Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Be Unbelievable. I'm Doug Wick and today we're talking about the real side of business, leadership and life.
You're watching now Media Television.
Welcome to Be Unbelievable. I'm Doug Wick.
On this show we focus on helping businesses owners break through chaos. Create structure and scale with purpose. Today I'm joined with Austin park, founder of Visual Installations. Austin built a nationwide signage and graphic installation company from a foundation of hands on precision service and relentless execution. Austin, welcome to Be Unbelievable.
[00:00:44] Speaker B: I'm so excited to be here with you, man.
[00:00:46] Speaker A: Awesome, awesome. Thank you. Take us back to the very beginning, if you would.
And what did the journey in the trades teach you that still shapes the way you lead visual installations today?
Can you tell us about that?
[00:01:03] Speaker B: Yeah. So at the beginning for the installation side, it was really kind of an accident. I was at home doing construction. That's what I grew up doing my whole life, growing up on a farm. And then I was a missionary for three years doing humanitarian work in Kenya and Uganda and Ecuador. And so I knew construction. I knew how to work with my hands pretty well. And a friend of mine who was in the graphics industry asked me, hey, would you mind help me out? I need, I need this done down in St. Petersburg. And all I knew was it was nearby a fishing spot that I really like to do go to at the Skyway fishing pier. And so I didn't know I was getting paid. I just thought I was doing a favor and I went and did the job. Took about an hour. And while I was fishing that, that evening I get this email with a, with a po. I didn't even know what a PO was at the time. And it was, it was for more than a whole week of me working construction.
And, and I was like, wow, that was only an hour. You know how you know, do you got any more of this? And he's like, well, are you okay to travel? And I was like, yeah. And so next thing I knew, me and my German shepherd just got in my beat up old car and just started traveling the whole country doing, doing this type of work. And I had helped that guy like when I was really young, I was like 16 or 17 and I had just been a helper.
So I had kind of had the idea of what it was, but. But yeah, I just kind of picked it up and ran and really enjoyed it. And so here we are today after, after growing it over the years. But that was really the, the humble beginnings there.
[00:02:34] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a crazy story, isn't it? How one passion Led to another. Right. You know, your passion for fishing.
Yeah.
So, you know, when you moved from doing the work yourself to building a company, you know, around this work, what was the first major mind shift you had to make?
[00:02:56] Speaker B: That was a. A frustratingly long mind shift. If I'm being totally honest, looking back, I wish I would have done this, this shift much sooner, but that was realizing that I couldn't grow the company where I wanted to grow it by doing all the work myself. And most entrepreneurs are control freaks. And when you are simultaneously extremely stubborn and someone that, that, that learns from the school of hard knocks more than any other thing, it makes it a lot harder, shall we say? So I actually, it was. That was another kind of accident. Somebody was asking me to be on their podcast and we were having this little pre interview to see if we were a good fit.
And he just outright told me, he's like, dude, you're never going to scale where you want to go doing what you're doing.
And I didn't. I was, like, kind of hurt by it, because honestly, I like doing this work. I like working with my hands. I like traveling. And so the way I saw it was I was being paid to travel. I've been to all 50 states doing things like this, and it was just me and my German shepherd, and I loved it. But he was right. And when I finally had the humility to realize that he was right, I went straight to making the changes that needed to be done. So replacing yourself in certain areas. So I started with the admin stuff, so at least the emails were being replied to. And at the end of the day, you know, an assistant would tell me, hey, here are the things that need to be quoted, and you can send that out.
And then I replaced myself in the field. So I was training someone to take the place in the field so that at least there are still ways to make money. If I couldn't do the install, he was being trained by me. And then as I traveled, I would recruit people in different, different areas that were, that were major hotbeds of work. And that was how it initially started. Now it grows much faster. We have a really good team. And then you use technology like AI and different project management tools really helps it. But that mental shift of going, oh, I need to not be so selfish and traveling, I like to travel, I like to work, but I'm never going to. I'm going to be stuck here. You know, you have to, you have to let it go. And it's very difficult for every entrepreneur But I remember that click. I remember driving away from that, that, that conversation with him really upset, and then also all of a sudden realizing, oh my gosh, he's right. And yeah, that was a definite mental shift, for sure.
[00:05:15] Speaker A: Yeah, you. So you took the criticism and applied it. And I think, you know, there's another thing that you, you mentioned that you did want to scale, right? Because some people would have said, well, I guess I'll just tough, tough crap, you know, I'll just do what I've been doing and enjoy it. Right, but you did actually want to scale the business. That is what I hear you saying as well, right?
[00:05:41] Speaker B: Yeah, no, that was a definite thing. I've always dreamed big, so even when I was a missionary and I was, you know, I knew I couldn't, wasn't gonna be doing that forever. I had been looking at ideas on building a business and knew that I wanted to make it much larger than just a one man show. But you get distracted. I mean, the honest truth is you get distracted, especially when you're making more money than your little redneck brain ever thought you could. And you're just like, I can just do this forever. This is awesome. And then now I still go do installs, but it's much more specific. So I will create a system and then I'll go do the install and see if I can get the, try to break the system and essentially and try until you get the get, get it right. But, you know, a big deal is, is figuring out where you want to go and then rework the steps backwards on how to get there. And that was a, that was a major shift for me. I would actually add. One more major shift was when I did realize I needed to delegate a little more.
I was talking to a, a mentor of mine. He, he's a member of the 3 comma club. And he had said, look, Austin, at this point, I know you're tired of hitting the same revenue with the same team, you know, two or three years in a row. He's like, but right now, you'll just 10x your problems. If you 10x your business, you have to fix your problems. And so he was like, you have to make a system and break it, Make a system and break it, make a system and break it over and over until it's bulletproof. And then even when you do that, you have to adapt as technology and as the markets change. So that was a major thing for me, even now, like, that was what, five, six years ago? And I still make a system and Try to break it, make a system, try to break it and find out where those pinpoints are, where the bottlenecks are. And so there's some major pieces that, that come in when you finally do realize, hey, this is where I want to get to. This is the price I got to pay. These are the problems I need to deal with, not site problems. Site problems are plenty problems. There are plenty of problems on site. But that's not the problem that's going to grow my business.
This is, you know, reworking the systems are.
[00:07:42] Speaker A: So tell me, what were some of the early systems or habits or standards that helped you move from, I guess, the survival mode that you were in to the more structured business model you have now?
[00:07:57] Speaker B: Yeah, I think outside of the structure, I'll get to the structure in a second. It is realizing the execution is everything.
It doesn't matter how you feel, it doesn't matter you're feeling sick, doesn't matter what's going on. You've got to execute. Doesn't matter if you got enough sleep, doesn't matter if you miss your workout. You have to execute on your business.
If you don't, nobody else is going to like you. You have to do it. So that's a critical piece. Now there is something for habits and structures and all these things. And I used to be a huge proponent of, I stick to my regimen and nothing can, you know, nothing is going to explain this is what's important, yada, yada, yada.
And I do think those are important, don't get me wrong. But nowadays I realize much more that life happens. You know, life happens. I wish everything was perfect and I could wake up at 4am every day and do my workout and do my reading and do my everything. I wish it was like that.
But life is complicated. Not everybody can do that. You know, between kids, kids, sports, having a family and then their travel, my travel, this travel, the business, all the different projects you have going on, it doesn't always work perfectly. Now when you get a little further on in business. Absolutely. I think, you know, you know, high not, sorry, high seven figures, low eight figures, you could probably do that. But you just need to be executing. If you're under 10, 10 million, I think that that's a, that's a major, major milestone that a lot of people, they, they get complacent when they hit the three to five because it's more money than most people make. But don't, don't only the paranoid survive? You can't just get so stuck in the, in the structural of it, you, you've got to keep executing. You got to act like you're going to, you're going to lose it tomorrow. And that's a critical piece for sure. It's a mental shift, you know.
[00:09:38] Speaker A: Yeah. And what I think it's a great by choice. Jim Collins calls that productive paranoia. Right.
If you were to look at some painful lesson that became a turning point that built your business, what would have been or maybe, maybe you've already stated that with what you shared already.
Austin, any thoughts?
[00:09:58] Speaker B: Yeah, really those three things probably felt fall into place. They all kind of happened within about a year period where I think it was a mental growth thing. So I remember my first coach, she tried to explain to me, you know, having the dream, writing it down, putting, putting some clarity around it, putting in the pieces.
And I'm 100 offense, I was doing zero defense. And now I'm realizing you got to have, you got to have that 90 offense and 10%. Something has to be protecting you. Somebody has to be looking at the HR and the things that, that you don't think about, the taxes, making sure the money is where it needs to be and whatnot. And not just sell, sell, sell and execute, execute, execute. So there is those things. So the painful part was having to realize what I had to change. I had to evolve. And so you know Patrick, but David has this, this great, great four line thing that he is outwork, out, improve out, strategize, outlast. And I've always been good at outworking. But my same billionaire mentor is like dude, you can be the hardest work in the room. And I actually think you are one of the hardest people, hardest work I've ever met. But the problem is if you're the best vcr Salesman In 2025, you're not going to go anywhere. And so you have to make sure you're working hard on the right things. You have to make sure that you're, you're, you're out working out and you're improving out improving. If your next stage is leadership or if it's sales or whatever, you are learning, learning, learning. And then when it comes to out strategizing, actually having, making a plan and a strategy towards it and outlasting, that is the one people just miss. That is the hardest part.
How much pain can you actually take? You know?
[00:11:31] Speaker A: Yeah, we in scaling up we always said leaders are learners and you're a perfect example of that Austin, that that foundation is so important because so many business is get stuck with Everything still depending on the owner. So after the break we're going to talk about what it really takes to build operational consistency across markets, teams, vendors and client expectations. Because you've done a beautiful job of that. Looking forward to talking to you after the break to explore that. Austin, stay with us. More honest insight and real world perspective from business owners is coming up on Be Unbelievable. And we're back. I'm Doug Wick and this is Be Unbelievable on NOW Media Television. Let's continue.
So before the break, Austin shared his journey from the hands on trade experience where he started near as one of his favorite fishing holes to a business ownership that that shaped the foundation of visual installations. Now we're getting into the systems behind the growth project management, installer networks, quality control and I operational discipline that's required to serve major brands across the United States and Canada. So Austin Visual Installations now supports projects across 50 states and Canada.
What had to be systemized before that level of reach became possible?
[00:13:07] Speaker B: A lot, if we're being totally honest, there was a lot of change that had to happen because it went from me literally just driving around from state to state to city city doing whatever that was that was coming up to now I'm coordinating the install. So now, now you're having to make sure all the stars align every single time across all the different issues that you run into in different states, provinces and whatnot. I mean we have clients out of Canada and we have to assume even when it's overnighted it could get held up in customs, you know, or whatever, things like that that you have to now work, work through. And there's so much that is out of your control.
So getting the stars to align is nothing short of a small miracle every single time. But the biggest thing is being maniacal about the details. And that is one of the hardest things to pass on to people and to really push.
You try to do what you can with technology and automations, but there is a level of human detail that has to be in there. And one digit off could have a lift arriving on the 17th and the graphics arriving the 18th and the installer arriving the 16th and that's completely out of sequence and all. And next thing you know, now everybody's there at the wrong time. Graphics have been thrown away, the lift has been taken away because it was only there for 24 hours and now you got to reschedule the whole thing and all the fees are on you. So there's a lot of stars that have to align. And I think it came down to Reworking the workflow and building a system over and over and over until it was bulletproof, till we get it. And even now you have to adapt to it. Like things are different now. Things happen faster. Clients want real time updates right away. So making all of those stars align and making sure that the, the, that the client is happy and you are executing at a high level. They need to be seen, the vendor needs to be seen, you know, our partner needs to be seen. Everybody has to be taken care of and communicated with. That is a lot. There's a lot of moving parts that, that is only about halfway in your control. The other half of it is hoping that the graphics shipper arrives on time and hoping that there's no issue with the semi that's delivering the lift and hoping that the mall lets the installer in. You know, like there's a, there's a. So many little things that have to go right, and it's a minor miracle.
[00:15:13] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, you're just talking about it makes me a little nervous. I've got a client that has, you know, texts that are independent and same thing in their situation, making sure everything arrives on, on time and, and that the. They're there on time and the distance and so forth that they have to travel. So what's the biggest operational breakdown that happens in signage and installation projects and how do you prevent them if it's possible to prevent them? You know, preventing what you can control versus what you can't control.
Austin.
[00:15:51] Speaker B: Yeah. As far as the stuff you can control, it is being maniacal on the details, making sure you're documenting everything per the. On the project, making sure you're getting. Reading the email in full to make sure you don't miss some really important detail. Making sure that is passed on to the installer and because you're kind of playing telephone, but you got to make sure that every single person gets to get it exactly right. You know, so you could have five people on a project and you know, from the client to you to the installer, back and forth. You, you want to make sure you're getting all those details right. So you have to be very good at being organized and getting those details. And then on the things you can't control.
Yeah, the graphics didn't arrive and we're supposed to be there in the morning or.
Yeah, the semi truck got in an accident, the lift isn't here, and that's too high for us to reach on a ladder for insurance reasons or whatever. So those things that comes down to execution, it is Your job to solve the problem, assigned blame later. We can take care of the blame stuff later. Right now it has solved the problem. In a lot of cases. These are high, high.
There's, there's a lot riding on those insults. Sometimes it is like they are contractually obligated to have these graphics or these signs or this model or this, you know, this athlete or whatever on these graphics on these stores by a certain date and time. And so the tension can be high. You know, you have, there are, there are contractual obligations and very hefty fines if you don't keep up with that from, from their end. And so it's your job to make the client look good and it's your job to take care of that client. And so you have to solve it and you have to solve it fast. Your reaction to a job and how you solve a problem that goes sideways is as important as executing it right the first time.
[00:17:38] Speaker A: And here's a question, because what you just outlined just gives, I think, our audience an idea of how many things have to come together. How do you make project managers clients feel support, supported, informed and, and then confident throughout the process?
[00:17:59] Speaker B: A lot of that's going to come down to the repeat business. I mean, when you first start out with a client, it's. You start small, don't. They don't give us anything huge, usually right up front. Sometimes we're taking over. They had to fire their, their installation team and so we're taking over last second, all the things. And they're putting a lot of faith in you, but a lot of it comes down to the relationships you build. I think a lot of relationships that we have today are because I came through when others didn't. I think that being, being there for the small things means that you will be given the great ones, the big ones. And so even though so many people would turn down these piddly little surveys or this individual installation, I didn't, I took it all. And, and that made it so that they're like, hey, he took this one. I want to, I want to help, I want to reward that with, here's some more. Here's five locations. Instead, here's 50 locations. And now we're doing multi thousand site rollouts because we'll do these little ones too. And so that, that's a, that's, that's its own problem. You have to work through, you have to, you know, you don't want your best people working on this individual one little survey or install, but you also want to make sure that, that one little surveyor install isn't neglected because that's what got you to be the big one. So those sort of things are a critical piece of it. And you know, honestly, it does get, it does get difficult to make sure that everybody does have the confidence in you, does have confidence in your team. It's a bit, it's a big deal. I mean, those are a lot of locations, there's a lot of people looking at this, at your work, and you're the last one to touch their brand before it goes live, before it comes to life. So whether it's a major retailer or a small business, it's your job to make sure it goes well.
[00:19:44] Speaker A: Here's a question for you that, you know, wasn't in our outline, but I, I hear you talking directly to this. I've always believed that in order for customers to be satisfied, your employees first have to be satisfied, they have to be happy. And that will mean your, the businesses, the clients you serve, your customers are gonna be happy. What do you do in that area? Because culture is so important to driving a business's success? How do you, I'm very interested in hearing what do you do on the inside with your team? How do you build that culture that in essence goes out of their way to serve their customers?
[00:20:30] Speaker B: Yeah, that's something that I've always been pretty bad at, if I'm being totally honest. I've always been just a self driven, hardline person, you know, I just, you know, it's ones and zeros, execute or don't, you know, and I've had to learn that a lot. I, I have probably over the last five years gotten better at it. But even like literally a couple days ago I was realizing this, like, I need to do better at this. I think even though we work, we're kind of hybrid, so we work remote and we work in the office and we back and forth.
It's really hard to build the culture and team when it's mostly remote and some in the office.
And so it just, it flies, it slips my mind sometimes. But I think just a few days ago I realized we missed our 10 year anniversary as a company. And I didn't do anything, I didn't plan for it. Didn't even have it on as a reminder on my calendar. Didn't plan an event, didn't do anything for the team. And some of them have been with me for five or five, seven years. And I'm like, I can't believe I missed that. I can't believe I didn't do that something for them and thank them. And so I've started working on something so that, so that we can. But it's something I have to work out a lot. I do stay in touch with them. I know a lot about them. We're very in each other's lives and we know a lot of things are going on in our personal lives as well. So we've built a really good team and we make sure that when we, when we have fun, we have a lot of fun. You know, we'll get a box for a hockey game or we'll get a restaurant reservation at a very nice restaurant. We're a very small but powerful team and so we try to, we try to make sure we have fun when we do do it. I'm not. That is probably one of my weaker points. And, and so it's something I have been working on a lot. And especially it kind of hit me again when that, when I realized we missed that, that major mile marker, you know.
[00:22:12] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, it speaks very well to the development of your systems that you're growing as much as you have, that you are doing what you're doing. So I'll salute you on, on that. And, and as every, every one of us knows, every one of us as a leader needs to grow and in some areas.
And so it's just a matter of time before you probably did excellent at that because of your awareness of it alone. If there was one thing you would tell a business owner who wants to scale and they have no clear process for like delivery, for communication or follow up, what would you tell them?
[00:22:52] Speaker B: I think you need to know your why and you need to know where you want to get. Um, and because if, if your why is powerful enough, the how is is going to be self evident. So essentially. But I think you have to actually take the time to strategize and to look at, at what your bottlenecks are.
A lot of people will just hire just for hiring sake. We're growing, we'll hire. And I'm like, okay, think through that a little bit.
So my first hire was someone that did watch the emails and make sure that everything was scheduled on my calendar. It started with just me, so it was just getting things organized on my calendar. Here's the, here's the address to this. Here's your scope of work. Here's all this. And then it was like, okay, we need to make that into a system. And so then I started making loom videos from start to finish of how a job should go through. So then I could run people through the loom videos on how to intake a job, how to put it on the quote sheet, how, you know, once the estimator gave you a number, here's how you get it to the client. Here's this layout, here's that layout, here's how you find installer. And I made the whole workflow and I had to change out those videos and update them constantly. But that was the first move. And then the second one was at the same time. These were done simultaneously. Hire someone that's making you money. So somebody that was installing as well. I was training them to install so that they could take, even if it was the smaller jobs, they could take that for me and I could focus on the bigger ones or on sales. And so the three of us kind of like slowly built things out. But the hard part is still, even after your full day of install and travel or whatever, you're still at your computer trying to rework another system because you had another failure. But be maniacal with it. Make sure that you are paying attention to details. Make a big deal out of the little things and make sure that you cover yourself the best you can with it.
[00:24:43] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, thank you for that.
There's a difference between activity and architecture.
Growth requires more than effort. I want to get into, you know, the idea of systems, but also the promise behind the systems. You mentioned your purpose. I want to explore that a little bit when we come back and talk about, you know, client experience, brand visibility, how your service quality has become a competitive edge. And just before we go, Austin, tell people how they can reach you or contact your business.
Give us your website or any information how they can contact you.
[00:25:22] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Our website is www.visual installers.com.
all of our contacts on there, we have people that leave that, that fill out a little thing at the bottom of the contact us and send us a job they need us to do. We've added two new clients just this week and new people we haven't worked with before. And so that's exciting. You're doing some, doing some work out in New York and yeah, we see all the, all the submissions in there. We make sure we contact in there. You can find me on LinkedIn as well. You can see all of the social media icons on there and we pay attention to this. So anywhere on there, we're happy to help.
[00:25:59] Speaker A: Awesome. Thank you, Austin. We'll be back in just a moment.
Stay with us. More honest insight and real world perspective from business owners is coming up. On Be Unbelievable.
And we're back. I'm Doug Wick, and this is Be Unbelievable on NOW Media Television. Let's continue.
Welcome back. To Be Unbelievable. We're talking with Austin park about building a company that can deliver consistently at scale.
We're shifting to the customer side of the equation because every installation, every sign, every, Every graphic and every project interaction shapes how a brand is experienced.
So, Austin park, visual installations. You say that visual installations does not just install signs, it crafts experiences. What does that mean in practical business terms?
[00:26:59] Speaker B: Well, in most cases, people just look at, hey, you're the sign guys. You're the guy that puts it up. And. And I try pretty hard, at least when I'm doing an install, when I'm trying to teach someone to an inst. All this. You're the last person to touch someone's work of art. It may be a generic retail store, but this is the somebody's creation. You're the last person to touch it. It needs to look beautiful and actually make sure that the customer experience, which is everything in business, is gone all the way to the end because you're the last one. Like, when you. When we're in there, we're one of the last people before they literally open the doors to the public. Like, in a lot of cases, it's. In most cases, we have to do things before the store even opens. So again, you are putting the last finishing touches that turns a room into an experience for their. For their customer. And so it's, again, it's about the experience of the customer, both for you and for your client's customer.
And so I cannot stress that enough on making sure that the details of the care that goes into an install is there and we fail, and we try and we fail, and we find the right people, and then we fail. And, you know, the key is that you keep getting up.
You know, it turns into a super underrated skill and a super underrated execution that people miss. And that is speed. You know, like you're replying to your customer quickly, getting their deliverables quickly, acting quickly, and making the changes quickly. There's a Cody Sanchez clip that's going around right now, and people were kind of asking her, you know, what's kind of like your superpower? And she's like, my speed. Speed is everything. So, for instance, if she has an idea, she executes on it immediately. She's already three steps in, tries it, fails, fixes it, moves on to the next thing. Speed fails over and over and over until two or three weeks later she has something working and the most people, they're going to write down their idea, think about it, mull it over. Maybe a week later they'll might take a couple notes. Another week later, you know, hey, let's, let's actually Google this and see if we can make something happen. And by those two weeks, she's two weeks ahead on failing and fixing and failing and fixing and getting back up and failing and doing it again.
And, and that, that is a huge, huge piece that a lot of business owners miss. And, and there's, I can't remember this, there's an actual statistic on how many jobs are missed because of a slow response. And, and it's disturbing. And I, I, I'm still getting, pushing it on my team a lot even now.
I think it was like two or three days ago even I was like that, it was an email. I was like hey, just following up on this. And I was like that can never be a thing. I don't want that ever to happen to a customer or, or a vendor. We need to be replying extremely fast and speed needs to be much more of a priority. So you know, those sort of things will come to the experience.
Those sort of things help push the experience that you want for your customer and your customer's customer.
[00:29:46] Speaker A: You know, one of the things you just mentioned is the importance of taking action.
And speed is interesting because we may think internally we're doing things fast, but the customer has a whole nother timeline, you know, for, for speed. And I find that too many people aren't aware of that. They're, they're in their own methodical process of following how to do things. So glad to hear you say that. How much you emphasize that because that's an important part of what I would call going the extra mile, right to look, look at what's their deadline, let's meet their deadline or exceed their deadline, I'm assuming and, and, and achieve their brand standards when, when, when you're under pressure.
So how do, how do loyalty, reliability and doing the job right the first time translate into repeat business? You, you mentioned that very, at the very outset I think of how did you start getting business? You started with taking small jobs. It sounds like that ended up forming long term relationships even though they were small. Then that, that, that work that you did ended up building a long term relationship. Maybe you can tell us about an example of that even.
[00:31:07] Speaker B: Yeah, I think so many people, they only want the big high paying jobs, you know, they don't want to take the small little thing. And, and they want the things that, that push them forward the most or whatever. And they're like, I'm not going to go out the door short of this.
And I, I kind of take the opposite approach. And I was like, hey, you know what? I gotta prove myself. That, that is a, that is a lost, that is a lost, lost thing in today's world. Most people just want it straight away, but I know you have to earn it. You have to earn someone's loyalty. You have to earn someone's trust. And you don't do that by doing one huge grand gesture. You do it over the course of a long time, doing the small things and being consistent with it.
You know, I, I'm loyal in the, in the slow times and, and the big ones when it, when it comes to, to clients and their projects.
And that has built into multi tons. I mean, so many relationships nowadays that, that even when I tell them like, hey, one of the things I do is I'll set up a system and I'll like, especially with AI recently. And I want to see if the AI can work without me. And so I'm like, hey, I'm going to go do an install myself and I want to see if the AI can do the job for me that I had normally done or had someone do while I'm gone. And I'll tell a client, hey, I'm going to be in this area. Do you have any work around there? And I'll make a trip of it or something. And they'll be like, oh, you're doing it here? And they give me, you know, 10 times more than they would normally if we were just asking for it. So I was, I realized that I needed to work better on getting the same loyalty that I've built with my own team, between the customer and my team because of that. And so that those sort of things go a long way. When you build that kind of loyalty where you say, hey, I'm going to do it myself, is there anything else in the area we can do? And they hand you, you know, multi.
I think it was like 70 locations or 80 locations when we were only getting about 10 or 15 in the area initially. That's a big count when they know you're going to be there. So that's a major loyalty thing.
[00:33:07] Speaker A: Yeah. And that was just by asking. Right. That's awesome. And that relationship made that happen. I've got a question for you that I heard you starting to answer in our previous session. Tell me, do you have, does the company. I notice core values on your website. Do you have a purpose? Does your business have a purpose that you let. Let your people know what. What that purpose is on and no worries if not. But I'm just curious because I heard you mention that earlier.
[00:33:35] Speaker B: Yeah, it's changed over time. I think as we evolve as people and as you evolve in business, you start to realize there are changes that are made in your own self. As you. As you just change, there's life changes, you know. And so initially, I started this because I'd been missionary for three years. I'd been doing humanitarian work, you know, in pretty rough places. And I was frustrated with how much time I was spending just trying to get support from other churches and stuff to help me in my journey.
And I was like, you know what? Honestly, it would be so much easier to go, hey, you need. At the time it was trying to build out, I think it was like 14 bunk beds for. For this, the center. And it just was so much work just to get the thousand dollars or whatever at the time to get these bunkers. And I'm like, man, if. If I wish that there was a way to just, hey, you need this. Here, Here. Here's your. Here's the money to solve the. The problem of not having beds for these kids.
[00:34:34] Speaker A: And.
[00:34:34] Speaker B: And I was like, that's not that much money.
I want to be that guy. So even now, I have several Compassion kids and several missionaries I support overseas, and so that's a big drive. But now, as a husband and father, you're now providing for that. Now you're providing for all of your team and their family.
And there's so many facets and tentacles that your little network kind of grows into and your team grows. And it's like, we have a lot of things that we like to be a part of. We like to. We'd like to give. We really want to make an impact on gift. But we also now with kids, you're like, you think legacy, you think longer, longer term. So there's no defined answer for you right now. I know I'm the weird one in the family, and so I'm a little bit of a workaholic and want to. And I see things much bigger and things that I want to build for my family and retire my mom and things like that. So there's 100 million things going on in my head all at any given time on where I want to take this. But I also don't want to forget where I started from and going, hey, I was In Nairobi after those elections and there were literal bodies in the streets and there were starving kids who would sniff glue and fight in front of you so that you would pay them or something like that. And things there's, man, I can go on with tons of stories like that and it's heartbreaking and so I don't want to forget that.
That's what's important. I want to go after church and when they have the compassion kids lined up, I want to swipe another 10 and, and be, be supporting them.
And so those, those sort of things really grow on me hard. That, that's what I, you know, when I, yeah, I grew up with a heart, a lot of hard issues and I wasn't allowed to do much growing up as a kid. I was given my high school diploma. I was in a little. But before homeschool co ops were, were cool. I was in a homeschool co op and I spent, I missed so much of the school years when I was 15 and when I was 17 that they give me my high school diploma out of pity. I would say I've had open heart surgery and a bunch of different things that just took up all my time and I never went to college. So I'm just a backwoods, homeschooled country boy from nowhere Tennessee. And, and so I, I don't want to forget those, those things that drove me and the things that I wanted to see and do.
[00:36:46] Speaker A: Well. We're gonna, we're gonna get into that more in the, in the fourth segment. So that was a perfect lead in to that. You know what, what I've heard you talk about and I really, I'm really glad you explore, explored that and shared your experience there.
The customer experience is what not only your team delivers, but what whether you keep your promises when you're under pressure. But it sounds to me like there's a, there's a vigor, there's a bigger goal that you're attempting to achieve not only with your business but with your life. And that's what this business is achieving. And that's what I'd like to explore in our next segment because I want to connect leadership purpose and that bigger mission behind building a business that lasts. So let's get into that in our next segment. Coming up, we'll have more with Austin spoke Park just following this message. Stay with us. More honest insight and real world perspective from business owners is coming up on Be unbelievable.
And we're back. I'm Doug Wick and this is be Unbelievable on NOW Media Television let's continue.
So before the break, Austin was talking about the humanitarian side of his business, the foundation, the beginnings of his missionary work that he did, that also he has now extended within his business. And so we want to talk about a little bit more about how you separate a reliable company from an unforgettable one and also bring the conversation back to leadership, to purpose, and what it takes to build a business that creates impact beyond just the transaction. So, Austin, what your, you know, your work includes both business growth and humanitarian services, which you shared earlier in our previous segment. How is giving back shape the way you lead?
[00:38:49] Speaker B: Honestly, it's been a huge part of just who I am for as long as I can remember. I think growing up so much in and out of a hospital and in and out of just general clinics and things, of trying to work through health issues.
I was given a huge amount of care from, from amazing people.
And I would read books about other missionaries and other people that had achieved amazing things and, and, and their reach and their effects and. And I was just like, I really want to do these things. I couldn't. I was very weak. I, you know, I was kind of sickly. I would still hang out with my friends and still do things when I wasn't sick, but then I would get sick. You know, there was just a lot that, that I was frustrated by. And I hated the word no.
I hated being told, you can't do that.
You know, you're not allowed to do that, all those things. And so when I finally had one of my last surgeries, you know, when I was 19, 18, somewhere in there, I. I just went. I just went, went ham. I let fly. I just did everything that ever. I was always told I wasn't allowed to do.
I trained. I ran a half marathon. Never ran a fool, but I started doing CrossFit. I started traveling everywhere, doing all the things and, and it's just one of those things. And I was just like, I want to make an impact. I was given such awesome care, and I am still alive for some reason, through all the crazy things that my health and my body has put me through. And I want to give back in a way that I was given to. And, you know, obviously my faith is a big part of that too, but I want to do in a very practical way. There's plenty of verses about that where it's like, you know, just saying God bless you, you know, is useless, but giving them something to eat is important. And so I remember doing so many things where I was trying so Much so hard to find a practical way where it actually was changing someone's life and helping.
And I'm such a hands on, practical person anyway, but I was adamant to make sure that's a part of how I built this business. I spoke to several other well done, well off people, former missionaries, very successful business owners and finding ways to do that.
But that's a big part of who I am.
[00:40:55] Speaker A: Well, I love, I love the fact that you take action on your thoughts and move toward doing something and how, you know, the, the, the care that you got in essence makes you care for others. So that's just admire you very much for that and, and would love to explore a little bit more of that. Let's, let's, let's look at values particularly and do you have some non negotiable, what I call values that are inside visual installations that have kind of what, led or how would I say it, you know, just incredibly important to the growth of your business?
[00:41:44] Speaker B: I would say extreme ownership and, and, and taking accountability, you know, kind of, they kind of go hand in hand. But I really don't like the victim mentality at all. And so I don't like it when people are making excuses on why something isn't done. I want, we take responsibility. We screw up, which we do, trust me, that's our fault. We take that responsibility.
If somebody in my team screws up, that is my fault. If something doesn't happen the way we said it was going to happen, it's my fault. Jocko Willink is really big on that. I highly recommend his book called Extreme Ownership.
That, that is a, that is a major thing inside the company that I, I really try to push. This is our, we, we accepted a project, we take responsibility for it. So find a way or make a way. You know, another one of my constant sayings, get it done, make the client look good. But this is our job until we send the deliverables that is ours. Make it right now. That doesn't mean we just let ourselves get walked over. I know people try to pull things on us all the time and it's a little frustrating. We, but we, we accept the job, do the job. You know,
[00:42:53] Speaker A: Tell me what advice you would give to a business owner who wants to build something that's not only profitable but meaningful. What advice would you share with them?
[00:43:05] Speaker B: I think the meaningful part is going to come with your why. I think if you, you know why you're starting a business and that that will change what started versus where you're at. You Know that that's going to, that's going to vary like I've mentioned, you know, earlier in the segments.
But you need, if your meaningfulness is going to come from your why. Because let me tell you, it's going to be hard. Running a business is so hard no one wants to talk about it. And the people that do talk about it, they over exaggerate it the wrong way and just do it for, for the, for their, their real. But let me tell you, it is hard, it is lonely and it's all on you. If you're the founder, it's all on you. So let me tell you, it gets extremely hard. So your, your why better be pret powerful as far as profitable.
If your why is strong enough, you will find a way to build the. Build a company in a way that profits enough to give meaning. So, so I'm saying that a little bit backwards but what I mean is. Okay, from, for me, let's just say I wanted to support 100 Compassion Kids. How much does that cost? Break that cost down. Okay, we need to do this many jobs to profit this much that this percentage can pay for this many kids. And this percentage goes to sharing profits with the team and this percentage goes to putting it away, whatever it is. But like if the meaningful part is 100 compassion kids, then you need to figure out how to build your company in a way that, that, that, that is possible. And you need to do that because you're giving people actual food, actual shelter, you know, school, those sort of things like that, that, that part of the meaningful part is a big deal.
So your mission is going to be whatever that, whatever's important to you. But it better be strong. Let me tell you, it's extremely hard. You know, I've been looking back just over the last 10 years, you know, when I realized that we'd hit our 10 year mark and you know the statistics on businesses that fail in the first year, in the first three years, the first five years, it's crazy. So the fact that we've made it 10 really speaks to something and I would argue that the mission or the why behind me is a big part of that. I know it's changed a little bit, but honestly that's, it's been consistent as well. I mean it's adapted. But the consistency of where I came from and things I've seen is a major part of that.
[00:45:23] Speaker A: I love, I love your purpose, I love your intention with the business. Tell me in your mind.
You know, this show is called Be Unbelievable. What does Unbelievable mean to you at this stage in your leadership journey?
[00:45:41] Speaker B: Well, first of all, I shouldn't even be here. I'm lucky to be here. So it's unbelievable that I'm even here.
I, I think that it's unbelievable that against all the odds, you know, a company that makes it 10 years needs to be celebrated.
And as far as the leadership part, that is an ever evolving, ever changing thing. You know, I pay very close attention to people like Jocko Willink and John Maxwell that are, that are leaders in leadership. Craig Groeschel and you know, I think that being grateful for the things that we do have and the things that we where we are and all the different.
How many things that should have gone wrong that didn't to led up to here like that we are still in business, that I am still alive or the things that I got to witness overseas.
I was, I'm very fortunate. And you know, it's unbelievable that, that I got to see and do all of that and still be able to give back and, and grow into this. So I mean it's so many, so many times I should have died and that could be from health reasons or some stupid decision I made in, in the middle of nowhere Ecuador.
But, but it's like we are all here. We all have the capacity to do some amazing things in life. And I think if you dig into the things that drive you and the things that you want to do to make the world better or, or you know, to make your family be able to live a life differently than you got to that you let live. You know, I've been homeless. I've lived in a tent. I've done all the things and I'm, I'm building a legacy so that they don't have to do that. They can, they can stand on my shoulders and build something even greater. You know, having those purposes to drive you that we get the opportunity to is a really big deal. And so those sort of things are very unbelievable to me.
[00:47:36] Speaker A: Quickly, Austin, how can people connect with you?
[00:47:41] Speaker B: Our website at www.visualinstallers.
you can find us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook.
You can fill out the contact form on there.
Always happy to talk with anybody.
Whether you have work or just want to talk to us about something or have some questions. I'm here to answer whatever I can. So,
[00:48:04] Speaker A: Austin park, thank you for being unbelievable. You are unbelievable. That was an unbelievable answer to my question.
Your story is just a really strong reminder that growth not only is about landing those bigger clients or expanding into more markets. It's about building the structure, the discipline, the relationships and values that allow a company to deliver on its promises consistently. For business owners watching this, the lesson is clear. If you want to scale, you got to move beyond hustle. You got to build systems, and you got to clarify your standards, train them, protect the customer experience, and make sure the company is growing, reflects the values that you stand for. I'm Doug Wick. This has been be unbelievable. Thank you for watching.
