Leadership, problem-solving skills, and the ability to remain calm under pressure are just a few of the skills the men and women in our armed forces fine tune during their time in the military. These same skills make them natural entrepreneurs. It’s no surprise that today businesses owned by veterans generate over $1 trillion in business every year and employ 5.8 million people. One of those businesses is Prime Plus Lawn Care, owned by Tyrone.

With 23 years of experience in the Air Force under his belt, Chief Master Sergeant and MBA Tyrone returned from a tour in the Middle East and launched his business, Prime Plus Lawn Care & Services. Tyrone’s company offers lawn care services to residential and commercial properties. “I tell you, the things I went through in the past” said Tyrone. “It makes approaching a business real easy in my eyes. Because I don’t even call them challenges, I call them opportunities. Whatever things may occur, it makes them easier to work through.”

With his business, Tyrone transforms his challenges into opportunities. When he started his business he needed a loan to purchase the commercial-quality equipment necessary to increase profitability and expand. He started by seeking help from the SBA’s website.

“That’s how I was connected to Ascendus,” explained Tyrone. It’s not always easy to figure out where you need to go. The SBA helped Tyrone find safe and affordable lenders, while Ascendus gave him the loan he needed to continue growing his business.

Tyrone is now busy pounding the pavement alongside his one, full-time employee. Together they have set out to continuously grow their client base. We’ve been landing mostly residential contracts, a few leads for day cares and a church too. I knock on doors, we wear uniforms — we also paid a marketing person too for door hangers and a website my trailer is wrapped with our business logo.

We’re proud to support veterans and business owners like Tyrone as they build businesses, create jobs and offer local services across the country.