Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joshua & Natalie DeJong. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Joshua & Natalie , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

Several years ago, my husband, Joshua, and drove through Wallis, Texas on our our way to somewhere else. We stopped to look at what appeared to be a deserted old building: brick on all sides with a Coca-Cola mural on one. We both knew we wanted to be a part of 6503 Commerce Street some way, somehow to preserve its past and be a part of its future.

We have a passion for adventure, do not shy from hard work, and both have entrepreneurial spirits. Joshua and I have spent years building businesses from the ground up, opening new territories for organizations, and working hard to cultivate a better life for our own families and the communities we belong to.

We spent the next four years tracking down the owner. who did not want to sell, and convincing him that we did not want to purchase the building only to tear it down. In all actuality, we weren’t sure what we wanted to do with the building at first but we knew we could do something amazing with it, something that would bring pride to the community, and something that would make money.

With backgrounds in restoration and event management, we settled on transforming the 4,000 square foot building into an event venue. Within a few days of purchasing the building we opened the doors, for air circulation since there was no a/c, to start clearing out the contents that was left behind by the previous owner, Mr. Cal Ray Schluter, who used the building to sell antiques. Many people stopped by, curious to see the doors open after being shuttered for more than 30 years. One such person was Marsha Brandt Beckermann, a descendent of F.D. Brandt, the original owner and builder of the building. Marsha and her husband were on their way to a family reunion. They were elated that someone had the heart and the vision to put work into restoring a building that held so many memories for their family and the community. It felt so right to be welcomed by a member of the Brandt family and right then we knew we made the right decision by being in this community.

The name of the event venue, Brandt 1910 was born out of respect for the original owner, F.D. Brandt, the Brandt family, and the year the building was constructed.

Wallis has quickly become a part of our own family thread. We’ve been welcomed into the community with open arms, support, and love. When you love someone, or something, you care about its past and its future. What started out as a fun adventure for my husband and I has quickly become a much bigger than either of us could have imagined. The Brandt family is now a part of our family and the City of Wallis now feels like our home town. We want the City to be successful and we want the legacy of the Brandt Family to continue for generations to come.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

For us, turning an old general store into a sophisticated event venue could not have happened without two good mirages: our own and the mirage of our professional backgrounds.

Joshua has always been a hard worker, receiving a degree in business marketing from the University of Houston in only three years. He spent the first six years after graduation working for a home services and restoration company as their bookkeeper. A year after we got married, we opened our first company on our own in the same industry. Today we own and operate multiple businesses focusing on the in home service market in Houston, Corpus, and San Antonio.

While touring Sam Houston State University, I met with professors in the sociology who promised me that getting a degree with them would set me up for success with a job in practically in field where there were groups of people. I graduated four years later, in what the Economic Policy Institute termed “the worst job market in a generation” with few prospects. Eventually, I found myself working with nonprofits that meant a lot to me and had success in fundraising to support their missions.

Joshua and I got married in 2012, two years after I graduated, with a deep love and respect for one another. In a small way we hope to impart that same love and respect upon the couples that get married in our building.

Our love for each other and our professional backgrounds have ensured the success of the venue.

Keeping the history of the building alive while also providing modern conveniences such as indoor plumbing and air conditioning was important to us. Many architectural details of the original building have been restored or repurposed including the wood floors, ceiling, glass windows, and doors.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Joshua: Marketing and advertising is more results based and building relationships takes time and a lot more effort. Getting an education and hands-on experience in sales meant I had a lot of practice in creating strategies for actions I wanted a consumer to make.

Natalie: The same can be said for traditional fundraising and cultivation practices. At the end of the day you need people to make a decision that will be adventurous to the product or mission you are selling. But, when you have great, authentic relationships with people and they know they can trust you, you will be the first person they call when they need you. Relationships aren’t passive and you need to work at them.

We both had to unlearn that the best laid plans don’t always turn into what is best for the company or that having the sharpest techniques don’t always mean you will stay in business. We both consider that great relationships, including the one that we have with each other, is the most important thing for any business to succeed.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

While others inject dollars to return leads, we inject time spent into our community and active engagement with our clientele.

To be successful you need to be in your community. You can’t expect a start up business to make a passive income by using digital advertising practices without the time it takes to actually answer the phone or take the meeting the second an opportunity presents itself. When you don’t answer the phone you need to always be aware that someone else will. Answer your phone, be genuine, and listen.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.brandt1910.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandt_1910/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/Brandt1910
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Brandt_1910
• Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/brandt-1910-wallis
• Other: www.tiktok.com/@brandt1910

Image Credits
Jordan Rivera