Find Your Purpose That Can’t Be Burned

Your job title will change. Your resume will become irrelevant. So what actually lasts? Hayden Croxall built a company with 9 kids at home and a teaching salary as his starting point. His answer is worth reading.

What has your journey to the President of Croxall Construction Companies looked like?

It all started with my dad. He went into construction in '07 after going through a really difficult season in business where he essentially had to start over. I spent a lot of time working alongside him growing up, but I knew I wanted to go a different route. I wanted to be a teacher. So I went to Lee University, studied education, and came out teaching English to speakers of other languages in Chattanooga, predominantly working with our immigrant population, mostly students from Guatemala. I fell in love with that demographic and coached soccer for that season, too.

I got married in 2016, had our first son in 2017, and our second in 2019. My wife was staying home with the kids, and I realized pretty quickly that being a teacher with a mortgage and two kids was tight. But more than that, I was watching my students leave school and jump from job to job with no real path to a secure career. These were the hardest-working kids I knew, paying for their immigration lawyer, sending money home, covering rent here. I kept thinking there had to be a way to build something where they could actually grow and provide for a family long-term.

I landed on painting. No experience, but I figured if you mess it up, you just paint over it. I launched the company on April 1st, 2019 (not a joke). I'd teach during the day, load up a couple of students, and go paint until midnight. Eventually, the company grew to the point where I left teaching at the end of 2021.

That same year, we went from three kids to eight after welcoming five children into our home through foster care. I went full-time into entrepreneurship, my dad was looking to retire, my brother had worked with him, and we decided, "Why build two separate companies when we can build something together?” So we created a holding company that now owns our residential company, our painting company, and our commercial company, which absorbed my dad's.

And in 2024, our bookend baby arrived, making us a family of eleven. A lot of motivation to build something that lasts.

What's a top takeaway from your career that has stuck with you?

The one thing I know I've gotten right is who I married. Beyond that, I’ve learned that having a purpose beyond a job title is essential. There have been seasons where things went exceptionally well, and seasons that were really difficult and scary. It's that purpose that's been consistent through all the inconsistencies of life. Because a job title will change, but your purpose can transcend all of those things.

I saw this modeled for me when my dad went through a really hard season when I was around 12 or 13 years old. He'd built a successful business, had a great reputation, and then it was gone. But what I saw was that he became more patient, more present. He grew through it. And then he went and built something more successful than what he'd lost from a place of humility.

What he told me, and what he texted my brothers and me just this morning: “You're going to go through hard things, and we can't always change our position, but we can change our perspective.” Our perspective is the one thing we can control.

When you're hiring, what are you looking for?

Our mission statement is “bettering the lives of families.” Our team's families, our contractors’ families, our clients' families, and the families in our community. From there, we have five core values: faith, character, courage, compassion, and excellence.

Character: Do they do what they say they're going to do? Do they have integrity and humility? Courage: Are they willing to take risks AND take responsibility for mistakes? 

Compassion: Are they willing to put themselves in their client's shoes, their sub's shoes? 

Excellence: whatever they do, will they strive to do it well?

Early on, I made a really hard decision. I had four painters, and I fired my lead and his right-hand man going into 2021, and went forward with two guys who had almost no experience. But I'd committed to hiring for character and work ethic, not just skill. 

If somebody has character and a work ethic, I can train the rest. That was the best decision I made as a business owner. The culture our teams have now is what makes the hard days bearable and the good days a blast.

How did you find the mentors who shaped you?

In 2019, I got a painting estimate request on Lookout Mountain. I looked up the homeowner, started reading about his career, and when I went to give the estimate, I said, “Whether or not you go with our company, can I buy you breakfast and hear about your career?” That was the first time I approached someone like that. I still meet with him, seven years later.

I seek it out anytime I meet someone a couple of decades ahead of me who's living a life I want to emulate. But it's really a testament to them and their willingness to sit down with somebody who doesn't have anything to offer them yet. My yes to people who reach out to me now is simply out of gratitude to the guys who said yes to me.

What’s one piece of advice for someone trying to level up their career?

We tie purpose to titles and money. At the end of the day, all those things fade. One of my favorite quotes is: “The one thing money and property have in common is they both burn.”

It is important to provide for your family. It is important to do good work. But ensure your purpose is beyond that. Beyond anything that can be changed around you. 

What skill or trait will matter most going forward?

I was talking with the chief technology officer at Intuit (one of the leading AI minds in the world), and I asked him, “If you had a five-year-old today, at the start of this tidal wave of AI, what would you focus on teaching them?” He said, “I would focus on what makes us human: the arts, humanities, and the big questions”.

AI isn't going to replace character. It's not going to replace work ethic. People of character and work ethic have prevailed through every technological advancement in the history of humanity. If you can nail down purpose, character, and work ethic, you will do well.

Thank you so much for sharing, Hayden.

If you'd like to connect with Hayden or learn more about his work, find him on LinkedIn here.