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Lighting is the subtle shift. That spark of brilliance. The element that transforms a space from ordinary to extraordinary.
The Reveal is where lighting professionals, residential experts, and designers come together to explore the art and business of outdoor design. From the intricacies of running a design company to the transformative power of lighting itself, this channel gives you the insight, inspiration, and tools to bring every project to life.
Andy Schwindler (00:09):
I'm Andy Schwindler. This is my wife, Michelle. Welcome to The Reveal. Hi, Michelle.
Michelle Schwindler (00:16):
Hey, Andy.
Andy Schwindler (00:17):
Back in the studio.
Michelle Schwindler (00:18):
Yes, we are. That was such a good interview with Katie Campbell.
Andy Schwindler (00:23):
Kitty Campbell is a real pro. I enjoyed my time talking to her and I can't wait for everyone to get the opportunity to get to know her the way that I did.
Michelle Schwindler (00:32):
Yeah. And I'm really excited for you that you've been able to go through her program with her, which is Leadership Lafayette. I know that just being a part of this community for a handful of years with all the other business professionals, some of the most impressive people that I've met to date in the Lafayette community have gone through this program.
Andy Schwindler (00:53):
Yeah, it is an extraordinary program, and I got to give a quick shout out to Class of 55. We are the jazz hands class, and ultimately each and everyone in there has the same goal. We want to figure out how we can not only make an impression on the community, but give back to the community. And through this process, I've been able to learn a lot, not only about Lafayette, but the inner workings of how Lafayette actually has become such a great community.
Michelle Schwindler (01:25):
I'd like to ask you, when most people think about leadership, it's typically about roles. But what if leadership was more about the moment that someone feels like they're ready to step into something before they even realize that they're ready?
Andy Schwindler (01:42):
I think what I hear you asking is, how do you know you're ready for leadership? Sometimes we just put ourselves out there and hope for the best, kind of that fake it until you make it. But I think what I learned listening to Kitty is we're all leaders in our own way. It's just having the confidence to step into that role. I think that sometimes you almost feel like you need permission, permission to be a leader. And I think that that's what we're learning is you don't really need permission to be a leader. You can step up really at any time. Borrow somebody else's confidence and just do your best. People contributing, doing things that are hard, doing the hard things to have a good outcome is really what I learned from the conversation.
Michelle Schwindler (02:37):
I'm looking at it from a business leadership point of view. And I know that every business needs a strong leader. It needs someone that can see that vision before the rest of the team can. They need that leader to lead them toward the result, whether that's better profits, whether that's getting better projects, whether that is working toward a goal that the business has set. But unless there's someone that has the confidence and the vision leading that, things move pretty slowly.
Andy Schwindler (03:15):
That's true. The leadership role, because I find myself in leadership roles a lot. And it's not so much me being in charge of everyone. It's bringing the collective together to do the things. So it's not necessarily me leading other than guiding the collaboration. Does that make sense?
Michelle Schwindler (03:43):
Yeah.
Andy Schwindler (03:44):
So that's kind of how I see leadership, at least from my standpoint, is somebody needs to guide the rest of the team or other people to the end result. And some people naturally step into that role. And that's really why I think that Leadership Lafayette is there, is to help people have the confidence to step into that role to guide the initiative to what the goal is.
Michelle Schwindler (04:13):
And I think that's something I notice about you is that when you care deeply about something enough to elevate it, not everyone always sees that vision at first. And I think it takes some true courage to be able to leave all that behind and have that strong conviction the way that you do.
Andy Schwindler (04:34):
Yeah. And if I were to trace that conviction back, I think it just goes back to growing up. Growing up, I don't know that I had all the guidance to get to where I wanted to go. I struggled a little bit. I had some big wins, but I had some what I would consider some real failures along the way. And I see people. I see where they're at and I want people to have the person that I wish I would've had in their shoes. And so that's why you'll see me step up a lot of times, not only just to help, but to guide. If I can give you the cheat code, to have the confidence to do the thing, then that helps you. And that's really how I see relationships. I see it in a way that if I can help you get to where you want to go, I'm not looking for anything in return per se, but that alone is going to come back to me, whether it's through that person or through some other effort.
(05:40):
So I'm really big on helping people. If leadership and using my experience to do that is my tool, then I go for it.
Michelle Schwindler (05:51):
I think I love that about you. And you know just because you were in this place, not everybody walks through life with doors just swinging wide open for them. There's going to be a lot of nos, there's going to be a lot of skeptics, but I think the confidence may come first. Just the confidence to kind of not let those skeptics stop you from your vision because that's easy. It's easy to do.
Andy Schwindler (06:21):
It is. And thank you for obviously the kind words. I didn't always see myself in a leadership position or the ability to lead. And what I soon realized was that if I didn't take control over my outcomes, then I was never going to get to where I wanted to go. Nobody's going to just give you the thing. The sooner you can kind of realize that and you can have that confidence, even if it's borrowed confidence, the faster you're going to get to the goal. You don't realize it, but the hard things are where the growth happens. And I'm on this course now where I want to do all the hard things. I want to do it as soon as possible because I want that growth. I want that stretch. So that's kind of what you're seeing with me.
Michelle Schwindler (07:10):
So that's something that you and I talk a lot about because we've been through some things. We've
Andy Schwindler (07:15):
Been through a few things.
Michelle Schwindler (07:16):
But we've also realized along the way, we've had choices and decisions, and they're all ours. We could either let those things stop us in our tracks and we go back to our little corner in the world, or we let those things stretch us, as you said, and we grow from it and we just become stronger individuals. But also, as you said, leaders that can actually have that demonstrated proof that life does have a way of shutting doors on everybody. It's not just us or you, or just as much as you want to think that other people have it easier for you. That's right. I think that the difference is that a lot of those people have made conscious decisions along the way to bust through those walls. That's right.
Andy Schwindler (08:03):
No, I agree. And some of the things we touched on with Kitty is the idea that we're all leaders deep down. It's just how long is it going to take for you to realize it? And she has just an incredible way of seeing it in others before they see it in themselves. And it's almost magical to see. One of the things I love about Kitty is she's just a great connector. And it's just those small acts of what I consider kindness of wanting the end result for people to be connected. That alone has made her just a powerful leader. If each one of us can kind of just figure out what our superpower is, it doesn't have to be huge. It just has to be a small thing that you demonstrate over and over again. And that's leadership, if you ask me.
Michelle Schwindler (08:58):
I see why she has such an air about her. I totally just ... I love it. So that's one of the things that I love with what we've done with Sandy Beach Lighting. Honestly, it's not just going out there and doing the projects and doing the work. We've always wanted to elevate it and not just our work, but the industry as a whole.
Andy Schwindler (09:17):
Right.
Michelle Schwindler (09:18):
Tell me a little bit about what you think that means.
Andy Schwindler (09:21):
I think what you're asking me is because I'm in a lot of things. Not only do I do outdoor lighting, I do design, I do sales, I do leadership within our team, team training, the visionary, the high level visionary stuff, but I do things outside of just Sandy Beach. And a lot of those things are just really important for me to be involved with. Everything from the Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals, where I sit on the board shaping where the industry is going, that was important to me for a lot of different reasons. A one that I was nominated that meant somebody felt like I had the ability to hold that position, but hold it at a high level. This industry is in its infancy. We've been around for a long time, but lighting and the LEDs and the manufacturers, we've all come to this place where it's all so good.
(10:19):
It needs direction and it needs to continue to be elevated, elevated from not only from the design aspect, but to the installation procedures, to the design and how we document the work that we do, how we communicate our profession to the world. All that needs to be elevated. I believe in my vision and the fact that I believe in it so much, I want to help other people see it the way that I do. And being on the board has kind of helped me do that. And again, I get to help more people all at once because when you start teaching and you start bringing your experience to the table, you'd be surprised how much growth happens. If you're going to teach somebody something, you better be pretty good at it. You better at least know what you're talking about. So that's a really big deal for me.
(11:14):
So that covers the board leadership position. I'm also on the Certified Outdoor Lighting Designer Committee. I help designers get their credential of COLD, C-O-L-D, the Certified Outdoor Lighting Design Certificate. I'm a mentor in that. I want to teach that because again, I believe in my ability, I've had success. If I can help people get to that point faster, they only get better. And if we can skip some of the hard things that I've had to go through to get there, that's a gift that I can give. It's not monetary, but it's worth gold. It's worth its amount in gold. So that means an awful lot to me. And then Leadership Lafayette, why did I choose to do that? One, Kitty asked me to. She saw it in me.
Michelle Schwindler (12:06):
Multiple years.
Andy Schwindler (12:07):
Multiple years she asked me to do it, but I love this community so much and I see how powerful it is to be a part of something bigger than myself. So in my case, Leadership Lafayette is less about business leadership, but about community leadership and helping people find the opportunities within the community to give back, volunteering. And that was a big part of our conversation with Kitty was our volunteer expo that's coming up. It just is such a big deal in the sense that I didn't realize there were so many people volunteering. I didn't realize there were so many people that gave, and it's inspiring to me. I know whatever you give, you give back 10 times. I know that, but to do it and be in a position to see all the opportunities to give, especially where strengths are, where are your strengths, where your weakness is.
(13:13):
You could go either way. I want to volunteer in something that I'm really good at. That's easy, right? But I want to volunteer at something I'm not very good at. That seems hard, but sometimes the hard things pay back the most. And so that's just a quick overview of how I see leadership and why I've stepped into that position.
Michelle Schwindler (13:38):
Yeah. And I think that sometimes volunteering isn't even just about what you're good at and what you're not good at, but what do you have the capacity to do to give back?
Andy Schwindler (13:47):
That's true. You definitely have to be in a position where you can give back. And that falls on the idea of intentionality. The intention is everything that you're doing intentional. And we work really hard to make sure whatever it is, whether it's a design or a process or our client journey, we want it to be intentional and that's really the only way it can be good or even great.
Michelle Schwindler (14:19):
I think that's really what the difference is here. I think that if you care about something enough to elevate it, you can't just necessarily participate. You really have to step in and start shaping it.
Andy Schwindler (14:32):
Absolutely. And that's really what I've learned while being in the courses is there's a lot of people that are shaping the way that our community is, whether it's through Grants House, whether it's the West Lafayette and Lafayette Police Department, whether it's at the courthouse. We're seeing people that show up every single day to do the things, to make sure that all the things in our community not only continue to go smoothly, but to be elevated.
Michelle Schwindler (15:05):
So do you think that comes back around to what we do at Sandy Beach with the designs, our projects that we're providing for our clients that care about those things?
Andy Schwindler (15:18):
Absolutely. It is my job to be your trusted advisor. When I show up at a property to talk to somebody, not only am I listening to what it is that they see for themselves, it's my job to see the potential that they don't quite see yet. And if I can help them see what the possibilities are, and they trust me, that's why I built up all the accolades is so people know that when I come, that they can trust me. The outcome is usually exponential. It's usually pretty good. Nothing feels better than when I do meet with someone and they go, there's something different about the homes that we've driven by and the way they're illuminated. And that just hits me in a way that is, it's just so good. And it's because I rarely compromise. I don't know if you've noticed that about me.
(16:20):
I rarely compromise on the design scope. Obviously, budget plays a part in the decision-making process, but even when budget is an issue, it's my job to make sure that I maximize the amount of impact and I don't allow for the scene to be underwhelming, and I stick with that. And my conviction is so strong that the outcomes tell the story. That's the leadership I try to show from my position as the trusted advisor.
Michelle Schwindler (16:56):
Yeah. And I've seen that so many times over the years. We're working with clients and they've got certain restrictions, whether that's budget or it could be a lot of things, but I do notice that you're pretty steadfast in the fact that you know what the end result should look like, and we can either focus on this consolidated area and make that the best it can be, or we can focus on a larger area and make that the best it can be. But the last thing you're going to let that client do is start to remove fixtures from a design because you know that's going to dilute it. And the result has been, over the last handful of years, clients coming to us and saying, "Hey, I can really tell when I drive past the Sandy Beach Lighting House."
Andy Schwindler (17:44):
Let's go.
Michelle Schwindler (17:45):
So I don't think that would have happened had you been the kind of advisor that just lets people do what they want based on budget or whatever it may be.
Andy Schwindler (17:57):
Understood. Yeah. And sometimes I wonder if it's stubbornness because-
Michelle Schwindler (18:02):
Hey, I mean, stubbornness is not a bad thing. I mean, you can use a different context there.
Andy Schwindler (18:07):
Yeah.
Michelle Schwindler (18:08):
I mean, you're confident enough to know that this is the right thing to do and to be a trusted advisor, they've got to know that you're always going to be looking out for them.
Andy Schwindler (18:20):
That's one of the toughest things for me, the client to kind of fend for themselves when they've decided that maybe my scope is more than they really want to accomplish. But that's also why I am trying to help train the industry because I mentor people locally. I mentor my competitor, mostly because I want to see outdoor lighting elevated. So I want the entire industry elevated. I don't care if you're selling against me or any of those things that most people worry about because we grow together. It's one of those things where if the lighting industry is elevated, we all win. I'm of that mindset where abundance is my mindset and scarcity just isn't. There's enough work for all of us to go around. I just want to be a part of the projects that people want me to be a part of, and that's just my mindset.
(19:19):
I don't know how I came up with that, but it's always something I followed easier or not easy. I follow that path.
Michelle Schwindler (19:26):
Well, you've always been very fond of quality, so it's not surprising to me that you refuse to put your name on anything that's not, right?
Andy Schwindler (19:37):
Even when it's hard.
Michelle Schwindler (19:38):
Even when it's hard or even when it means that it's not going to happen at all.
Andy Schwindler (19:43):
I know. That's the part that probably bums me out the most. I do think about those opportunities that I've lost along the way, but it's important that I keep that level of integrity because I know that the right clients and the right situations will come find me when they're ready.
Michelle Schwindler (20:02):
And that's confidence. So I think that's something really important about leadership too, is being willing to step into something before others can fully see it as well. And we've been there several times in our career where we're kind of leading the way before the industry is there. I know that when we led our full-on outdoor construction company, which was the whole nine yards, including lighting, we did the patios and the bar and grill islands and the fireplaces way before any of that was cool. We were kind of leading that initiative and we were met with a lot of resistance there too. We had people asking us, "Now you're building outdoor what? " I
Andy Schwindler (20:46):
Know.
Michelle Schwindler (20:47):
Outdoor kitchens?
Andy Schwindler (20:48):
I know.
Michelle Schwindler (20:48):
And look at it now. I mean, it's almost a line item that you talk about with your builder now. I mean, everybody's got an outdoor space. We saw that was the future, and I think that's a little bit what we're seeing with lighting right now too. We put ourselves in the room with a lot of renowned lighting designers every year, multiple times a year. We've got peers working in the industry that are working on some amazing projects, doing some amazing things. So we know before the market's even ready what's possible. So you have to be ready to be met with a lot of skeptics along the way, but how do you handle that in conversation plowing through those objections and maybe skeptics?
Andy Schwindler (21:37):
I think part of my ability to see past all that, I try to bring people where I'm at. So through the conversation, it's really just trying to explore what my vision is and letting them know that I've done this before and I plan on doing it again at a very high level. It's just communication. And that's part of the reason we have the podcast. I want people to get to know us, know that we're not just a website or we're not just a place on Creasy Lane, but we're real people doing real things, trying to change the world one property at a time. So that's why I keep on keeping on. That's why I serve at the highest level as far as in the industry. It's to build that trust, to build that recognition so people want to be a part of that. People ultimately want to be a part of great things.
(22:38):
It's just how fast can we get there? And so that's my goal when I show up on property or when I take a phone call or when I meet with somebody is, how fast can we get to the end result? How fast can we do it together? If you allow me, I'll lead you down the right path.
Michelle Schwindler (22:56):
Here's what I'm kind of coming back around to is that we, Sandy Beach, we use your superpowers to help build our business so that we can continue to do the things we love to do, the work that we want to do, put out the kind of results that we want to put out into the world. But imagine people like you with that passion, that confidence, that perseverance, going out there in not just a volunteer aspect, but a leadership in your community aspect. That's right. Just how much and quickly things can change on a more widespread level, just not in our business. Actually, it's kind of cool to think about.
Andy Schwindler (23:38):
Yeah. Well, if anybody's out there that needs to borrow my confidence, I know that you can do it. It's all about putting yourself in the room. Be at the place, do the thing, and it all comes. That part I can assure you.
Michelle Schwindler (23:53):
Yeah. So where are some places that people can get in touch with you if they want to talk to you a little more about what they have going on or ask you questions?
Andy Schwindler (24:03):
Yep. So I'm pretty active on LinkedIn. I'm Andrew Schwindler on LinkedIn. I answer my messages. I'd love to connect. Reach out to me there. I think that that's a great place to get started. And again, Leadership Lafayette is a great place to reach out to. If you're curious about becoming a leader here in Lafayette, you can go to leadershiplafayette.com. You can see who the members are, you can see who the alumni is, and you can reach out to them.
Michelle Schwindler (24:30):
So if you're ready to kind of leave all the doubt behind-
Andy Schwindler (24:33):
Leave all the doubt behind.
Michelle Schwindler (24:35):
Step into that new version of yourself. That's
Andy Schwindler (24:37):
It.
Michelle Schwindler (24:37):
That's always been there. Yeah. You think this is a good step?
Andy Schwindler (24:41):
It's a great step. And we're actually, we talked about this a little bit with Kitty. We have our capstone project for Leadership Lafayette. It's the volunteer expo, and it's going to be at the fairgrounds here in Lafayette. It's going to be May 14th from 4:00 to 6:00, and you can come see all the great places where there are opportunities to volunteer. Everything from the United Way to the Boys and Girls Club, there's so many places to give back. Borrow my confidence. You can do it and come see us. I'll be there then. I'd love to shake your hand. Tell me you saw the reveal, but it's bigger than me and it's bigger than yourself and see for yourself.
Michelle Schwindler (25:25):
Awesome.
Andy Schwindler (25:26):
If you've ever thought about getting more involved or stepping into a role like this, this is a great place to start.
Michelle Schwindler (25:33):
Because at the end of the day, whether it's spaces or a community or a business, the real transformations happen when someone decides to step into that leadership role.
Andy Schwindler (25:44):
Absolutely. Thank you for joining us today. Thank you to Kitty Campbell and to Leadership Lafayette. Special shout out to Class of 55. This has been the reveal. If you'd like to see more of us, make sure you subscribe to our channel. If you'd like to schedule a design walkthrough, we have a link that you can click on. It talks about all the things that you need to know before having a design consultation with us. We'd love to hear from you.
Michelle Schwindler (26:12):
And if you're a business that's out there working with clients and you'd like to partner up with us, we'd love to hear from you. I think strong partnerships are extremely powerful in this space as well. Thanks everybody for joining us and stay tuned. We've got some more great content coming out.