DIFFERENT BY DESIGN
319.519.6220
OUR STORY
What's the deal with Axiom Consultants anyway?
THE NAME
We started out not wanting to name the company for its founders. It was important to us that the name be about the company and what it is and not about two individuals. It was important to us to come up with a word or concept that would convey something deeper. Believe it or not we also considered "Acumen Engineering" but decided on "Axiom." Merriam Webster defines Axiom in 3 ways and we like them all...
1. A statement accepted as true as the basis for argument or inference.
2. An established rule or principle or a self-evident truth.
3. A maxim, widely accepted on its intrinsic merit.
We wanted our look to be unique too - something simple but with a recognizable image/symbol, perhaps within the wording itself. So we added a compass because it could replace the "A" and is easily associated with engineering as it relates to drafting. Lastly we tried to pick unique colors and decided on a red/orange and charcoal gray both of which have a unique Pantone identification.
VOILA!
THE BACKGROUND
Like many small business startups, it started with a desire to do something different/better. It arose from a feeling of complacency and a nagging feeling of being stifled. There was the thought that a good idea and a baseline energy to create something could result in a product that provided something people would want. These are likely the cornerstones from which most small businesses begin.
In 2012, a spark turned into a reality, and by early 2013 that reality resulted in an effort. That effort was fruitful but still lacked something. The wheels continued to turn and ideas continued to sprout to the point where, in early 2018, Axiom Consultants was formed. It started on a couple of card tables and some laptops, mixed together with a lot of really hard work. We painted, we drilled holes, we made lots of calls. A small group of people who had a lot of confidence in one another, worked incredibly hard to make it happen. These people had a lot of faith in the vision, an incredible work ethic, and an internal fire that helped them found the company in an image of hard work and finding solutions to any problem.
At five years in, Axiom looks towards the future. We have moved into a beautiful new office, and continue to develop relationships, processes, and culture.
THE PEOPLE
Axiom is its PEOPLE! Our product is engineering and design service... and putting plans on paper... but the most important thing we do is built within our staff. We believe that being healthy on the inside results in providing something healthy on the outside. We continually strive for a work/life balance that is unmatched by others. We think its noticed by those we work with.
The goal for our staff is that they wake up in the morning and start to think about work, they don't dread the thought of stepping foot in the office. We want them to enjoy the thought of collaboration and creative expression. We know that this inward satisfaction will turn into outward expressions of success, and that means that our clients directly reap the rewards of this approach.
Our intent was to have our headquarters based in downtown Iowa City, and we plan to keep it here. Downtown Iowa City has a lot of amenities that provide an experience for our employees such as grabbing coffee and lunch together or just taking an afternoon walk together. It gives us great satisfaction seeing our employees enjoying each other in daily tasks while also engaging and supporting their community.
People are empowered at Axiom. They are encouraged to think critically, engage proactively, and solve problems creatively. We mentor and guide, but we don't spoon feed. Our employees are problem-solvers, finding effective solutions that help our clients and communities be better.
THE VISION
What are we trying to do?
How are we achieving it?
How is it different?
Axiom starts by being honest. We aren't coming into meetings and potential projects looking to maximize profit and over-analyzing things. We aren't going to spend months on visioning sessions that seem to never end and we won't hold meetings just for the sake of having meetings. It's easy to "meeting a client to death." At Axiom we thrive on communication but we do so in a way that makes the client feel heard and empowered. All you have to do is ask THEM how we're different.
By providing multiple disciplines under one roof, albeit in a manageable size, we are able to offer up full engineering packages for complete A/E efforts, or one-off solutions for clients who don't need every engineering discipline. We can develop and control schedules, provide more consistent and efficient communication between teams, and streamline the process for architects, developers, and contractors. Our goals are to be highly adept, agile, communicative, and easy to work with.
Mostly we want to be the first people you call when there is a problem. More importantly we don't want you to even pause when picking up the phone because you know our people will be kind, considerate, and communicative. That's what we thrive on - being good to work with and doing what we say. We hope you'll find that this is exactly what we do.
