Business: Sunshine Video
Phone/website: 630-334-0365, www.sunshinevideo.com
Owner: Wanda Schlafly
Years in business: 5
What does this business do? “(It’s) a video production company. I work with businesses of any size to tell their story. And also (I do) family or personal videos,” owner Wanda Schlafly said.
What was the impetus for starting this business? “I got my dream job at 40 as a supply chain manager for Nestle, which turned into my keep-me-awake-at-night burnout nightmare by 55. It was a good job, made a lot of money, but I’d had it. And I wanted to do something fun. My mother-in-law was in assisted living at the time. I (had just gotten) my first iPad, and I thought I’d bring iPads to senior living. That was my business idea. But being in business on the execution side, I had no appreciation whatsoever for marketing and sales. I thought once I had the website up, made a few calls, handed out some cards, the business would come to me.
“I did start an iPad fun club at Timbers of Shorewood (an independent and assisted living complex) and that’s where I met Louie Bank. He was 98 years old, had an iPad, was an iPad enthusiast. And he had these great, great stories. He lived through the Depression, was one of ten children who had ten children of his own, and just loved to tell stories. His opener to the video I did for him was, ‘I’m still here because God still has work for me to do’. I took my iPad filming all these great stories, edited it, added graphics and music, and gave it to his family, and they loved it.”
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What is the best thing about being in Naperville? There is a great network of people, particularly in the senior community, which has been beneficial to creating business contacts, she said.
What is the most popular service you provide? “The business stuff. Because business owners understand the need to have something. I’m priced well in their market, so small businesses (can afford videos. (As for the family videos), I am working on developing partnerships with senior living centers, places where seniors hang out, and I’m also doing a Mother’s Day thing right now. Maybe they want to offer either a Sunshine video or a Life Story video as part of their entry package. This is such an emotional move (for a senior).”
What is a less popular thing you would recommend? “The family legacy videos. One of the products I do is called the Sunshine Video. It’s a compilation of videos, snippets, for somebody’s benefit. I did one for my mom, that was my first one. Basically the idea would be that when she can’t remember things anymore, she’ll have a, ‘Here’s who I am and here’s who I love’ (reminder). So all my brothers and my daughters, my nephews and my nieces, they all provided snippets. I added ‘You Are My Sunshine’ music in there. …This whole sunshine thing stuck with me, and that’s when I also said I want to be (called) Sunshine Video.”
What is the thing you most like to do? “I love hearing people’s stories. My favorite thing about what I do is capturing people telling their personal stories in an interesting and authentic way. I love it when they are able to relax and talk to me without thinking too much about the camera.”
What is your least favorite thing to do? “Selling. I’m still working through that because I’m an introverted person. The editing, the filming, all that is great stuff, but going networking is exhausting. I joined Toastmasters (a nonprofit communication and leadership development organization), and that helped me be out there.”
What is the best thing about owning your own business? “So the best thing, of course, is that you get to decide (what you want to do).”
What is the biggest downside? “Being your own boss. Giving yourself a break when you shouldn’t.”
Tell us about the most memorable customer. “So I mentioned Louie (Bank). He was just such a positive person. He wanted other people to get excited about what he was excited about. He was 102 when he passed, and he lived right up to the end. He wasn’t perfect but I’m sure he was 102 because he just kept on living. He loved life and he would never give up, back off, you know. Every day was something he cherished.”
What is the biggest misconception about your business? “People think that editing is easy and doesn’t take any time. It’s very detailed and time consuming.”
How would you describe your business philosophy? “Stay positive.”
What advice would you give someone thinking about starting a business? “The importance of sales. Because if you can’t sell your business, you won’t have a business. I went to a business planning class and everybody gets so excited about what they want to do and they talk to everybody about it, but they don’t understand that a huge, huge amount of your time is building your business and maintaining your business. That’s to me the biggest shock and something I had to learn myself.”
Daina Saleh is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.