We were lucky to catch up with Tonia Bryant recently and have shared our conversation below.
Tonia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you take vacations? Why or why not?
Yes I do. Thankfully now, I have 4 other contractors that I can trust to show up for their jobs. It was tough at first, but I was able to get it figured out. Even tho I have my own families that I service, my jobs are in my calendar. I am able to go thru my calendar and move families around so I can take time off.
My advice would be to plan a vacation and go. Your customers will understand. It’s called a mental break. As entrepreneurs we don’t think of ourselves first because we get conditioned to taking care of others first. It is very important to take care of ourselves. Start out with just a weekend getaway. You can choose to change your message to let callers know you are on leave until a certain date. You can return calls when you come back to reality. Start out with 1 or 2 small getaways a year. Work your way up to being gone for a week. Baby steps is the best advice I can give. Always remember this, You can’t help others if you don’t take care of yourself first.
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 back background and context?
I became an entrepreneur when the government took my disability check. I have a broken tailbone and after 10 yrs of being on disability, the government decided it was time to do a check up and see if I was still disabled. They say I am not. I have a broken tailbone and 2 plates and 4 screws holding me together, literally, lol. I started out making Kool-Aid pies. Then I ventured out into doing Uber and Lyft. Then went thru a program in my county to become a CNA. I was hired at the hospital and due to a $0.07 cents raise, I quite and got into the cleaning industry and never looked back. I also became a Notary, a Financial Coach and a Credit restoration specialist. I also have chickens now and sell eggs. I think the main thing that makes me standout from the rest is that I really care. I am knowledgeable in all my fields and I am able to help others when they have questions or need guidance or advice. My journey was not easy. I am so proud of where I am now in my life. Many years ago, I would have never thought I would be the Owner of multiple businesses. I care about what I do and my work and it shows in the quality my clients receive.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
The main thing has been being reliable. When you are owner and operator, you always have to show up. You must be dependable. If people can’t depend on you, why would they want to do business with you. I have always shown up and have always given 110%. It shows in my work and that is what customers like. They will be happy as long as you provide quality and show dependability.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
The best source has been my customers. They spread the word to their friends or family. I have never done any advertising. It has always been word of mouth. For that,I am very thankful.
