Business: Budget Blinds
Address: 1807 S. Washington St., Naperville.
Phone/website: 630-839-9259; www.budgetblinds.com
Owner: Stephanie Wojcik of Naperville.
Years in business? 15, three and a half at this location.
What does your business do? “We help customers select custom window treatments for their homes. We actually do it for commercial businesses, too. We have products that will fit every style and every budget out there. They’re all custom-made. Anything from blinds, shades, shutters, drapes. Home automation is huge right now.”
What is home automation? Those are window treatments that can be raised and lowered by pressing buttons on a remote, through an app on your phone or iPad or by asking Alexa. It operates lighting, too
What is Budget Blinds? “Budget Blinds is a franchise, almost 30 years old. Corporate is based out of California. I own here locally. This is the only shop, but I own three territories right now. Territories are based on demographics.” Her territories cover three of four ZIP codes in Naperville, along with Bolingbrook and Romeoville, Lisle, Woodridge and most of Aurora,
What got you started? “I had my first child; he just turned 15. I had worked in corporate marketing, communications and sales. … It had more to do with I didn’t want to be under their schedule. … Somebody else I knew had gotten into a franchise. This was just the opportunity presented to me. … I’ve always been in the creative environment.”
What’s popular? “Roller shades have really come back. … Valances, they come and go. But roller shades and shutters are super popular. Blinds, they’re economical. But you’re starting to see other stuff, too.”
What’s the best part of having a business in Naperville? “For us, it’s convenience. I live in Naperville. This is my community. I’ve gotten to know a lot of families and people here. We’re an established part of the community now. … Repeats and referrals are 50 percent of the business.”
What challenges do you face? “Vendors are always a challenge. So are manufacturers. They’re not perfect, so it’s frustrating when they don’t meet expectations for one reason or another. It will be something stupid, like the tassels. One of them, in a whole house, will be the wrong color. So, I have to call my installer and it costs money.”
What about online stores? “There are some, but (the customer) is responsible for measurements, ordering it and installing it. Whereas, if we don’t measure it right, we’re responsible for it. If it doesn’t fit right, we’re responsible for it. We’re taking that burden off the homeowner. We install it. We know what we’re doing.”
Who does the installing? “My installer Mike (Field) has been with me for 10 years. He worked for two other Budget Blinds franchises before that.”
What is another advantage to shopping here? “We help you select product that’s appropriate for your windows. People don’t understand inside mount and outside mount. All the houses built in the ’80s and ’90s around here, hardly any of them have inside-mount windows. When you have window depth, you can put the blinds inside.”
Is there a busy time? “Spring and fall are the busiest. The slowest are January and the end of July, beginning of August. But we’ve been really busy this year.”
What’s your favorite part of the job? “The flexibility. It’s creative. I’m not one who likes to do the same thing every day. There’s always something new.”
What happens when someone calls you? “We’ll go through the house with them, ask what they are looking for, what needs they’re trying to take care of. Is there a sun issue? Do you need room darkening? Sometimes, it’s, ‘I just got new windows, I want to update everything.’ Then we’ll make recommendations.”
What misconceptions do people have? “Budget Blinds. People think ‘cheap blinds.’ It’s not. It’s all custom. It’s not your $20 cheapie blind off the shelf at Home Depot. … We have stuff to fit every budget, every lifestyle. … You can spend $100, you can spend $1,000 on the same window.”
Do you have any favorite stories? “A few years ago, the Naperville Moms Network sponsored Special Places, so I did some blinds for one of their homes. … It’s always nice to help a person with special needs, when we can put a motorized blind in. I just did a sun porch, all motorized, for a man in Romeoville. Those are fun projects to do.”
What advice would you give someone starting a business? “Whatever it is, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. … It’s a lot of hard work. It’s a lot of ups and downs.”
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
