Most of us grew up learning the importance of taking care of the environment. From Captain Planet to Fern Gully, we’ve had our fair share of lessons. But nothing may be as powerful as the popular children’s book, The Wartville Wizard. The short story tells of one man exasperated with picking up his neighborhood’s trash when no one else will. In turn, he is granted a magic power that allows him to command litter to ‘go back and stick to the person who threw you.’ With everyone buried in their own trash, he teaches the town residents that every piece counts. Mark Gatanas, founder and owner of Gatanas Services, is one such wizard for Northern Virginia. But, instead of magic powers for litter, Mark has mastered the craft of furniture restoration over the last three decades. The idea came to him from seeing furniture left on the side of the road, waiting to be taken to the dump. Rather than letting it go to waste, he saw a whole new purpose and business. But it wasn’t all smooth sanding. Since 1988, Mark has had his fair share of ups and downs, during which his own passion took a brief hiatus. It wasn’t until 2009 that he doubled down and re-branded his company into what it has become today. What does Mark attribute to his success? An unyielding tenacity, and curiosity in all things. Skills he learned from his grandfather. His advice to entrepreneurs starting out: renew yourself every once awhile. “[You should] educate, reeducate, and look for opportunities for growth, which will better serve [others].” Through his work, he hopes that he can inspire a cultural shift in the community. A society that invests in trades, thinks outside of the box. One that abandons the black and white, use or no use mentality. You can find out more about Mark, the services he offers, and examples of previous projects on Facebook and at www.gatanasservices.com
