Today we’d like to introduce you to Sonia Phocas.
Sonia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born in Johannesburg South Africa and fell in love with a Zimbabwean farmer who was at college in Johannesburg. We got married and moved to the farm in Macheke, Zimbabwe. I was in corporate Advertising before getting married, so moving to a farm in Africa was quite the adjustment. We lived in
Zimbabwe for 10 years, had our first child, Nicole and then unfortunately the government of the time was compulsory aquiring commerical farms with no compensation so we had not choice but to leave and start over. We came and visited friends of ours that lived in Lakeway and fell in love with Austin. Once we got our visa approval we moved to Austin (2002). We started our granite business in 2003 and are still here, living in Round Rock, 24 years later. Here is a little more about us in the attached articles: https://alphagraniteaustin.com/about/
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Has not been a smooth road at all. Our first business venture on arrival was importing flowers and that went horribly wrong and we lost all our savings. But we kept on going, and eventually started our countertop business. Thankfully the growth in Austin helped us along, although the 2008/9 crisis slowed things down, and the shut down for a while during Covid also affected our business.
I also was diagnosed with Breast cancer in 2011 and that was a challenge both mentally and physically. We had 2 young kids (our son, Theo was born in Austin in 2003) and a business to run. But with the help of our faith, family that flew in and our great friends we made it through.
As you know, we’re big fans of Alpha Granite. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We have a 40 employee custom fabrication and installation company called Alpha Granite. It’s a family owned business that my husband and I started from the ground up. He’s on the operations side and I’m on the financial side of the business. We make stone slabs turn into beautiful countertops, fireplaces, shower walls etc.
We are knows in town as the stone company that can do it all: from a small bathroom to a luxury $19M dollar home with exotic stone on the floors, walls and ceilings. We have a great team of loyal, hardworking employees who take great pride in their work. Our employees safety comes first. It’s a tough business, but we make sure that we work hard to ensure our employees are taken care of – their safety comes first and I feel this is something that sets us apart from a lot of other stone shops in town.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I love the podcast “Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People” – it’s taught me so much about all different types of people out there and that everyone has a story and all we have to do is be kind to each other.
For our business we read blogs posted by a local consultant group called G2. https://www.g2solve.com/resources-recommendations
I’m currently reading: “The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://alphagraniteaustin.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alphagraniteaustin/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alphagraniteaustin/
