S1E1: The 15+-Year Overnight Success | College Hunks

Building a company takes hard work, dedication, and delegation. But this strong foundation isn’t enough if you want to grow: a successful company requires teamwork. You can’t scale a business alone.

Today’s guests have a unique setup within their business that we don’t normally recommend: two Visionaries and one Integrator™. Omar Soliman and Nick Friedman are the co-founders and Visionaries of College HUNKS Hauling Junk & Moving®, and Roman Cowan is the brand president and Integrator.

Traditionally, growing companies need the structure of a singular Visionary/Integrator duo in order to move forward steadily in a cohesive direction. While this situation is unique and has yielded success for College HUNKS, their intense commitment to following EOS in its purity is what has kept their dynamic from waffling.

This dual-visionary/singular-integrator approach is extremely rare and we have seen this fall apart many times over. The success of this approach depends solely on the commitment to being genuinely open and honest, which is extremely difficult to do with two big Visionaries.

But as you’ll hear, in actuality, having two Visionaries usually plays out as one true Visionary and one occupying the owner’s box.

So how have they made this triad work for their business? In this episode, they share how they have implemented the Visionary and Integrator roles to fit their specific business vision and goals.

Key Takeaways:

• Success does not happen overnight.
• Work on the business, not in the business.
• Create processes and systems to streamline your business. 
• Identify your strengths and play on those.
• Be humble and recognize the importance of communication.
• Acknowledge your differences.

Some Questions Asked:

• How did College HUNKS begin?
• When did Omar and Nick decide they needed to build a team?
• What led to Roman becoming the Integrator? 
• When did Roman realize he was the right fit for the role?
• Why does having two Visionaries usually not work?
• How do Omar, Nick, and Roman stay on the same page?
  

Work on the Business (Not in It)

Omar and Nick decided to start up a small business where they helped people in the community move their belongings and/or junk. Their passion and creativity helped launch this business, and their drive fueled its growth.

However, as the company started to grow, they realized the workload was getting too big for them to handle alone. They were going to need someone who could build and manage a team. They learned about the concept of a Visionary and an Integrator and realized it was time to make a change.

“Spend the time and effort to create processes and systems, and work on the business.” – Omar Soliman [4:20]

As Omar and Nick began to reach burnout, they decided to conduct an external search for an Integrator who could execute ideas and keep the team working hard. Shortly after they began their search, they realized Roman, their current financial controller, would be an ideal fit for this position.

Roman was already responsible for putting Nick and Omar’s “crazy visions” into practice and processes into place and helping them prioritize what really needed to be done. These are all a part of the Integrator’s role. The entrepreneurial Visionary cannot take on all of these tasks and create big ideas for the business. The Integrator makes the action happen.

“[Getting an Integrator] created the outlet for us to take the big chances, 10 times the business, look for the big marketing ideas and then really carry the vision and culture of the brand.” – Omar Soliman [22:05]

When Omar and Nick decided to step back, they let their team know exactly what their roles would entail so that there were no questions left unanswered. Everyone was fully aware of what Roman would now be accountable for and what Nick and Omar would be responsible for.

And it was that clear and honest communication in addition to planning sessions and Same Page Meetings™, that helped ensure everyone worked together to achieve the same vision.

If you’re interested in how to find your perfect Integrator and the importance of passion and clear communication, then we encourage you to listen to this episode.

Learn More:

• Omar Soliman: LinkedIn 
• Nick Friedman: LinkedIn
• Roman Cowan: LinkedIn
• College HUNKS Hauling Junk & Moving
• The E-Myth by Michael Gerber