Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacey.
Hi Stacey, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in an Iowa farming community and attended college in the “big city” of Kansas City before graduating with a Computer Science bachelor’s degree at age 21. From there, I spent 28 years in the computer industry, consulting with large companies such as McDonald’s, Abbott Laboratories, Chase Bank, USAA, Exelon and many more. I was in corporate leadership a great deal of that time and learned a great deal about people and even more about myself.
Growing up, my passions were doing anything with my hands: building things, fixing things, gardening, woodworking, metalworking, etc. Alongside all of that, I also learned from my family and community about a strong work ethic since I worked as a youth in my Dad’s construction business while also working as-needed for local area farmers; few of the jobs I had as a youth were physically easy. During my adult life, I found myself throughout my corporate career sitting in my office, dealing with whatever financial or political issue was at hand, but wishing I were outside working with my hands in some capacity. I recall on more than one occasion, while my office was on the 50th floor of a building in Chicago, I would stare out the window to watch window-washing men swinging from bosun’s chairs on the building across the street, envying the freedom of their job. I also recall admiring their courage, because you have to be half-crazy to hang from a rope 600 feet above the sidewalk, but I digress!
Eventually, it was time that I found a more fulfilling career, and that was the gift that the COVID pandemic provided me! I had relocated to South Carolina, and the pandemic had essentially put the brakes on the job market, which allowed me an opportunity to put together a business plan for a career that was rewarding and that I could create entirely for myself; that business is what has become Tuxedo Home Maintenance. The name “Tuxedo” is an homage to my previous career in Information Technology, since the mascot for the Linux Operating System is named “Tux”. Tuxedo Home Maintenance has been quite fulfilling, and that is proven by the fact that there hasn’t been a moment since leaving corporate America that I’ve thought to myself, “I sure wish I were back working in an office.”
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Without a doubt, it has been a dramatic lifestyle transition, going from living/working in major cities to running a handyman business in the foothills of South Carolina. Obviously, the income is very different since I was in corporate leadership, but I was aware that any major life change was going to impact my income – that is just something that has to be expected and accepted. Many of the real obstacles to getting a service business going from scratch, like mine, are building a brand identity, and that takes a great deal of time and many small but impactful decisions along the way. Then, there are always the challenges in dealing with the major online platforms required to run a business, which most people reading this article will likely relate to!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Tuxedo Home Maintenance is proud of the quality and ethics that we bring to our home maintenance business, and that has proven to be an asset to our customers. A very large percentage of our customers are repeat customers, and we tend to do bigger jobs for them than what many maintenance businesses might be known for. As perplexing as it is, many businesses in our trade don’t return phone calls or show up when they say they will, and our customers regularly express appreciation of the fact that we do. To underscore how much we value integrity, we actually publish a Customer Pledge on our website along with our basic operating policies, which include our commitment to full disclosure to our customers and our conviction to answering calls/messages in a timely manner.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I’m a very introspective person and being at the age I am and with the life experience I have, I learn the most about myself and my business from my customers. Aside from that, if I’m working on a large project at your house and I have my earbuds in, I’m probably listening to podcasts about philosophy, history, politics, or something that exercises my gray matter.
Pricing:
- https://tuxedohomemaintenance.com/prices/
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tuxedohomemaintenance.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TuxedoHomeMaintenance
- Other: https://mastodon.social/@TuxedoHomeMaintenance
