As CEO of her New York City-based construction firm, Evergreen, Kavovit has been blazing her path in this super, male-dominated industry since college. Hugely influenced by her father’s love and construction tutelage, Kavovit highlights and promotes the strengths women bring to the real estate development world and sees great benefits of men and women building together. Her first work of fiction, "Heels of Steel" (she has already started the sequel) is very closely related to her firsthand, wild, and exciting experiences.

CityRealty spoke with Kavovit, in between her insanely busy schedule of running a company, starring on reality TV shows, promoting her book, and prepping for what she hopes will be “one of the most exciting projects of [her] career,” to discover how she survives and thrives in a profession even her parents thought she was crazy to pursue.

This book was such a labor of love. It is literally my newborn baby. I really tried to capture all the knowledge I’ve gained through all of my experiences and relay it to the reader. I’m in love with my characters, particularly Bridget, which I hope doesn’t sound too narcissistic.

In high school, I had a terrible case of ADD. The only thing I was naturally good at was creative writing. I took a lot of different types of courses in high school and college and the one thing that I was always really great at and got straight A's in was creative writing. Plus, in high school, I was president of the Future Business Leaders of America. So, if you marry those two together, the Future Business Leaders and writing, I used those two natural attributes of mine and this is what I came out with.

I have always written and always wanted to write a book. I constantly write. I jot things down in notes, the way I write emails is like a story. I’ve always wanted to express myself because I have this constant movie going in my head and I want to explain what it looks like, the plot, the theme, the characters, the story arc. I also used to be a columnist for the New York Post, so I’ve always written.

How long did it take you to write the book?

I started writing in the summer of 2015. But by the time I got an agent and we got a book deal and developed the plot and characters, it took a while.

How close is the character Bridget's experience to you and your own?

Very. Bridget is me. It’s not like cooking, where you can read a cookbook and take the ingredients, and create the dish. This is all based on real-life experience. The characters are people who have been in my life, in one way or another, with their names changed (but people close to me will probably know who they are). My ex-husband will really know that Kevin is a lot like him (laughs).

In your ideal world, who do you imagine playing Bridget if there were to be a movie adaptation?

Ever since I saw "A Star is Born," I was so impressed with Lady Gaga. She would be my top three, along with Jennifer Lopez and even maybe Scarlett Johansson. It would need to be one of those gritty types of women. It would be good if she was in touch with her ethnic heritage, like someone who had Italian, Spanish, or Puerto Rican roots. It would have to be someone who can relate to what it’s like to grow up in a borough.

What authors inspired you?

Ayn Rand is number one on my list. I read her books as a young girl. I started when I read "Atlas Shrugged" at least 25 years ago. Another would be Lauren Weisberger, the author of "The Devil Wears Prada." And, also Kevin Quan of "Crazy Rich Asians."

I am constantly asked about how I got into the construction world, how I stay, and what it’s like to be a woman in this business. My biggest piece of advice is that you have to be 10 times better to be considered equal. You have to know your product, know your services, and have greater knowledge, and then you will only be considered equal when you do.

You have to have thick skin. I am not saying you can’t be feminine, sensitive or emotional but know your place. If something upsets me, I try to hold it in until I can go home and cry in the bathroom (laughs). Confidence is really important. I always try to exude that. I always tell people to be resilient, especially as a business owner. There will always be ups and downs, trials and tribulations, good and bad. There are a whole host of learning experiences in business and you have to be able to take a lot of punches. But you can’t expect to be super resilient right at the beginning, that comes with maturity and time.

What building project made the biggest impact on your life?

Building a bunk bed with my dad when I was nine. That was a time that really shaped my confidence and made me feel like an empowered young girl. I didn’t know it then, but the fact that I had this very loving, caring, supportive father who took time to teach a young girl what he knew instead of sticking me with mom to bake a cake. It was a real testament to my dad. He was very ahead of his time. He always had so much support and love for me. Everyone needs a mentor. So this book is a real tribute to my dad. Even the name of my company, Evergreen, is named after the street my dad grew up on.

What are the biggest changes that could make the construction world more women-friendly?

Focusing and shining a light on the women who have already paved the way in industry is essential. With the climate we are in today, the media is shining light on women who are pursuing being successful and being the boss in male-dominated fields. Twenty years ago, I was more of an anomaly. People didn’t know what to expect and they were wondering why I would be in the business. Even my parents felt the same way. Nowadays, by hiring more women in leadership roles in companies and corporations, bigger change can be made. The more female leaders in other enterprises that overlap with ours, the more women we can work with. Women want to work with other women. Evergreen tries to promote and inspire women to be in leadership positions. It’s also important to give women access to training early on.

Another thing we don’t have is good clothing for women to wear on the job. I should do that! I should come up with a line of really feminine but utilitarian clothing women can go from day to night in and feel sexy, feminine and empowered!

Do women bring something unique to the job site?

Women are 100 times more detailed-oriented than men. I see it every single day out in the field. I see it within my organization. Although there are top notch men, what they are good at is not necessarily what I am good at. It’s so great to have both genders in this business; they feed off one another. Women are so detail-oriented, when we are closing out a project, we really take notice of special details that men don’t notice.