Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Forest.
Hi Christopher, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2008, at 21 years old, I started Unparalleled as a valet company. I was young and had little experience but I had a vision and knew I had to stay one step ahead of my competition. To elevate the traditionally entry-level valet position, I emphasized hospitality in our services. By sticking to the principles of excellence, execution, and presentation, we began to grow.
During Covid, we almost shut down but instead capitalized on the surging demand in the security market across Minnesota. We utilized the network we formed through our valet business and within the first three months of starting a security business, we had 20-30 locations in the Twin Cities utilizing our service. This allowed us to grow our team count and reach the Twin Cities metro area. Today, our valet and security services are run separately but hold the same umbrella values of providing high-quality service and hospitality.
I am most proud of what our company stands for passionate people. From the beginning, our mission has been to elevate hospitality and create opportunity in the industry. Our integrity makes us trustworthy partners. We believe in what we do and our answer is always “yes, how can we help.” Looking back on how much we have grown, I am proud to say that we have built an organization that is centered around the people we serve and our team members, both with exceptional care.
I am known for my leadership style and passion for my business. I believe in leading with intent, kindness, and respect which has created loyalty in the business. Our team members express their passion for our industry and appreciation for the career opportunities that are available at Unparallelled. I put a huge emphasis on hiring the right team members who bring our values with them when starting in any role. Through our people-first approach in all areas of our business, we see a lot of trust and respect.
This has been critical as we’ve gone from from 50 individual roles to divisions with over 200 team members, I am actively involved in making sure our culture and values are instilled in every team member. And, I hope to continue this level of involvement as we head toward our goal of 1,000 team members in the next three years.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I learned early on in my career that small businesses are incredibly hard to run, especially with no financial backing.
No one believes in a business as much as the owner. For the first 10 years, I poured every waking hour, and some sleeping hours, into building Unparalleled and setting a vision for our growing team. It was that commitment that pushed us to provide a better service, a better career path, and a better community that we see today. From the beginning we put an emphasis on building a strong brand identity and by doing so, we beat our competition in the valet industry, and are gaining traction in the highly competitive security market.
Our biggest challenge as we began to grow exponentially was managing capital – we learned quickly that the larger you become, the more complexities there are with financial processes. We struggled when the Covid pandemic hit Minnesota as valet services were not possible but by pivoting to find new opportunities, including expanding our services to support the growing demand for private security, we were able to stay afloat. We have become a company that runs efficiently across two industries and I am grateful for the hours my team and I put in to make this possible.
I am so proud of how far we have come since starting from nothing to having hundreds of team members and a reputation as a highly presentable comprehensive unarmed or armed security solution. It makes me happy that I can share my success with the team members at Unparalleled financially and I am a strong believer in generosity.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
1. How to Win Friends and Influence People Author: Dale Carnegie
2. Rich Dad Poor Dad
Authors: Robert Kiyosaki, Sharon Lechter
3. The Secret
Author: Rhonda Byrne
4. The Obstacle Is The Way
Author: Ryan Holiday
5. The Richest Man in Babylon
Author: George Samuel Clason
6. The 10x Rule
Author: Grant Cardone
7. The Art of War
Author: Sun Tzu
8. The Millionaire Next Door
Author: Thomas J. Stanley
9. The Go Giver
Authors: Bob Burg, John David Mann
10. Purple Cow
Author: Seth Godin
11. Think and Grow Rich
Author: Napoleon Hill
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.unparalleledparking.com/ , https://www.unparalleledsecurity.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unparalleled_security/ , https://www.instagram.com/unparalleled_parking/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Unparalleled-Parking/100064290535564/ , https://www.facebook.com/people/Unparalleled-Parking/100064290535564/
