Small Business Today Magazine FEB 2015 TAYLOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGMENT | Page 11

the Goldman Sachs Program as well which validated that they were
heading in the right direction.
Presently,Taylor Construction Management has a total of nine people on their team including seven project managers, Kelley, and Troi.
Kelley runs the company and as Troi explains, “I am out there nurturing healthy relationships and positioning the company for future
business opportunities!” It’s important to the Taylors that their employees have two things: A healthy work/life balance and the desire
to grow. Even if the Taylors observe an employee doing something
wrong, they are very careful in how the employee is approached.
The employee is always spoken to as a professional who understands as much as the Taylors do about their business and there is a
lot more collaboration than directed conversation. One of the most
important factors is that the employees are treated with respect and
when any member needs help with a project, the entire team/family
comes together to solve the problem.
Taylor Construction Management is on course to double in size. A
lot has to do with the way they do business. They try to treat people
well, always with honesty and fairness; they don’t try to price gauge;
and they never try to get rich off one client. They are very appreciative of the great support they have received from the Houston
Minority Supplier Development Council and the Office of Business
Opportunity. Last but not least, they believe that they are blessed
because so many major corporations, international and domestic,
are seeking their services including Houston Independent School
District, Houston Community College (HISD), and Texas A&M University System.
Soon after Taylor Construction Management began, Texas A&M
University System reached out to them in August of 2011. They
were on their way to the airport to fly to Canada when Troi received
an email from Texas A&M saying they wanted them to respond to a
project management solicitation to do project management for The
System. Troi told Kelley,“There are so many companies and we don’t
have a big portfolio. They wouldn’t take us serious anyway.” Troi sent
back an email saying,“I appreciate you thinking about us but we are a
small company and I know you are going to hire the big boys.” They
replied and said, “We are not just looking for the big boys.” Troi was
thinking, “Thanks, but no thanks,” because solicitation responses are
time-consuming and expensive.
About six months later, Texas A&M University System called Troi
and asked, “Are you still too busy?” Troi responded that he would
respond to the solicitation even though he believed that they would
never take a small company when he was competing against such
heavyweight, mature, portfolio companies. Two weeks later,Troi took
his son Joshua with him to College Station and spent two days there.
Wanting Joshua to experience what Troi does in business, Troi likes
to include his little protégé. Troi and Joshua went around the campus
speaking to different people within the A&M System to understand

how they do business and what they expected from an ideal project management firm. About two weeks after that, Troi received a
voicemail that said, “Aren’t you the guy that was just here with the
little kid, your son? We have a project and would you be interested?”
Sure enough, they had beat out those big companies and ended up
getting two projects! From that time on, Taylor Construction Management has been working at Texas A&M University System on a
daily basis and have a great relationship.
What separates Taylor Construction Management from similar
companies is the level of customer service they provide. Their goal
is to always be accessible, responsive, flexible, and knowledgeable so
that their customers expect an elevated level of value when working
with their team. Even when they pursue new clients, they don’t forget about their current clients. They try to stay pliable, malleable, and
take great effort in understanding their clients’ needs.
Troi teaches his team that it is important to look at the big picture.
“To build the environment for sustainable success on our projects,
it is always important to get involved with the communities we are
working in. For the HISD projects, we even have tents for tailgating events at the school athletic events. It’s all about building trust
and having a rapport,” stated Troi. TCM is currently working on two
schools in Bellaire, Bellaire High School and Condit Elementary and
Troi has the same project manager working on both.
One of the proudest moments Troi has experienced happened
about two months ago when they did the groundbreaking at Condit.
Even though it was extremely cold outside, Troi observed his project manager standing next to the Mayor of Bellaire and the Condit
Elementary School Principal in a true team building moment. They
were all holding their shovels and having an intimate conversation
as though they had been friends for 3