Conner Flanagan's career path comes Full Circle

Marketing and Professional Services took Conner Flanagan's skill and turned it into a career path.

Published March 18, 2020
Conner Flanagan marketing success photo

Conner Flanagan

Marketing and Professional Services graduate
"The best feeling for me is finishing a job and seeing the customer is happy. You did this, your company did that; it's just a good feeling."

Conner Flanagan knew enough about constructing pergolas that he was able to start his own business. But he wanted to know more so he could make Full Circle Pergolas the best it could possibly be.

Enter the Marketing and Professional Services program at Francis Tuttle, where he learned the ins-and-outs of what it takes to be a successful small-business owner. Full Circle Pergolas had its own display at the Oklahoma City Home + Garden Show last January.

“I was really just looking for how to run your own business, getting started,” Conner said. “It just all worked out, really. I knew what I wanted to do, and I didn’t want to go through four years of college. This was the best and quickest way of doing it.”

Conner completed the Marketing program two years ago and his business is growing. On top of learning how to market his business, Flanagan received insight on best practices for starting a business and how to avoid or overcome early challenges.

“The entrepreneurship side was what I was more interested in,” Conner said. “It was all great stuff to learn. They teach you everything you need to know, from the ground up.”

Conner’s journey began in high school when he built a pergola in woodshop class during his senior year. While attending a state competition inside a mall, Conner said patrons walked up to him and began asking about it. They began requesting business cards from him.

“That’s when I thought ‘This is what I want to do,’” he said.

While attending Francis Tuttle as an adult student, Conner was able to job shadow Kevin Sutter, the owner of Green Okie which makes and sells pergolas. He then worked there for two years before branching out and starting his own company.

“It hasn’t been easy by any means,” he said. “The best feeling for me is finishing up a job and seeing the customer is happy. You did this, your company did that; It’s just a good feeling.”

The Marketing and Professional Services curriculum builds on itself, Conner said, and that showed him how all the best business practices tie together. It’s allowed him to truly embrace running the business he cares for so much.

“Everything really ties in together, you’re focusing on all the things, not just one in particular,” Conner said. “Running the business … that’s my side of things and that’s what I enjoy. Marketing was definitely helpful in putting me there.”

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