The summer going into his junior year at Hobart High School, Trey Gibson, along with his brother Bradley Gibson and friend Jacob Oehmen, bought a couple of small pressure washers thinking it’d be a fun way to earn some extra money while out of school. However, what Trey Gibson didn’t know at the time was that one small purchase would soon leave a large impact, as the pressure washer inspired him to become an entrepreneur and the owner of his own business, Under Pressure Exterior Cleaning, LLC.
“We started posting on local Facebook pages around my area just to get a little start in it and make some extra money,” Trey Gibson said. “We had a lot of great feedback from customers and started building. We had quite the reputation around my town and small towns around me. After that first couple years, I saw the success in it, and I wanted to expand and make it into a real thing, so I started doing research.”
Now a college sophomore, Trey Gibson is making major waves in the Region helping homes and businesses throughout the area shine bright with the latest washing techniques. Under Pressure does exterior work such as driveways, sidewalks, concrete, brickwork, gutter work, and much more. With an official year now under his belt, Trey Gibson is extremely proud of what has been accomplished and is excited for what’s to come in the years ahead.
“This year was our first real year, and we made a business plan of what we wanted to do and how we wanted to succeed,” he said. “We ended up having a really successful year and actually exceeded our goals. We got to levels that I really didn't think we would at all. This year was more or less just the plan to start it up and see how things go. We not only did residential work, but we did some commercial work and did a great job doing that. I also made a lot of good relationships with my customers, and we could not have done it without them and the employees we have in our team this year.”
Creating a business from the ground up is no easy feat, but Trey Gibson is thankful for the many people in his corner who have helped make this passion possible from day one. He credits his parents – Dan and Dana Gibson – family friend Chris Mills for helping him put it all together and learn the ins and outs of the business world, Bradley Gibson and Oehmen for their support, hard work, and companionship, as well as the other employees who have come along for the ride and customers his company has served to make it all happen.
“I want to put the customers first – I want to make them happy,” Trey Gibson said. “I think the best thing about running a business is seeing how satisfied and happy customers are at the end of a job. I love being able to work for myself while building a culture around our business and what we want to do, and it's a great feeling seeing the customer’s face after you're done knowing you did it the right way.”
Another strong motivator in Trey Gibson’s life has been football. He fell in love with the sport when he first stepped on the field in elementary school and was inspired to continue to play through middle and high school, eventually attending college for free on a football scholarship. Currently, he is a member of the football team at Marian University Indianapolis, where he is enrolled as a business management and supply chain management double major. While very different at first, he noted football and being a business owner have more similarities than one may think and enjoys just how much the two are intertwined at the end of the day.
“When you work with different people in sports, especially in college, you get people from all different head spaces to play. We have kids on our team from different countries. Obviously, there's a life difference there, and just learning how to deal with that has really helped me a lot with business and relating with different people,” Trey Gibson said. “It’s also taught me a lot about leadership. Football leadership is a huge thing, and tying that in with the company helps me keep people going and motivated to work. Football has helped instill the things that I want to do for my business into my employees, and I also want to pass that along to my customers.”
When he’s not calling plays at Under Pressure, helping his team make touchdowns on the field, or studying hard to score high grades in the classroom, Trey Gibson always enjoys spending time with friends and family – his biggest cheerleaders – and can typically be found hanging out with them when time allows.
To learn more about Under Pressure Exterior Cleaning or book your appointment today, please visit its Facebook page.