We recently connected with Bill Ellison and have shared our conversation below.
Bill, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.
Coming from homeless at 8-9 years old and living on welfare my entire childhood on welfare, today we build affordable housing that serves those exact people who deserve home ownership
Bill, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is William Ross Ellison (Bill). Born in poverty in 1971, at age 8/9 we were homeless, living in an abandoned motel getting power from a neighbor to run a refrigerator and a couple of lights. I knew at an early age that I wanted more in life and set out on that journey when I left home at 16 years old due to abuse at the hand of my mothers husband.
Today I own a successful homebuilding company, ASGi Homes. We provide entry level housing for working families that deserve home ownership. Imagine a person not making much money and being stuck on a hamster wheel paying $1,500 per month for an apartment or renting a home. We provide homes that start around $800 per month with everything included except utilities, saving that person $700 per month and THAT CAN BE LIFE CHANGING!
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
One of the lessons I had to unlearn at the onset of ASGi Homes was that building affordable housing doesn’t mean cheap! Of course everyone wants the granite counter tops, garden tub, ceiling fans in every room, etc. But to be TRULY affordable, you don’t get all of the fluff… In my nearly 30 years in the homebuilding industry, that was all I knew, all the upgrades were expected, for that price point of a home that is…
Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?
There is always risk in owning a business. There was a particular community that ASGi Homes began building in that was undesirable to some. There were tents, RV’s, trailers, older homes and people living in shed buildings in this community and i took a chance on changing it. Over about a four year timeframe, we built about 75 homes in the community, my success brought 8 more mom & pop type builders to the community and now where we were building smaller homes at affordable prices, other builders are building much more expensive homes that have many upgrades. I’ve since done that in several more communities once the business model was proven.
Contact Info:
- Website: ASGiHomes.com
- Instagram: ASGi_Homes
- Facebook: ASGi Homes
- Linkedin: Bill Ellison