Page 1B • The Leader • December 7, 2013 • www.theleadernews.com
A Spark, Some Structure and an Exit Plan By Cynthia Lescalleet For the Leader News After a decade of growing his property management company, HorizonManagement Inc.’s Todd Stoner realized it was time to step back and take a look at where his business was heading. The company provides condominium communities and homeowners associations a variety of property management services, from maintenance to communications via targeted websites that also showcase the developments to prospective residents. Needing what he called “a shot in the arm as well as some structure� for that reflective business review, Stoner turned to the small business management program offered by Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business initiative with partner Houston Community College. He attended a three-month session ending in May 2013. It was a huge time commitment, he said. “Several people stepped up to the plate in my absence,� he explained in an emailed response that also credits his wife-and-business partner, Debra, employees and clients with support. “What I learned the first day kept me coming back,� he said. “It was all about where you’re going, what you’re trying to build, and how you’re going to get out.� Stoner, for example, plans to continue to grow his company with an eye to selling it down the road and remaining a consultant. Like many small business owners who’ve taken the course, Stoner said he came away more focused on growing the business than being bogged down by its day-to-day demands. Previously, he had often found himself where the buck stopped, and opted to just do things himself. It was satisfying to learn many of the challenges his company faces are common to small business owners. One of
Horizon-Management Inc.’s Todd Stoner stands before Jackson Place, one of the residential communities his 10-year-old company serves. (Photo submitted) the valuable takeaways, he said, was realizing “I’m not the only one not able to figure something out.� “The biggest aspect of the program for me was the culminating growth plan I was able to pull together,� he said, admitting he had known that he needed one, but would not have been able to actually sit down and do with without the structure of the class. THE BACK STORY When starting the company back in 2003, Stoner initially targeted large developments. Feedback quickly determined they liked his business’s concept, but needed to see an established track record. That was about the time all the townhome development hit Houston’s West End. Smaller developers found Horizon-Management right-sized for their projects. The company soon served as many as 40 smaller properties of 12 to
140 units. By the time the economy tanked, taking smaller developers with it, HorizonManagement had established its track record. Stoner found other, larger client projects elsewhere in the metro Houston area -- and beyond. Now, he’s also eyeing some expansion into commercial property management. Today, Horizon-Management manages 17 local properties, most of which have been clients for five to seven years, considered a long-term relationship in the industry. Meanwhile, to increase services, the company added a vendor-related subsidiary, TDS Industrial Services, in 2009. Together, the two ventures employ 10 staff. Stoner said he’s a little behind on implementing the business plan he developed during the small business program, but he’s confident that “good results are coming.�
Recipe for local Sushi by Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com In last month’s business issue, we asked Leader readers what types of businesses or restaurants they want to see in their area. Apparently, a lot of people in Oak Forest have a hankering for sushi. So we asked around to see what it would take to bring that delicious Japanese cuisine a little closer. Ryan Snyder is COO of The Azuma Group which has Azuma Sushi and Robata Bar in downtown and Rice Village, Azuma on the Lake in Sugarland, Kata Robata Sushi + Grill in Upper Kirby and Soma Sushi on Washington. He said when they opened Soma six years ago Max’s Wine Dive was new and that Washington didn’t have quite the nightlife that it does now. “It was an up and coming area and we took a chance,� he said. “We had no idea what it would turn into.� As for our neck of the
woods, he wouldn’t rule out a venture here in the future but says he’d probably go with something like their Azuma restaurants because they are more traditional. Because of all the families in our area, Snyder would shy away from a more trendy approach or cutting edge sushi. One person who is prosushi in the hood is Garden Oaks’ Melanie Evans whose husband Randy Evans is the executive chef and co-
owner of the successful Haven and Cold Cove Bar in Upper Kirby. Although they don’t have immediate plans for another restaurant – sushi or otherwise – in the Leader area, she said she thinks we can support a sushi restaurant “but it needs to be a quality product. This neighborhood is full of people in their late 20s to late 40s who eat sushi on a regular basis.�
see Sushi • Page 2B
CrossFit H-Town opens in Heights CrossFit H-Town will have its grand opening at its new Heights location, 2632 N. Durham, from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14. The event is open to the public and will include competitive games and information about the program. CrossFit H-Town founder Theo Tsekouras, a Houston firefighter, opened the original location five years ago in Sawyer Heights at 1919 Silver Street. Along with Dr. Seth Lawrence, CrossFit’s director of training, Tsekouras is ready to open the second location. CrossFit is defined as functional movement at high intensity. “The (workout) is always changing --
there’s endurance training, gymnastics and Olympic weightlifting,� Lawrence said. Whereas a conventional workout may include bench press and curls, a CrossFit workout may include lifting a heavy box, because it’s something that people may actually have to do outside of a workout atmosphere. CrossFit is open to all ages and fitness levels. There was a waiting list at the original CrossFit location, so the Heights location means more participation in the Heights. The cost is $100-$250 per month, depending on how many times per week the customer attends. For more information, call 281-9898740.
The View from Morrison Heights
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