Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
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. This is my wife, Michelle. Welcome to the reveal. A few weeks ago we were awarded small business of the month from Lafayette Chamber of Commerce and it got us thinking that there is some things that go into being a small business that I don't think people see. And today we're here to kind of pull back the curtain.
Michelle Schwindler (00:30):
Yeah. I think that initially what got me thinking about this episode was that we've had a front row seat to what's happened behind the scenes to get us to this point and what we still continue to do to operate at this level. But it's not something that everyone else on the outside can see. I think that people tend to see all the good things and the successes, but not necessarily what goes into it.
Andy Schwindler (00:59):
Right. They see the brand, they see the business, they see the successes, but not everybody gets to see the mistakes, the late nights, the adversity that we faced along the way. And I think today we just really wanted to talk about what some of those things are and how we got to this place.
Michelle Schwindler (01:18):
First and foremost, getting the call that we received this award was quite the moment for me that I wasn't expecting and it kind of had a different reaction internally than I would've expected had I been prepared for it. So I got the call
(01:37):
And they had let us know that we were nominated and a board reviewed it and voted on us and we received the award. And initially my first just out the gate unfiltered response was, "No, no, we're good." And I don't mean that in an ungracious way because I am so grateful, but I think that it's because of we are still feeling like we're in it. We're still working towards so much. And so to be recognized was quite the ... I can't even explain. It was just quite the feeling of feeling a little bit unprepared. I just wasn't necessarily there yet.
Andy Schwindler (02:21):
Right. Because we think about it, we get lost in the journey sometimes. We're always thinking about the big picture and the end goal. And we have this picture of what success looks like. So to be recognized, what we would consider early on just took you off guard. And I can totally understand that because when you told me I was elated. Obviously we know the hard work we put in and we think we're a great small business, but to be seen truly seen, it was a totally different feeling.
Michelle Schwindler (02:55):
Tell me how it made you feel like that being seen feeling.
Andy Schwindler (02:59):
Well, sometimes we don't always feel like we're seeing enough because we spend a lot of time, a lot of effort just getting the word out. Sometimes we talk about it. We're this hidden gem that sometimes we see ourselves get passed up on projects or different things and we're always working really hard to be in the room, to be at the places and to do all the things. So to actually have the chamber reach out to us, it was satisfying for me. It was satisfying in a way that, hey, finally, maybe other people believe in me as much as we believe in ourselves. Because when we started this, there wasn't a lot of belief and maybe there was, but there's always skeptical people that kind of tell you, "No, do something safe, get a job, do the things that people tend to do for stability and security and things along those lines." But we've never been built that way.
(04:05):
We've always kind of had a vision to do things our way. And no, it was really nice to have ourselves recognized that way. I was happy for you as much as I was for me. I mean, obviously together, but you're the one that puts our face out there. You're the one that creates the momentum that puts me out into the world to do the things that I love to do. And so I was just really happy for you because I felt like you really deserved that recognition.
Michelle Schwindler (04:37):
And again, I don't mean to bring up that moment and that initial gut instinct in a way that I was so excited. And once I got myself together and realized, "Hey, you know what? We really do deserve this because we do work awfully hard and behind the scenes. And you're right, when you do start a business, there are a ton of skeptics almost everyone actually. They're going to tell you to play it safe, or it can't be done, or it shouldn't be done, or maybe you're not good enough, or maybe you should be doing something else." And this is probably just the overall entrepreneurial spirit. And I think that other people in our shoes and small business can actually 100% understand this feeling. There's a lot of betting on yourself. There's a lot of that saying, "Hey, I hear you, but we're going to do something different.
(05:29):
We're going to do this.
Andy Schwindler (05:30):
" Absolutely. And it's every day that goes by that I tell people what I do and I talk to other guys and I talk to other businesses, landscapers and concrete guys and everybody. And the first thing I hear is landscape lighting is so easy and they're almost surprised that we've made an entire business out of it, like almost in disbelief. And it got me thinking. We were thinking about it before the show today and I thought to myself, I don't think maybe it's not hard in the one-off. Can you install some lights on one project? Absolutely. But how do you continue to sell multiple projects, elevate the projects, lead the projects, market the project, get the project out there and then wash, rinse, repeat, and do it again, but not the exact same thing continuing to elevate. And I think that's really what separates the people that think that it is easy from the people that have actually done it.
(06:35):
And so we've actually done it. So it's fun to sit back and just go, "You know what? We are really good at this. My conviction builds and my conviction in the process builds because I know what's gone into it, whether I show up for a client and they look at me sometimes like, oh my gosh, Andy, you're really passionate about what you do. " And I am, but I'm passionate about conveying what we do and why it's different. And I think that's what gets me the most excited about this.
Michelle Schwindler (07:10):
And just to kind of rewind a little bit to your point where we run into pros and the trades all the time that we do our own lighting, we also do lighting, we do lighting in- house. And here's the keywords in my mind, this is what I'm hearing. They do lighting. Installing landscape lighting is not a hard task, but that's not where it begins. It's designing the lighting experience and how you want that space to feel. And it's a completely different thing. That's
Andy Schwindler (07:41):
Right.
Michelle Schwindler (07:41):
When you talk to the patio contractor, and I mean no disrespect because they're all so talented in their trade. We love
Andy Schwindler (07:48):
Our patio contractor.
Michelle Schwindler (07:49):
But installing lights in their space versus creating a lighting design that changes the way that space, that entire space feels entirely and connecting it to the rest of the property, it's a completely different discipline. So I think that is one of my biggest feats right now is trying to change the perception of design versus doing.
Andy Schwindler (08:16):
Right. I hear you. And what I hear also, because I know the proces, is it starts with the client journey and you said something really special. You said the experience, like what is this experience compared to that experience? And that's where it's elevated. It's designing the experience from the first call to the night reveal where we're handing over the keys to this system that we've poured our blood, sweat, and tears into to make perfect. So great way to explain it. I appreciate that.
Michelle Schwindler (08:50):
Well, that's been part of our journey in starting this business is getting people to realize what it is we do and kind of to change that perception of what we do and to build the value in it. Because part of what I do as well is I pay attention to all the projects.
Andy Schwindler (09:08):
You do.
Michelle Schwindler (09:09):
I pay attention to everyone's projects, everyone's projects. So
Andy Schwindler (09:14):
Let me explain that a little bit. You're on Instagram, you're on YouTube, you're on Facebook, you're looking at all the projects, you're looking at the home builders, the custom home builders, the architects, the landscapers, and you're going, how can we help them understand that we can take them to the next level in a nutshell?
Michelle Schwindler (09:37):
In a nutshell, what I mean is how differently that space, whatever it is I'm looking at, how differently that space can look if the landscape lighting or architectural lighting was designed versus simply installed.
Andy Schwindler (09:54):
Got it.
Michelle Schwindler (09:55):
And not just an afterthought. And we always say this, and you've probably heard us say this too, that some lighting is better than no lighting, right? And so I think that- I've been
Andy Schwindler (10:05):
Pulling back on that a little bit.
Michelle Schwindler (10:07):
But if you don't realize how good it can be, maybe you're not picking up on those nuances that I'm seeing. So I'm critiquing with a different eye, but I also know how much more elevate and how much more special the space can be if you're working with someone who knows light and is experienced with light and it's a completely different story and I cannot wait until we get to that day where we can share it with more people. And that's my biggest thing right now.
Andy Schwindler (10:39):
No, I agree. And so what I want to kind of touch base on next is ultimately being in business. So not just the lighting business, but being in business in general, it's a daunting task. It's something that you have to wake up for every single day and be ready to do the things that aren't necessarily associated with the one thing that you love to do. So I want to kind of talk about that a little bit, how we handle it, our different roles in what we do and most importantly as a husband/wife team, how do we manage that?
Michelle Schwindler (11:18):
I mean, talking about being awarded small business of the month, I think that in my mind there's a lot of things that have gotten us to that point. You talk about waking up every morning and doing the thing, but it's doing the hard things even when it's not necessarily immediately beneficial to you, doing the right thing, doing the honorable things. There's been a lot of projects that we've been on where we've had to take different approaches. I would love to hear about your experience and some of the ways that Andy and Michelle have kind of built trust with our clients and our community, because I think that that contributes to this award quite a bit.
Andy Schwindler (12:09):
Yeah. I think it goes back to our core goals or our core vision. We know that we want to be the best and not best by anyone other standards but our own. And what does that mean? That means that the client journey was exactly what it was supposed to be.
Michelle Schwindler (12:29):
That's very important to us, the client journey.
Andy Schwindler (12:31):
Right. Did we do the things that we said we were going to do? You hear me say this a lot? "We are here to meet and/or exceed your expectations. Anything less than that, I haven't designed the right experience. So you hear us talk about designing lights and it's really the experience and the lights are just the experience that you get once we actually leave, but it's all about the relationships and I think that that approach has served us well.
Michelle Schwindler (13:04):
So you talk about the client journey That's again, more than just the delivery of the lights. That's the first phone call, the first design conversation That's clear communication when it comes to what to expect from us, how our team shows up, how they leave their property every night. It's all of those things and those are all small things that I think get ignored a lot just from talking to clients that are just very important to us and they all add up to that overall journey for our clients that it's just so meaningful.
Andy Schwindler (13:43):
Well, because what we do isn't transactional, right? This isn't just about the transaction, this is about a relationship that should last the lifetime of the client, not just the lifetime of the system. They should always know that they've got somebody that not only they can trust but they can count on to be there when it's needed, whether it's service or whether it's our stewardship program, those are the kind of things that I think help us raise the bar there, but it's not always easy, right? Doing the right thing never is, whether it's going back when the project's already been finished, it's managing the time, it's the managing the cash flow to get to the next thing. So there's a lot that goes into business that maybe we didn't always know early in our career.
Michelle Schwindler (14:36):
I think it's a good thing that you don't know all these things before you go into business because I'm not sure. No one ever would. You just never would.
Andy Schwindler (14:43):
Yeah. But it's those hard times that create the discipline, the things that make you wake up that next day with another mission on top of the other missions, to be disciplined, to be focused, to be intentional and to get better, whether that's hiring, whether that's installation practices, it's always willing to do a little bit more every single day.
Michelle Schwindler (15:06):
Constantly tweaking, constantly dialing it in. I
Andy Schwindler (15:09):
Feel like we just keep stacking, stacking on the experiences and we never really take it for granted. So every situation that we find ourselves in, good or bad, helps just raise the bar a little bit.
Michelle Schwindler (15:23):
Yeah. Yeah. There's this thing where you get really good and comfortable with where you're at and then you raise the bar and you add more experience onto it, makes you uncomfortable and then you get better at that, you start to get comfortable and then you raise the bar a little more constantly being in that uncomfortable state for a growing business at our size and race. At our size. Yeah.
Andy Schwindler (15:47):
Right. I guess what I'd like to hear from you today is what do you find is the hardest part about being in business?
Michelle Schwindler (15:56):
I think that there is an enormous pressure when it comes to being a business owner because, and you know this, I mean the buck stops here, right? There's no one that's going to take care of the leftover things at the end of the day besides us. I think we're both able to take responsibility incredibly well when it comes to the good and the bad, even if it's mistakes made by our team or even a misunderstanding with a client that may not even have been instigated by us. We take full responsibility for that. We do all the time. We have to be able to get better at communication. We have to get better at documentation. So it's just a lot of pressure there, I would say. The pressure's hard for me. We both deal with it in different ways.
Andy Schwindler (16:48):
Yeah. Well, I have to show up kind of at complete reset every single day.
Michelle Schwindler (16:53):
You're good at that.
Andy Schwindler (16:54):
When I go to bed at night, I may feel a certain way, but when I wake up in the morning, I've put all that kind of aside and I kind of just approach the day as if it's brand new because I can't carry all those things with me all the time, right? Because I'm meeting people, I still need to stay in that creative space and sometimes pressure and creativity don't necessarily go together, right?
Michelle Schwindler (17:18):
Do not.
Andy Schwindler (17:19):
And then there's the fact of the matter that I have to get projects across the finish line. I have to still be able to meet or exceed my own expectations and those are all internal pressures. If I were to speak to a young entrepreneur, I would say if you keep doing the right things, everything's going to pretty much work out. Now you have to be good at something and you have to get better, but the internal pressure that you put on yourself is real and if you could give yourself a little grace and I think I tell that to you a lot. Listen, give yourself some grace. You're doing a great job. Today may not have gone the way that you want it to, but trust me, you're really good at this and you're going to wake up tomorrow and you're going to be even better.
Michelle Schwindler (18:04):
And there's some days I have to tell you that. There's some days where I may be feeling a little more positive than you were left with what you had to deal with that day. So I think there's a good counterbalance there that you both have to hold each other up when maybe it wasn't like the best day or we're not feeling our 100%.
Andy Schwindler (18:24):
Who's the one that has to do or say or handle all the hard conversations?
Michelle Schwindler (18:29):
Well, you already know. I like to let you handle those conversations.
Andy Schwindler (18:34):
Man, do I have some tough conversations sometimes?
Michelle Schwindler (18:37):
But I mean, imagine having a tough conversation with me. I would get eaten alive. You kind of command the room a little better than I do. I'm not just saying it's just because of your deeper voice or your larger stature, but I mean, it helps.
Andy Schwindler (18:51):
Yeah. Well, I take the approach I don't have to be right.
Michelle Schwindler (18:56):
I know.
Andy Schwindler (18:57):
I want to get it right and I take that approach into just about everything I do and I do have strong convictions. So it's easy for me to convey what I know to be the best way to handle at least my portion of the job and then sometimes just listening, right? Sometimes people just want to be heard and I think I'm pretty good at that too.
Michelle Schwindler (19:21):
Yeah. I'm trying to get better. I've been observing. I've been trying to get my commanding voice and my ...
Andy Schwindler (19:27):
Get your deep voice out.
Michelle Schwindler (19:29):
I don't know. I don't know if I want to get my deep voice out. Nobody wants that.
Andy Schwindler (19:33):
No, I think those are all great points and really that's what we want to talk about today is the mistakes, the things that people don't see, the big wins, the small losses, those are the kind of things that I think shape a good small business. Let's talk a little bit about how we got here, right? Because we didn't wake up being great lighting designers or even great business people from the get- go. We've been practicing this for a long time, haven't we?
Michelle Schwindler (20:05):
We sure have. And this is a common theme. We hear this a lot both locally in our community and then when we're out and about at our national lighting events. But the perception is like, man, you guys just busted on the scene and now all of a sudden you're in books and you're winning awards and you're being recognized and there's a much longer backstory to how we got here. And I think that that contributes, I know it contributes obviously to the level that we're working in right now is because we are so experienced, not just in business but in the outdoor space and with light and with working with the level of clientele that we work with.
Andy Schwindler (20:46):
Absolutely. So we've got a lot of experience there. I've been able to communicate my design style so many times through all the reps that I've gotten because I've met so many people over all the years I've met so many people. They're all great people.
Michelle Schwindler (21:04):
You've got some great clients.
Andy Schwindler (21:06):
I've been really lucky to work with some of the best of the best. I take the time to get to know them and a lot of times they've been in high pressure situations. They are typically type A personalities. So I've been in the room with just the best of the best and I've tried to learn as much as I possibly can in those situation. And I think it's helped me kind of develop my style, my approach. I like the idea that I'm trusted. Most people trust me when I show up. They know that my intentions are pure in the sense that I want the best for them. I think that that approach has served me really well.
Michelle Schwindler (21:49):
We talk about where we came from and how Sandy Beach got started stemming from our outdoor construction business. We were building the full outdoor space, the patio, the pergola, the bar and grill islands, the fire features, and everything within it, including lighting too. So you had a lot of experience working with that certain client base- I did. ... from the beginning. So tell me a little bit about how you feel like that translated into the lighting world when we decided to niche down to lighting only.
Andy Schwindler (22:20):
That's a really fun question to think about. As you were saying that, one of the things that kind of came to mind was that although we were in the outdoor kitchen business, the patios, the pergolas, the bar and grill islands, it was also our lifestyle. We lived it and breathed it. We had those spaces and then we had a sister company, the Sandy Beach Barbecue Company that supported the outdoor kitchen company. We were big green egg dealer, we had our own proprietary spices and rubs, but we were also teaching cooking classes. We were trying to help people get better at just using their space, right?
Michelle Schwindler (23:01):
That's such a good point. We've been perfecting this outdoor experience for a really long time, not just using and being outside, but how do we make their outdoor space something that they can experience every night and it's a complete vibe
Andy Schwindler (23:19):
To bring friends over, to bring family over, to be the king or queen of your kingdom. And a lot of times food helps make that happen.
Michelle Schwindler (23:28):
Food's the center of any get together. Let's just be honest. We talk about getting together and people want to know, okay, what are we eating? Who's bringing what? So our whole thing was bringing everyone outside with the cook so that everyone could be a part of it.
Andy Schwindler (23:44):
How fun were those classes?
Michelle Schwindler (23:45):
So fun.
Andy Schwindler (23:46):
So basically these classes were in our outdoor kitchen, Lakeside, tablecloths, menu, five course, pairing with our local brewing company. And it was just an experience that helped me develop not just my sales acumen but my relationship acumen, how to think about things systematically. They were live fire so I was cooking these meals while entertaining. You want to talk about pressure. I mean, that was some real pressure.
Michelle Schwindler (24:17):
I couldn't sleep weeks up leading up to these events because we'd constantly be dialing in the menu hoping and praying that the weather wasn't going to put us out that day. Just a lot of pressure there. And the thing about those classes were that we have to make people feel comfortable. They don't want to see us up there stressing out. They
Andy Schwindler (24:40):
Don't want to see us stressing out.
Michelle Schwindler (24:41):
So it was a lot of preparation.
Andy Schwindler (24:43):
They don't need to know that's the only brisket and if it goes south, we might be having hotdogs.
Michelle Schwindler (24:48):
Right. And we treated it kind of like a cooking show too. So the days prior, I would start prepping out my ingredients depending on what could be prepped out two days ahead, one day ahead, day of. And so it just looked easy. We all had a joke, even the people that showed up because they all knew how much preparation I was doing in the days leading up and we both were, I'll say that, but you kind of walked in like the rockstar- Apron
Andy Schwindler (25:14):
On.
Michelle Schwindler (25:15):
Yeah. And you would cook the meal and you would just put those pre-measured ingredients in and it was just a real- And it was
Andy Schwindler (25:24):
The systems and the process, right? And what I liked about it was that was our marketing approach. We had a professional photographer, you'd come take pictures of the food, people enjoying their space and it helped elevate the outdoor kitchen construction business. So it was a full circle experience and when we decided we wanted to kind of niche down, specialize in something, lighting seemed like it would be the natural fit. It hit all the marks from that overall experience, the client journey, the amount of impact that it created on an already great space. So they're not that different. I'm actually absorbing the concept right now. We had so much fun and then I think about just how much fun I'm having now and I'm just so grateful, right? I'm grateful to have had this opportunity together. And if I were to put a bow on it, it would be, this is our lifestyle and it always has been.
Michelle Schwindler (26:29):
And so Sandy Beach Lighting was born mostly because we were doing lighting in our outdoor spaces, but we always felt like it could be better. We always felt like there could be more, this feeling could be better or different. And we knew that it was going to take really getting into it to achieve some mastery as far as the lighting goes. And I think that it was just something that you didn't realize but was actually a passion for you.
Andy Schwindler (26:58):
Absolutely.
Michelle Schwindler (26:58):
We talked about it being the finishing touch, but really what it is is just we build these beautiful spaces, these amazing spaces, no expense spared, but then when the sun goes down and the whole experience just falls apart and that was something we are feeling over and over again.
Andy Schwindler (27:18):
That's right.
Michelle Schwindler (27:19):
And that's where it came from.
Andy Schwindler (27:22):
Yeah. So that's the creative side, that's the lifestyle side and that's the intentionality that we built into the business. Let's talk about just being in business, the keeping the books and hiring and firing and keeping a space and all those other things. I mean, all those things aren't really what we just talked about, but they still have to be done. I mean, just to put in perspective, when we started this, it was in our home garage, right? This was built out of our garage. We didn't have a space. We didn't know how Lafayette was going to receive us. We had to watch our every dollar as it went out and we had to be really intentional. So it was you, it was me, it was my oldest son, Will. And then we set out to make our way in the world today, right?
Michelle Schwindler (28:18):
We did.
Andy Schwindler (28:18):
It takes everything you got.
Michelle Schwindler (28:20):
Yeah, that's right. Just taking it back a little bit. The thing about you go into business and a lot of it isn't essentially like your passion because we're not good at everything and I think every business owner can relate to this. I am not an accountant, not that I don't want to be, but it sends my brain into just craziness. My administrative abilities are 100%, but man, am I great at marketing and storytelling and you're such a great designer, but HR is a whole different battle. It's a
Andy Schwindler (28:55):
Whole nother battle.
Michelle Schwindler (28:57):
So there's all these things that you really do, especially early on in business. You got to put all these different hats on. You got
Andy Schwindler (29:04):
To wear all the
Michelle Schwindler (29:04):
Hats. You at least got to do it good enough.
Andy Schwindler (29:06):
Right. Luckily technology
Michelle Schwindler (29:09):
Has
Andy Schwindler (29:09):
Really stepped up for us. So we've got technology. We've got good friends that are in those specialty situations from bookkeeper to administration to those types of things. So that's really what's helped us has been our support that we've had along the way.
Michelle Schwindler (29:30):
But we started out doing every little bit of it on our own, but as we grew, we would say little by little, okay, now it's time to bring in an accountant to handle our books. Okay. Now it's time to get someone in to help us with our operations.
Andy Schwindler (29:44):
That's right.
Michelle Schwindler (29:45):
And so I think right now we've got a pretty good team around us and we're continuing to build, but it's not all the things that we love to do. Well, no,
Andy Schwindler (29:57):
Because the pie is only so big, right? And so having to share little pieces of that pie to make sure that everything gets done, that's where the pressure comes for me. How do I make sure that all the people that we're committed to get their piece of the pie in addition to keeping enough for myself and you so we can raise our family and continue to invest in the company to become not just bigger but just better?
Michelle Schwindler (30:25):
Yeah. And so the pressure comes from knowing like, okay, is now the right moment to bring this person on to relieve ourselves at this so we can get better at this? And you talk about everyone getting their piece of pie. What does that mean exactly? We're talking about employees.
Andy Schwindler (30:41):
Employees.
Michelle Schwindler (30:42):
Because they mean an awful lot.
Andy Schwindler (30:43):
Vendors.
Michelle Schwindler (30:44):
The employees are feeding their families, right? That's a lot of pressure. We're supporting them, making sure our vendors are made whole.
Andy Schwindler (30:52):
Insurances, liabilities, a roof over our business, the vehicles, the maintenance. There's just all the things that go into it that aren't lighting. But that goes back to my other point where the people tell me that landscape lighting's easy. Maybe just installing a singular system is, but can you do all the things so you can do it at a high level and you can do it over and over and over again. And so that's really, I think what being in business is, is being able to do the one thing that you love to do while still doing all the things you don't love to do and still at the end of the day have enough of the pie, keep doing it longer and longer. So to be recognized for that I think is a really strong confirmation that even if we're not there, we're on our way.
Michelle Schwindler (31:48):
Are you ever really there though? In business, do you ever really get to the destination or is it just all the journey? We talk about this all the time. Yeah.
Andy Schwindler (31:57):
No, that's a good way to put it. If it wasn't about the journey, I don't think we'd have the passion that we have today. And everything that I do doesn't necessarily come back in a monetary fashion within the business from serving on the boards that I do, teaching and mentoring. I just finished Leadership Lafayette. None of these things bring cash flow in, but it's more than that. So that's the journey I think that makes it all worth it.
Michelle Schwindler (32:32):
Right. But those things do accumulate in a way that it builds you into the person that can handle that next phase that we're inevitably going to get to in business. So you're constantly getting better in that way. So I love that you invest in yourself like that. I think it's so important. It's a sacrifice that you make spending your time doing these things, but it's just so worth it. It helps you evolve.
Andy Schwindler (32:59):
Well, in the early days I was just about to grind. It was just grind, do more, work harder, do more, work harder. And what I realized was that I was kind of spinning my wheels a little bit and in some cases couldn't work my way out of a lot of the situations and timing and everything because timing is just as important as everything else. Keeping schedules, staying on track and making sure that your cashflow meets the expectation of the thorough puts and all that good stuff. But I'm not going to geek out on the back end of things. It's just I'm glad that I'm out of the grind phase and I'm starting to work towards, at least in my case, I want to work towards legacy. I'm to that age now where I'm starting to think about what am I going to leave for the kids?
(33:54):
What am I going to leave as my imprint on the world? And I want my legacy to be that, A, this guy had a great design eye, right? This guy created experiences that elevated people's lives in a way that they could not have done without him. We hear that a lot. You made my space not only great but exceptional and it makes everything we do better. And if I can do that while running my business and providing, I'll leave behind something bigger than me or just the lights that I install. So that's a long way of saying that I really appreciate the recognition.
Michelle Schwindler (34:40):
It's funny because when you're in business, especially in small business, in a fairly small community like we are, you'd be surprised at how many people are actually watching. And that creates a little bit of pressure in itself because I mean we go out in the evenings, we go out to community events and we talk to people and they say, "Oh, hey, we saw this project or we saw that you were doing this or that. " And it tells us that people really are paying attention to the things that we're doing. And it means an awful lot because sometimes when you have your head down and you're doing the thing and you're trying to work toward goals and you don't feel like you're necessarily there yet, you feel a litle bit invisible.
Andy Schwindler (35:25):
I could see that. I'm so busy. I'm so busy. It's hard to think about all those things, at least for me. I know your job is visibility. I know some of my favorite things, but I just love to hear what are your favorite things about being in business?
Michelle Schwindler (35:45):
One thing I value is that not just that we're doing our own thing, but we're doing it in a way that we believe in. We're kind of calling our shots, I guess. I believe that we're good people and that we treat people well and that we want great outcomes for all involved. And so it makes me feel good that we're in a position to be able to do that. Whether if we're working for a commercial business, a residential property or a municipality, being able to leave our fingerprint on that space, it just makes me feel good.
Andy Schwindler (36:20):
I have those same things. I think the one thing that I've learned in my life is that I should always bet on myself because I can control the outcome by the work that I do on the front end. And you assume a lot of risk being in business, but it's just as risky working for someone else. You think that it's more stable to have a job and to go to work every day and things along those lines, but there's not as much upside, right
Michelle Schwindler (36:54):
Some people are built to value that and some people would just hate it. I mean, some people value stability over taking- The unknown. Because there's risk at that. There's a ton of risks.
Andy Schwindler (37:09):
But I feel like the risk and the upside are what I'm in it for. And the upside to me is that I have control over a lot of the outcomes. I have control over our lifestyle. I have control over the legacy that I get to leave behind because Sandy Beach is special, not just to me, but I think it's special to our community and I look to see hopefully expand on this. I've got sandy beaches in my mind.
Michelle Schwindler (37:38):
Trust me, I do too.
Andy Schwindler (37:40):
Long term. So although we're starting here in Lafayette, I do see a time where we take this and expand. I could see ourselves being in the south both east and west and maybe directly south. So those kind of things keep me excited. They keep me energized and they keep me in a place where I'm going to continue to build this in the best way possible, even though we're in a small town, right? I still want to build the best version of this business so it can be duplicated and we can continue to travel and build things in other parts of the country.
Michelle Schwindler (38:19):
I'd say a couple other things that I love about being in business is it gives us the ability to give back in a way that I'm not sure we could on a personal level. I mean, we could, but just using the Food Finders Blue Jean Ball for an example, every year we donate a nice size lighting package to that. That always really is a huge gift to Food Finders. And if you're not familiar, that's a program that helps food insecurity in our very own community. That's right. And that's a huge deal to me. So while we're not the type of business that's able to give huge amounts of cash as donations, that's a way that we can give back.
Andy Schwindler (39:02):
Because our service has value.
Michelle Schwindler (39:03):
Yeah, absolutely. And people
Andy Schwindler (39:05):
See that value and it brings value to those charities that we donate to. No, that's a big part for me too. I love the giving back side of it. I love that I get to experience how to run a successful business and help younger entrepreneurs that are trying to make their way. Even guys that have been doing this a long time, not only can I learn from them, but to be able to help them see things in a way that I see them and help them. I think it raises not only their business but the industry as a whole. So again, to go back to legacy, I want to be that guy that helps people get to the place that they want to go and I like that about this.
Michelle Schwindler (39:47):
Yeah. And speaking about that too, there's a lot of people that I get to interact with on a daily basis, I'm sure for you too, as far as other business owners in the community and in the industry that have helped us along the way, inspired us in certain ways. I get to talk to some very inspiring people who have been through a lot building their own business and it's just inspiring for me. So I love the interaction. I love the community.
Andy Schwindler (40:15):
That's been a lot of fun too. So let's wrap this up. Tell me a little bit more about just what this particular award means to you. I'll say what it means to me and we'll go from there.
Michelle Schwindler (40:27):
So after my initial reaction of we did not deserve this and I pulled myself together, it did mean a lot because you're right, my job is to make us as visible as possible, to tell our story, to get people to see who we are and to receive that was a full circle moment for me, I think.
Andy Schwindler (40:46):
It was so good. And we had the state senator was there, our state congresswoman was there.
Michelle Schwindler (40:53):
We had clients that came, which meant so much to me.
Andy Schwindler (40:56):
We did.
Michelle Schwindler (40:57):
Yeah.
Andy Schwindler (40:57):
And that interview, the interview that you did with Heather, ultimately when she read that, I was just like, wow, I want to meet this company.
Michelle Schwindler (41:08):
And I was
Andy Schwindler (41:08):
Like, wow, that's us.That's amazing.
Michelle Schwindler (41:11):
That was such a great intro and I'm so glad that someone else had the job of writing that because it was interesting to hear it from someone else's perspective and they nailed it.
Andy Schwindler (41:22):
And it made me feel like we're doing something that's bigger than ourselves.
Michelle Schwindler (41:26):
We're onto something here, aren't we? And we might
Andy Schwindler (41:28):
Be onto something.
Michelle Schwindler (41:29):
So
Andy Schwindler (41:30):
Thanks for sitting down and talking to me about this. We don't always get a chance to just sit and reflect, but I think that it was an important thing to cover today.
Michelle Schwindler (41:38):
Yeah. Not to toot our own horns or anything, but I do think that we've done a pretty good job at shifting the perspective of what lighting design is. We're putting some beautiful spaces together, people are noticing and I'm just excited to keep going. So I appreciate people recognizing that because it drives us to do more.
Andy Schwindler (42:03):
Yep. Well, if you want to find out more about what it's like to work with Sandy Beach Lighting and Design and myself, feel free to reach out to us through our socials, through LinkedIn, Instagram, or just call us directly. We look forward to working with you and hopefully we can help you experience your space, your home and a brand new light.