Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Dicks.
Hi Robert, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I fell in love with Austin after coming to school here in the ’90s. After a stint in the Air Force, I reconnected with my college sweetheart, Andrea, and moved back here in 2009. I had driven cabs while at UT and realized when I got back that the taxi industry was still as messed up as it had always been. So I co-founded a company that provided smartphone-based car service in Austin and College Station. Turns out another couple of companies had the same idea. We operated for 5 years but Uber and Lyft eventually ate our lunch. It was tough, but I learned a lot and realized I had an entrepreneurial itch to scratch.
I joined a business brokerage firm – we represented owners who were selling their companies. One of our clients, Unicorn Moving and Storage, ended up moving my family into our new home. It was hands-down the best customer experience I had ever had with any business – they were awesome.
So awesome, in fact, that I ended up buying the business. That was in April of 2021, and it turned out to be a wonderful opportunity. I am now surrounded by an amazing team of professionals who love what they do. Unicorn was just nominated for “Best Movers in Austin” for the 7th time! We’re growing and very excited about the future.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Running a service-based business has its set of challenges, but knowing that you are making life easier during a stressful time in your clients’ lives is pretty dang satisfying. Unicorn has been at it for almost 30 years, and almost everyone here has been with the company or in the industry for over ten years. The service mindset is pretty well ingrained into the company’s DNA – we pride ourselves not just in packing & moving competency, but in being shock absorbers during what can be a hectic period for people going through a major transition. Most of our business is repeat and referral and the feedback we get most from these folks is that the movers made the process easy and fun.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Unicorn Moving and Storage?
We specialize in local and long-distance residential moves. We’re known for quality. I know this is easy for a business to say, but we’ve been voted “Austin’s Best Movers” by the Chronicle and the Statesman 6 times because we have the pickiest hiring process around. We not only hire on technical skills and experience but on heart qualities. People that naturally have the service mindset.
And once they’re with us, we invest in them. The result is a very strong and robust team. Top players like working with other top players. As a result, we have extremely low turnover and a team of pros that are great at getting the job done. Feels good, yes, but also on a practical level, it makes operations and customer success do much easier. Because of our repeat and referral business, we are able to spend far fewer marketing dollars than our competitors, which helps the bottom line.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
There is a long list of mentors and supporters who have contributed to the success of the business. The founder, Mark Yutz, worked for a major moving company and, after seeing some of the shortcomings in the industry, knew that there has to be a better way. Unicorn started from that mindset.
My former commander in the Air Force instilled another mindset in me that I have emphasized to our team – Own It, Fix It. In business and life, you’re gonna make mistakes. Can’t avoid it. But you can choose how you handle it. If we don’t meet a client’s expectations, we take full accountability and we do our best to make the situation better.
Our investor partners, namely Jim Hoover and Jeff Eastman, are some of the highest quality humans I have ever had the good fortune of knowing. They are seasoned business people and accomplished entrepreneurs who put values first and know the results will follow. I get smarter just sharing the same air with them.
Contact Info:
- Email: robert@unicornmoving.com
- Website: www.unicornmoving.com
