We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jeff Harris a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jeff thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
I called on one of the largest homes being built in the state of Florida to pitch our smart home services. Many other competitors had called on it too and even some of the reps had mentioned that other people already had the job. But I wasn’t ready to give up based on some rumors. I asked if anyone had a signed contract and a check in hand, and they didn’t. It wasn’t over.
So I kept pushing forward and we closed the deal. We didn’t let the fact that we weren’t the biggest company out there hold us back from going for what we really wanted.
Jeff, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I founded Hive in 2009. At the time, I had a decision to make: either pay my mortgage or start Hive. Thankfully I chose Hive. It started with just one employee, a second-hand van, and an idea to change the way people thought about home AV. Now Hive is thriving. We’re one of the premier providers of home automation technology in Tampa Bay, installing home theaters, AV, lighting control, home security, and window treatments and integrating it to work together seamlessly.
We’re proud of our stellar ratings among previous clients and are approaching 1000 reviews – which is almost unheard of in the smart home space. We’re also proud of our team and the culture of positivity that helps us deliver above and beyond what’s expected.
Any advice for managing a team?
One of my favorite things that we do collectively as a team is acknowledging each other at every Friday staff meeting. There are a lot of things that go on in the day-to-day business that go unnoticed to management leadership, or even our co-workers. And I find it to be really inspiring to hear how our team works together to solve daily problems of work and acknowledge everyone else’s hard work. It’s such a simple thing that goes a long way in making people feel valued and motivate them to continue working together.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
The economic crash for 2008 to 2010 was a test. I owned a large DirectTV chain of stores with my cousin and we got financially decimated, like a lot of other businesses.. I bought out my other business partners and created Hive with a $5000 check written to the previous company. It had humble beginnings and we were starting when the economy was in a bad place, but we kept going forward.
Now to see where we are today with 30+ employees and over $6 million in revenue is a real testament to not giving up when times get tough.
Contact Info:
- Website: hivestyle.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_hivestyle/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HiveStyle/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hivestyle
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffsmarthome