Copyright cherokeephoenix
KEYS – At 12-years-old, Cherokee Nation citizen Dillin Springwater began his path of entrepreneurship earning money mowing lawns with a push mower and helping build fences through his parent’s business. “The first time I started mowing grass, I was probably 12. Used my birthday money to go buy a push mower. From there, I’d upgraded to one of them Craftsman riding mowers. Then when I was 16, I bought my first zero turn (mowers). I still have it,” he said. “In the fence side, I did that since I was probably about 12 as well. Dad had me out there augering and then tying (fences) and all that.” Now, approximately 20 years later, he owns, co-owns and manages three separate businesses. “I’m the owner of Springwater Outdoor Solutions (formerly Springwater Lawn Care). I have a partnership in Ozark Gutter Solutions – me and another guy own it and do it together as well – and then I am the ops guy for my mom and dad’s company, Springwater Fence. I handle all operations and public relations and customer service and all that great stuff,” he said. Each business has its own area of expertise. With Springwater Outdoor Solutions, the focus is all things landscaping from mowing to building retaining walls and French drains. Ozark Gutter Solutions installs seamless gutters and Springwater Fence builds an assortment of fences. Each business offers services both commercial and residential. “We do quite a bit in Tahlequah and expanding to Muskogee, and we do Stilwell and Sallisaw,” he said. Thanks to his successes in business and service to his community, Springwater was awarded the Cherokee Phoenix Seven Feathers Business Award. “I always want to give all the praise to God that I even have the opportunities or the abilities that he’s gifted me. I also want to recognize my team of guys and gals. We couldn’t have success without all of them,” he said. “It’s amazing. I’m so blessed that people recognized (me). It’s not really why I do it, for the recognition. What kind of pushed me when I was younger in my 20s, I was kind of complacent.” While he was happy cheering others on, he wanted to accomplish more with the hopes of having more influence so he in turn could help people and his community. “I ran into some situations where I couldn’t help because I didn’t either have the skill or have the financial ability or the influence to do anything. So, when I ran into that crossroads, I was mad at myself because I was like, ‘you want to help people, then you got to help yourself be better and amount to something more so then you can help others more.’ That’s kind of what drives me,” he said. When looking at his and his family’s success, he said they “would not have near the blessings and abilities” if it was not for Cherokee Nation and being Tribal Employment Rights Office certified. “We were one of the very first TERO businesses there was back in the late (19)90s, early 2000s. My dad was the starter of Springwater Fence. When he began, kind of the first big job he ever won with Cherokee Nation was down at Cherry Tree at the landfill. They didn’t have a fence. He went in to bid it. That was kind of the beginning,” he said. “I would say without TERO and Cherokee Nation we would not have near the blessings and abilities of having what we have and been able to build the company we built without all the opportunities that they’ve given us.”
