Hitting Their Stride in Exceptional Homebuilding
People-pleasing design, great communication, operational systems that make the process smooth and enjoyable, grade A building practices, and the ability to buy lots in central Ohio’s choicest neighborhoods – 3 Pillar Homes has all the elements in place to provide buyers with a gorgeous home they will love. And with a dozen years of solid experience behind them, they have the knowledge and expertise to deliver for their clients on every level.
“We’ve been doing this since 1998 and we have a good 12 years of experience under our belts right now,” says Zenios Michael Zenios, 3 Pillar Homes president and 2010 president of the Building Industry Association of Central Ohio. “We really have a good sense of our business and our clients. Everything we’ve learned through our homebuilding experience and education and family is sinking in, and we’re hitting it on every cylinder.”
Experience as the president of a successful homebuilding company, valuable BIA contacts and daily involvement with everyone from clients to subcontractors, have given Zenios an insider’s take on the Columbus building community that he utilizes to help his homebuyers.
One of the best examples of how Zenios’s in-depth understanding works in his homeowners’ favor: 3 Pillar Homes is especially adept at finding buyers the lots of their choice. “In most cases, we can buy lots anywhere you want to be,” says Zenios.
At 3 Pillar Homes, one of the first steps in the planning process is to develop a prioritized list of the areas where you most want to build. “Then I aggressively will go out and try to secure those lots,” says Zenios. Clients aren’t limited to land that 3 Pillar Homes develops: 80 percent of the homes the company builds are not in subdivisions or on lots that they own.
Drawing on a deep network of relationships created over the years with local developers and builders, the company finds lots – some of them not even listed – that meet their buyers’ criteria.
The BIA has been a key factor in not only helping Zenios develop his many homebuilding contacts but also in helping him expand his industry knowledge and gain recognition. Before becoming BIA president, he chaired the Education Committee, was active in the Next Generation Builders Committee and was an award-winning Parade builder.
Zenios credits his BIA involvement with giving him and his company a broader perspective. “It’s made me a better builder and it’s a way for me to give back to my industry which I love very much,” says Zenios. “I really think that my BIA involvement has allowed me to look at homebuilding more globally.”
Custom experience
3 Pillar Homes offers their buyers a customized experience and lots of flexibility. Says Zenios: “We try to tailor and design to what our clients are looking for. We build a good relationship with our buyers and then it’s a matter of crafting and shaping the product to fit their requirements.”
The company makes it easy for clients to personalize their home plans. For example, they keep tracing paper and pencils on hand at their model home, so that Zenios and the sales staff can sketch potential changes for clients right on the spot.
“We’re always focused on aesthetics and function,” says Zenios. “Kitchen designs are really important to us, as well as designs for gathering spaces, master bedrooms and master baths, but our focus depends on the client and their needs.”
3 Pillar Homes is active in many subdivisions in the Olentangy and Dublin school districts. The company builds homes in a wide variety of price points, from the $200,000’s to over one million. “We’re getting everyone from the first time home buyer all the way to empty nesters, although the move up or second time buyer fills a good majority of our customer base,” says Zenios.
3 Pillar Homes recently completed a 40,000 square foot mixed use project in downtown Powell that includes first floor retail and upper floor office space. This project won the Old Village Award from the City of Powell in 2008.
Whatever he is involved in, Zenios puts quality first. He embraces a quote from Willa A. Foster: quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives. “We try our best to do that,” he says. “We constantly adjust our business model to give the best value to our clients.”
To meet quality goals, 3 Pillar Homes draws from two generations of building experience. Zenios comes from a family of successful Greek homebuilders, and this background helped him develop the systems and practices that have propelled his organization into one of the fastestgrowing companies in central Ohio. 3 Pillar Homes has frequently been ranked in Business First of Columbus’s “Fast 50” fastest-growing companies and it has been named one of the fastest growing home building companies in the nation by Builder Magazine. Zenios has won numerous awards for excellence including the BIA’s prestigious 2006 Next Generation Builder of the Year. Since 2003, 3 Pillar Homes has been consistently ranked among the top 25 Homebuilders of Central Ohio by Business First.
Smart systems
Zenios’s approach to home building is centered on a consistent process and smart operational systems that assure quality checks and balances while they create positive experiences for buyers. Along with talented staff and positive communications with clients, these smoothrunning systems are one of the company’s most powerful assets.
“It’s not just building a beautiful home that sets 3 Pillar Homes apart, it’s the way that we go about building the homes and the care that we invest in them,” stresses Zenios. “We employ materials and processes in a smart way that makes people say, this is a home I can see myself living in.”
For homebuyers, the 3 Pillar Homes building process begins with a pre-selection meeting where they learn what to expect and have all of their questions answered. Clients review a detailed set of their blueprints with the company’s owner and sales team, and they can make changes to the standard floor plans.
To ensure quality and minimize errors, the sales, construction services and administration departments meet together weekly to scrutinize each construction project and review client needs. Each area then meets separately to make certain that best practices are used.
Throughout the process, 3 Pillar Homes stays focused on client needs. Zenios observes that they get close to their buyers and listen to what they really want. The company minimizes bureaucracy and unnecessary paperwork and they make the process as stress free as possible.
Buyers know what can be expected throughout each step of the building process. They receive weekly e-mail updates that brief them on what has been accomplished on their homes over the past week, what will happen next week and any actions they need to take.
Clients can also call Zenios directly if they have any questions. “That creates a comfort zone,” says Zenios. “You can pick up the phone, call your builder and you can feel good that things are going to be taken care of.”
MBA builder
Born and raised on the Greek island of Cyprus, Zenios, the oldest of six children, was strongly influenced by his homebuilder father. From the time he was nine years old, Zenios sat next to his father at company meetings and learned the skills of running a major building enterprise.
“My first MBA was from my dad,” says Zenios. “He’s a great friend and a great mentor to me.”
In 1995, Zenios came to the US to obtain a civil engineering degree from The Ohio State University. Although he intended to return to Cyprus after graduation, he met his future wife, Matina, and instead chose to stay in Columbus. Today they have two boys, Michael (6), and Christos (4).
While working towards his MBA at Franklin University, Zenios decided to pay his tuition by “building a couple of homes.” Soon he was running a thriving business. Zenios named his company for the three pillars that uphold excellence: honor, quality and design.
Zenios, who has a quick ability to move between cultures, maintains his connection to Cyprus through joint home building ventures with his father. “My ties with Cyprus are very important to me,” he says. “It gives me the opportunity to visit my family often, and it also gives me an opportunity to be close to business on my home island.”
Highly-astute, with a clear vision of his company’s direction and the drive and determination to meet goals, Zenios says part of his success is rooted in his unwillingness to settle. “I’m always looking to do better for our company and for my clients because to me that is the meaning of a win-win relationship.”