Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Fannin.
Hi Joe, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started out a loyal employee of a small business in my early 20’s. Aspiring to be a family man, husband and father in the future, I was set on finding my future path with hard work and dedication. I quickly realized I had a knack for business and had found myself working in the property service industry. I had been in HVAC service and installation, I had General Contracting under my belt as well as cleaning windows and pressure washing.
After some time managing another property cleaning company, I found myself wanting to deliver more for the customer, yet I was not the owner, nor did I have the leeway to do so. I put together a business plan and took it to the owner. I was dead set on making a difference in his company and had a plan to do so. This company was well established, however it was never really scaled to the size it could have been. Needless to say, the conversation was short, and was not taken seriously.
In the spring of 2013, I was in severe pain and found out I had shingles at the age of 26. It was on my L7 nerve affecting my tongue and right side of my face. I could barely open my right eye and I had lost movement in my cheek. I was unable to work due to the extreme pain and could not stand sitting at home. Pain or not, I was determined to get back to work. This is when it all started.
I set out to create a company that was as reputable for the employees as it was for the customers. I had been in countless jobs that were micromanaged, lacking any respect for the staff and overall was jaded by upper management in most of my roles.
I built a website, started every social media page or free account I could to get my name out there. I bought an insurance policy (with most of my savings) and set out to get in front of customers needing a quality service!
I quickly grew a reputation for professionalism, hired my first employee and kept on grinding. After a few years, I found myself lost as to where to go and what to do next. I had been networking, building report with other businesses and became overwhelmed. I ended up meeting a business coach and quickly hired him to help me focus on my next steps.
I learned so much about myself in a short period of time while working with this coach. He asked me pointed questions that were very insightful, mainly for my own growth but obviously it was all part of his course. After working with this coach for a year I was able to move into an office location and get out of working from my home. I was a father of 2 now, so It was a blessing in disguise. The next few years after moving the business out of my house were explosive in growth and I found myself with 10 employees and another feeling of the overwhelming “what to do next” hit me in the chest just as Covid19 was shutting down the world.
Ive pushed myself to overcome my weaknesses, obstacles and failures. Ive been through extensive sales training courses, networking, industry leader conferences and given back to my community.
We have grown 20% each year consistently. We have been the go to company for 12 years now, providing exceptional services in and around austin.
Overall, I found my why, which is not about money, but about making a difference in my community, creating opportunities for others, teaching, guiding and giving to those in need, whether its a job, advice or a meal.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Growth pains always hit. Marketing is a never ending cycle. Staffing, recruitment and training. The bottlenecks always arise. Once one thing gets worked out, there’s another around the corner.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Elefant Xterior Experts?
Our services are more than just a visual change. Its emotional.
We provide property maintenance solutions. Window, gutter, roof, all types of stone, all types of wood, concrete and anything else outdoors that needs cleaning and maintenance, we have a solution for it.
our brand is about the elephant in the room. we all want a clean and tidy home, but you may not have the time or the knowledge.
Elefant Xterior experts is about community, family, strength and wisdom. Our company is dedicated to making solutions for property owners of all kinds.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
The covid19 crisis was a huge eye-opener to not only care about health and safety but also to pivot to what our customers cared about. We implemented extra communication, preferences on contactless transactions, and most of all we created benefits for our entire team that was affordable. Our team has health, dental, vision and life insurance as of 2021. We searched to find a provider for small businesses that our team could actually use and have peace of mind they could get care when they needed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.AustinElefant.com
- Instagram: elefant_austin
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elefantxterior/
Image Credits
Joseph Fannin
