How this Virginia Beach couple found love working together in the green industry

Todd and Elizabeth Antonic had been contemplating going into enterprise collectively for 15 years. However when the couple’s daughters left for school, the couple determined it was lastly time to take the leap. After some analysis revealed the necessity for a dependable native landscaping firm, Antonick’s selected to put money into a Grounds Guys franchise. Now, they cannot think about their mini enterprise journey every other manner.

“The plan was all the time to work collectively,” says Todd, who co-owns the corporate. Virginia beach land men with Elizabeth. “My spouse gave up her profession to be a stay-at-home mother, however when the youngsters left for school, it gave us a chance to work collectively.”

Virginia seashore land males

Now two and a half years into the enterprise, Antonique says they first opened their enterprise at a time when many have been shutting down because of the pandemic.

“One of many circumstances for selecting the corporate was that it will be a mainstay—one thing folks will all the time want,” explains Todd. “We realized that landscaping is about something.”

Nevertheless, Elizabeth says these early days weren’t with out challenges. For the primary eight months of their opening, the couple had been battling Covid-19 themselves, which turned out to be “Lengthy Covid” for Elizabeth (who she’s nonetheless battling right now).

“We had double pneumonia – the entire 9 yards,” she remembers. However we went forward and made positive our crews have been nonetheless working. It helped that we laid the groundwork earlier than we have been even an official enterprise. We didn’t intervene with out due diligence.”

A part of what makes them profitable as husband and spouse enterprise homeowners, Elizabeth says, is their mutual respect for each other.

“We even have our personal roles that help our completely different strengths,” she provides. “We actually imagine in one another and know that being affected person and respectful of each other is important to our success.”

Todd says you’ll be able to’t have “two bosses in the identical space” and stresses that it is necessary to be “the chief your self in your space.” He provides that the couple makes use of each other as a sounding board. Each Elizabeth and Todd deal with their areas of power.

“The toughest half is eradicating a number of the feelings from the equation once we speak about enterprise,” says Elizabeth. “We all the time keep in mind that we’re in it collectively and that in the long run we have now the identical aim, even when we have now completely different concepts.”

Separation of labor and private life

One other key to success, Elizabeth says, is conserving their work and private lives as separate as doable.

“We be sure that to separate work life from dwelling life,” says Elizabeth. “There is a change we have now the place we all know that once we go away work life, we flip it off — after which we go into married life. We do not speak about work at evening, we speak about private issues. We have realized that there must be some separation.”

The couple says the training alternatives proceed — however general, having a enterprise collectively has made them stronger. They each say they now cannot think about him being there every other manner.

“Life is brief,” Elizabeth sums up. “That is one thing we actually needed to do collectively.”

Todd agrees.

“This was a chance for us to work intently collectively on one thing we may each be obsessed with,” he says. “It has been very rewarding.”