Hollis Brothers '13, '16 and '18

In the Hollis household, weekends didn’t count as days off. “According to our dad, sitting around just wasn’t acceptable,” says Justin ’16. “If it was 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday, you had to be doing something productive with your time.”

 

That impetus to always be doing more instilled in the three brothers, Tom ’13, Justin ’16 and John ’18, the drive to start their own businesses. “For as long as I can remember, I knew that I wanted to run my own business,” says John. “I just didn’t know what I wanted to do. But I had seen the freedom it creates firsthand from my dad and my brother.”

 

The building blocks of those entrepreneurial endeavors were also fostered at Gilmour, where, according to Tom, “there were endless opportunities that opened up a realm of possibilities available to us. In my case, I was really inspired by those GA sports hype videos from Convocation, and was motivated to go into video production to help bring clients’ vision to life.”

 

After starting small at Mount Union, Tom started growing a client base that allows him to create inspiring videos. “No project starts perfectly,” he says, “but the bumps along the way help to illuminate what the client really wants.”

 

Tom’s company, Rise Up Media, continues to grow thanks to Tom’s work ethic and mantra: “Connections are key. Everyone is a potential customer. Reach out and form relationships.”

 

According to Justin, it’s also about more than just making money. “My father taught me that a company is not just a money-making enterprise—a company must have good morals and values.”

 

That’s why Justin gets his greatest satisfaction from a positive referral. “It means not just that you’ve done a good job, but that you’ve had a positive impact on your community.”

 

Justin also credits Gilmour for equipping him for success. “The Socratic-style learning shaped my life; I feel like I can speak comfortably with anyone, which comes in handy when I need to talk to 10 strangers a day and convince them that I know what I’m doing.”

 

Justin’s company, College Tree Removal, now has two full crews working regularly. He also has a group of seasonal workers that are hard-working Gilmour grads!

 

But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing, according to John. “I failed a lot,” he says. “A large portion of my education has been learning what I didn’t want to do.” After initially pursuing psychology in college, John quickly transitioned to marketing, getting his first taste of “real” business.  “I knew I had to show what I could do,” he says.

 

John also credits Gilmour with helping him understand the big picture. “I struggled a lot with the little things, like posture, timeliness and attitude. I can’t tell you how many times I was out of dress code. I didn’t realize how much all of those things matter until I had to interact with my own clients—then it all sort of clicked.”

 

John says he took a great amount of inspiration from teachers like Mr. Lindley and Mr. Greenfield. “They instilled in me a sense of responsibility for myself and my actions, but also an aspirational positivity about who I could be.”

 

John’s company, HaHa Dumpsters, a dumpster rental company that provides a host of services, is helping other companies to succeed, and the referrals keep coming.

 

But Tom, John, and Justin aren’t the only Hollises making big moves. Sister Nicole ’14 has spent the past five years growing within a company affiliate of ESPN, while youngest brother Joe ’20, a student at the University of Dayton, has a car detailing business.

 

To hear Tom, John and Justin tell it, a great deal of their competitiveness comes from their participation in athletics at GA. “We all excelled at something,” says Tom. “And many of us had the opportunity to play sports together. That helped us to develop both teamwork and leadership skills.”

 

But the real secret to their success?

 

“Anybody can create something,” says John, “it just takes grit and perseverance.”