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

Hi Tyler, how do you think about risk?

Risks are an important part of running a business. The amount of risk you are willing to take is dependent on your outlook on your business and the timing of your desired milestones. I take a very personal approach when considering risk; I base it off of provable potential. The potential being myself. I am a 31 year old General Manager (by day) and small business owner (by night). I found myself where I’m at in this place and time for many reasons, but all of which can be summed up to: Bet on Yourself. From a young age I committed to breaking down walls that keep us in the “norm”. I loved learning and doing research; but questioning everything I absorbed. I didn’t want to take everything that sounded smart as fact, so I questioned until I drew my own conclusions; so I knew an awful lot more about said subject than if I ran with it as prescribed. I graduated High School with honors and committed to showing the world that “making it” did not always mean you needed a degree (I am in favor of education). In my early 20’s I took the job I have now as an Office Admin and today I am a General Manager. Before becoming a General Manager, and from as long as I can remember, I’ve had an affinity with Graphic Arts. Back in 2018 I found out I was going to be a dad and that realization constructed a launch pad under me. I decided I wanted to create something I could teach my son about down the road. Something I could commit to in the long term. I challenged myself to create an art piece per week for the entire year. My one rule: Learn a medium that you can’t search the internet and learn about. So, I chose “Sharpies & Gel Pens”. I came up about 1 or 2 pieces shy of my target, but I learned so much from my adventure. I bet on myself for an entire year and just about reached my goal. Looking back from today, the impact of that effort and changed me in such a positive way. That initial goal led to a new outlook and a new adventure that wouldn’t have formulated if I didn’t commit to this exhausting challenge.

I grew up in a violent and poor community, an environment that defined who I am into adulthood. I came up with an idea to put my artwork to use, and turn them into physical duplicates for sale, but at a price that is more accessible than the typical art market. I bet on myself, and purchased a camera, tripod, and image editing software. I taught myself how to use those new tools to bring this idea to fruition. And I did just that. Using “Printify” as a platform, I uploaded these newly shot images onto this site for reprint onto canvases. I had a fairly good response which was ultimately short lived, but I started to understand momentum and accessibility and how those things brought greater attention to your efforts.

I consider myself fairly resilient. I learned early on the power of “expectations” and how they rarely lead to anything positive. If you meet your expectation, it doesn’t add much excitement. If your expectation fails, you become highly disappointed, more so than if you never had an expectation to begin with. Whether or not this canvas idea worked, I was okay with whatever the end result was as it was a chance for me to learn more. The experience I gathered allowed me to prepare for my next journey: Laser Engraving. I knew nothing about laser engraving, but what I did know is I am a legitimate graphic and digital artist, and I believed these skills correlated with engraving and it could add another branch to my ability tree. I did some digging and ultimately landed on a machine that I thought would support my mission and I ordered it. This was another bet; a lot of money was on the line but I cornered myself into this commitment and I planned on fighting my way out. This gigantic wooden box arrived and I put the crowbar to good use. This machine was mostly assembled; in doing some digging I quickly realized the manual was borderline useless, so I flipped the script to benefit me best, “if I problem solve my way through constructing and learning how to use this machine, I will understand it better than if I relied on the manual.” It took me months to assemble it, and we eventually got there. Really, assembly was not even a 5th of the battle, learning how to use it proved to be the greatest challenge. Through persistence and a desire to create, I got to where I am today: A pro laser engraver. This laser machine accounts for a vast majority of my small businesses revenue, and not too long ago I didn’t even know what this tool was.

I am taking a “keep working hard, don’t expect anything, experiment more, and don’t stop” approach (you know: KWHDEAEMDS, for short). All of the bets I placed on myself “hit”, and my life is what my desires created. Who I am, and what I am capable of makes me a one of a kind asset. Wherever this work takes me (of which I am completely unsure), I am happy living in the moment. If something is important enough to you, see it through. Believe in you, and embrace who you are, we need you at your purest.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

I think its important to set the stage a bit on me and my childhood. My story can be related to and I’d like to think it can offer motivation. To keep things brief, I grew up an unhealthy kid and have since found out I have a plethora of digestive issues that kept me very overweight as a kid. Because of that, I was picked on often. I was always into learning and digging for more information. I always wanted to be the first kid done with a test in school. I’ve always had a competitive angle to my personality, but not always to my detriment. I grew up in a bad community, riddled with drugs and violence. Because of this, I have seen things that people probably shouldn’t, but I like to think of these experiences as events that have brought to my attention what humanity is capable of. In middle school I came around to figuring out who I am, and committed to allowing myself to express my attributes freely. At my core, I am a very caring, loyal, intelligent, and comedic individual. These traits naturally drew people in and I became this person that people want to be around. When it became time for High School, I kept the grades up, created clubs, played sports, and worked in my off time. I stayed very active through High School and have no regrets on my decisions during this time. I graduated with honors and enrolled in college. After one quarter I found out it wasn’t for me, and committed to showing the world that a kid that grew up under these relatable circumstances could make it without the path we are heavily directed towards. I am such an against the grain person. In High School, Facebook started becoming very big and I refused to create an account. People up and down the hallways dug into me about not having one and I always had to respond with, “I see you 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, I don’t need to know what you are doing all day.” Whatever was popular I wanted nothing to do with. I never wanted to be a dot in a crowd. I wanted to lead and set examples. I want(ed) to be the person that was in front of the crowd pulling in all of the attention.

My early adult years were definitely not prosperous. I moved to Arizona not too far after graduation to start anew and get away from the cancerous environment I called home. I took a job as a janitor to make the money I needed to survive, but found myself in this endless loop of depression from drowning in how jarring the changes had become. I struggled to find friends. I couldn’t find much of a reason to be proud of myself. I never fully disconnected from what I knew and barely gave myself a fair shake. One morning just after midnight I packed up my 91′ Chevy Blazer and bee lined it back to my home town (I know…), a solid 19 hour effort. A friends Girlfriend worked as a manager at a hotel and housed me for awhile, I had nothing to my name. I got a job moving furniture and without knowing it initially, the managers were running a money laundering operation and got caught. It was another competing company that reported them, and they adopted my services as a biproduct. Around this time, even with having so little to my name, I started dating a woman who seen me for me, and accepted all of it. This new job offered a sizeable income increase, and we were able to afford an apartment together. She had been in college for some time, and had dreams of getting her Master’s Degree. Enough time went by and I gathered my legs and my initial feelings towards my home town were very much validated and I knew I couldn’t stay there anymore. My Girlfriend and I accepted the fact that she would have to stay to finish college and I had to leave to really figure out my life. So I went back to Arizona and started the process of getting my life straightened out, I was 21-22 at this time. My dad also lived in Arizona, he was a car salesman. He recently befriended a client and wanted me to meet him. I met with them at a bar and introduced myself to this man. He was from Australia and worked in the mining supplies industry. He bought a fully loaded Ram truck outright, and to me that was such a foreign idea (the thought of having enough money to buy a car outright). He was one of the first people I met that had that vibe of having life figured out, and I gravitated to it. I committed to learning from him, and taking every word he said as valuable. We built a connection, meeting at the local bar quite frequently, for a little under a year. At this time, I was getting sick of ticky tack, no direction jobs and was ready to commit to something I had no choice but to spend years doing: enlist in the military. I ran it by my mentor and he offered me an admin position working with him, so I took it.

10 years later: The girlfriend from early in the story and I got married. We have 2 beautiful boys. We are homeowners. I created a company I can work on in my free time as a graphic artist, apparel/decor designer, and much more. And that job I took? I am now a General Manager for the company where I oversee every piece of land between Alaska and Argentina.

With all of this out of the way, now to the questions I am reflecting on for this article:

What sets me apart from others?: I cannot stress enough how important of a question this is for each and every one of us. Early on in my life, I was a very committed kid. Whether it was education, equality, or competing, I gave it all my A+ effort. As of the time of writing this, I am 31 years old. I determined a few years back that I could use my age as a benefit, especially at this time in humanity. Do you know how many times somebody older than me paid me no mind because of the generation I represent? We tend to draw conclusions based on the odds and in these peoples minds, given my age and their experiences with others my age, they were not of a particular value that these people required. Knowing this, the level at which you can impress somebody older than you is actually greater than if they gave you a fair shake at all. I love going against the grain, its the easiest way to stand out. If you really commit to it, you can understand what a person wants to hear within seconds of having a discussion. This, mixed with being so observant and knowledge hungry, there aren’t too many situations I find myself in that I can’t duck and weave to my desired outcome. Go against the grain and start to understand everything as much as humanly possible. Observe the differences between people and learn to understand that differences are what keeps us interesting, just because we disagree on what we like, doesn’t mean we have to avoid each other (quite the contrary). Stand out in a crowd, however you see that fit. Don’t do something just because everybody else is. Figure out who you are and emphasize your strengths. As an exercise, list your top 5 favorite things to do. Those 5 things draw a lot of your attention as interests. As a result, you spend most of your free time thinking about these things. Taking part in and thinking about these things is no different than training or studying. Without knowing it, you are a pro at these 5 things. Out of the many ways we professionally apply ourselves, if you allow what makes you you to bloom, the results are more polarizing than if you’re settling doing something else.

Was it easy? How did you overcome challenges?: Define easy. I’ve had a path full of obstructions, but does that really make it hard? I have been to parts of this planet that I would deem “Hard”. What we have in this country is the easiest support system to go in whichever direction we desire. We have the ability to choose this direction. We can mess up bad, and still find means for survival. This can’t be said about most places across this world. What we have here isn’t “Hard”. We have it so easy that we make it hard on ourselves based off of luxury and habits. My drive to deliver my family something they could be proud of made my decisions easy. Committing to putting ourselves through situations we find uncomfortable for the support of our journey is terrifying (not hard), but so worth it. Resilience and respect for yourself is key. IT’S NOT HARD, its a commitment and an experience, and its exhausting; but the flowers smell so much sweeter when you accomplish what they never thought you could.

What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?: I want people to know that honesty exists. Have you ever played a video game where your decisions improve or hinder your character depending on which direction you ultimately went down? I wanted to be appreciated by everybody I met, so I took the path that gave me those extra points in the attributes that brought value to my path. I am proud of who I am. The small business I own derived from a logo I made when I was 18. I made this logo by accident; it stemmed from a job where I had to write my initials over and over again. I loved what I created and it became my first tattoo. When I got older, I thought it was a dumb choice to get this tattoo, but the logo still looks great! Around the time I found out I was going to be a dad, I decided to create something that I could learn from that I could pass the lessons down to my kids. I created an art business and my logo, a blend of my initials TH, became the face of the company. I used the letters T & H to represent my two most important rules for life: Truth & Humor. Now, this logo is synonymous with me in my community. Be honest with yourself, and laugh as much as possible. Lets clear up that tummy ache and remove any mental clog we carry. Be who you are in its purest form. I don’t have a small business as a chase for anything that greed can define, I do it as a hobby and to help others and to bring value to my creations. I believe if I stick to who I am, I can go absolutely anywhere.

Here are some of the things I have learned to do and create in the 3 years of building my small business up: Draw with abnormal mediums, photography, photo editing, logo creation, laser etching and engraving, album art designing, beer label designs, canvas art, paint, leather work and apparel, t-shirt designs, blogging, and wall art and décor. I wasn’t able to do any of these things until I committed to building this company up. I also support businesses in taking part in conversations and think tanks. If I can help, I am interested. I do not get jealous of other people’s successes, I want to see everybody do amazing things. If somebody sees me as being of value on their journey, how could I say no? I consider that to be one of the absolute best compliments anybody can give me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

I think its far too important to build friendships of every different demographic, ethnicity, and walk of life. We tend to gravitate to people that think like us but selfishly, that limits our upside. I have friends that think similarly, but most of them are unique in their own ways. I have resided in Arizona for over a decade now and I would like to think I have established a good understanding of “The Spots”.

The night of “said friends” arrival, we have to get loose, naturally. I can traverse the East Valley with my eyes closed, and I want to offer a seamless experience. It’s off to 12 West at Barnone. How often do you have a chance to take in a brilliantly crafted beer that sits inside a hut barn? And, if our eating schedules differ, within reach is a wood fire pizza joint that pairs nicely. The next morning we’ll head to Hash Kitchen in Chandler for a different take on Americas favorite meal, breakfast. When I take friends out, I like them to experience something new, something less “regular”, and Hash provides a varied/one of a kind menu (they also have a Bloody Mary Buffet…). If it isn’t surface of the sun level hot outside, we have to walk off the fullness at the Riparian Wildlife Preserve in Gilbert. I take my oldest son (almost 4 years old) there quite frequently and we always stumble upon a new animal we’ve never seen before. It’s not very often you get a chance to take a jaunt through a desert landscape designed specifically to attract and house local wildlife. That evening we have to get some good food in our belly, and being that we are a boarder state to Mexico, we have to get some Mexican food, naturally. My favorite spot?: Rio Rico based out of Gilbert. My history with them goes way back. When I first had their food, the restaurant was connected to an animal hospital, but it was such a proud little spot and the family atmosphere and recipes hooked me. They then moved to a bigger location just up the road and were able to expand their capacity. Here recently, they moved to and even bigger spot and its very much deserved. Recipes passed down through generations, prepared by the people those recipes were passed to… You can’t beat it. I know I have mentioned drinking a couple of times, but we have to finish this night out right. Once the sun goes down, its time to put on our fancy clothes and hit up a secret spot in Downtown Gilbert. This speak easy is called “The White Rabbit”. Make sure you sign up for their emails first, you have to have a password to get in to this top secret bar. Once the password is accepted, you go underneath Downtown Gilbert to an Apothecary themed bar, but the front door is hidden. Find your way in and you’re warped into the past when medicines were being created and top hats were common thread. The lighting creates a calm environment and the drinks are a form of art. You’ll want to spend some time here and really take in the full experience, trust me, its worth it. Sticking with the alcohol theme, I saved the best for last. Steel Cactus Brewing (Gilbert Arizona in an industrial park off of Guadalupe in between Gilbert and Stapley). This brewery is a new brewing company with a very special owner who is the mastermind behind all of the beverages: Angelo Pisano. I’ll keep the mystique preserved for if you meet him, but he has an extremely impressive resume when it comes to beer, topped off with a 2nd place plaque from Nationals for his beer products. Craft brewing is huge in America, if you have a chance to taste a product from a G.O.A.T., why wouldn’t you? Tell him I sent you.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

I am who I am today thanks to my family, friends, teachers and the observable environments I have called home. We tend to think of somebody going above and beyond for us as the most impactful interaction with humanity for who we become. I can argue that the people that pay us no mind can impact us just as much. Like everybody, I have experienced positive and negative interactions with people, how we absorb those moments leaves a lasting impact. These family members, friends, teachers, and environments gave me an identity to build off of, and what I have viewed with my own eyes, smelled, tasted, touched, heard, and how I define these experiences ultimately started the construction on the house atop this platform my community provided me with as an adolescent. As of today I am a proud father of 2 boys: Olyver and Marley, and happy husband to my wife Lydia. My mom (Rhonda), dad (Michael), sister (Madyson), and brother (Ryan) have always been a force behind me, pushing me to be the best version of myself. When I say I have been surrounded by some of the best people this world has to offer, it’s no facade, I’ve drawn the long straws.

I have had some amazing business and work ethic influences that deserve so much praise:

Angelo Pisano, CEO of Steel Cactus Brewing (Instagram @steelcactusbrewing). I already spoke about Steel Cactus Brewing previously so I would like to focus on the person behind the product. Angelo and I met a few years back under funny circumstances. We both found each other by ourselves with our kids at a playground at our local mall hours before they opened. It was a complete ghost town and we had no choice but to slice the awkward silence with a butter knife and talk. We have been friends since and I have been able to sit back, popcorn in hand developing this brewing company that is so close to opening. Please join his journey and share his experiences as he gets ready to share with the East Valley his passion for beer.

Norman Kinsey, CEO of Liftoff Agent (Instagram @liftoffagent). Based out of Gilbert Arizona, Norm has personally helped me become a better overall businessman through our discussions and sharing experiences. He is one of the most driven people I have ever met and if you are in the Real Estate world, Liftoff is a must. Liftoff helps set up your marketing foundation, design logos and brand strategies, build a custom website, create lead generation funnels, remarket on Facebook & Instagram, filming personalized videos with guidance & strategy, and everything else associated with advertising and supporting real estate agents on their journey to success. It’s a complete marketing modernization in one singular place that positions you in the right places for maximized exposure.

Jeremy Capis, CEO of Goodfellas General Contracting (Instagram @goodfellas_az). Jeremy is a young entrepreneur based out of Gilbert Arizona who is relentless on getting the job done right and on time. It’s very hard finding youthful, proveable, reliable work anymore, and Jeremy breaks that mold. Goodfellas is a general contracting company that specializes in Construction & Property Management for New Builds, Remodels, and other related services. Goodfellas is Licensed, Bonded, and Insured and is ready for your housing needs.

Carl Ong, CEO of Agent Ong Realty Group (Instagram @agent.ong). Carl is one of the first people I ever met when I moved to Arizona. I met him through bowling and we eventually teamed up. Over the last decade I’ve sat back and watched relentless drive in human form. Carl is an amazing family man and all around loved person and I am proud to be able to call him a friend through the years.

Malcolm Johnson, Graphic Artist and Founder of Sco Studios (Instagram @sco.studios). Malcolm (Gilbert, AZ) and I met at the gym after he moved to Arizona over a year ago from New York, and we have since partnered up on multiple artistic projects. There are artists out there that have such polarizing talents that provokes the thought of “How does he pull that off?”, Malcolm is that talent to me. It can be hard making a name for yourself nowadays and I think it’s important that true talent is identified and supported. Give Malcolm a fair shake for your artistic needs, you won’t regret it.

Holly Rogers, Chef and CEO of The Italian Buffalo (Instagram @theitalianbuffalo). Holly (Gilbert, AZ) was once on the Food Network series Chopped, and I start with that to prove right off the bat that Holly is worth the attention. Holly is currently developing a food truck that brings her native town of Buffalo New York’s flavor the italian genre. She is so dedicated that she found a group on Facebook for people that live in Arizona that are from Buffalo NY that gave their list of restaurants in Buffalo that give the authentic taste of the community, and she spent a month in Buffalo checking every restaurant off her list, interviewing Chefs and evaluating the food to really bring that flavor to Arizona. Join Holly on her journey with the end being the launch of her food truck that is destined to take over the Valley.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truthandhumor/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-harding-a4832579/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/truthandhumor

Image Credits
Beer Label – Steel Cactus Brewing Wood work – Hydra Creations

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.