“I believe in being an asset to what your effort is, not a liability,” Rich Benevento stated. Benevento is the owner of Heck Yeah!, a successful Tucker-based design studio, and an asset is exactly what he is, both to his clients and his community.
History
Benevento received his BFA from the University of Connecticut. “I went to school for engineering and art,” Benevento detailed, “but I was too chicken to only be an artist,” he concluded with a broad smile. He gained employment in a print shop following college, an experience he recalls as necessary “boot camp.” It was working there that Benevento gained much of the experience he needed to bolster his future career endeavors. After working for a few corporate agencies and branching slowly into freelance, Benevento decided to take the leap into sole propietorship in 1995. Since then, Benevento has built his company on honest practices and word of mouth, now boasting clients nationwide.
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The Work
An exact formula for company longevity and success doesn't exist, but Benevento seems to have calculated something close. “I try to cost-effectively grow your business with the proper voice,” he explained. This means being “nimble and flexible...doing a lot of work upfront...and realizing that one size doesn't fit all,” he said.
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The Heck Yeah! business structure is simple, yet smart and effective. Benevento has brought an expert team of developers, designers, writers and artists together, turning to appropriate parties when client needs arise. Plus, it's virtual, eliminating the overhead of operating a large office – essentially reducing client costs. “I've never had a retainer,” Benevento told me. He customizes his services to his clients, and he does so with a down to earth, results-oriented approach.
What does Heck Yeah! do exactly? They offer corporate branding, website design, trade show graphics, advertising and direct mail campaigns, as well as other services designed to “meet the marketing objectives of businesses that have outgrown their in-house graphics resources, now requiring high-end, professional materials,” cites the website.
The Community
“I'm all about Karma and building a sense of community,” Benevento said. He proves this by being extremely active in Tucker.
Benevento joined the Tucker Business Association in 2002, hoping to meet like-minded people. He did. He then became involved with the Tucker Civic Association, donating his website design services to both organizations. Benevento had ennobling things to say about these organizations, their different goals and the possible future growth and success they could experience working as a team.
Benevento is one of many residents affected by DeKalb County's school redistricting rigamarole, as he has a child attending the successful yet threatened Livsey Elementary. In addition to attending the countless meetings addressing this pressing matter, Benevento designed SaveLivsey.com in order to promote awareness of the issue and generate support for recourse.
Heck Yeah! has designed some of the Tucker Day t-shirts and Christmas tree lighting ceremony posters, and in what spare time Benevento finds, he gives back in other ways by coaching a church basketball team or reading to his children's classes.
“I'm so grateful to have this quality of life,” he stated. His gratitude was apparent, and if more people believed in and practiced Benevento's philosophy of investing in the greater good, the Tucker community would surely benefit.
