Meet Leandro Baldenegro

We had the good fortune of connecting with Leandro Baldenegro and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Leandro, how do you define success?
This is a very interesting question. If you are talking about financial success, I would say when the profits are at least 5 times what the cost of supplies were. Since I have already purchased my tools and equipment, I never really factor them in. Since I really love what I am doing, I don’t care if the labor involved is 2 hours or 2 days to complete the project.

If you are talking about success with regards to longevity in your field of expertise, I would say that if you have had financial success for 10 years, you are doing very well. If you can accomplish this for more than 2 decades, you are doing extremely well and should feel both proud and blessed.

If you are talking about success with regards to how relevant your business is, the combination of the first two examples would definitely determine that.

If you ask how I am doing so far? 17 years of what I would call “success” so far and the future is looking even better.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Over the years, I have learned how to deconstruct things mentally by only having to look at it. By being able to do that, I can put things together mentally as well. That affords me the luxury of knowing both what is and isn’t needed for the project to be a success. I can eliminate anything that doesn’t serve a purpose. It also allows me to include certain things that add value through various perspectives. Let me give you an example. I made a Cowboy Wok with a warming tray on the side. They were made as one piece and customized to the client’s propane burner. Because I made it to fit perfectly on his existing burner, he didn’t have to buy another one for his Cowboy Wok. I made it to sit perfectly using the existing contact points and it didn’t lean or rock because I had the burner while I made the Wok. I knew ahead of time that taking measurements would be a good starting point but having the burner there while I was making it would only be better.

I have learned to ask as many questions as possible from the client so that they get EXACTLY what they are looking for. The last thing I want to do is let them down on a project they are paying for. By exceeding their expectations, they will gladly refer me to several new clients in the future as well as being repeat customers themselves.

I want everyone to know that I will work very hard to exceed all of their expectations no matter how large or small their project is. I will make sure that they will always be excited to tell their friends and family about whatever it was that I made for them.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is what we would do.

We will leave my house in Beautiful Downtown Glendale at 5 am and head up to Payson, Arizona. We would stop for breakfast at the Bee Line Cafe. They will be impressed with the food as well as the service of this hidden gem of a small mom and pop restaurant. Then after breakfast we will take a short 25 minute drive up to Tonto Creek and drive to the fish hatchery. There we will feed all the different sizes of trout that they grow there to stock the surrounding lakes and creeks. After that, we will take another 15 drive up the Mogollon Rim and go visit Woods Canyon Lake. They will marvel at Arizona’s most beautiful lake…technically a reservoir. There we will see bald eagles circling above and then diving with pinpoint accuracy to snag a trout from the water. We will get a small bag of peanuts or trail mix and lay out a small buffet for the large group of chipmunks and squirrels that will quickly come to feast. Then we will take another 25 minute drive up to Heber/Overgaard and have lunch at the Red Onion where they will have one of if not the best cheeseburgers they have ever had. We will hang out for a little bit after lunch and maybe play a game or two on their pool table while we listen to some music on the jukebox. Then we will start the drive back home. They will take in the forest in all of its glory and be amazed at how different Arizona can be with a short drive up north…it’s not all desert.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
This is easy…Ron Rosenlof who was my woodshop teacher at Apollo High School (class of 91) and John Romero (business owner and operator of a sandblasting company).

Mr. Rosenlof showed me how to be serious about the little things because those little things add up to big things. His thought process was to show me that the effort that I put in to avoiding mistakes will help me develop a work ethic for success. If I eliminate the little mistakes, I won’t have to worry about them adding up (and when it comes to wasting material for projects, if you make mistakes in measurements, you can kill your project).

Mr. Romero taught me about perspective. He showed me to see that I offer a specialized service and how to charge accordingly. I was always worried about charging too much so I usually charged only enough to cover costs. He showed me that people are willing to pay a fair price for a specialized service that they will never be able to do.

Website: www.leandrosshop.com

Facebook: Leandro Baldenegro