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

Hi Tony, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
It started by accident in 1994 when I was not making enough money from my corporate job as a financial analyst at Honeywell. We had our 1st child, a son, and another one on the way. My wife had decided to become a stay-at-home mom. I literally had $80 leftover every 2 weeks. I needed a way to make more money on the side.

Ironically, my neighbor was very sick, and they were having family over for a birthday party. He was to ill to mow his lawn. He asked me if I would do it for him. I hated the way he mowed his lawn. Before I could say yes to show him how it should be mowed, he offered me $20. It took me 20 minutes in total. I thought if I could mow 5 lawns every Saturday, that would be $100 per week and $400 per month. Covers both our car payments.

The only thing I knew how to do was mow lawns. I already had a small pick truck, lawn mower, weed eater and blower. So, I put an ad in the Arizona Republic newspaper business directory. It said, “TLC Lawn Care, Professional, Dependable & Clean” We had no cell phones at the time, so I listed our LAN line phone number. The first day we received 15 calls for lawn service.

My wife was going crazy, calling me at work with new names and phone numbers. Long story short…Saturdays turned into weekends and then calling in sick on Mondays. In one and a half years, I was making more in my part time business than my full-time salary job. I had to make a decision to quit my corporate job with full benefits and medical insurance to go self-employed.

What should our readers know about your business?
TLC is what sets us apart from the competition. Tender Loving Care. We try to treat each property as if it were our own. We try to pay attention to the details. Sometimes just doing one little thing, was really the one big thing to the customer. I taught my employees to look at the property as they approached from the street and see what stands out that needs to be done. It was more than likely the one thing that stood out when the customer left for work that morning. And this is what they will be looking for when they come home.

I am most proud that I am still in business after 32 years. I love it when a customer calls from many years ago that still held onto our number or found us on Google search. I still have a few remaining customers from or close to the beginning. I have seen their children grow up and leave the nest.

It was definitely not easy to get where I am today business wise. Truthfully, I never got to the level I expected or wanted to achieve. It still was not easy. The challenges were balancing family life with young children and running and growing a business. The fear of failure to take risks overwhelmed me many times into stagnation and complacency. My passivity hindered me to take some chances of opportunities. The 2008 market crash really set us back and made me reevaluate and prioritize my business. Some of it was good and the rest was the fear it could happen again.

The lessons I learned was to invest, invest, and invest into a retirement system for the future. Pay for basic equipment with cash. I still have my original dump truck I bought brand new in 2004. That was financed obviously.

I want the world to know our brand is about attention to details. Whether its mowing and trimming your property, or installing a new landscape with sprinklers, grass, rock, pavers outdoor kitchens, we treat it as it were our own.

I want the world to know that my story is about the will to survive balancing family and business.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
It depends on the season they arrive. Summer – mainly my favorite restaurants and especially my all-time favorite pizza place, Spinatos. We love to eat food and try new beverages.

Spring and Winter – all the hiking trails locally. If there is time we would head up to Sedona or Grand Canyon. During the Superbowl weekend, definitely the Barrett Jackson Car Show. We can spend 2 days there easily enjoying the cars and then the night life activities.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My late dad was my biggest supporter and ultimately taught me several skills I would need to know to provide more services than just mowing grass. He also became my personal repair shop for broken equipment that needed welding and other modifications. As we grew in size, his support and fabrication skills became paramount to my success, and occupying his retirement time.

Website: tonyslawncare

Instagram: tlclandscapingandmaintenance

Image Credits
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