In this episode of Beyond the Mark, Joe Toma sits down with Tony Konja, the founder and CEO of Artistic Outdoor Services, a commercial landscape design and maintenance company that has become a staple across Michigan. Tony shares how he turned a one-man, one-truck operation into a thriving business with over 25 trucks — servicing hospitals, shopping centers, and even designing a butterfly garden for the city of Southfield. From chasing his first $200 contract to maintaining a 23-year hospital relationship, Tony gets real about the hustle, setbacks, and breakthroughs that defined his entrepreneurial journey. Whether you’re scaling your service-based business or learning how to build a brand that clients stay loyal to, this episode delivers.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How Tony went from nearly becoming an auto designer to launching a landscaping company in college
Why his first $200 shopping center contract changed everything
The key lesson from a winter season that nearly broke his team
How he earned and kept high-profile contracts like Providence Hospital for over two decades
Why he’s not afraid to fire high-paying clients who cause chaos
His unique approach to team culture, scheduling, and client communication
The secret to leaving a lasting brand impression — even with a pack of gum
Tony’s passion for community involvement and charitable giving
Mentioned in this episode:
Artistic Outdoor Services
Monarch Butterfly Garden in Southfield, MI
Michigan Green Industry Association (MGIA)
Hot Pink Helpers (Breast Cancer Awareness initiative)
LinkedIn – Tony Konja
Instagram & Facebook – @artisticoutdoorservices and @tonykonja_artisticoutdoor
Website – Artistic Outdoor
Phone – 248-855-8575
Guest Shot (00:00)
Welcome to Beyond the Mark, the podcast where we uncover stories, strategies, and moments that shape remarkable brands and the people behind them. I'm your host, Joe Toma. Today's episode is a great one. My guest is Tony Konja, the founder and CEO of Artistic Outdoor Services, a powerhouse in the world of commercial landscaping. Tony started with nothing more than a truck and a wheelbarrow, and his company manages hospitals, shopping centers, and signature public spaces across Michigan.
He's known for chasing down big deals, delivering top tier service and putting his logo and his legacy everywhere from flower beds to golf outings. And in this episode, Tony shares how he built his business, what nearly broke it and why he fired a $150,000 client in the name of peace and purpose. If you're a business owner, a builder or someone trying to leave your mark, this episode is packed with hard-won wisdom you don't want to miss. Let's get into it.
Speaker 2 (01:05)
Tony, welcome, thanks for coming on.
Speaker 1 (01:08)
Awesome, Joe, thanks for having me on today. I look forward to it.
Speaker 2 (01:11)
Definitely. ⁓ I like to first start by saying what do you do exactly in your own words and why do you do it?
Speaker 1 (01:19)
Okay, great. I basically started the business just early on in college. Just kind of right in college either I was going to go to college and be a auto-buy designer designing cars or it's like one summer I picked up a truck and a wheelbarrow and started doing landscaping. What I learned was I love being outdoors. I love creating things. Being a landscape designer installer, it's like about creating things and basically helping people build their brand by me.
taking care of their property. initially I knew that I didn't want to work in the grocery business like my dad had had back in the day. Through high school I worked in the grocery business and I felt, no, this is just not for me. And then I went to college, like I say, trying to design cars and then ended up working one summer working outdoors and I thought, wow, this is what I really love. That's kind how it started.
Speaker 2 (02:07)
Very cool. ⁓ So you kind of told us how you started and like what pulled you in? What was the thing that you enjoyed about it so much that you wanted to keep doing it?
Speaker 1 (02:20)
think it was kind of about more of, you know, being outdoors and just not being at the same place every day, going to a desk job. think people, either you love it you don't. Either you're a butterfly and you're flying around town like I do. I mean, I might visit, you know, 10 job sites in a day. Of course, in the beginning, you know, I'm doing the work, physical work myself. I'm out there on the guy cutting the grass, installing the flowers, the shrubs, the mulch. I'm the guy doing all the work. But as you...
you over time you want to build your company. The goal is to build your company and do multiple, know, increase your sales. With that you got to hire people. You in the beginning you do all the work yourself I think with a lot of entrepreneurs. In the beginning they do all the work themselves and as they start getting more clientele there's that happy balance. Get more clients, get employees. Get more clients, get more employees. I really enjoyed the entrepreneurship part of it so I knew at that time I didn't want to work for General Motors. I didn't want to do a desk job.
I love being outdoors and I like negotiating. I like chasing the client. And when I find an opportunity to meet someone and I want to get that business, I'm relentless on that. I'll go after that client and just negotiate and just know there's that you want to like land the contract like anybody. know, your follow-up is key. So I enjoy the business for multiple reasons. Being outdoor, being in many places at one time.
you know, the art of the deal or the chasing the deal down. So there's multiple reasons why I enjoy what I do.
Speaker 2 (03:51)
So you're talking about closing deals, how you fund, tell me about the first deal that you closed and what that was like.
Speaker 1 (03:58)
would say probably back in the day, it did start off in this business, and this is to any young entrepreneur trying to get into the landscape business, because I do mentor some younger guys that are getting the business, that of course in the beginning you have to start with residential homes. Everyone knows that. Now today, I'm doing commercial hospitals, big shopping malls, I'm doing hotels, bigger properties, let's say apartment complexes, condominium sites. That's today. That's 10, 15 years in the business. In the beginning,
You start off with picking up residential homes. You're knocking on that door and you're trying to, does that sound good? Knocking on that door, trying to basically pick up the homeowner that needs their grass cut. And that's how it all started with residential. And then I had a mentor in my life that said to me, you really gotta get out of the rental business. You wanna get into some big revenue, some big contracts with more money and bigger profits. You gotta get into commercial. And that person helped me land my first shopping center.
And once I landed that first shopping center, you're going from cutting someone's house for 20 bucks a cut to like $200, $200. And then from one shopping center, you go into the larger properties later on as time goes on, and you're starting to see bigger contracts. So initially when I started, I always say this is a funny thing I say, I started with one truck and one wheelbarrow. Now it's 25 trucks and 25 wheelbarrows. We grow the company. But it's always, know.
My philosophy also is baby steps in business. I've never wanted to grow too fast and just, you know, out of control, then you can't service the client, of course, right? So I've always had that philosophy of baby steps in business.
Speaker 2 (05:36)
So that first shopping center that you got, what was it like winning that negotiate? Do you remember it?
Speaker 1 (05:42)
Yeah, I remember it. Actually, I know it's Redford Plaza on Telegraph Road in like West Chicago somewhere. And it's like, oh, wow, this is a huge property. I'm going to be cutting the grass here. This is great. Through an introduction through a friend, of course, referring me in one of my mentors in life. And he introduced me to the person and said, yeah, give Tony a shot at it. And no problem. I'm happy to give you a shot based on a recommendation. That's how it always happens. Referrals, right? We all know this in life. It's important to get referred by a friend or a
another contractor that's in a different type of service. So yeah, they gave me a shot at it and probably had that contract for like five or seven years before they showed the property and then that happens in our business. The property gets sold, a new owner comes in, he's got a relationship with another landscape contractor. So sometimes you do lose the work, you know, then you got to, that's why we're always going to be chasing. We're always chasing new work because properties get sold a lot in this industry. So you might lose the contract. There's been many times I've kept the contract too.
and gain a new customer, which I like. So yeah, that's the philosophy of kind of like, you know, where do you start and how do
take it?
Speaker 2 (07:35)
victory would you do afterwards when you landed that deal?
Speaker 1 (07:38)
I to work. You got to get to work. You got to get the guys in place and get things scheduled and get organized. ⁓ So yeah, I enjoyed the journey of that, know, taking it to where I'm at today. And it's really hard work. You know, people understand it's like, you got to go after it.
Speaker 2 (07:57)
Mmm.
Speaker 1 (07:59)
We're always chasing deals, right? We're always chasing deals. We're trying to get the next deal. We're trying to meet the new client. We're trying to get new opportunities. And it comes over time. You do that. But you've got to start somewhere.
Speaker 2 (08:11)
What's been the most satisfying part about the journey building this business over the years?
Speaker 1 (08:17)
I'd say the most satisfying part of it is learning that you can do it because it's not easy to learn to how to grow your company.
and balance everything. How do I make sure everything's working properly within the company, the managers, the office staff, your people that work in the office compared to your people that work in the field? For me, it's two different things. I'm kind of managing all the people in the field along with help. Of course, I have managers that help me with that. And also, too, making sure the office is going well. Make sure the billings are getting sent out, the invoicing is getting sent out, the secretary is typing up all the proposals and making sure
renewing proposals and is everyone getting their proper insurances. There is that happy balance and that's what a CEO does. A CEO is in charge of everything. Making sure it's going good on both ends. Just like if you're taking an order from a customer, making sure that the t-shirts are getting printed at the proper time and the quality is good. It's all about quality. So there is, that's what a CEO does. CEO is in charge of all the necessary things between office and field. For me, it's office and field.
And I've actually been complimented before, like, wow, your office staff is so great. They're great on billings, invoicing, receivables, payables. I've heard that many times, because they always say that the front office has got to work. Because you can't run a company if your office is not paying the bills. They're not invoicing properly, right? So we're very efficient that way, I'm happy to say.
Speaker 2 (09:46)
What do you attribute that to? Why is your team so good in the office?
Speaker 1 (09:49)
Well, obviously my wife runs the office, Madeline, so that's a key. It's a key thing. She's really good at that, just very knowledgeable, University of Michigan, accounting and finance. I got lucky there. She's great, and she's a hard worker. Works harder than me, I think, so I gotta thank her for that. She's just good at it. She's on the ball and works hard, and she's smart. I love that, and that she knows how to get things done. And then my secretary, Rita, she's great too with taking on proposals.
on designs, we'll do like a landscape design for a property. She's great at that too, so she helps me with that. So you have to thank your team members, of course. You can't all do it yourself. We all know that. So it's like your people in the office, your people in the field. I think my managers have helped me with that. manager Al and Desmond and these guys have helped me in the field because if it all relies on me, I can't get it done.
Speaker 2 (10:43)
And this could have been when you were in the residential part of your business, but when did you look at your business and say, this is real business now, like, this is where I want to go. Like, I made it, kind of. Do have like a make it moment?
Speaker 1 (10:59)
Yeah, definitely. I would say when I probably landed my first hospital contract, when I landed Providence Hospital in Novi, it might have been 10 years in the business and I'm here, I'm getting out of the residential market. I don't even remember the time that I did residential for five or seven years. Then I sold off all residential started getting commercial. So I picked up a few shopping centers, maybe gas stations. When I landed Providence Hospital Novi.
Knock on wood, I still have it today. 23 years later, I still have the hospital contract. So that means that tells you something. I'm good at what we do, right? So I think that was the big moment. literally the facility people came to my warehouse and had to look at all my trucks and my equipment to see if we can handle this hospital. It's a big deal.
They want to check you out. You just can't show up to a property and give a proposal. Like, here's my numbers. They literally got to come check you out. They want to see if you have the proper trucks and equipment and the proper team to get it done. When they came out to my warehouse and looked at everything, they're like, OK, this guy's legit. You know, he's got, at that time, I remember I actually had 10 trucks. So we're in the middle from 1 to 25. We were at 10. Wow. And we were able to land that contract and slowly do a great job. Obviously, that first year and 22 years later, we're still doing a great job.
So you always remember your first big one. You'll probably remember that too, Joe, your first big t-shirt, contract, or shirt, or embroidery, right? You always remember your first. Yeah, I think that was exciting to say, you and it's cool that I can say that I still have it today.
Speaker 2 (12:22)
I think so.
Yeah, I can tell, like, when you say that, like...
Speaker 1 (12:36)
enthusiasm.
Speaker 2 (12:37)
Yeah,
oh yeah. excitement. You know, I that little glimmer in your eyes.
Speaker 1 (12:41)
Yeah,
a little sparkle. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:43)
on the opposite side of that, like what was the hardest hit that you took to the business?
Speaker 1 (12:49)
You know, the economy plays a big role in any kind of service industry business. And I remember when the economy, the mortgage industry hit, people weren't spending as much. People are losing their homes, and they're losing the economy stuff. We're going through that mortgage transitioning. that was, was that 2008 or something? I can't remember what year that was.
So I think it was 2007, 2008, and at that time even commercial property owners are having a hard time with their tenants because their tenants, know, business is down. So then, you know, they're trying to cut back on expenses. They don't want to put flowers in, they don't want to put mulch in there. These are upgrades to properties where we would install new trees and shrubs, right? Like, no, can't do that this year. So it's like that time, you know, whatever that time was, like two, three year period.
It was tough because people spent expenses were down. They weren't spending, it's like them ordering more t-shirts and hoodies for you. I'm just kind of relating in a way like they want all the goodies. They want everything embroidered, but sometimes we're just gonna go with the basic right now. So at that time, sales were down. That makes it difficult for us to be able to do all the things we wanted to. Buy new trucks, buy new equipment. I think that's hard for us, but we made it through.
we were able to sustain and keep going, you know, through the tough times and then you're just trying to figure out how do I get to the next level. The way to do that is of course increase sales. Everyone says that. It's always about the sales. If you hear any podcast, any sales person, any business coach talk about, it's always about the sales. So I'm excited to say that sales are up. Yeah, sales are up.
Speaker 2 (14:27)
Okay, yeah.
Nice to hear. Yeah. How about a project that flopped so bad that you were questioning everything. You ever have those moments?
Speaker 1 (14:39)
Yes. In this industry of service, there's times where in the beginning when we were still learning, I'll give you two scenarios. One was a winter scenario where I didn't know how to do my scheduling and my routing with all the trucks and equipment. Let's say we're servicing 25 properties for their snow plowing. I was literally was booking my trucks like 13 hours over scheduling my guys, overworking my guys, overworking all of us.
trucks and equipment, we are working like 13 hour shifts, which is way too long. You know, now we want to be done in 8 to 10. If you overwork, what's happening with that is if you overwork your guys and you're putting too much work on one team member, what happens is they're giving bad service to the customer. Not only are overworking the employee, you're giving bad service to the customer because let's say we're trying to get five properties done a night, that last property you're trying to get to in the snow piling industry, you've got there at
8 o'clock, 9 o'clock in the morning. Now they're open for business at 9 and you're just showing up to plow their parking lot? That's not a good thing. They're like, hey, we're open for business. Why is my parking lot done? It's because the owner overscheduled and overworked his guys. That's like, I'm trying to get more revenue done, but it's not about the revenue. You can say, oh, I wanted this truck to produce $1,000 night. No, it's OK if you only produce $800 because you can get it done in eight hours instead of 10 hours or 12 hours. So I think that's a big thing I learned over the years.
Don't overwork your employees. Now we have a system where 45 hours a week, we're 10 hours a day, four days a week, 10, 11 hours a day, four days a week, we're done. We're done with our work in four days. We don't even work Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and all the employees love it. They have every Friday off, all summer long. So it's the nicest thing. I'm able to recruit employees because of that. Because in the industry, people know to work a lot in landscape. I see a lot of companies out there working on 60 hours a week. Six days a week, 10 hours a day. That's just too much. We have to give the employees time to reset.
and it's hard work outside. We're working in the heat. So I think I've learned over the years not to over schedule, not to overwork the team members, and it's not about trying to get more revenue. The bottom line is not the revenue, it's about the quality of work. And that's the thing too, if we're overworking them, we're probably doing shoddy work.
Speaker 2 (16:55)
Yeah, I was just going to say that because you said sales. It's like all about sales and growing. But I think a big part can also be attributed to your attention to not just your staff and their comfort and wanting to come back and show up. And I'm sure it helps with turnover. Sure. Yeah. But the service that they're going to output for your client to see, the results that your company is going to have. And I think
As just as much as growing your company with sales, growing your company with services. Yes. Hand in hand.
Speaker 1 (17:30)
It's
not always about the total sales are going to produce. And remember having a meeting one year going into the wintertime with one of my managers. I said, listen, we're not going to add more accounts on this year. I'm happy to have the same exact counts as last year. I want to do a better job. And even though I think I purchased more trucks, but with the more trucks, want to do less work per, let's say, per truck by adding in more trucks that allowed to fan out the work we had.
with the same amount of contracts but more vehicles, let's say. So that means everyone's working eight hours now instead of 10. So even though I'm buying more equipment, I'm not trying to add more sales on it, if that makes sense. Maybe people in the industry will understand that. That kind of goes with anything. You can only put your personnel there to do so much.
Speaker 2 (18:16)
It's just like us, maybe we get more equipment, but maybe it's to turn it out faster, do it better, or be more efficient.
Speaker 1 (18:22)
Exactly.
Yes, exactly. Be more efficient. That's key thing. So I think I learned that over time. It was always about run, run, run, run, run. Work as many hours as you can in day. So we worked crazy hours. We'd work in the beginning, dusk till dawn. We worked till 9 o'clock at night. Now everyone's off at 5.30.
Speaker 2 (18:44)
Beautiful.
Speaker 1 (18:45)
Yes,
and we understand they have a life, they have a family, they got to rest, they got to take a break. So I think that's part of efficiencies in business you learn over time. In the beginning you don't know anything. I didn't go to school for this, I just kind of learned from my dad owning a grocery store running a business, but they would work 12 hours a day. And I didn't want to do that. I knew I didn't want to do that.
Speaker 2 (19:07)
If you could design your perfect project, what's your favorite thing that you could do? If somebody called you and said, I want this, and it was the best thing that you ever heard, what would that sound like?
Speaker 1 (19:27)
That's
a cool question. ⁓ If I didn't say this earlier, we didn't mention it, I think you might have said it, the company name is Artistic Outdoor Services, so we are a design, build, maintain firm. We're gonna design your landscape, we're gonna build it, install it, and then we're gonna maintain it. So I like that part of it. I love seeing a project through. A perfect example is we did a butterfly garden for the city of Southfield last year. It's right along Northwestern Highway by Evergreen or Civic Center. It's really a cool project where
Actually, we didn't design that one, so I can't take credit for that. was a landscape park that designed it. But we installed it, and we're maintaining it. And it's just beautiful. Flowers are blooming throughout the year. Butterflies are flying in the garden. It's a monarch butterfly. There's a huge statue that's 20 foot tall of a monarch butterfly. So it's really cool to see the statue. Then all the landscaping surrounding it is a butterfly garden. With stepping stones, you walk through it. So we installed it, and we maintain it.
But there's other projects that I've seen. Even we do, who knows? I'd say I've done some residential, high-end residential. We're not a residential company, but we completed a house in Bloomfield Hills last year that I designed it. And what I do is ⁓ I have a nickname called Landscape God. So I come up with the idea. I design it, and I install it, and I maintain it. So it's kind of fun to say that you come up with that idea. And the name artistic is very creative, right? So I feel like I have the knack of
even though I didn't go to design school. I just can see things that other people can't see. when it comes through and I put it on paper, I can design it, I can install it, and I can maintain it. So there's been multiple projects that I'm excited about.
Speaker 2 (21:06)
So if somebody called you and said unlimited budget, do you know what that would look like or what it or.
Speaker 1 (21:13)
That
actually just happened. I was kind of shocked. I met with the subdivision association recently in West Bloomfield and they said we have a $100,000 budget. I'm like, wow, that's a good budget. Thank you for that. So I initially designed the center island a couple of years ago. We installed it. Everything went great. That was $100,000. And now they said we want you to landscape both right and left side. And I'm going to design it. I'm going to install it. And I'm going to maintain it. So that's kind of cool when people say that. I have $100,000 budget right up front. That's great. And we want to work with you.
That's the best part. The last process we did with you, which was the center island of the subdivision entrance, it went great. We loved it. Your communication's great. Your follow-up's good. So of course, they're not even getting other bids. I love when I hear that. And I have a lot of clients like that saying, we're not shopping you. We're just going to stick with you because you do a good job. You mean what you say. You say what you mean. That's a big thing in any business world. You mean what you say, and you say what you mean. So I do. I'm that person. I'm going to give it to them straight.
And even if we have to negotiate a price, you know, I have to say what I say, but I'm going to follow through. I think it's important.
Speaker 2 (22:18)
Yeah, I want to check these out. if people wanted to look at some of the beautiful work that you've done, you're saying the one in Southfield, the monarch butterfly? Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:27)
⁓ It's on
LinkedIn, it's on Instagram, it's on Facebook, it's on all my socials, Artistic Outdoor Services, Tony Kanja, you look, can Google you one of those?
Speaker 2 (22:37)
I
wanna go like drive there. I wanna get the feel for the whole...
Speaker 1 (22:40)
yeah, that's on Northwestern Highway right there by Civic Center Drive. And you'll see a place right across the street called Red Pole Park. The big red poles, that's another thing. that's a house. can't remember. Random people driving by there.
Speaker 2 (22:52)
Bloomfield.
Okay, you can't do that.
No, didn't you say the city gave you a hundred thousand dollar budget?
Speaker 1 (23:01)
No, this is the new subdivision association. That project was over $100,000. It was a beautiful job. And of course, you're going against other people. And ⁓ it's nice to know that you were awarded that. I really wanted it. I thought, this is a staple project for the company. And I can say I do the butterfly garden, just like I can say I did Providence Hospital, Novant. I still have that contract today. And we do Children's Hospital. We've been doing it multiple years. So I really enjoy. I think that it's something different every day.
Speaker 2 (23:03)
so I got you.
Speaker 1 (23:31)
You know, people that love their jobs, you know, they love them for a reason. But for me, I love what I love about just something different every day. My day is never the same every day. I love chasing down deals, and I love doing charitable events, charitable causes. I love the networking thing. People know that I'm a networker. I love that. So I have that concept of, you know, also connecting other people. Love doing that too. It's like the full circle, right?
Speaker 2 (23:58)
Yeah, definitely. When you look back at the business all these years, what do you think? What hits you about it?
Speaker 1 (24:11)
I think there were times I was definitely very stressed out, like people go through in their life growing the business. You don't have the right employees, you don't have the right people, you know, the right clients, you know, there's a saying that came up, someone told me this, and so I'm another mentor, I'm another mentor of mine, like pick the best and leave the rest. It's okay to fire a client at the end of the year, because that client stressed you out, and that actually happened last year. This client was probably giving me $150,000 a year in business, but it was like so much.
stressed out myself, stressed out my client, my managers, it stressed everybody out in the company. Employees that work with this guy on these projects, it was just like not a fun experience. Like, don't want to do this, this is not fun. Why are we arguing on the phone all the time about stupid stuff? We don't want to argue. I like to have a peaceful conversation and just move through the project, but he made it more difficult because he was not organized. He was cluster, you know, so it's like nothing was matching up.
And at the end of the year, I end up firing him and said, we're done. And then even tried to bring me back again the next year. And I'm like, I was considering it. I'm like, no. He's like, I'll give you all this work. We're not going to. I won't give you a hard time. Like, you're saying that now. Like, you know you gave me a hard time. yeah, pick the best and leave the rest. It's so important to pick your clientele because they really are running your life. It's important to make it easy on yourself.
Speaker 2 (25:35)
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:36)
I'm not sure if that answered the question. No, it did.
Speaker 2 (25:38)
So if you were to take a project, a lesson, ⁓ a tool, a personal item, let's say you were going to bury this thing and somebody was going to find it, what would that be that would kind of let them know about your legacy and what you would want them to know? Like a time capsule. Like somebody found it 50 years from now.
Speaker 1 (26:00)
It feels like buried in the ground.
It'd be probably some of my stupid novelty stuff that I give away. Like I was giving out shoe signs with artistic logo on it. I was giving out koozies at like trade fair, trade shows with like, know, artistic logo on it. I put artistic on everything. I have artistic, you know, of course logo shirts that we put our name on. So we're everywhere. The trucks are artistic everywhere. I've recently come up with a new thing. It's a pack of gum. So I go to people's offices and I give a pack of gum. Here's an artistic pack of gum.
and then it sits on their desk and they have a couple pieces of gum and it sits there forever and the logo is literally right there. if I put a time capsule underground it would be a pack of gum with artistic on it, it would be a shoeshine with artistic on it, it be a koozie with artistic on it. I even came up with shot glasses with beads on it that hang over your, you know, for like our Tigers opening day party. It's a beads with a shot glass right here that it holds right in front of you so if you want to take a shot it's right there and it's got artistic on it. So I'm like putting artistic on everything. Even when I had a hummer back in the day,
I put artistic on my hammer.
Speaker 2 (27:03)
Yeah, feel like that's a plug for me. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (27:06)
It's
a plug for you. I put the logo on everything, Don't you want to? Yeah. Doesn't everybody want to? But I went as far as a shot glass and a pack of gum. That's kind of silly. Right? So that's what's going to go in the capsule. They're going to know it's me. Well, of course, the name's on there.
Speaker 2 (27:20)
Yeah. ⁓
Cool. And I would say this is just like, this is more like kind of a fun question, but when your clients see your project, what do want them to think about you?
Speaker 1 (27:37)
to think that it was an easy process because I think I do make the process easy. very, you know, communicative. I'm really good at communication. People say you're really, I've talked with, you know, top-notch businesses in town, CEO of big companies and they say, you're such an involved owner, Tony. Whereas the owner of a company, I could easily put that responsibility on other people in my company, account managers and other things, but I'm such an involved owner. I'm copied on every email. I'm CC'd on all the emails coming.
and forth with communication with other managers of my company, but I'm such an involved owner, I want them to understand that the process is going to be easy working with me. I'm not argumentative, I'm easygoing, I'm only here to help things go better, and I've always, bring more to the table than any other person I feel in this industry because I'm going show up, I'm going to be there, and that's why I'm not the largest company in town. Of course, there's companies that are ten times the size of me, but I'm not trying to be that guy. I just want to be the best.
I want to be the biggest, I to be the best. And want to, you my clients all know that I'm involved with their process and making sure things go well for them because it's their investment. And their piece of real estate or their shopping center or their restaurant that they do, it's got to look good. And there's been times I've had team members fail. Like we installed some flowers one time, they all died. Or we installed new row of shrubs. I remember we installed a shopping center.
It was a little bit too late in the season. I think we installed it like December 10th. But we were trying to get the project done. And I always say I have a new philosophy now, like let's don't install trees and shrubs after Halloween, because it's just too late. Come springtime, all the trees and shrubs died. So it was like 100 shrubs and 25 trees by springtime, everything died. I'm like, oh no. So I had to go there and replace everything. So not only was it costly, it was embarrassing.
And they said, do you think you can get this project done this year? I'm like, oh yeah, we'll do it December 10th. Why not? And it was just a bad call. Because if the plants and the roots can get rooted to the system, to the ground, they're just going to freeze and die. So we don't want that. We want healthy plants. We want healthy trees. So that's a learning experience right there. I learned over time that you cannot do that. And I'm still learning. I'm sure as time goes on, everyone's still learning.
Speaker 2 (29:54)
Yeah. Is there something I should have asked you about that I didn't ask you about?
Speaker 1 (30:02)
⁓ as far as myself personally or the business?
Speaker 2 (30:05)
the business and and kinda what you might want to share for people who are listening something you want them to know about you or your business
Speaker 1 (30:12)
I
would say I love getting involved with charitable events. very much involved with the community. I know if we discussed it before, but I've served on the Kellyanne Chamber Board of Directors. I've served on that chamber board. Some of my involvement's in the community, which is important to me. For me, it's not always about the business. I'm not going to work on the business seven days a week, right? Yeah. So my involvement in the community has been great. I served on the Landscape Association for the State of Michigan. It's called Landscape.org is the website.
So it's called the Michigan Green Industry Association. M-G-I-A stands for Michigan Green Industry Association. And I was on their board for five years. And they voted me member of the year, which is great, because that's voted by your members. So there's probably 3,000 landscape contractors here locally in Michigan. They're like, Tony's great. He gives back. So let's vote him member of the year. It's voted by the members, just like other things. And then I served on the Southfield Chamber of Commerce, which I really wanted to involved with the city of Southfield, which that's where I just did the butterfly garden.
Lawrence Tech University is on the board, Beaumont Hospital is on the board, and I do work for all these people. I think someone else on the board too I can remember. So I like being involved with that Chamber of Commerce. ⁓ I think I said that I did the Chaldean Chamber. And then I did Detroit Regional Chamber, because ⁓ I do a lot of work in Detroit, so I thought, me get involved with that community. And that was great too, a lot of powerful figures involved with that. Presidents of Henry Ford Hospital and ownership of Detroit Pistons.
you know, Imagine Theater, these are all owners of companies that are sitting on this board trying to make the community better, which I love that. I'm always trying to give back to the community. So that's another thing I've gone through with my career of business. Also charitable golf outings I get involved with. I'm involved with one that helps Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We call that Hot Pink Helpers. So I do that. You'll see that on all my socials that we're getting involved with that. We raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I've done
I've refugee for the Chaldean community. I've done Chaldean Ladies of Charity golf outing. Kids with Cancer, which is Angels of Hope, I've done that one. So just different array of different charitable causes. I love giving back. I'm going to take my energy and my time and help raise money. So I love doing that.
Speaker 2 (32:26)
And maybe you don't have one, but do you have a favorite of one that you were involved in, maybe more deeply than just the financial contribution or fundraising? And a favorite result or outcome out of any of these?
Speaker 1 (32:41)
think it changes over time. think back in the day, I was very involved with Adopt-A-Refugee because they were a big thing coming, know, our Kelding people coming to the community and just trying to help them out. And then over time, it changes over to, you know, kids with cancer. I was very involved with that organization for a while and it's a deep meaning, helping them raise money for that. And most recently, it's the Hot Pink Helpers, which is, you know, it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And I love that we can raise $25,000 at a golf outing, $30,000.
And what they do is they take checks, literally checks to family members, as someone who's affected by cancer. And let's say they have to quit their job because they're going through chemo radiation. They'll give them a check for $5,000 or $10,000. Help them pay their mortgage. Help them buy groceries for the family because that person can't work right now. They're going through the chemo radiation. There's a time period they need to beat that cancer. So they're going to be off work a little bit. So we're going to help them out. There has been multiple families we've helped. That's kind of cool. That's my current passion right now.
There's other things I do too, but that's been very meaningful. That's cool. I like that.
Speaker 2 (33:47)
How can people find you?
Speaker 1 (33:49)
On socials, I'll think Tony Kanja, Artistic Outdoor Services, on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and give me a call. My office number is 855-248-855-8575. Find me through Making the Mark with Joe Toma.
Speaker 2 (34:06)
Awesome man, I really appreciate you coming on, this was fun. Awesome, alright see you Tony. Appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (34:09)
Yes, thank you.
Guest Shot (34:17)
That's a wrap on today's episode. Thanks Tony for sharing your journey, from pushing a wheelbarrow to running a 25 truck operation. What stood out to me was his relentless drive to chase opportunity and willingness to walk away from business that doesn't align with his values. That kind of leadership goes beyond the mark. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to follow, subscribe. If you really liked it, leave a review. It helps people discover the show. Connect with Tony by searching artistic outdoor services on LinkedIn and Instagram, be sure to check out that Butterfly Garden in Southfield. Thanks for listening, and as always, go out there and make your brand remarkable.