For Josh, the dream was never just about the work, the revenue, or the business. He wanted to create a culture where his employees felt valued, inspired and supported—beyond just picking up a paycheck. He wanted to create a community where his friends, families, and co-workers could set down roots in the Texas land of his childhood, and—more importantly—make sure his employees had the stability and support he didn’t have growing up.
So Josh started buying up land around the home he and Holly had built. The Smallwoods family went from 80 to over 240 acres of beautiful Texas land to call their own. And in 2020, they broke ground on another dream: a 1-million square foot work campus with a beautiful glass building looking out onto the gorgeous landscape. Against everything he'd imagined as a kid, Josh was back in East Texas, creating a space for his employees to take in the beauty of the place he'd always sworn he'd leave.
Josh Smallwood is a firm believer that companies should support their workers both on and off the clock. He wants work to be human, to be fulfilling, and to be inspiring. With his interest in permaculture, he's building a working farm on the Smallwood’s property. The animals help restore the land, and employees get high-quality, farm-fresh food from the land where they will soon work and spend their time. It's a self-sustaining, all-around win for everyone, and is just one part of what makes the Smallwoods family unique in their vision and purpose. It’s an above and beyond approach to company culture, but to Josh, it’s worth it.
For Josh, his businesses are about a commitment to what is truly valuable—not just profitable. It’s about taking time to think comprehensively and long term about things of lasting value and meaning. It’s a commitment to taking rough starts and humble beginnings, difficult trials and unforeseen setbacks, and using them to think better, bolder, and with more humanity.