.

Now, as her business grew, Bruni realized she had to find a way to get the Demo Diva name in front of the right people. And in the Deep South in the construction biz, those people are still mostly men. “I started out targeting women,” Bruni said. “But within five phone calls, I realized everyone needed me. Before I knew it, we were doing three demos a day. But still, I don’t hunt or fish, don’t play golf or poker and in order to keep growing the business I needed to get my name in front of the men who were running the construction industry in New Orleans.” The edge she did have was her years in marketing.

Bruni invested in some gorgeous, hot pink, mobile billboards—dumpsters—over 200 of them. If you’ve spent any time in New Orleans, you’ve no doubt seen one of her dumpsters in front of a business or construction project. And there’s a good chance when you saw it, you smiled. “People really respond to the brand,” Bruni said. “Why would a trash receptacle make someone smile? It’s because, when they see it, they know there’s some girl behind it who jumped in and made it happen. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard, ‘You go, girl! I see your dumpsters everywhere!’ The Demo Diva brand is about Louisiana resilience. It’s completely homegrown. It’s completely Louisiana, and it makes people happy.”

Once the storm’s devastation was mostly addressed, the demand for Demo Diva’s services remained steady. “A city is a living organism,” Bruni said. “Life is constantly changing, so the city is constantly changing. You have to prune to prepare for new life. To have a viable city, you sometimes have to remove the old to make way for the new. When the land becomes more valuable than the structure sitting on it, that’s when they call us.”

Of course, in New Orleans people love history. Bruni quickly realized demolition in a city so rich in culture and tradition needs to be selective, not heavy handed. “A good demolition company needs to recognize the pieces and parts of the past that should be preserved,” she said. “We were taking down hundred-year-old homes constructed of antique brick, copper, steel, architectural elements and gorgeous heart-of-pine flooring. I’ve always been passionate about preserving our unique history and culture, and here was another way I could do it.”

Bruni and her crew began dismantling historic structures that were slated for demolition, lovingly removing antique heart-of-pine, replaning and repurposing it into gorgeous custom-milled floors, stair treads, fireplace mantles and architectural beams. And her third enterprise was born, Reclaimed Diva Millworks. For Bruni, it speaks of resilience. “There’s always something to salvage,” she said. “Repurposing this antique wood, with its hundreds of years’ of history and usefulness, rather than simply discarding it—this material that we can’t grow again in our lifetimes—promotes sustainability and resiliency and is a loving tribute to our city.”

Over the past 17 years, Bruni and Demo Divas have made way for rebirth throughout our city. They tore down the old nature center to make way for the new one. They demolished the old Lakeview School and a dozen homes were built on the site. When Hubig’s Pies was destroyed by fire, they were called in to remove the burnt-out structure and the company was able to rebuild in Elmwood.

Bruni’s demolition adventure was born from emotion and a passion to rebuild the city she loves all while bringing femininity and compassion into what had been a male-dominated field. When she first responded to the need, it was 10 months after Katrina. Large companies with deep pockets—but no connection to New Orleans—had already been at work that long. She learned by trial and error and more than her share of mistakes and setbacks. “I told my neighbors, ‘Don’t pay me until the job gets done’. Then, I tried to figure out what to do next,” she said. “I told myself this was a tortoise and the hare situation and I was the tortoise. Slow and steady wins the race.” That dogged perseverance married to a true passion for what she does has been a winning combination.

Bruni has also found some creative ways to give back to her community. She’s passionate about her work serving on the board of Northshore Community College Foundation where she tirelessly promotes heavy-equipment-operator programs for women. “I want to be a voice to show other women there is no glass ceiling,” she said. “When you have a trade, you can be your own boss. There are many and varying jobs within the construction industry. There’s marketing and safety, and I’m determined to encourage women to be truck drivers and heavy-equipment operators. The machines do all the heavy lifting, and you are simply the brains behind the machine.”

She’s also served on several boards and committees that help women and children, including the Volunteers of America, Louisiana Center for Women in Government, Ursuline Academy and the Salvation Army Fashion Show called “Heels for Hope.” Bruni has also co-chaired the American Heart Association’s “Go Red Luncheon.”

It seems it’s time for a new challenge for this New Orleans native. Even as she takes steps to expand Demo Divas into the Florida panhandle, opening an office in Pensacola and lining up all the right certification to respond should a disaster occur, she’s simultaneously rolling out a new line of construction wear designed specifically for women. This sassy apparel will include hot pink (What else?) safety vests, safety gloves, cargo pants and more for women working in the landscaping, oil field, production and demolition industries. “I’m working with a designer now to design the look,” Bruni said. “Everything will be OSHA certified and will fit a woman’s body. Until now, there’s never been a line of construction apparel designed with women in mind. This will fill a real hole in the market.”

For Bruni, the true secret to success in business comes when you see your business as an entity, not a way to support your lifestyle or build your ego. She believes when you honor and respect the boundaries of that entity and push it forward, you will find success. As she celebrates 17 years of astounding achievement and continues to grow her business, Bruni says she has no one to thank but the people of the Louisiana community. “Sometimes a disaster can open some of the greatest opportunities in one’s life,” she said. “In the middle of the tragedy, I discovered something beautiful – hope heals. And the Louisiana people trusted me and helped me bring them back.”