We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Antonio Clark . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Antonio below.

Hi Antonio, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

My name is Antonio Clark, the business owner of Ant’s Auto Care. My story and my mission. As a child I always took apart my toys and electronics to see if I could put them back together as I took them apart, the passion has always been there. I grew up in a small country town called Hopewell, MS outside of Collins, MS. A town where everyone knows everyone. I grew up with the essentials of what we needed coming from a family of 12 children. My grandparents, Ance and Earnestine Clark raised me with my aunt’s and uncle’s. When cars and farm equipment broke down, we had to figure out the problem and solution to get it back up and going. Learning this skillset in my childhood laid the foundation in my adulthood and enhance my ability to service anything with an engine.

Sometimes God always has a way of putting you back on the right path. As I grew up and started to live life as teenager, I didn’t make time for my passion of working on cars and etc. I started to grow apart from my passion and I was heading down a path that was either going to lead me to jail or the grave. I had to lose my mother, Regina Clark to get my life back on track. She was called home August 2012. When I say it hit hard it did, but I had to be strong for my family. I am the oldest of 4 kids, I did not have a dad to look up too. I had to be strong for them. At that moment of my mother passing, I made a promise to her take care of my siblings and change my life for the better. I adopted my little sister, which was 10 at the time. I told my grandmother I was moving to Houston to go to college. I took a leap of faith and moved to Houston with sister.

I enrolled at Universal Technical Institute where I later graduated in 2014 with my certification for automotive/ diesel. I have accumulated many certifications and awards in the automotive industry. It was extremely hard at times going to school fulltime, working fulltime and raising a 10-year-old girl in a new city. I persevered through and was able to get better paying jobs with my automotive/diesel certifications.

Covid stuck in 2020. I knew I wanted to own my own business one day, I just didn’t know how or where to start. When covid layoffs happened, unfortunately I was laid off with many other American’s. The love of my life, Alner Smith encouraged me and pushed me to seize the opportunity to start my own business. Together with her business knowledge and my skillset, Ant’s Auto Care was brought into fruition. I started with mobile work and on my 2-year anniversary held a grand opening for the brick-and-mortar location. Ant’s Auto Care’s mission is to provide reliable, honest, transparent and affordable service. 

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Born and raised in Collins MS moved to Houston TX and 2014 to pursue college to get my certification and auto/diesel industry. I got into my industry honestly to help everyday people like myself have their vehicle repair at a reasonable price. I have been there before when your car breaks down, but bills are due. You need, both but don’t have the funds to cover both. My business is built on reasonable repair prices. We do a just about everything at Ant’s Auto Care, auto, diesel, tractor, trailer, construction equipment, lawnmower, and 18-wheeler repairs. We also offer finance options, credit check and no credit check. I have solved so many different problems for my clients when they were told lies are either being rush into doing a service, we always look for a reasonable alternative that will help and benefit all my clients. What sets me a part of any other auto repair shop is that I am reasonable. We are always giving back to our customers and go above and beyond. Ant’s Auto Care will always be a clean environment, the restrooms are always clean and we offer complimentary drinks. We also have a kid’s zone for parents who must bring their kids while their vehicle is being serviced. We have a room set up to give them just a little break. The room has a TV set up with a game console, blocks and toys for the smaller kids, a lounge chair and the floor is padded so no can get hurt. You will always see a friendly smile and great customer’s service. I feel accomplished every day that I am doing what I set out to do and helping all my customers and future customers save time and money. Our work speaks for itself. Check out the reviews and we are also accredited with the Better Business Bureau. Please don’t hesitate to give us a call or just come by to check us out. You will be glad that you did.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

It was all done by going to my 9-5 everyday, working long hours to save. Everything that I have acquired for my business came from saving. I got tired of being told “no” so I started telling myself “Yes”. Anytime time I start to feel discouraged, I just remember where I started and where I’m going. I have a mobile service truck, a shop and wonderful. Hard work and dedication pays. Having the right people in my corner to continue to encourage and support me plays a significant role as well.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Word of mouth. Simplest formation of how I can put it.

Contact Info:

• Website: antsautocare.com
• Instagram: Antsautocare
• Facebook: Antsautocare
• Yelp: Antsautocare