Ed Stachowiak, Part 2: Open and Honest Communication is Critical
Ed Stachowiak, Chief Operating Officer at Axxiom Elevator. Ed started his career as a sales rep with Otis Elevator in Syracuse, New York where he learned and grew rapidly. In 2023, Ed became one of the founders of Axxiom Elevator with a vision to become the “Elevator Service Provider of Choice.” Ed believes personal and business growth is not easy. It takes a lot of courage to have honest and open conversations, but is essential to see your blind spots and grow effectively.
This is part 2 of the interview with Ed. In part one, we discussed his early career. Today we are discussing the challenges and learnings of starting a new business.
Show Notes:
0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:02 Starting a new elevator service provider with Ed Stachowiak of Axxiom Elevator
0:02:18 The motivation behind starting Axiom Elevator
0:03:36 Understanding the underserved segment seeking better customer service
0:05:04 How customer expectations have changed with the rise of on-demand culture
0:07:22 Ed’s motivations for starting Axiom Elevator and the opportunity he saw
0:08:56 Building a strategic plan and culture around core commitments
0:10:54 Partnering with the right people who share the company’s vision
0:12:29 Benefits partnerships provide for small business owners
0:14:14 Supporting partners’ growth through expertise and resources
0:15:04 Flexibility in partnership structures based on partners’ needs
0:18:03 Building partnerships through open communication and alignment
0:20:55 Addressing fears around partnerships through transparency
0:22:54 Partnership as a mutually beneficial relationship
0:25:35 Creative strategies for scaling businesses in unique markets
0:28:06 Parting words of wisdom on growth, communication, and blind spots
TRANSCRIPT:
Ed Stachowiak 0:00
Yeah, I think you have to have those conversations well, before you would ever even consider saying, Hey, we, we’d like to, perhaps partner and, you know, like, go, that’s that vulnerable thing where you have to have honest and open and transparent conversations. And I love to joke about a little bit in that period to say, you know, when we get on the other side of this, we want to make sure we still like each other and that we’re, we want to have fun and do these things together. Because, you know, the worst thing can happen is everybody ends on the other side of it, and everybody’s super salty about one thing or another. And, you know, the only way you combat that is having that super transparent communication. And you have those tough conversations at a time about, you know, what is it specifically that you genuinely enjoy doing? And what do you want to make sure you continue to do as we go forward, and you know, what’s really bogging you down and challenging you from a time and retention perspective? And if we could do these three things, you know, geez, would you be able to be this far ahead? And more often than not, people say, Wow, that would be amazing. And, you know, we put a plan in place. Well, before we’d ever get to that point.
Matthew Allred 1:02
Hello, and welcome to the elevator careers podcast sponsored by the Allred group. I am your host, Matt Allred. In this podcast, we talked to the people whose lives and careers are dedicated to the vertical transportation industry to inform and share lessons learned, building upon the foundation of those who have gone before to inspire the next generation of elevator careers. Today, our guest is Ed Stachowiak, Chief Operating Officer at Axxiom elevator. Ed started his career as a sales rep with Otis Elevator in Syracuse, New York, where he learned and grew rapidly. In 2023, Ed became one of the founders of Axxiom elevator with a vision to become an elevator service provider of choice. Ed believes personal and business growth is not easy. It takes a lot of courage to have honest and open conversations, but is essential to see your blind spots and grow effectively. This is part two of the interview with Ed, in part one, we discussed his early career. Today, we will be discussing the challenges and learnings of starting a new business. So let’s let’s spend a few minutes. Yeah, talking about, you know, starting a new business. And I’m curious, what what was it that motivated you or the spark that said, hey, I want to create something new?
Ed Stachowiak 2:18
Yeah.Yeah. So, you know, I think it really comes down to a couple of things, one, having seen and been a part of a lot of private equity backed or founder led businesses, and seeing how exciting it is to be a part of those. I guess that would probably the first thing. And the second is, you know, there’s a portion of the industry that I believe, really values, customer service, communication, quality work, call it the commitment to excellence, and really being, you know, really out there seeking, I guess I would say they call it the elevator service provider of choice, in what otherwise in most markets is seen as the sea of sameness. And you know, when you do market research and market study, you see that use case come up, and those kind of comments come up, kind of over and over again. And so, you know, I think seeing that portion of call it an underserved market was really eye opening, but I thought was exciting, and certainly an opportunity for us to really leverage call it the core principles that we’ve just been talking about people and customers and perhaps at or perhaps, you know, adding a little bit of systems and technology and process and doubling down on things like safety and the core culture.
Matthew Allred 3:36
Yeah. Tell me a little bit more about this underserved segment,what are the kind of creates that drives that and what what does that opportunity? As you see it, is there a big market as it were?
Ed Stachowiak 3:50
Yeah, I mean, I don’t think it’s ever not been there. I think it’s always been there. And I think it’s really just, you know, the evolution of a lifecycle of an elevator coupled with, you know, what people are seeing or perceiving in their personal lives is the benchmark for customer service or customer satisfaction. You know, and in my career, we saw things like, you know, the Ritz Carlton and Amazon one day delivery and you know, the the pace or the acceleration of change and the subsequent expectations that came along with that were so massive that you know, what people are seeing call it their, their day to day lives, or in a b to c type capacity is now the expectation in many b to b environments. And so you know, I think that challenge kind of pulls through and and as a result of that, in our industry, what would be reasonable customer commonplace everything from response times to you know, how fast you return an email or a phone call has all changed in a relatively short amount of time. And so I don’t know if it’s necessarily what’s driving it in the industry. I think it’s more macro economic forces and just expectations call it from from a nationwide or just from a cultural standpoint across the country. And as a result of it, oh, go ahead. Sorry.
Matthew Allred 5:04
No, I’m just gonna try to clarify so so I think what I’m hearing you say is, let’s, let’s say 10 20 years ago, you know, before, before we had overnight delivery from, you know, Amazon to groceries to, to instant messaging, I mean, there was a, an allowable time of reality, hey, give me some time, and then I’ll show up. And now it’s like, we’re just expecting everything, like right now. Yeah, is that kind of what you’re speaking to?
Ed Stachowiak 5:30
Yeah ,it’s just, it’s the on demand culture that we, that we thrive in today. And so, you know, I think a portion of that or, that’s one of the drivers of why you’re seeing, you know, customers that are seeking alternative potential solutions to, to everything from elevator service, but I think they’re looking for that across their entire building portfolio, not just for elevators, but for really all of the necessary trades or suppliers that they’re partnering with, I think you’ve also seen a surge, that it really started in the early 2000s, where supply chain became a critical component to companies, you saw everything from food manufacturing, everything was focused on cost reduction, in time kind of thinking right at the time, and at the expense of kind of all of the things it was a focus on profits. And and then, you know, that was happening well, before, I think it ever happened, maybe impacted the elevator industry, but you’ve seen kind of that, that counterculture to it, where, you know, if you continue with kind of the food thing, you know, brands like Whole Foods popping up, where people say, no, we want to focus on quality, we want to focus on, you know, the customer experience, we want to focus on positive outcomes for our customers and our employees. And I think, you know, a lot of those ideals are what is represented in the independent elevator community. Right. So, you know, focusing on those things, and, and, and making them really your core competencies are really, I think, what you’re seeing to find that segment of the business perhaps?
Matthew Allred 7:08
Yeah, yeah. So is that you had mentioned? And I guess, part of my question about, you know, what was it that motivated you? Was it just kind of seeing those pieces that that made you say, hey, I want to want to dive into that and see what kind of impact I can make?
Ed Stachowiak 7:22
Yeah, I mean, you know, I think the, you know, the ultimate goal is always do we believe that we can genuinely delight our customers, and what’s it going to take to be able to do that. And I think when really building out a business case, and a thesis, really looking at what would make sense, and how you would actually go and put a strategic plan in place, and then the subsequent tactical actions in order to execute upon said strategic plan, it became very apparent that, you know, this wasn’t going to be difficult to do. The harder part is finding key partners and folks that share that same vision and really, truly want to double down on, you know, strong communication, two way communication with customers, having a commitment to quality and genuinely celebrating the successes of their people. And, you know, taking things like safety and putting it at the forefront. And I think, you know, generating a business plan is easy, but really creating that culture and making those pillars your day to day is a whole nother thing. And so, you know, really out of the gate saying no, these are our core commitments, these are the things that we’re gonna hold true. Above all else, even above profit, for sure. You know, is really important. And I think having the opportunity to do that was super refreshing. And was really one of the leading reasons why I wanted to jump in with with the with Axxiom and really start this company.
Matthew Allred 8:56
Yeah. And I hear you kind of harking back to your initial days in the industry, and really saying, wow, there’s a, there’s a family in this office and this town, and they care about me, and I care about them, and we’re gonna succeed together. And so that I think there’s certainly a lot of, you know, I talk to people all the time that I’m just looking for the right culture, I’m looking for the right, and the right place to be Have you have you found people resonating with that message as you’ve obviously you’re, you’re in business, so I mean, yeah,
Ed Stachowiak 9:27
we’re definitely business. You know, I think for a while, I think there were companies that were looking for a certain persona for hiring, which, you know, you’re certainly well aware of that was all about business results. And I would say when we’re interviewing folks, certainly their ability to deliver on their commitments and do the same things they say they’re going to do is important, but I think the things that are just important to us is, you know, how are they going to be able to lead and influence a team or how are they going to engage with customers? And you know, what are their? What are their key attributes that are really going to enhance our brand becomes super important. And so as we’ve been partnering with businesses, we’ve been very fortunate to have a tremendous number of people joining the organization through those partnerships that value the same things that we do. And in most instances, they’ve wanted to do what they’re doing and take it even further. They just haven’t had whatever it may be one or two things that were required in order to do that, maybe it was capital, maybe it was a little bit free time. You know, who knows what it is, but, you know, now they’re able to and, and they’re able to run and do the things that they know, genuinely are gonna enhance customer outcomes, and then drive customer retention, all things that we care about on the back end.
Matthew Allred 10:54
So tell me about about that. Because I know you’ve been able to acquire multiple companies in multiple locations, what, what are some of the benefits somebody would receive? And you spoke to a little bit right, if I’m, if I’m a single owner, I’ve only got so many resources only so much time, so much energy, and the idea of growing beyond where I’m at, may just seem overwhelming. So what is it that you bring to the party?
Ed Stachowiak 11:22
Well, I guess, you know, a quick shout out to all of the small and medium business owners out there. I mean, it’s, it’s a gauntlet each and every day, you’re responsible for it all. And, you know, oftentimes, even though it’s a small industry, we’re forced to make decisions in a vacuum, because we don’t have access to, you know, a tremendous wealth of knowledge on how to handle color, the things that are outside of our core competencies, which is elevators. And so, you know, I think there’s a tremendous amount of opportunity, I would say the answer to your question is, it really depends on what things the business feels like they really need, but one of the most resounding call it reoccurring things that I hear from people as if I just had more time. And there’s a tremendous amount of things that are call it vying for folks time and attention. But a lot of the back office stuff seems to be, you know, in most instances, the thing that chews up the most time whether it’s call it the HR related things, insurance, payroll. What else? Taxes accounting, finance?
Yeah, you know, that’s
just a bubble. I mean, yeah, we need to get tremendous amount of time. And, and, you know, when you start a company, you’re always excited about call it the frontline business, and excelling perhaps in the field, you do forget that you have to, you have to manage your books, and find insurance and do kind of all the behind the scenes blocking, tackling, but you know, that stuff just comes right off of folks plate on day one. And if they so choose, and we are able to really help them navigate that. So, you know, that frees them up. And then I think really, it comes down to everything from technology tools instance, where they need systems where they want systems, which really enables them to have a better understanding of the business, which everyone says, I don’t need that stuff. And then they see kind of how it works. And like, wow, I wish I would have had that forever ago. But you know, I think those are things and really kind of going back to that supply chain component and, and commercial growth, it’s, you know, supplier management has been mission critical, especially through this post COVID or COVID period, and making sure you’re managing your your projects properly and managing your supply relations properly. You know, I think for a long time, not just in our industry, but just in industry in general, there was this procurement person LinkedIn profile that, you know, blatantly say I’ll save you 20 to 25%, no matter what, and that was their claim to fame, at all costs, but, you know, I think there’s a better way to do it than just brute force. And it’s really by driving connectivity with your suppliers and building relationships and having strategic backup plans across different components, or sub assembly type type processes. But, you know, that’s not something you can do if you’re running a small business without, you know, a whole lot help.
Matthew Allred 14:14
Right, it’s just don’t have so whether it’s new systems, I mean, one of the things as a, as a small business owner myself, it’s like, Hey, you can do you know, this and this and add AI, you know, interfaces, and I’m like, okay, just the time to research it. You don’t even have time to think about it. A lot of times, and so, yeah, I can hear that echoing across, you know, a business owner that wow, if you can just take that off my mind and off my plate and do that and just allow me to, to run my business the way I enjoy running it, then. Yeah, that’s compelling and is how would you how would you describe kind of the the partnership opportunity is it is it excuse me, is it essentially that you you’re a business owner, you’re you’re running your business and we’re kind of taking the back end or what? Describe?
Ed Stachowiak 15:04
I mean, I think the answer is we have a significant amount of flexibility. I think, if you, you start with the end in mind with Look, our mission is to be the Elevator Company of choice in every market that we serve. And when there’s people we see that are super close to being that company, but they just need a little bit of a catalyst or a little bit of an infusion of whatever it is that subject matter expertise on whatever it is, artificial general intelligence, or systems or tooling, or perhaps a little bit of capital to kickstart a portion of their business. You know, those things come into play, I think there’s also because of just the nature of the aging population in the markets that we’re operating in today, there’s a considerable amount of growth and an influx of people from the north to the southern swath of United States. And so business has been significant, call it post COVID, just based on population flows and population trends. And even if you had a sleepy business, regardless of industry, you’ve seen probably a significant surge, that influx of business, whether you were hunting for it or not, you know, comes with a whole lot of other challenges. And so while your business may have been good, and you’re able to manage called the volume in the day to day with an adhoc process, or without call it some of that rigor, you know, today for businesses 234 X, whether that be on any business line, it becomes incredibly difficult to manage. And a lot of people don’t feel comfortable, and they struggle, and they really need help. And so, you know, I think there’s a tremendous amount opportunities, and I think you also see people that say, you know, geez, I, I see other organizations around me having wild success, and I don’t know how they’re doing it, I’m either getting later in my career, and I want to make sure that I set up my team for success upon, you know, my exit into retirement and whatever timeframe and or you see people earlier middle of their career where they say, jeez, you know, I’d really like to get that infusion of expertise and knowledge and skill and ability. But regardless of the reason I think it all, it’s truly a partnership and go back to what I said earlier, you got to get a little vulnerable through that process. And I think you have to on both sides of that discussion. And, you know, I always like to share exactly what we’ve talked about why we do this. And, you know, I think the folks that, you know, genuinely have have bought into that are the ones that we’ve partnered with. And it’s not just about making a quick buck, it’s about delivering on our commitments, and taking care of our people and making sure that he gets home safe. And even if that means we got to spend more money in order to do that. And so, you know, I think it’s, it’s exciting to see, and it’s refreshing, I think, certainly, for a lot of people probably to hear that, you know, that does exist. And when you’re operating that small business environment, you probably don’t hear that message very often. Outside of maybe the four walls of ,
Matthew Allred 18:03
right? When I hear you talking about, you know, partnership, that’s it’s different in my mind from, you know, I just hear people Well, I think they’re gonna sell and I’m gonna have to jump ship, right. There’s there’s a sphere, I think, in a lot of people’s minds of what does this mean? Is this going to destroy our little family that we’ve created? And am I going to be able to trust my boss? And so how, how has I dunno? What’s kind of the because again, it gets back to the partnership, right? If the owner stays on, but he now has time to mentor? Talk to me a little bit through how you address? Yeah, that fear?
Ed Stachowiak 18:40
Yeah, I think you have to have those conversations well, before you would ever even consider saying, Hey, we we’d like to perhaps partner and you know that that’s that vulnerable thing, where you have to have honest and open and transparent conversations. And I love to joke about a little bit in that period, per se. You know, when we get on the other side of this, we want to make sure we still like each other and that we’re we want to have fun and do these things together. Because, you know, the worst thing can happen is everybody ends on the other side of it. And everybody’s super salty about one thing or another. And, you know, the only way you combat that is having that super transparent communication. And you have those tough conversations at a time about, you know, what is it specifically that you genuinely enjoy doing? And what do you want to make sure you continue to do as we go forward, and you know, what’s really bogging you down and challenging you from a time and retention perspective? And if we could do these three things, you know, geez, would you be able to be this far ahead? And more often than not, people say, Wow, that would be amazing. And, you know, we put a plan in place, well, before we’d ever get to that point. And that’s really, you know, been exciting. And you say what’s one of the most call it exciting things on a day to day for me, I think it’s watching people’s careers. You really take off and see them learn and grow and maximize their potential is probably the first thing But the second is really helping folks call it all along the journey because like I said, I think, you know, the business is the business and it’ll be successful, if you do call it we’re, we’re talking about here, the fundamental building blocks of how you run a successful business. And that doesn’t mean you won’t have challenges. But if you do those more often than not, things turn out pretty darn good. But I think it really comes down to the people, especially in our industry. And so you know, those relationships and the fact that the folks that are working in the field or perhaps in the office have been reporting to them for quite some time, and then you have, you know, myself or someone else come in, that’s an unknown quantity, perhaps, you know, that can be a little scary. I like to joke and say, I’m 175 pounds soaking wet. I don’t know how much damage I really can do here, guys, but you know, I’ll try my best. And, you know, we always have a good laugh about that. But at the end of the day, it’s it’s truly a partnership, and you have to talk through those things.
Matthew Allred 20:55
Yeah I think, I think it’s super valuable to have that like you say, get vulnerable have that very open conversation. You know, here’s what we’re about, you know, it lines up great. If it doesn’t great, um, you told me some time ago that the a lot, lot of these partnerships, they’ll, you know, reinvest back in the company, stay with the company. And then that way, and I think that’s what you’re speaking to a minute ago about, you know, watch their career, Blossom grow, they’re now part of something bigger, with some skin in the game. And let’s let’s,
Ed Stachowiak 21:25
yeah, yeah, I mean, look, it’s I think, alignment on outcomes, and the common goal really helps accelerate the partnership. And we’re very fortunate to partner with Gage Capital, fantastic firm out of Dallas, unbelievable group of people have provided a tremendous amount of insight, and really support the business, their business operators in and of themselves. And that’s part of their core DNA, which is perhaps a little bit different than, you know, many organizations that operate in their in their space. But, you know, they ask the questions about, you know, how is that going to impact the business in the long term, and is that the right thing for the customer, and let’s make sure we’re taking care of our people, if we’re going to make these decisions in one way or another. And when you have that type of relationship and support, you know, the world becomes your oyster. And, you know, that really translates all the way through that process of, you know, potential partnership. And so, you know, the compensation component or the reinvestment component is, is by no means a requirement. But more often than not, when we sit down, and we have, you know, a conversation a little bit different than this one, but you know, some of the same merits are discussed, you find people certainly leaning in, and really wanting to get on board, because they see, know, the opportunity with the business, and they know what their people are capable of, with perhaps a little bit of an enhanced, you know, tools or techniques.
Matthew Allred 22:54
Yeah. So, you know, we’ve talked about time, but how, how would you say you help companies scale grow? And what are what are some of the, you know, some of the, I guess, the additional maybe tools, you, you provide that, that if you don’t have as a small business owner, you you might be left behind?
Ed Stachowiak 23:13
Yeah, I guess without giving away the farm on call it the theory Method and Madness, and how to wildly scale a company. You know, I think every company has a little bit of a different DNA. And I think it really comes from who that founder was, did they did they come from the field, and they have a much stronger or robust technical skill set where, you know, perhaps the the finance components or the commercial growth strategy components is, was kind of a secondary or learned trait kind of later on through that process. And so it really comes down to what’s the DNA and the core competencies of the business. And what you see is there’s some incredibly savvy companies out there that you know, have either hired for that skill set or had someone else that has joined as a part of their their respective organization, but the technology components right now, are moving at lightspeed. And everything from you know, you’d mentioned AI for a small business owner, it’s daunting and the ability to evaluate, call it outbound, or digital tools, has been, you know, constantly evolving space, I think anybody and call it a decision making capacity has feels like they’ve been inundated or bombarded with people kind of doing cold outreach or knocking on doors. And, you know, those those are very challenging ways to grow a partnership or a business with a customer. And so, you know, you have to get really creative in every markets a little unique and what would work on call it the East Coast maybe wasn’t going to work the same way on the West Coast. And so it has to be very focused. But you really would sit down and and just like you would a long, long time ago, say what, what is it that these customers truly care about? And how how can we partner with them to win just like we partnered with potentially these, these folks, I mean, it’s really a reoccurring theme, that you have a mutually beneficial outcome. There’s certainly a value to the service that, you know, elevator companies provide. And oftentimes, it’s really hard to articulate that. As you know, you’ve seen that attempt for commoditization call it all professional building or professional construction trades. And so you know, it’s a, it’s one part storyteller, and to taking credit for the hard work and the successes that you’re having and leveraging, you know, the people that do truly value, what you’ve been able to do, like I said, a super high level.
Matthew Allred 25:35
Yeah, yeah, thank you. And I understand you can’t give away the secret sauce, per se, but, but I do see, especially as small business owners, you know, there’s, there’s a lot of like, say, competing technologies, there’s new ways to leverage your offering, or make you more, make you more efficient in in what you are offering so that you’re, you’re staying, you know, competitive in the market. So very cool. Very cool. Well, we’re about out of time. So I wanted to just ask you, what, I guess just give me maybe some words of wisdom for the you want to share with stakeholders in the industry, you know, something, maybe that you’re you’re witnessing in your experience?
Ed Stachowiak 26:19
Yeah, you can take that a lot of different directions, I guess. But, you know, I guess a couple of things that really come to mind are one, don’t be scared to invest in yourself, whether that’s from a learning perspective, or like we talked about taking on roles that enhance your ability for perhaps the future, I think, you know, the second piece is, like we talked about, you have to be having those honest, open candid conversations with those around you, in order to really help navigate the day to day and to build trust and credibility with the folks that are either sitting alongside of you, above you, or perhaps if you have the privilege of leading them on a day to day basis. And, you know, I think really the third thing is it isn’t, you know, just about sales or customer experience about operations, it truly comes down to the interrelatedness of all of the disciplines within a core business. And so, you know, when you talk about how do you grow and scale a business, you the first tendency is to talk about how you grow and scale business from a tactical sales execution standpoint. But the reality is, it’s really all the things that are standing behind that process that are mission critical, just as much as you know, the day to day tasks of personal selling capacity. And so, you know, it really comes down to what is the proper way to grow and scale the business in each and every one of the disciplines within the respective business. And I think that is truly the challenge and based on your, your DNA, and you know, where you came up in the ranks, you know, those things, perhaps are in your blind spots. And so I would say that that kind of last piece is you have to figure out ability to be able to see in your blind spots, which is incredibly difficult, which goes back to the people and the people around you and having that vulnerable process to get a better appreciation for where you can improve. So
Matthew Allred 28:06
thank you. Yeah, absolutely. You know, if you got the if you have the team you can trust and they can help you see those those blind spots, then there’s, there’s nothing you you can’t get through as a team. So yeah. Awesome. Ed, thank you so much for being with me today.
Ed Stachowiak 28:19
Yeah. Thanks. That was fun.
Matthew Allred 28:20
Thank you. I appreciate it and wish you the best as you continue to build the business. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you for listening to the elevator careers podcast sponsored by the Allred group, a leader in elevator industry recruiting. You can check us out online at elevatorcareers.net Please subscribe, and until next time, stay safe