In this heartwarming episode of The Real Life Investing Podcast, Jason and Rachel Wagner sit down with Sheila Henneman, the beloved owner of Berry Yo Frozen Yogurt in downtown Arlington Heights, IL.
Sheila shares her remarkable journey from being a stay-at-home mom to becoming a thriving entrepreneur with one of the most cherished local businesses in the community. You'll hear how she:
- Started a frozen yogurt business with no prior experience
- Survived the brutal impact of COVID with the help of her community
- Built a business that hires and mentors local teens
- Chose to not franchise, keeping Berry Yo a true community gem
- Is now experimenting with high-protein frozen yogurt using First Phorm products
- Raised her kids with work ethic, integrity, and heart (including 75 Hard champion Paige!)
Whether you're a small business owner, a parent, a dreamer, or just love a good underdog story—this episode will inspire you to follow your gut, serve your community, and persevere through anything.
Connect with Berry Yo or Book an Event
Visit: https://www.berry-yo.com
Email: sheilahenn9@sbcglobal.net
Call: 224-735-3112
Like, comment, and share this episode with someone who needs a dose of entrepreneurial inspiration!
Subscribe for more real-life stories of grit, growth, and getting it done.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to another episode of the Real Life
Investing Podcast with Jasonand Rachel Wagner.
We got a great one todaybecause we actually have one of
our favorite local businessowners joining us.
Sheila Henneman is the owner ofBarry Yo Downtown Arlington
Heights, and it is a frozenyogurt shop that we love going
to.
(00:20):
We probably go to at leastweekly with our girls and
actually, sheila, we have achant in our house.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
I don't know if any anybody else has this, but it's
very possible but it goes likebarry yo barry, yo barry, yo
barry, yo yeah that's very true,and so the girls just start
chanting this and like we justwe have to go, yeah, I actually
in their Easter basket gottokens from the Easter bunny of
(00:46):
different things they get to doand we there were a few burial
trip to burial tokens.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
So you, sheila, you have like such an impact on the
community, just being a businessowner and being the place where
people go for treats andmemories and good times owner
and be in the place where peoplego for treats and memories and
good times.
And we've even done some like,some cool, like private events
at your place too, where we hada New Year's countdown for the
(01:13):
kids that started at noon on NewYear's Day or New Year's Eve
and, like you know, it's just socool all the things that you do
.
So thank you for coming on.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Thank you for having me, both of you.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Yeah, and we're just excited to kind of hear where
did Barry O start and you know,what did you do before Barry O,
and just kind of give us thebackstory.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Okay, and it was about 15 years ago, me and my
brother.
My brother is a business ownerin St Louis and I've always
wanted to go into business withhim because he was an
entrepreneur and he always wasso successful Didn't know what I
wanted to do.
I was a mom and I'm like Jim,let's do something.
Well, he was the owner ofMidwest Equipment in St Louis
(01:59):
that does the Taylor machines.
He was a distributor for them.
The Taylor machines are ourmachines.
That does the yogurt.
He came to me and said Sheila,I think you need to do a yogurt
store.
And I said I know nothing aboutyogurt.
And so he.
(02:19):
I went for about a year.
I went everywhere, lookingeverywhere, looking for a spot.
I kept coming back to 50Northvale and Arlington Heights
and my brother was like Sheila,the rent's really high.
It's higher than all the otherplaces we looked at.
And I said I don't, I'll makeit work.
I said because I just feel likehome there.
(02:40):
And so 13 years ago, right,well, st Patrick's day is when
we gutted the whole place,everything but the two green
pillars that are sitting in ourstore.
Everything was gutted.
We opened 13 years ago, may25th, wow.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
So you're coming up on the anniversary.
Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Yeah, may 25th 2012 is when we opened our doors and
it's been a delight.
You know there's ups and downs,of course.
You know owning your ownbusiness and I love when people
tell me oh, sheila, you have nooverhead.
There's so much overhead thatyou know it's like it's like you
(03:25):
wouldn't even understand howmuch overhead there really is.
I'm grateful for, like familieslike yours, you guys are young,
you're having another baby, youhave children that love burial.
They come in smiling.
That's what keeps me going.
That's why I won't sell it,because the kids just love it
(03:48):
and I love kids.
I have four kids of my own.
They're all grown now, but I'mwhere I'm supposed to be.
Arlington Heights is phenomenal.
The downtown area is so it'sjust home and you know the
business owners are so nice andeveryone has been so nice in 13
(04:08):
years and I've met families,including you and rachel, that
I'll have for a lifetime.
You know, when barrio's gone,I'll still have all you guys and
it's just.
It's, it's great, it's a of fun.
I'm glad I did it.
There are struggles all thetime, like COVID almost.
We almost lost it.
For COVID, holly Connorsactually came to and got us that
(04:34):
fundraiser that got us through.
But without you, you guys, wewouldn't be there, because I'm
not a franchise, I'm familyowned and it's Dave and I's
savings account that puts it inin the winter when everyone
forgets about us.
But it's thriving, it's doinggreat because of all you guys,
(04:55):
and I'm very, very grateful forthat I'll talk about.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
actually, if you don't mind, talk about some of
the stuff that you experiencedduring COVID and how you almost
lost it.
Did you think that it was goingto?
Did you think you were going tomake it through?
Did you have doubt?
Oh, I didn't think so Really.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
The health department was going to every restaurant,
you know, because we had to dothe curbside.
He said I don't know what I'mgoing to do with you guys,
because you guys are self-serve,right, I have to shut you down
for at least two weeks to see.
We'll come up with something,sheila, I promise you.
But it was, what are we goingto do with her?
(05:34):
Because the whole theme is thepeople walk in and do it
themselves.
They don't want somebody elsemaking it for them.
And so he did come up withsomebody at the cups, somebody
at the machines, somebody at thetopping bar and somebody at the
register and I said I can'tpull that much payroll.
Oh, he wanted a worker.
(05:56):
Each place, each place, eachset.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Yes, oh, I was thinking social distancing, like
the station, but he wanted someworking Right, oh gosh.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
And so I pulled in all my.
He wanted some working Right,oh gosh.
And so I pulled in all my kidsand my husband.
Wow, and I said, guys, weeither have to try this and see
what happens.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
This was probably super, super early, like March,
april 2020.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Yeah, this was like right the beginning, yeah, the
beginning of the nightmare, andso it didn't really work,
because then there was peoplethat were telling me I would be
at the cups doing their yogurtand only two.
It was only two, but they weretelling me that I was ripping
(06:39):
them off and I told them to tellme to stop when they wanted to
stop.
But that was an issue and Isaid I'm not dealing with people
.
You know, right now I don'teven know if we're going to be
able to stay open.
And then people are accusing meof ripping them off.
I'm like this is the only waywe can do this, you know, and
I'm not ripping you off.
(07:00):
Just tell me to stop and I'llpull the lever back.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Right Cause it's all based on weight.
So, like that's the beauty ofthe self-service you choose how
much you take of the frozenyogurt and then the toppings and
everything correct yeah and soit was truly a nightmare.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
And then holly connor's called me it had to be
beginning of april and justchecking in and she owns get
burbed.
And she said, sheila, how areyou doing?
Because she heard about anotherone in Palatine, spunky Dunkers
, that was having trouble too.
And so she said, and I told herand I was bawling cause I
(07:40):
didn't know what was going tohappen we you know I'm like I we
can't put any more money intoit and rent she goes.
Okay, thanks bye.
The next day she had peopleworking their butts off to do a
fundraiser, she had media there,she had everybody there to save
burial.
(08:00):
I went through 3,200 cups inless than a week of yogurt.
There was lines out the door tosave burial.
And it was all people like youguys, all families, all.
And if I truly I give Holly thecredit, because all I did that
(08:20):
whole week was cry because I wasable to pay the rent, all I did
that whole week was cry becauseI was able to pay the rent
without saying I can't pay.
And you know, I was like Icalled the landlord, I'm like I
can't pay rent, I'm like I don'tknow what I'm going to do.
And they were fine, but youknow they worked with me, but
I'm like I don't know what'sgoing to happen.
(08:40):
I think they probably thought Irobbed a bank because I had all
the rent back and I it was.
It was like a breath of freshair.
And then things lightened upand summer came and alfresco
came and we were okay and but Ido truly it was amazing how the
community came forward.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
For me, oh, that's incredible.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
What an amazing story that.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
I actually wasn't aware of any of that.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Yeah, it was truly amazing how the community just
it was all the people on Vailwere there for Barry.
I would just say yeah, wow.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
So Arlington Heights was pretty quick to do the all
fresco thing because we werestill in the city at that time.
So like for us like a lot ofthings were still like shut down
.
But out here.
They were quick to find asolution and get people outside
so business could continue.
It sounds like it wasphenomenal.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
The alfresco thing was a blessing for all of us.
That was the best thing theycould have thought of.
Yeah, and other towns havetried to do it and it just isn't
like Arlington's.
So, yeah, alfresco saved a lotof businesses down there.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
Was that, like, controversial at all among the
businesses or among thecommunity?
Or how did they like, did theycome around and talk to each of
you to get that going?
Speaker 2 (09:58):
They did.
They sent out.
We had meetings and then theysent out like e-blasts and stuff
.
I think everyone was for it atthat point, you know, because
everyone was grasping for strawsand nobody knew what.
You know, nobody knew what thefuture was going to hold for us.
I think the parking was themain problem down there and I
(10:19):
think that, as far as I know, Ithink that was the only negative
, and it comes back every year.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
With a vengeance.
I mean, it's awesome.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
It's so awesome, it's so awesome, it's so awesome.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
I love when they shut that street down because all
the kids, all the little ones,are safe, they can run and they
can do, you know, and no cars,no nothing.
Yeah, yeah.
So it is a blessing and I hopethey keep it up, yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
When does that start again?
April 20th they start.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
They close the streets April 28th.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Oh, coming up next week.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Yeah, and I think the first day is the first.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
Okay, cool, I was thinking May, yeah, may 1st.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Yeah, so, yeah.
So everyone's getting ready andgearing up and it'll be a good
summer, I hope.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Yeah, yeah, it's a great vibe if anybody hasn't
been to downtown ArlingtonHeights for a summertime in the
evening, just to kind of seeeverybody's out eating at all
the restaurants.
They play music out there andyeah, it's just a lot of great
fun.
There's a lot of families thatjust go down and bring their
kids in the strollers and yeahit's awesome Just hang out.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Yeah, it's a lot of fun.
It's very community oriented.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
So yeah, come out.
The thing I love about you,sheila, is that you work in the
business.
You're there, yes, you are notsomebody that sits at home.
You are there working veryregularly.
What's your schedule like foryou personally?
Speaker 2 (11:42):
I try to get out of there at night.
I put enough staff on.
I train the staff to be able togo home at night.
I'm there every day, yeah.
So Saturday Sundays SaturdaySundays are big days.
We're busy.
I don't want the teenage kidsbeing by themselves.
I'm very hands-on, even whenI'm not there.
(12:03):
They can call me 24-7, anythingthey need.
I can be there in 30 minutesand I have had to do that in 30
minutes.
But I wish I lived in Arlington, but when we were buying our
home and growing our family wecouldn't afford it out here.
So we're in Algonquin and itdoesn't take me long.
(12:25):
It takes me 30 minutes to gethere, and so I'm definitely
there in the summer at leastseven days a week.
I mean there's only seven daysin a week, but I'm there seven
days a week to make sure, evenif it's for three, four hours,
just to make sure everything'sup and running.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Yeah, what are kind of like the common now that
we're past COVID, right, and nowyou're going into the probably
the busy I mean obviously thebusy season, right, so your
business is very seasonal, I'massuming.
So how do you kind of likeprepare for the influx and the
ebbs and flows?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
When I first opened, we opened obviously the Memorial
Day weekend.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
And it was like lines lines, lines.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
And then August came and all the kids were going back
to school and it was likedeserted and I called my brother
.
I'm like what is going on andwhere are the customers?
He's like Sheila, when schoolstarts you go down.
I'm like, oh, I didn't knowthat it took me four years to be
(13:29):
able to regulate winter andsummer.
You know bank accounts,spending, payroll, because I had
never done it before.
Yeah, our season goes from aboutMay 15th to August 30th and we
have to make it or break it inthose months.
Yeah, birthday parties are ahuge success for us and that
(13:54):
held us last winter through thewinter, because a lot of people
booked during the wintertime and, like you said, the events that
you guys were at that helped ustoo.
You know, because that wasChristmas time.
Yeah, because nobody thinks ofus.
They really don't.
I pulled in coffee, I've pulledin lattes.
In the winter no one thinksabout ice cream.
(14:16):
You know, we have our regulars,like you guys, but the regulars
aren't going to be able to paythe rent and so we've got to
figure out something and I'vetried to pull in different
things for the winner to get usthrough.
But the birthday parties seemto be doing well for us, yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
So the coffee thing.
So did that end up working orsticking?
Speaker 2 (14:40):
No, no it did not stick Because you've got so many
, you've got Starbucks andyou've got the bigger names, but
I still have it if people wantit.
But it didn't really go.
So hopefully I was going to dosoup, but then I'd have to get a
stove and that would cause meto have a $5,000.
(15:04):
Vent out the building yeah.
How much soup are you going tosell to pay for all of that
labor?
You know so, right, I'm tryingdifferent things and hopefully
you know, we just keep adding tothe menu and everyone loves it.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
So yeah, and you have a lot of.
I mean, you hire teenagers inthe community, right?
Yes, I hire from.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
I try to grab from every high school.
Wow, like right now.
I have Meadows, prospect Viator, hersey and Palatine.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
Oh nice.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Yeah, it's a lot of fun.
Yeah, and it's usually 99% ofit's.
Usually their first job, yeah,so I am their first boss and so
I try my hardest to teach themresponsibility and when they're
ready, when I can see they'reready, they get a key.
Not until then, that'sresponsibility, and some have to
(16:02):
be let go and some have stuckwith me forever.
I've got Mallory's coming backand she's 22 and goes to the
University of Nashville and shetexted me two weeks ago.
I'm coming back May 3rd.
Can I have shifts?
Sure, you can, mel, wow, yeah,so that's I mean Berrio's doing
something right if the collegekids want to come back, yeah,
that is awesome.
Yeah, that's I mean Berrio'sdoing something right if the
(16:23):
college kids want to come back.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Yeah, that is awesome yeah that's really cool.
Because my first impression waslike, okay, you're hiring the
local teens and then they go offto college and then you know
life happens and they probablygo on.
You know, I stuck with my firstjob for maybe a year or
something.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
It's just like you're hiring people that are going to
be turned over.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Yes, you know, I have a big turnover rate.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
yeah, yeah, and you know, and sometimes I kind of
think about that as, like I, Ijust give you actually so much
more credit because you justcare about the community.
Like you want to hire the localkids.
And yes, what from what youjust said, from all the
different high schools, it's'slike from you know, sometimes if
I were to think about this, Iwould want, like you know,
people that, hey, you're goingto be with us for a long time,
(17:10):
but you, truly, what you saidfrom the beginning was like I
care about the families and thefamilies keep me going, and so
you hire their kids.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Yes, that's like oh my gosh.
It's just an amazing thing thatwhat you do Well I try, uh huh.
It's not just amazing thingthat what you do well I try.
And yeah, I, I do try, but yeah, it's fun, it it's interesting
yeah, and so how many, how many?
Speaker 1 (17:31):
how many kids do you currently have on staff or right
now?
Speaker 2 (17:34):
I have 16, 16, yes, because they're all so busy yeah
they're all doing sports and Itry to do the fall sports and
then the spring sports so thatit doesn't screw up the burial
schedule, but right now I've gota lot of soccer players out
there.
I'm like oh, boy.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
What's the minimum age in Illinois?
Is it 16?
Speaker 2 (17:58):
It's 15 and a half with a work permit.
15 and a half with a workpermit.
Okay, that's a little differenteverywhere.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
I grew up in Iowa and you could start at 14 for some
jobs.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Yeah, it's 15 and a half with a work permit Okay.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
And what's the work permit?
Do their parents have, to like,sign off on it or something?
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Yeah, they get it through the school, through the
school, yeah, okay, it's very,very strict on the employers
aspect.
I don't like them because theycan only work like two hours,
right.
Two hours Two hours during theschool day, school week, oh,
during the school day, schoolweek, oh, during the school week
.
Okay, and then you can't reallytrain anybody in two hours.
(18:34):
No, it takes forever.
So I tell everybody 16, andthen they have their license too
.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
And mom and dad.
They don't have to rely on momand dad.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Oh, that makes sense too.
Yeah, then they can get thereRight, exactly.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
So there are some that I do 15 and a half.
There was one girl I had herprobably eight years ago and her
name was Jasmine and she wasphenomenal and I hired her at 15
and a half and I was so sad tosee her go.
In this group now there's eightseniors.
Wow, I'm very sad to see themgo because I molded them into
(19:11):
what I wanted them and nowthey're all going to college
they're running into me tellingme what college they committed
to.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
I'm like no, I'm happy for you, but don't you
want to stay home with mom anddad for one more year?
Can't you just go to?
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Harper or something why, do you have to?
Speaker 1 (19:27):
go to take a break here so I love all my kids.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
I treat them like my own children and they would
definitely say that if they weresitting with you today.
I'm I'm strict with them, but II also want them to have fun
and learn responsibility.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
So then, how do you do it?
So then are you going to go ona new hiring spree, just you
know when.
When are you going to go on anew hiring spree?
When are you kind of doing yourhiring?
Right now.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Yeah, I've hired six to replace the ones that I have
going in August.
So we'll see those six.
There could be three that makeit.
It's all depends on I want themwhen I interview them, I want
them outgoing, I want them tolike children, I want them to be
(20:17):
smiling, and when the customerwalks in the door, I tell them
you greet them.
There's lots of dessert places.
I want them to feel comfortableat burial.
So that's my MO, you know.
You know with them some get itand some don't, and they're shy
too.
So hopefully they'll break outof their shell and we'll have a
(20:37):
good season.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Yeah, yeah, I appreciate that from a customer
perspective because there are alot of places you go to now
where there there are peoplebehind the counter who just
don't say anything at all andyou're kind of like are you
ready for me to order or are younot?
Are you taking orders?
You know it's like the onus iskind of on the customer to be
like are you open, exactly?
Speaker 1 (21:01):
And I appreciate that yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
When.
I see that, or you know, whenI'm a customer, I'm like there
ain't no way Berrio is going tobe like this, because this is
too awkward.
Yeah, there ain't no way BarryO is going to be like this,
because this is too awkward,yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Well, I'll share a story with you.
I do not know his name, but wegot our daughter's birthday
cakes from Barry O last Augustand I came to pick them up and
they were two and I was verycapable of walking out with them
on my own.
But one of your workers, ayoung man, he's like no, I'll
take it to your car for you.
And I'm like I'm like threeblocks over, like I'm not close,
(21:32):
I am not right.
He's like it's fine, I'll justwalk with you all the way there.
And I kept telling him like areyou sure it's really okay?
He's like no, I'll carry themall the way to your car.
And he did.
It was so sweet.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
I mean, it was hot in august, you know he helped me
all the way the car was reallyimpressed I don't know if I
heard that story.
That's awesome, yeah, you gotsome gentlemen, that work for
you.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
Yes, yeah, I don't know his name, unfortunately,
but he was very, very respectfuland kind and helpful.
Good yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
That's what I want to hear, yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
So, but the frozen yogurt, okay, why didn't you
choose regular ice cream?
Or I know you said like thedistribution thing, but if you
have you thought about you knowjust kind of like, well, why
isn't it regular ice cream orwhy?
You know what I mean, or?
Speaker 3 (22:18):
well, yeah, and I kind of want to ask about, like
your learning curve too, as youwere starting up, like, what did
you know about frozen yogurt?
Speaker 1 (22:24):
at that point, and how did?
Speaker 3 (22:25):
you figure it out because you're not a franchise,
right, yeah, exactly.
So what was that curve like?
Speaker 2 (22:29):
the.
That was kind of confusing and,you know, didn't know what we
were doing.
My brother is very, very smartand knew what he was doing and
we went to.
He sent me to school in stlouis.
It was yo amazing, and theytold us that was the name of it
and it was a farm and theyshowed us every aspect of their
(22:52):
products and how to like there'sthree flavors to each machine.
I had no idea until they toldus that middle is the twist and
it has.
Those two on the sides have tomeet or the twist is no good
Right.
(23:14):
And mixing everything.
And you know, there arepre-made yogurts that we do buy,
but 90% of our yogurts are wemake them with flavoring.
And that was, you know, alearning curve too, because you
don't, you know, we didn't knowanything.
I was like, oh, my goodness,two weeks of school was not
enough for me.
(23:34):
I was nervous and my brotherwas like Sheila, you're going to
be fine, you're going to befine.
And we figured it out, but itwas.
We were learning and, as I tellmy staff when I hire them, I was
you 13 years ago.
I knew nothing.
I'm like we built this placebut I knew nothing, guys.
(23:55):
So no question is stupid.
Yeah it, it was very, veryconfusing, very, you know.
And then we had to hire acompany to come in.
They come in every monday nightand clean all the machines and
sanitize them.
It has to be done once a weekor the machine shut down until
it's cleaned.
So in the summer it eithercomes on Sunday nights or Monday
(24:18):
nights, and then that's when wewill switch out our flavors
every couple weeks.
But yeah, the school wasamazing and it taught you
everything you needed to know.
But going back and putting thatall into action was like am I
doing this right?
And you know second-guessingmyself, my brother's like I have
(24:41):
to get back to work, I'm likeyou're not going anywhere,
you're staying here.
But yeah, so it truly washands-on learning.
You know, besides, the schooltruly was hands-on learning.
And you know, besides theschool, it was hands-on learning
.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
So so what kind of gave you the confidence, you
know, when you first opened thedoors and then maybe that first
week, like I'm sure you had allkinds of emotions that were
happening, but like what gaveyou the confidence, like to keep
going, even though you werelike I don't know what I'm doing
type thing?
Speaker 2 (25:10):
It was my brother.
Yeah, my brother was theresaying, julie, you can do this,
yeah, and we took out a loan andhe said you have to pay it back
in five years.
It was our build out loan andI'm like, oh okay, no problem,
oh, that was kind of a disasterto say that I'm like okay.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
Because our build out was over eight hundred thousand
dollars.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
Wow, yes, and it was funny because yogurt land was
building the same time we wereand we investigated to see how
much it was for them.
Well, it was 250 000 for their,their, to get their business
and I'm looking at my brothergoing.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Why is it?
Speaker 2 (25:54):
so different.
Well, they didn't accidentallyget italian tile that she picked
out and they didn't get coriancountertops and jim's, like you,
were really like high end whenyou were building this.
She loved.
I'm like, oh, I didn't know.
Yeah, it all worked out, but itwas.
(26:15):
It was very that first fiveyears they say the first year
the first five was hard for mebecause, even though I'm not a
franchise and not giving thefranchisee the money, you know
the 23 percent that money had togo to the bank every month.
Yeah, and I was like in thewinter I didn't know, you know
how am I gonna pay this loan?
(26:35):
It was a five thousand dollar amonth payment besides the rent.
Yeah, but wow yeah, it was a lotof money, wow, yeah, and we
gutted everything.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
I mean the whole thing yeah, well, you have a
beautiful, you have a beautifulstore.
Thank you, I love it, I lovethe, I love the beautiful story.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Thank you really do.
Yeah, I love it.
I love the.
I love the way it turned outand the wave I call it the wave
on the ceiling.
Yeah, nobody's ever gonna havethat because they're not gonna
be dumb enough to pay for itlike I was.
But I had to have it.
I had to have it but yeah, itwas stressful and yeah, you know
it's.
It may.
Like I said earlier, it's funnybecause people would be like,
(27:12):
oh, there's no overhead, butthere is, there's a lot of
overhead, oh for sure.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
I'm surprised people think there's no overhead.
Well, because the customerserves themselves.
Well, sure Right.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
And that's why they think in their brain that
there's no overhead.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
But what about the electricity you know, and in the
summer with all of thosemachines.
Last year my lowest electricbill in the summer was 5500 a
month.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
Yeah, yeah, just for electric.
I mean you can't, you don'treally turn them off, no right,
they're on until you clean them.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
But they go to sleep, but that's the still yeah the
electric.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
Wow, I would have never thought the electric bill
would be that much.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
Yes, but yeah I guess when all that all the lights
all the refrigeration yeah, therefrigeration I mean even the
table with all the toppingsright because there's
refrigeration under there too.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
Yeah, and our, our air conditioning and heat is
electric oh okay, it's, not gas.
So yeah, it's it's crazy whenpeople say that and it's like no
, I'm just a regular restaurant,I'm just.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
They just self-serve themselves and have you in terms
of your rent?
I mean considering, I'm a, I'ma property owner and I'm
assuming that you you signedlonger term leases with your
current owner that owns thebuilding.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Yes, I had.
The first two leases I had weretwo five-year leases, then the
last one, I went to three and Ijust, literally last week,
signed another three.
Oh, okay, yeah, it's going up.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
And you're seeing rent go up.
Of course, that's just how itworks, right.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
And we have the real estate taxes in there too, and
our patio.
We have to rent the patio.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
Well, you have to rent that patio, so it's not a
part of your store.
No, it's not a part of thelease.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
They want to say the new price is $1,700 a month, but
it's CAM.
They call it CAM.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
Jason would know, but yeah can you do that seasonally
, so you only have for thesummer, you have to do the whole
year.
Oh, the whole year.
Oh, wow, I mean I'm sure thatmakes no sense for them.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Yeah, right, yes and wow, it is what it.
I mean, that's the price ofbeing where I'm at.
Yeah, you know, I could havechosen my prospector right deer
park and I wouldn't.
I don't right, I truly don'tthink I would be there right now
if I chose a different locationbecause of all of you guys in
the community.
I don't, I really don't think,because you're not going to find
(29:42):
a community like arlington.
They're just everyone, is justall for everything.
And you know all businesses,you know, and it 90 of those
businesses down there is familyowned yeah, it is a really
unique downtown I mean andyou're right in the heart of it.
Speaker 3 (29:58):
So I would agree.
Your location is so, yes,important and special, and I
love it I, I just love it andyeah, it's rent high.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
Yeah, yeah, but that's the cost of being right
in the heart of it, but you havethe foot traffic Right.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
You have the foot traffic to afford it and you've
got the product that people wantto go to Right.
And yeah, it's a good model.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
It's a good win, yeah , especially with my family.
So I just love all of you guys.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
And a lot of your family works with you, right.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
Well, yeah, the boys now are with dad full-time.
They get mom's phone calls andthey have to come and fix
something.
They love those phone calls.
Dave loves them too, and Paige,she's there on the weekends for
birthday parties.
Now she also works for myhusband.
We own an industrial paintingcompany.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
So I wanted to get to that too.
So you're really anentrepreneurial family, so your
brother's an entrepreneur, butyour husband has a business as
well.
You guys have another business.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
Right, yes, and it's all working out.
The kids love it and we havefamily Sunday dinners every
Sunday and they're not killingeach other because they're with
each other six, seven days aweek.
So it's working out, I guessyeah each other six, seven days
a week.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
So it's working out, I guess, yeah, yeah.
Did you guys start thatbusiness yourselves, or was that
a family generational?
Speaker 2 (31:16):
business.
Dave worked for a company andthen he decided that he was
going on his own.
He's been on his own for, Iwant to say, 13 years.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
Okay, so while you were raising kids?
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Yes, With kids.
You know Brandon's 31, jake's28, paige is 25, and Dylan's 23.
Speaker 3 (31:34):
Okay, same timing as.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Well, it might have been a little bit before Barry O
Okay, he went on his own, andthen the boys followed suit.
You know, they all have theirown responsibilities, and it's
doing phenomenal too, and it'sbecause of Dave and the boys and
all their workers, so they havea great staff, so industrial
(31:59):
painting.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
what is that?
What's the common customer?
Speaker 2 (32:01):
It's like coatings.
They do a lot of dealerships,they do a lot of water towers.
They do a lot of sky risesdowntown Chicago Wow, a lot of
sky rises downtown chicago.
Wow, a lot of, yeah, a lot ofcoatings.
They do the painting too on theoutside, but the coatings is
what they they're known for ingarage floors, like you know,
(32:22):
epoxy garage floors.
So, yeah, they they're, they'regood at it.
That's awesome.
Yeah so, yeah, so.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
Yeah, that's awesome, especially if you it's always
that commercial side, whenyou're getting into that stuff.
That's where you, whenever Ithink about like people that are
in contracting businesses, it'slike residential is good, but
really the best part is to getinto the commercial side of
things.
Yeah, you just have you'reworking with businesses.
They have bigger budgets andthey have you know usually does
(32:50):
pretty well.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
You're working with businesses they have bigger
budgets, and they have, you know, usually does pretty well.
So correct, right, yeah, andthat's why Dave moved away from
the residential and just doesindustrial.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
No, that's awesome, that's awesome.
So I, yeah I love how you justhave this entrepreneur side of
your family and you're reallyteaching your kids that stuff
and they're in the business.
Did they always want to be inthe business, or did they ever
want to go off and do their ownthing?
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Jake Brandon always wanted to be From the get-go.
He was not a college.
He did college for a year formom and said, mom, I'm done,
really, went with dad right away.
Dylan went with dad right away.
Jake decided to go to school.
He was going to be a policeofficer and then you know I'm so
great he got his degree andeverything.
(33:36):
But I'm grateful he went withDave because it's just too
dangerous now.
And Paige went to school to bea teacher and she decided she
wasn't going to be a teacher andshe's Dave's office woman.
So I'm like, okay, whateverguys, they're all making it work
.
The three boys all have homesand we have our first grandbaby,
(33:58):
one on the way on September.
Again, congratulations, thankyou.
They have beautiful homes,beautiful wives and it it's all
worked out so far.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
And that's just.
That's just the dream.
Yeah, you know to be able tobuild a business and then to
have your kids work in it andactually want to be there.
Yeah, you know that sounds likethey chose that to do it and
versus.
I'm forcing you to.
You know, work for us.
Speaker 2 (34:23):
Yeah, dave did not force them at all to come, and I
forced them to be at burialwhen they were in high school
because I needed them in highschool.
You don't really have muchfreedom and they were fine with
that.
They liked working in highschool.
They're all good, they allstill get along and they're all
(34:43):
hanging out do you think thatit's?
Speaker 1 (34:49):
do you come across more and more like new
businesses that are kind of likethey have the same vision as
you guys, or what do you thinkkind of holds back people from
starting businesses this year or, you know, doing it now?
Right.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
I think a lot of it has to do with real estate and
how high rent is or how high thebuildings are.
I think it's scary, it truly isscary, as you know.
It's just scary.
How are you going to make it?
How are you going to do it?
People say it's the first yearand it really isn't.
(35:24):
It's the first five.
That's what I think contributesto it.
If my brother didn't push me todo this, I don't think I would
have, because I would have beentoo scared.
He said, sheila, you're goingto make it be your shop, run
with it.
So and I always wanted to makehim proud.
(35:47):
So I'm like, oh, yeah, I did it.
But yeah, every time he comesin from St Louis, he's like, oh
my God, sheila, this is justincredible.
He's like these people areincredible.
I said, yeah, all you guys, allthe customers, are like my
family.
They know everything about meand they, you guys, all have my
cell phone numbers.
That's the way I want it.
(36:09):
I don't, you know I'm, I'm nothere just to be an owner.
I'm like I tell my staff Iclean the toilets, I wash the
floors, I bleach, I doeverything you guys do.
And just because I signed yourcheck doesn't mean anything,
yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
I'm just one of you guys, yeah, so I'm sure they
respect you so much for that too.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
I try.
You know it's like just do yourjob, yeah, and have fun with it
.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
Well, at the same time, you know, there's the old
adage is that no one's going tolove your business as much as
you do?
Right, you know, it's like it's, it's like actually probably
impossible for people to to feelthe same way you feel about it.
Right, because you put in theeight hundred thousand dollar,
build out, right.
You've paid that back and andyou've gone through the covet
and you saw the the red linesthat you were getting and and
(36:55):
then all of a sudden bounce back.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
I mean, what a story of like perseverance and and
resilience yeah, which you know,it was rough, but I'm so glad
we made it.
You know, yeah, I don't, Idon't see do you think okay now
that?
Speaker 1 (37:09):
because so it kind of relates a little bit to like
the 75 hard thing that page hasdone right, so she is a champion
of 75 hard and not only 75 hardbut, live hard, which basically
means she's very disciplinedand she did it for a full year.
She's one of the very fewpeople that we know that have
completed that, and actually meand Rachel, to kind of put us in
the same category which hasbeen nice, but we are also live
(37:31):
hard champions, which is reallycool.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
Yes, yeah, but I think we only know a total of
like four.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
I think there's only like four or five people that we
know?
Speaker 3 (37:38):
Yeah, I can think of four.
Yeah, so Paige falls in thatcategory.
So she's very unique, right?
Yeah, and she's so young.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Yeah, and so really, the mentality of like the 75
Hard program is that you aregoing to be very disciplined
Every single day.
You're going to work out twicea day.
One of them is going to beoutside, You're going to drink a
(38:04):
gallon of water and then you'regoing to take a selfie.
And you're going to do this for75 days straight.
And so when you do this program, you get these confidence
boosters that happen, becauseyou're like man, this sounds so
freaking hard.
But when you take it one day ata time, you're like oh, I just
checked off another one, checkedoff another one, checked off
another one.
Before you know it, you're 60days deep into it and your
confidence is off the charts,because you just can't believe
all the hard things that youdidn't think you could do, but
(38:25):
you did it.
And so when you complete theprogram, you're like, you know,
you kind of sit back a littlebit.
You're like what other hardthing can I do, Right, Right.
So and I want to bring it backto you because it's like you
went through the depths of COVIDand you bounce back from it Is
there anything that you thinkthat your business could like?
(38:45):
Like, do you feel yourconfidence level.
It's like, oh, we couldprobably take on anything that
maybe comes our way.
We know that we can get to theother side of it.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
Yes, I I, now that I got through COVID, you know, and
I don't think anything.
You know I I'm not scaredanymore.
You know, it's like I'm.
If we all got through covid, Ithink we'll all make it.
Yeah, because hope to god therewon't be another covid.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah it's like, well, you know,
there's a lot of business and Idon't know if there's any like.
You know, tariff things that,or like recession fears or like
any of that stuff.
You know, a lot of times welike to hear how does the
business owner feel about theirbusiness and like, what's the
confidence level?
And you know, when you gothrough the hard times of what
COVID is, and now all of asudden you're like, well, you
(39:33):
know, that was pretty hard, butwe ended up getting through it.
Right, that was pretty hard,but we ended up getting through
it, I feel like at the same time, when we have these talks of
maybe there's a recession coming, maybe we're doing some policy
changes that might impact us,but do you feel that we could
get through any of those thingsthat come our way?
Speaker 2 (39:52):
I would hope so.
I listen to a lot of businesspeople radio radio and the
recession does kind of scare medue to the fact that burial is
it's not a necessity.
Yeah, you know I'm like oh boy,you know, please don't not
again.
But hopefully, you know, I'lldo everything I can, if we do
(40:15):
get into a recession, to hold onto it can, if we do get into a
recession to hold on to it.
So you know I don't, I don'tknow if they're.
You know it'll be scary if we dogo into a recession.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
Let me ask you about.
So there's a lot of hype aroundthe Chicago bears moving out of
the city and coming toArlington Heights to purchase
the Arlington park racetrack,and that might be a good thing
for a number of people, but thenthere's also a downside for
others that people may think ofit as well.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
Where do you?
Speaker 1 (40:44):
kind of stand on if the bears come.
Well, I think.
Either way this whole oldracetrack is going to turn into
some type of entertainmentdistrict that they're looking to
do here in Arlington.
And you know the mayor-electhas.
We've listened to him a coupleof times.
It's Naglia and he said youknow, what we don't want to do
(41:05):
is have this new Arlington Park,you know, take away from the
downtown and we don't want tohave a second downtown and
people don't go to the firstdowntown that they've built up
for for years and years andthings like that.
Where do you kind of stand onsome of the things that might be
impacting Ironton Heights inthe coming years?
Speaker 2 (41:24):
The Bears, I think may be a good thing because it's
going to drive traffic and it'sgoing to make businesses better
.
I'm with the new mayor, I thinkthat have two different
locations and I think we'll allmake it because, think about it,
the Chicago Bears come toArlington.
(41:44):
There's thousands and thousandsof people.
We're going to need more thanjust Arlington Parks restaurants
.
We're going to need ourdowntown too, and the only thing
that scares me is the traffic.
How are they going to getNorthwest Highway up and running
like it should be?
(42:05):
Yeah, I was born and raised inMount Prospect and it seems like
the structure, theinfrastructure, I don't know.
Is it going to hold all thesepeople?
I don't know.
Yeah, I'm going to hold allthese people.
I don't know.
Yeah, I'm excited to see, likeI would love.
You guys may not have knownPoplar Creek.
(42:25):
It was an entertainment thingout in.
It's the old Sears building.
Oh it used to be where the Searsbuilding was and it was an
outside entertainment likeconcerts, and I think that would
be phenomenal for the suburbs,because we only have ravinia
right yeah and, but you know,when the bears aren't playing,
(42:47):
make it a concert facility and,oh yeah, make those all these
restaurants downtown and the newdowntown thrive yeah yeah, and
that might be a good thing forsummer, absolutely.
So I don't know.
You know it won't be.
I bet you it doesn't eventranspire for 10 years.
You know it's like everyone'sso up in arms.
(43:09):
A lot of people are up in armsand I understand tax wise and
you know everything else and youknow I worry about the traffic
and you know what happens withthe people coming in from the
city and but it's, it's not evennearly.
They haven't even done anythingwith it yet and you know you
(43:31):
got to hope that the new mayorsees that light and he's an
architect, so he's going to dowhat's right by Arlington.
He's not gonna put somethingthat it doesn't make sense yeah,
yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (43:44):
I mean in.
In my opinion, I think this isjust like a once in a lifetime,
once in a generation typeopportunity that, if the bears
do decide it's, it's only goingto bring a lot of prosperity to
the area and like those are theissues.
Yeah, you're going to get someissues, but I feel like those
are all fixable and you canfigure that out.
Speaker 2 (44:02):
Right, Right, you know the growing.
You know everything's going tohave to grow a little bit in
order to make you know, and Ithink it would be a great thing,
you know, the bears come intoArlington Heights.
Yeah, Some people are likeSheila, really, I'm like, but it
would be.
So, you know, instead of havingto go to the lakefront you know
(44:25):
a lot of families don't want togo to the lakefront- yeah, it's
hard, it's really hard to getto it's very hard to get there.
Speaker 1 (44:31):
Arlington Park is actually very easy.
There's a train, there'shighways.
Speaker 2 (44:35):
Right, exactly, you know I mean it.
There's highways right, exactly, you know I mean it would make
the most sense for them to movethere and it's a and it's a
massive it's a massive propertylike over 300 acres yeah and I
mean so.
Speaker 1 (44:45):
So I guess, to you know, as a potential expansion
of barrio, have you thoughtabout, hey, if they actually do
expand and they got some, theygot some storefront space, would
you maybe have a secondlocation?
Speaker 2 (44:58):
uh, I don't know.
Yeah, yeah, we'll have to seewhat transpires.
Yeah, I've seen, like picturesof what they want to do.
Have you guys seen those andlike in them, yeah, it's going
to be beautiful if that's whatthey're doing.
I don't know, I don't.
You know, who knows, who knowswhat life will bring us?
Speaker 1 (45:16):
but yeah, have you thought?
Have you thought about otherexpansion, to open up another
store anywhere else?
Speaker 2 (45:23):
There's been like six or eight people that have come
to me and wanted to franchise it.
Speaker 3 (45:27):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
I will not why, because it's my little thing and
it's Arlington Heights littlething and there isn't another
one.
It's Arlington Heights littlething and there isn't another
(46:02):
one.
And the other thing is is thatwhen you franchise and florida
one was hawaii I'm like where,where am I gonna find the time
to do that and make sure thatarlington's running the way it's
supposed to?
Yeah, true, so I I never hadthe desire to franchise it and I
I don't know if my brotherthinks I'm crazy because he'll
like put in his snippets.
You know when they were askingyeah, and I'm like jim, he's
(46:25):
like I'll leave you alone.
I'll leave you alone.
He's like you wanted one andhe's like and that's your baby.
And yeah, I don't think I havetime for another one, and you
know, if I walked into one andit was dirty, I I'd lose it.
Yeah, so I I don't.
You know, I don't want to bethat person, but yeah, I'm, I'm
(46:46):
good with.
Speaker 1 (46:48):
I'm actually curious how so you got you got such a
nice size loan.
Was it hard getting that loan?
Or, especially because you knowyou were prior to burial, you
said you a stay-at-home momright?
Speaker 2 (47:01):
Yes, yeah, stay-at-home so like.
Speaker 1 (47:04):
The recent experience level that maybe a bank would
be looking at is like oh well,you know.
Speaker 2 (47:09):
Oh yeah, I have no job, right yeah.
Speaker 1 (47:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (47:20):
Was it hard to get a business loan and all that
build-out loan or what helpedyou kind of secure that?
It was very hard due to thefact that I truly, being a
stay-at-home mom, had no income.
So you know, banks don't wantto do anything with business
owners anyway.
You know business owners anyway, because we're a risk.
It will always be a risk.
Um, my brother co-signed for me.
Okay, yeah, and thank God hedid, because Berrio wouldn't be
(47:42):
here, because there's no wayDave and I, building our family
and his business, would have themoney to build that out.
Yeah, but yeah, he is the onethat co-signed and it was his
name first and then my namesecond and I made sure I paid
that rent every month.
Speaker 1 (48:02):
There's so much responsibility on your shoulders
.
Speaker 2 (48:04):
I'm like I'll pay the loan before I'll pay the rent,
because I didn't want his creditwrecked.
Speaker 3 (48:09):
Yeah, I mean, that's an amazing gift.
Speaker 1 (48:11):
Yeah, yeah, and sometimes that's what it comes
down to, is that?
You know, for these businessesto to get started off the ground
, it's not, you know, it's not asolo thing you have.
You have to have other peoplethat are rooting for you and
that can actually help you, andwhether that's a family member
(48:32):
or whether it's it's a friend,you know, I feel that a lot of
people they don't want to dobusinesses is because they think
they have to do it all bythemselves.
Yes, and for your case, you werelike I don't know what I'm
doing, but your brotherintroduced you to a school that
helped.
It sounded like yes, and thenhe was there to help support the
(48:56):
financials, to get it off theground, and then just give you a
lot of confidence and hoorah,and you know.
Speaker 2 (49:03):
So it's just like you got to have this little support
system if it wasn't for myhusband and the kids and jim and
his wife and you know they'rethey were my biggest
cheerleaders and there, when Ifell you know all the time too,
I mean it's like machines broke.
You know, they were alwaysgetting phone calls, yeah, and
but yeah, they were my biggestcheerleaders and thank god I had
(49:25):
them, because I don't thinkwithout them, obviously I
wouldn't have been able to do it.
Yeah, and Dave has been atrooper because I had no idea
what I was doing and he had thefour kids at home I'm'm like
have at it.
buddy and I was also bartendingat Chevy Chase Country Club.
Speaker 3 (49:43):
Oh were you.
Speaker 2 (49:44):
On the weekends for weddings.
Yeah so, yeah.
So I was like, okay, dave's astay.
He wasn't a stay-at-home mom,but he was home on the weekends
with the kids, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (49:59):
Because you had to do what you had to do right yeah,
yeah so I love the grit, yeah,so I think I know the answer to
this question, but was it worthit?
Speaker 2 (50:04):
yes, it was very well worth it.
Yeah, I think back of you, knowall the worries and everything,
and it still was worth it.
And the kids that come in there, you, they just have little
smiles on their faces and allthey want is those machines.
And I ask them how their day isand how school was so.
Speaker 1 (50:26):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (50:27):
I truly love it yeah.
Speaker 1 (50:29):
Now I actually want to talk about this a little bit
and you don't have to go intothe secrets or whatnot.
But so the other day you andPaige came up to me and said,
hey, we're actually going to trythis whole protein frozen
yogurt mix and so new product,which is pretty awesome.
Yes, can you go into like someof the details of kind of like
what that looks like?
Speaker 2 (50:48):
We were in St Louis, which is where First Form is
located.
My kids, dave, myself.
Paige is a big, big supporter.
Yeah, they have it.
That company is unbelievableand if we can ever get you in
there, jason, you would just dieat the way that they they, you
(51:14):
come out of there.
We went to a summit and youcome out of there and they've
never had a cleaning person inthe building.
Everything is like just so.
All the time it's all theemployees they don't have a
cleaning staff.
Speaker 1 (51:29):
It's all the employees, the employees do
everything.
Speaker 3 (51:32):
Yeah, I've heard andy talk about this on the podcast.
Speaker 2 (51:34):
Like his expectations .
Yes, staff and the type ofpeople he hires, and it is been
this place is you come out ofthere and you want to rip your
business apart and redo it toandy's standards.
It's like if he can do it, whycannot you?
Can't you need somebody that islike andy that is going to do
that?
(51:54):
But so they have would know.
You two would know more than Iwould, because I'm not.
I don't do the protein, but Iobviously starting now.
We talked to us too and we'regoing to get with first form and
add first form protein powderto to one of our machines and I
(52:18):
think it's phenomenal, it's very, very healthy, it's I.
I think Arlington Heights wouldlove it.
Speaker 1 (52:26):
I think so too Honestly.
Speaker 3 (52:27):
Yeah, and.
Speaker 2 (52:29):
Arlington and anyone because you can't.
You know you're not going tofind it anywhere but burial.
Speaker 3 (52:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (52:35):
And, you know, I'm hoping that all the surrounding
areas use it, because it trulyis very healthy.
Speaker 1 (52:41):
Yeah, oh, I love it, I love it.
So I'm actually wearing a firstform shirt right now.
Yeah.
Always, Always Well thebrilliance of that company is
that when you continue to buytheir products, they will send
you free t-shirts, and so mywardrobe is probably at least
two times a week, and maybethree times.
Speaker 3 (53:00):
It.
Yeah, it's just a.
It's just a free t-shirt that Igot before I got pregnant.
Now they don't fit, but youknow it's.
Speaker 1 (53:07):
It's great.
And so for those that aren't,aren't familiar with first form,
or or Andy Frisella.
So, andy Frisella um, when wewere talking about 75 hard, andy
Frisella came up 75 hardprogram, which has gone viral
and is very well knownnationwide now.
So he's the creator of thatprogram and he's just a mental
toughness guy, greatentrepreneur.
(53:27):
He does a podcast called realAF.
It's very explicit, but he'salso he gives the realities of
running a business and he givesso many great tips and he talks
about people's stories of reallychanging their lives through 75
hard.
And we've seen that throughPaige.
Yes, paige has come up to usand said I'm a completely
(53:49):
different person from where Iwas when I first started this to
where I am now.
First, she looks fantastic, butmore importantly, it seems like
her mental toughness is off thecharts and she's also just
zeroed in on the vision and whatshe's wanting to do with her
life.
Speaker 2 (54:07):
We are so proud of her, truly, her mental status,
her physical status, everythinghas just changed.
And Dave did the same thingwhen his parents were sick.
He did the 75 hard and it trulygot him through both his
parents dying eight weeks apart.
And we credit Andy for that,because you guys do 75 hard.
(54:36):
It's a big deal to do it, butfor that man to just keep
mentally, you know, talkingabout it is just incredible.
And we've all every one of usin our heneman family have
learned from andy fusela and Iwish we could meet him one day,
but yeah, I don't think that'sgonna happen I think page will
(54:59):
make it happen oh yeah, sheseems close yeah, she's like I
will get in there.
She, yeah, she found his car inthe parking lot last weekend at
the summit and she was gonna sitand wait and I'm like, oh great
, stalker, stalker.
But yeah, he, she, she lovesthe program, yeah, and it's done
(55:20):
wonders for anyone that triesit.
Yes, is it intimidating atfirst?
I've never tried it, I, I.
But I've seen Dave go throughit, I've seen page go through it
and they're just, it's justincredible.
Yeah, the way she looks, theway she talks, the way she feels
, you know, and she's just theway she talks, the way she feels
(55:41):
you know, and she's just, it'sa, it's a permanent life changer
, and that's why we haverecommended it to so many people
.
Speaker 1 (55:47):
And actually at one point it wasn't this past year,
but the year prior I had made ita goal of mine to actually try
and influence like a hundredpeople to to do the program and
I think I my my list.
I didn't get to a hundred, butI got to 40 and but of the 40
that I ended up completing it,it's hard, it's very hard.
I think it was only about 13.
I give you guys credit becauseI can do it.
(56:11):
Well cool, anything else yougot for Sheila.
Speaker 3 (56:16):
Well, I was going to ask kind of a tag off of Paige's
podcast.
We kind of asked her off ofPaige's podcast.
We had kind of asked her.
She's so impressive and I thinkjust making the decision to do
75 hard at her age is soimpressive, because you're in
the height of like going outwith your friends and kind of
exploring and partying.
And she made the choice to likefocus in and be disciplined and
(56:38):
commit to this program, notjust for 75 days but, like you
said, for a live hard year.
And one of the questions we hadasked her, you know, was kind of
where that work ethic and wherethat discipline had kind of
come from.
And she credited you and Dave,your husband.
And so I'm curious now, as aparent of two young kids, like
she made it as an example oflike you know, when I wanted
something as a kid, like Ididn't just get it, I had to
(57:01):
work for it, you know theexpectation was okay, we'll go
sweep the floors or something ifyou want that.
And so I'm just curious youknow we're new not new parents,
but still young parents I thinkin the journey you know our
oldest is only five Any adviceor tips you have as far as
parenting and keeping kidsfocused and disciplined and just
(57:21):
raising tips.
Speaker 2 (57:22):
Yeah right.
Raising a family.
Obviously you guys know it'shard.
In this day and age it's evenharder.
Our youngest is 23.
I came from eight siblings.
I'm the baby of nine, wow.
So we were born and raised inMount Prospect.
We didn't have much much.
My mom and dad both.
(57:43):
When I went in first grade mymom went to work first full-time
, so we didn't have much.
I mean, there's too many kidsand you know there's just stuff
going on.
I would not change it for theworld because it was.
Mom and dad don't have anymoney and every couple weeks you
got a liter of pop.
(58:03):
You know, my mom made dinnerevery night.
It wasn't like we were starving, it wasn't like we're.
We were poor but we weren'tpoor.
So I truly, when I wanted tohave a family and dave was
raised the same way, but he wason the golf course in Mount
Prospect, so that's our bigclaim to fame I was on one side
(58:25):
of the tracks and he was on theother.
He makes fun of me all the time, still to this day.
But we wanted our kids to knowhow, wanting something, you have
to work for it, and how wantingsomething, you have to work for
it, whether it be a pair ofshoes, whether it be that shirt,
(58:45):
whether it be you know,whatever it was.
And we started that withBrandon and it just trickled
down to we're not going to handyou things.
Handing kids things is adisaster, and we've definitely.
We've handed them things, youknow, in their lifetime, but
(59:12):
we're not handing them cars.
We're not.
You want a car, a new truck, goout and get one.
You know that ain't our problemand I think, if you interviewed
all four of them, they'regrateful for that, because there
are kids nowadays that just gethanded everything.
They don't even really have towork.
But I think it's because otherfamilies are working, kids are
(59:35):
working.
So keep your head up.
You guys got really good headson your shoulder and I think
you'll do fine, you're.
I just I think giving them toomuch is a disaster, because I've
seen it and I think you know, alittle responsibility, even the
five-year-old.
just give her a littleresponsibility and it won't hurt
(59:57):
.
It won't hurt, I know it's hardyeah, you know, but you guys are
going to do phenomenal.
You know they're beautifulchildren and they're so polite
and that's the biggest part isthe politeness, and you guys
have already done that.
So, hands down, I've alreadydone that.
So, you know, just keep goingthe way you're going and don't
(01:00:21):
give them everything in theworld, even though you want to.
You know it's hard, it reallyis Because, coming from nothing,
and you know you want your kids, we wanted our kids to have
more, yes, but we weren't goingto.
Oh yeah, here's a brand new carhere and their friends were
getting that.
Speaker 3 (01:00:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:00:38):
And it's like no sorry, you know, and their
friends were getting that, andit's like no sorry, and they
would compare it.
Why didn't my friends get cars?
No, you're going to have thebeat-up pickup truck and they
loved it and now they havebeautiful cars and they pay for
their own stuff and they don'task Mom and Dad and they're
still, yeah, and they'reindependent, even though they
work for your business, butthey're independent people and
they're still.
Speaker 1 (01:00:59):
Yeah, and they're independent.
Speaker 2 (01:01:00):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (01:01:01):
Even though they work for your business.
But they're independent peopleand they're doing well and I'm
not saying we would never bethere.
Speaker 2 (01:01:08):
We would be there in a heartbeat if they needed us,
but we never handed them.
And the other thing is all thegame, all the TV and all the
iPads.
I see parents come in atTiberio.
They get the kid's yogurt andthey hand them their phone.
You know, just talk to them youknow, you know but that's
(01:01:33):
society now too yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:01:35):
Yeah, it's but yeah, yeah it's.
It's tough to be a parent,because sometimes you need some
you need some of the peace andquiet.
Yes, yes, yeah but yeah, yeahit uh, you know there's a hard
balance.
There's a really hard balancewith it because it's so
accessible now, so accessible Iagree.
Speaker 2 (01:01:55):
Yeah, but I agree, yeah, but notice the next time
you guys are in how the girlsreact.
They have a conversation withme the other night.
That's awesome.
Speaker 3 (01:02:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:02:10):
They both had conversations with me, gave me
hugs.
Looked me in the eye.
Speaker 3 (01:02:15):
You guys are doing phenomenal.
Speaker 2 (01:02:16):
That's what every parent should be doing.
You know, not hugging people,but have a conversation with
people.
You know, that's what I thinksociety is missing.
But that's just me I'm, youknow.
Speaker 1 (01:02:31):
I love it.
Yeah, I love it.
Well, sheila, well, thank youfor all of this.
This was a fantastic show Ireally loved it Thank you guys.
So the way that we wrap up isjust kind of like the big
takeaway from the conversation.
And so, Rachel, I want to startwith you.
Speaker 3 (01:02:46):
I always have to go first.
Speaker 1 (01:02:47):
I always got to yeah, I start the wrap up, and then
she does.
She brings the big thoughtwhat's your biggest takeaway
from this?
Speaker 3 (01:02:54):
My biggest takeaway I have so much respect for how
you choose to run your business.
There were several pieces inthere about like making a choice
not to franchise because youdon't want any impact to the
brand that you've created andthe high quality of business and
product and customer serviceand staff and I have so much
(01:03:14):
respect for that.
I just think that's a bigreason of why we love going
there right.
It's always a great experienceand it takes a lot of commitment
and work and discipline tomaintain that over 13 years and
to ensure that going forward.
So I really love to hear that,even though I kind of already
knew that just from going in.
Speaker 1 (01:03:32):
It's like it's a feel you know you walk into a place
and you know it's well run Wellthank you Well, yeah, and I want
to kind of piggyback off ofthis, because it just feels like
, when you walk into your shop,this is the classic mom and pop
shop and it is in your communityand these are real people that
(01:03:55):
own this place.
These aren't big corporationsthat are.
You know, if you were to robBarry Yeo, that would make a
massive, massive dent into thatbusiness owner's pocket, right.
And so you just think aboutthese businesses so differently
when you know the owner, whenyou see the owner because she's
(01:04:16):
there on a regular basis and youcan get to build that
relationship with them you just,this is like all about building
community, and I love what youdo, which is, hey, I hire high
school kids that are at all thesurrounding high schools, right,
and that's a choice that you do, yes, and that's incredible.
(01:04:44):
And you know, again, I just Ithink what's really hard for a
lot of us is like, oh, you know,oh, it's just the wendy's or
it's the starbucks and, like youknow, you don't ever really
know those people.
Yeah, maybe you see them onevery, but you, you just don't
feel the same way because it'ssuch a big corporation, right,
that owns those places, and sothat's why I love that you're
the business owner.
This is what america is made up.
Made up a small business,correct, right, and you know, in
(01:05:06):
arlington heights, downtownarlington heights is made up a
small business and so that'swhat's really unique about this
place and so anyway.
So I think that's that's a bigpiece.
But also a big takeaway is thatyou did this with I don't know
what I doing, but I'm going tofigure it out mentality and
that's just.
You know, it's not somethingthat can really be taught, but
(01:05:27):
it's just like you know, somepeople just need to take the
leap.
Speaker 2 (01:05:30):
I was very scared, but yeah, I'm glad I did Like I
said I'm grateful and it workedout, yeah, great.
Speaker 1 (01:05:37):
And you said you you would.
Speaker 2 (01:05:41):
It was all worth it.
Speaker 1 (01:05:42):
Yes, I would not change it for the world.
So yeah, so incredible,incredible stuff.
All right.
So, sheila, what is, what isyour big takeaway, or what is it
the big takeaway that you wanta listener to kind of hear from
the conversation?
Speaker 2 (01:05:53):
Go with your heart and be a good person.
Do what's right.
If you have a dream of openinga business, open it.
I know everyone fails in lifeat something, but I promise that
if I can make it, anyone canmake it.
So go ahead and do it and makethat American dream come true,
(01:06:16):
because you never know.
Yeah, I love it.
Yeah and I.
You never know.
Yeah, I love it, yeah and Ilove you guys.
You two are amazing people.
I'm so glad that.
I'm glad that Berrio connectedus and that's you know.
It's just amazing how manypeople I think are family, and
(01:06:36):
you know my Paige loves yourdaughters and she can't wait for
the baby to come in May.
She's got it all over our houseon every calendar.
She's so sweet and that's whatmakes me happy about having
Barry O, because you know wewouldn't have met you guys if we
didn't.
Yeah, you know so.
Speaker 1 (01:06:56):
That's absolutely true, that's absolutely true.
And if I wasn't wearing mybecause I have so many of these.
Speaker 3 (01:07:00):
First, form t-shirts.
Speaker 1 (01:07:02):
When I first walked into Berrio the very first day,
paige was working and I wore afirst form t-shirt and she's
like, oh my God, first form.
She's like no one knows aboutthat company except me, but that
guy does.
Speaker 2 (01:07:17):
And so she ran.
Speaker 1 (01:07:18):
She ran and I took maybe two steps into that store.
I mean, your cashier is likeit's in the back.
She ran around and she's likeI'm Paige, I need to meet you
that's Paige so, anyways, I'm soglad.
Speaker 2 (01:07:37):
I'm very glad, I'm glad that you know.
Every day I take something awayfrom a learning.
I'm so glad, I'm, I'm, I'm veryglad, I'm glad that you know
and I, every day I takesomething away from a learning
experience from burial.
Every day I walk in there, it'sa learning experience, or I
meet somebody, or you know, youknow, and I just try to make
people smile because that's whatlife's about.
Yeah, heck, yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:07:57):
Yeah, yeah, awesome, all right.
Well, thanks for listening tothe show, sheila.
Thanks for coming on.
Really appreciate the time andif you found any value in the
show, please share it,especially if you are in
Arlington Heights and youhaven't checked out Barry Yo
downtown.
What is the best way?
How can people book events orlike?
How can we get in touch withyou?
Speaker 2 (01:08:18):
You can get in touch with me on our website.
It's wwwberry-yocom.
You can call the store224-735-3112.
Or my email is sheilahenn9 atsbcglobalnet.
I respond to all of those, soreach out.
(01:08:41):
I would love to talk to you.
I'd love to book your nextevent.
We go to schools, we go toblock parties, we go to showers,
we go everywhere.
Now we cater everything.
Speaker 1 (01:08:52):
All right.
Well, actually, what's great isthat me and the guy down the
street, we are going to beorganizing our block party up
here.
Oh, perfect, for this comingAugust.
So we will definitely let youknow about that.
Sweet, that was a good littletip.
Speaker 2 (01:09:04):
Yeah, and I'll do anything.
I've done wedding receptions.
I'll do anything anyone wantsme to do.
Speaker 1 (01:09:10):
Wow, yeah, wow, that's fantastic.
So I didn't know any of that,so cool.
Speaker 2 (01:09:14):
I will do whatever needs to be done.
Speaker 1 (01:09:17):
Sweet.
Welcome back to another episode of the Real Life
Investing Podcast with Jasonand Rachel Wagner.
We got a great one todaybecause we actually have one of
our favorite local businessowners joining us.
Sheila Henneman is the owner ofBarry Yo Downtown Arlington
Heights, and it is a frozenyogurt shop that we love going
to.
(00:20):
We probably go to at leastweekly with our girls and
actually, sheila, we have achant in our house.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
I don't know if any anybody else has this, but it's
very possible but it goes likebarry yo barry, yo barry, yo
barry, yo yeah that's very true,and so the girls just start
chanting this and like we justwe have to go, yeah, I actually
in their Easter basket gottokens from the Easter bunny of
(00:46):
different things they get to doand we there were a few burial
trip to burial tokens.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
So you, sheila, you have like such an impact on the
community, just being a businessowner and being the place where
people go for treats andmemories and good times owner
and be in the place where peoplego for treats and memories and
good times.
And we've even done some like,some cool, like private events
at your place too, where we hada New Year's countdown for the
(01:13):
kids that started at noon on NewYear's Day or New Year's Eve
and, like you know, it's just socool all the things that you do
.
So thank you for coming on.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Thank you for having me, both of you.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Yeah, and we're just excited to kind of hear where
did Barry O start and you know,what did you do before Barry O,
and just kind of give us thebackstory.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Okay, and it was about 15 years ago, me and my
brother.
My brother is a business ownerin St Louis and I've always
wanted to go into business withhim because he was an
entrepreneur and he always wasso successful Didn't know what I
wanted to do.
I was a mom and I'm like Jim,let's do something.
Well, he was the owner ofMidwest Equipment in St Louis
(01:59):
that does the Taylor machines.
He was a distributor for them.
The Taylor machines are ourmachines.
That does the yogurt.
He came to me and said Sheila,I think you need to do a yogurt
store.
And I said I know nothing aboutyogurt.
And so he.
(02:19):
I went for about a year.
I went everywhere, lookingeverywhere, looking for a spot.
I kept coming back to 50Northvale and Arlington Heights
and my brother was like Sheila,the rent's really high.
It's higher than all the otherplaces we looked at.
And I said I don't, I'll makeit work.
I said because I just feel likehome there.
(02:40):
And so 13 years ago, right,well, st Patrick's day is when
we gutted the whole place,everything but the two green
pillars that are sitting in ourstore.
Everything was gutted.
We opened 13 years ago, may25th, wow.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
So you're coming up on the anniversary.
Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Yeah, may 25th 2012 is when we opened our doors and
it's been a delight.
You know there's ups and downs,of course.
You know owning your ownbusiness and I love when people
tell me oh, sheila, you have nooverhead.
There's so much overhead thatyou know it's like it's like you
(03:25):
wouldn't even understand howmuch overhead there really is.
I'm grateful for, like familieslike yours, you guys are young,
you're having another baby, youhave children that love burial.
They come in smiling.
That's what keeps me going.
That's why I won't sell it,because the kids just love it
(03:48):
and I love kids.
I have four kids of my own.
They're all grown now, but I'mwhere I'm supposed to be.
Arlington Heights is phenomenal.
The downtown area is so it'sjust home and you know the
business owners are so nice andeveryone has been so nice in 13
(04:08):
years and I've met families,including you and rachel, that
I'll have for a lifetime.
You know, when barrio's gone,I'll still have all you guys and
it's just.
It's, it's great, it's a of fun.
I'm glad I did it.
There are struggles all thetime, like COVID almost.
We almost lost it.
For COVID, holly Connorsactually came to and got us that
(04:34):
fundraiser that got us through.
But without you, you guys, wewouldn't be there, because I'm
not a franchise, I'm familyowned and it's Dave and I's
savings account that puts it inin the winter when everyone
forgets about us.
But it's thriving, it's doinggreat because of all you guys,
(04:55):
and I'm very, very grateful forthat I'll talk about.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
actually, if you don't mind, talk about some of
the stuff that you experiencedduring COVID and how you almost
lost it.
Did you think that it was goingto?
Did you think you were going tomake it through?
Did you have doubt?
Oh, I didn't think so Really.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
The health department was going to every restaurant,
you know, because we had to dothe curbside.
He said I don't know what I'mgoing to do with you guys,
because you guys are self-serve,right, I have to shut you down
for at least two weeks to see.
We'll come up with something,sheila, I promise you.
But it was, what are we goingto do with her?
(05:34):
Because the whole theme is thepeople walk in and do it
themselves.
They don't want somebody elsemaking it for them.
And so he did come up withsomebody at the cups, somebody
at the machines, somebody at thetopping bar and somebody at the
register and I said I can'tpull that much payroll.
Oh, he wanted a worker.
(05:56):
Each place, each place, eachset.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Yes, oh, I was thinking social distancing, like
the station, but he wanted someworking Right, oh gosh.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
And so I pulled in all my.
He wanted some working Right,oh gosh.
And so I pulled in all my kidsand my husband.
Wow, and I said, guys, weeither have to try this and see
what happens.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
This was probably super, super early, like March,
april 2020.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Yeah, this was like right the beginning, yeah, the
beginning of the nightmare, andso it didn't really work,
because then there was peoplethat were telling me I would be
at the cups doing their yogurtand only two.
It was only two, but they weretelling me that I was ripping
(06:39):
them off and I told them to tellme to stop when they wanted to
stop.
But that was an issue and Isaid I'm not dealing with people
.
You know, right now I don'teven know if we're going to be
able to stay open.
And then people are accusing meof ripping them off.
I'm like this is the only waywe can do this, you know, and
I'm not ripping you off.
(07:00):
Just tell me to stop and I'llpull the lever back.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Right Cause it's all based on weight.
So, like that's the beauty ofthe self-service you choose how
much you take of the frozenyogurt and then the toppings and
everything correct yeah and soit was truly a nightmare.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
And then holly connor's called me it had to be
beginning of april and justchecking in and she owns get
burbed.
And she said, sheila, how areyou doing?
Because she heard about anotherone in Palatine, spunky Dunkers
, that was having trouble too.
And so she said, and I told herand I was bawling cause I
(07:40):
didn't know what was going tohappen we you know I'm like I we
can't put any more money intoit and rent she goes.
Okay, thanks bye.
The next day she had peopleworking their butts off to do a
fundraiser, she had media there,she had everybody there to save
burial.
(08:00):
I went through 3,200 cups inless than a week of yogurt.
There was lines out the door tosave burial.
And it was all people like youguys, all families, all.
And if I truly I give Holly thecredit, because all I did that
(08:20):
whole week was cry because I wasable to pay the rent, all I did
that whole week was cry becauseI was able to pay the rent
without saying I can't pay.
And you know, I was like Icalled the landlord, I'm like I
can't pay rent, I'm like I don'tknow what I'm going to do.
And they were fine, but youknow they worked with me, but
I'm like I don't know what'sgoing to happen.
(08:40):
I think they probably thought Irobbed a bank because I had all
the rent back and I it was.
It was like a breath of freshair.
And then things lightened upand summer came and alfresco
came and we were okay and but Ido truly it was amazing how the
community came forward.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
For me, oh, that's incredible.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
What an amazing story that.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
I actually wasn't aware of any of that.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Yeah, it was truly amazing how the community just
it was all the people on Vailwere there for Barry.
I would just say yeah, wow.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
So Arlington Heights was pretty quick to do the all
fresco thing because we werestill in the city at that time.
So like for us like a lot ofthings were still like shut down
.
But out here.
They were quick to find asolution and get people outside
so business could continue.
It sounds like it wasphenomenal.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
The alfresco thing was a blessing for all of us.
That was the best thing theycould have thought of.
Yeah, and other towns havetried to do it and it just isn't
like Arlington's.
So, yeah, alfresco saved a lotof businesses down there.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
Was that, like, controversial at all among the
businesses or among thecommunity?
Or how did they like, did theycome around and talk to each of
you to get that going?
Speaker 2 (09:58):
They did.
They sent out.
We had meetings and then theysent out like e-blasts and stuff
.
I think everyone was for it atthat point, you know, because
everyone was grasping for strawsand nobody knew what.
You know, nobody knew what thefuture was going to hold for us.
I think the parking was themain problem down there and I
(10:19):
think that, as far as I know, Ithink that was the only negative
, and it comes back every year.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
With a vengeance.
I mean, it's awesome.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
It's so awesome, it's so awesome, it's so awesome.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
I love when they shut that street down because all
the kids, all the little ones,are safe, they can run and they
can do, you know, and no cars,no nothing.
Yeah, yeah.
So it is a blessing and I hopethey keep it up, yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
When does that start again?
April 20th they start.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
They close the streets April 28th.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Oh, coming up next week.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Yeah, and I think the first day is the first.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
Okay, cool, I was thinking May, yeah, may 1st.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Yeah, so, yeah.
So everyone's getting ready andgearing up and it'll be a good
summer, I hope.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Yeah, yeah, it's a great vibe if anybody hasn't
been to downtown ArlingtonHeights for a summertime in the
evening, just to kind of seeeverybody's out eating at all
the restaurants.
They play music out there andyeah, it's just a lot of great
fun.
There's a lot of families thatjust go down and bring their
kids in the strollers and yeahit's awesome Just hang out.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Yeah, it's a lot of fun.
It's very community oriented.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
So yeah, come out.
The thing I love about you,sheila, is that you work in the
business.
You're there, yes, you are notsomebody that sits at home.
You are there working veryregularly.
What's your schedule like foryou personally?
Speaker 2 (11:42):
I try to get out of there at night.
I put enough staff on.
I train the staff to be able togo home at night.
I'm there every day, yeah.
So Saturday Sundays SaturdaySundays are big days.
We're busy.
I don't want the teenage kidsbeing by themselves.
I'm very hands-on, even whenI'm not there.
(12:03):
They can call me 24-7, anythingthey need.
I can be there in 30 minutesand I have had to do that in 30
minutes.
But I wish I lived in Arlington, but when we were buying our
home and growing our family wecouldn't afford it out here.
So we're in Algonquin and itdoesn't take me long.
(12:25):
It takes me 30 minutes to gethere, and so I'm definitely
there in the summer at leastseven days a week.
I mean there's only seven daysin a week, but I'm there seven
days a week to make sure, evenif it's for three, four hours,
just to make sure everything'sup and running.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Yeah, what are kind of like the common now that
we're past COVID, right, and nowyou're going into the probably
the busy I mean obviously thebusy season, right, so your
business is very seasonal, I'massuming.
So how do you kind of likeprepare for the influx and the
ebbs and flows?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
When I first opened, we opened obviously the Memorial
Day weekend.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
And it was like lines lines, lines.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
And then August came and all the kids were going back
to school and it was likedeserted and I called my brother
.
I'm like what is going on andwhere are the customers?
He's like Sheila, when schoolstarts you go down.
I'm like, oh, I didn't knowthat it took me four years to be
(13:29):
able to regulate winter andsummer.
You know bank accounts,spending, payroll, because I had
never done it before.
Yeah, our season goes from aboutMay 15th to August 30th and we
have to make it or break it inthose months.
Yeah, birthday parties are ahuge success for us and that
(13:54):
held us last winter through thewinter, because a lot of people
booked during the wintertime and, like you said, the events that
you guys were at that helped ustoo.
You know, because that wasChristmas time.
Yeah, because nobody thinks ofus.
They really don't.
I pulled in coffee, I've pulledin lattes.
In the winter no one thinksabout ice cream.
(14:16):
You know, we have our regulars,like you guys, but the regulars
aren't going to be able to paythe rent and so we've got to
figure out something and I'vetried to pull in different
things for the winner to get usthrough.
But the birthday parties seemto be doing well for us, yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
So the coffee thing.
So did that end up working orsticking?
Speaker 2 (14:40):
No, no it did not stick Because you've got so many
, you've got Starbucks andyou've got the bigger names, but
I still have it if people wantit.
But it didn't really go.
So hopefully I was going to dosoup, but then I'd have to get a
stove and that would cause meto have a $5,000.
(15:04):
Vent out the building yeah.
How much soup are you going tosell to pay for all of that
labor?
You know so, right, I'm tryingdifferent things and hopefully
you know, we just keep adding tothe menu and everyone loves it.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
So yeah, and you have a lot of.
I mean, you hire teenagers inthe community, right?
Yes, I hire from.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
I try to grab from every high school.
Wow, like right now.
I have Meadows, prospect Viator, hersey and Palatine.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
Oh nice.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Yeah, it's a lot of fun.
Yeah, and it's usually 99% ofit's.
Usually their first job, yeah,so I am their first boss and so
I try my hardest to teach themresponsibility and when they're
ready, when I can see they'reready, they get a key.
Not until then, that'sresponsibility, and some have to
(16:02):
be let go and some have stuckwith me forever.
I've got Mallory's coming backand she's 22 and goes to the
University of Nashville and shetexted me two weeks ago.
I'm coming back May 3rd.
Can I have shifts?
Sure, you can, mel, wow, yeah,so that's I mean Berrio's doing
something right if the collegekids want to come back, yeah,
that is awesome.
Yeah, that's I mean Berrio'sdoing something right if the
(16:23):
college kids want to come back.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Yeah, that is awesome yeah that's really cool.
Because my first impression waslike, okay, you're hiring the
local teens and then they go offto college and then you know
life happens and they probablygo on.
You know, I stuck with my firstjob for maybe a year or
something.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
It's just like you're hiring people that are going to
be turned over.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Yes, you know, I have a big turnover rate.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
yeah, yeah, and you know, and sometimes I kind of
think about that as, like I, Ijust give you actually so much
more credit because you justcare about the community.
Like you want to hire the localkids.
And yes, what from what youjust said, from all the
different high schools, it's'slike from you know, sometimes if
I were to think about this, Iwould want, like you know,
people that, hey, you're goingto be with us for a long time,
(17:10):
but you, truly, what you saidfrom the beginning was like I
care about the families and thefamilies keep me going, and so
you hire their kids.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Yes, that's like oh my gosh.
It's just an amazing thing thatwhat you do Well I try, uh huh.
It's not just amazing thingthat what you do well I try.
And yeah, I, I do try, but yeah, it's fun, it it's interesting
yeah, and so how many, how many?
Speaker 1 (17:31):
how many kids do you currently have on staff or right
now?
Speaker 2 (17:34):
I have 16, 16, yes, because they're all so busy yeah
they're all doing sports and Itry to do the fall sports and
then the spring sports so thatit doesn't screw up the burial
schedule, but right now I've gota lot of soccer players out
there.
I'm like oh, boy.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
What's the minimum age in Illinois?
Is it 16?
Speaker 2 (17:58):
It's 15 and a half with a work permit.
15 and a half with a workpermit.
Okay, that's a little differenteverywhere.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
I grew up in Iowa and you could start at 14 for some
jobs.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Yeah, it's 15 and a half with a work permit Okay.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
And what's the work permit?
Do their parents have, to like,sign off on it or something?
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Yeah, they get it through the school, through the
school, yeah, okay, it's very,very strict on the employers
aspect.
I don't like them because theycan only work like two hours,
right.
Two hours Two hours during theschool day, school week, oh,
during the school day, schoolweek, oh, during the school week
.
Okay, and then you can't reallytrain anybody in two hours.
(18:34):
No, it takes forever.
So I tell everybody 16, andthen they have their license too
.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
And mom and dad.
They don't have to rely on momand dad.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Oh, that makes sense too.
Yeah, then they can get thereRight, exactly.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
So there are some that I do 15 and a half.
There was one girl I had herprobably eight years ago and her
name was Jasmine and she wasphenomenal and I hired her at 15
and a half and I was so sad tosee her go.
In this group now there's eightseniors.
Wow, I'm very sad to see themgo because I molded them into
(19:11):
what I wanted them and nowthey're all going to college
they're running into me tellingme what college they committed
to.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
I'm like no, I'm happy for you, but don't you
want to stay home with mom anddad for one more year?
Can't you just go to?
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Harper or something why, do you have to?
Speaker 1 (19:27):
go to take a break here so I love all my kids.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
I treat them like my own children and they would
definitely say that if they weresitting with you today.
I'm I'm strict with them, but II also want them to have fun
and learn responsibility.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
So then, how do you do it?
So then are you going to go ona new hiring spree, just you
know when.
When are you going to go on anew hiring spree?
When are you kind of doing yourhiring?
Right now.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Yeah, I've hired six to replace the ones that I have
going in August.
So we'll see those six.
There could be three that makeit.
It's all depends on I want themwhen I interview them, I want
them outgoing, I want them tolike children, I want them to be
(20:17):
smiling, and when the customerwalks in the door, I tell them
you greet them.
There's lots of dessert places.
I want them to feel comfortableat burial.
So that's my MO, you know.
You know with them some get itand some don't, and they're shy
too.
So hopefully they'll break outof their shell and we'll have a
(20:37):
good season.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Yeah, yeah, I appreciate that from a customer
perspective because there are alot of places you go to now
where there there are peoplebehind the counter who just
don't say anything at all andyou're kind of like are you
ready for me to order or are younot?
Are you taking orders?
You know it's like the onus iskind of on the customer to be
like are you open, exactly?
Speaker 1 (21:01):
And I appreciate that yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
When.
I see that, or you know, whenI'm a customer, I'm like there
ain't no way Berrio is going tobe like this, because this is
too awkward.
Yeah, there ain't no way BarryO is going to be like this,
because this is too awkward,yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Well, I'll share a story with you.
I do not know his name, but wegot our daughter's birthday
cakes from Barry O last Augustand I came to pick them up and
they were two and I was verycapable of walking out with them
on my own.
But one of your workers, ayoung man, he's like no, I'll
take it to your car for you.
And I'm like I'm like threeblocks over, like I'm not close,
(21:32):
I am not right.
He's like it's fine, I'll justwalk with you all the way there.
And I kept telling him like areyou sure it's really okay?
He's like no, I'll carry themall the way to your car.
And he did.
It was so sweet.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
I mean, it was hot in august, you know he helped me
all the way the car was reallyimpressed I don't know if I
heard that story.
That's awesome, yeah, you gotsome gentlemen, that work for
you.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
Yes, yeah, I don't know his name, unfortunately,
but he was very, very respectfuland kind and helpful.
Good yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
That's what I want to hear, yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
So, but the frozen yogurt, okay, why didn't you
choose regular ice cream?
Or I know you said like thedistribution thing, but if you
have you thought about you knowjust kind of like, well, why
isn't it regular ice cream orwhy?
You know what I mean, or?
Speaker 3 (22:18):
well, yeah, and I kind of want to ask about, like
your learning curve too, as youwere starting up, like, what did
you know about frozen yogurt?
Speaker 1 (22:24):
at that point, and how did?
Speaker 3 (22:25):
you figure it out because you're not a franchise,
right, yeah, exactly.
So what was that curve like?
Speaker 2 (22:29):
the.
That was kind of confusing and,you know, didn't know what we
were doing.
My brother is very, very smartand knew what he was doing and
we went to.
He sent me to school in stlouis.
It was yo amazing, and theytold us that was the name of it
and it was a farm and theyshowed us every aspect of their
(22:52):
products and how to like there'sthree flavors to each machine.
I had no idea until they toldus that middle is the twist and
it has.
Those two on the sides have tomeet or the twist is no good
Right.
(23:14):
And mixing everything.
And you know, there arepre-made yogurts that we do buy,
but 90% of our yogurts are wemake them with flavoring.
And that was, you know, alearning curve too, because you
don't, you know, we didn't knowanything.
I was like, oh, my goodness,two weeks of school was not
enough for me.
(23:34):
I was nervous and my brotherwas like Sheila, you're going to
be fine, you're going to befine.
And we figured it out, but itwas.
We were learning and, as I tellmy staff when I hire them, I was
you 13 years ago.
I knew nothing.
I'm like we built this placebut I knew nothing, guys.
(23:55):
So no question is stupid.
Yeah it, it was very, veryconfusing, very, you know.
And then we had to hire acompany to come in.
They come in every monday nightand clean all the machines and
sanitize them.
It has to be done once a weekor the machine shut down until
it's cleaned.
So in the summer it eithercomes on Sunday nights or Monday
(24:18):
nights, and then that's when wewill switch out our flavors
every couple weeks.
But yeah, the school wasamazing and it taught you
everything you needed to know.
But going back and putting thatall into action was like am I
doing this right?
And you know second-guessingmyself, my brother's like I have
(24:41):
to get back to work, I'm likeyou're not going anywhere,
you're staying here.
But yeah, so it truly washands-on learning.
You know, besides, the schooltruly was hands-on learning.
And you know, besides theschool, it was hands-on learning
.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
So so what kind of gave you the confidence, you
know, when you first opened thedoors and then maybe that first
week, like I'm sure you had allkinds of emotions that were
happening, but like what gaveyou the confidence, like to keep
going, even though you werelike I don't know what I'm doing
type thing?
Speaker 2 (25:10):
It was my brother.
Yeah, my brother was theresaying, julie, you can do this,
yeah, and we took out a loan andhe said you have to pay it back
in five years.
It was our build out loan andI'm like, oh okay, no problem,
oh, that was kind of a disasterto say that I'm like okay.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
Because our build out was over eight hundred thousand
dollars.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
Wow, yes, and it was funny because yogurt land was
building the same time we wereand we investigated to see how
much it was for them.
Well, it was 250 000 for their,their, to get their business
and I'm looking at my brothergoing.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Why is it?
Speaker 2 (25:54):
so different.
Well, they didn't accidentallyget italian tile that she picked
out and they didn't get coriancountertops and jim's, like you,
were really like high end whenyou were building this.
She loved.
I'm like, oh, I didn't know.
Yeah, it all worked out, but itwas.
(26:15):
It was very that first fiveyears they say the first year
the first five was hard for mebecause, even though I'm not a
franchise and not giving thefranchisee the money, you know
the 23 percent that money had togo to the bank every month.
Yeah, and I was like in thewinter I didn't know, you know
how am I gonna pay this loan?
(26:35):
It was a five thousand dollar amonth payment besides the rent.
Yeah, but wow yeah, it was a lotof money, wow, yeah, and we
gutted everything.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
I mean the whole thing yeah, well, you have a
beautiful, you have a beautifulstore.
Thank you, I love it, I lovethe, I love the beautiful story.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Thank you really do.
Yeah, I love it.
I love the.
I love the way it turned outand the wave I call it the wave
on the ceiling.
Yeah, nobody's ever gonna havethat because they're not gonna
be dumb enough to pay for itlike I was.
But I had to have it.
I had to have it but yeah, itwas stressful and yeah, you know
it's.
It may.
Like I said earlier, it's funnybecause people would be like,
(27:12):
oh, there's no overhead, butthere is, there's a lot of
overhead, oh for sure.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
I'm surprised people think there's no overhead.
Well, because the customerserves themselves.
Well, sure Right.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
And that's why they think in their brain that
there's no overhead.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
But what about the electricity you know, and in the
summer with all of thosemachines.
Last year my lowest electricbill in the summer was 5500 a
month.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
Yeah, yeah, just for electric.
I mean you can't, you don'treally turn them off, no right,
they're on until you clean them.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
But they go to sleep, but that's the still yeah the
electric.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
Wow, I would have never thought the electric bill
would be that much.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
Yes, but yeah I guess when all that all the lights
all the refrigeration yeah, therefrigeration I mean even the
table with all the toppingsright because there's
refrigeration under there too.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
Yeah, and our, our air conditioning and heat is
electric oh okay, it's, not gas.
So yeah, it's it's crazy whenpeople say that and it's like no
, I'm just a regular restaurant,I'm just.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
They just self-serve themselves and have you in terms
of your rent?
I mean considering, I'm a, I'ma property owner and I'm
assuming that you you signedlonger term leases with your
current owner that owns thebuilding.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Yes, I had.
The first two leases I had weretwo five-year leases, then the
last one, I went to three and Ijust, literally last week,
signed another three.
Oh, okay, yeah, it's going up.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
And you're seeing rent go up.
Of course, that's just how itworks, right.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
And we have the real estate taxes in there too, and
our patio.
We have to rent the patio.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
Well, you have to rent that patio, so it's not a
part of your store.
No, it's not a part of thelease.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
They want to say the new price is $1,700 a month, but
it's CAM.
They call it CAM.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
Jason would know, but yeah can you do that seasonally
, so you only have for thesummer, you have to do the whole
year.
Oh, the whole year.
Oh, wow, I mean I'm sure thatmakes no sense for them.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Yeah, right, yes and wow, it is what it.
I mean, that's the price ofbeing where I'm at.
Yeah, you know, I could havechosen my prospector right deer
park and I wouldn't.
I don't right, I truly don'tthink I would be there right now
if I chose a different locationbecause of all of you guys in
the community.
I don't, I really don't think,because you're not going to find
(29:42):
a community like arlington.
They're just everyone, is justall for everything.
And you know all businesses,you know, and it 90 of those
businesses down there is familyowned yeah, it is a really
unique downtown I mean andyou're right in the heart of it.
Speaker 3 (29:58):
So I would agree.
Your location is so, yes,important and special, and I
love it I, I just love it andyeah, it's rent high.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
Yeah, yeah, but that's the cost of being right
in the heart of it, but you havethe foot traffic Right.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
You have the foot traffic to afford it and you've
got the product that people wantto go to Right.
And yeah, it's a good model.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
It's a good win, yeah , especially with my family.
So I just love all of you guys.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
And a lot of your family works with you, right.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
Well, yeah, the boys now are with dad full-time.
They get mom's phone calls andthey have to come and fix
something.
They love those phone calls.
Dave loves them too, and Paige,she's there on the weekends for
birthday parties.
Now she also works for myhusband.
We own an industrial paintingcompany.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
So I wanted to get to that too.
So you're really anentrepreneurial family, so your
brother's an entrepreneur, butyour husband has a business as
well.
You guys have another business.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
Right, yes, and it's all working out.
The kids love it and we havefamily Sunday dinners every
Sunday and they're not killingeach other because they're with
each other six, seven days aweek.
So it's working out, I guessyeah each other six, seven days
a week.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
So it's working out, I guess, yeah, yeah.
Did you guys start thatbusiness yourselves, or was that
a family generational?
Speaker 2 (31:16):
business.
Dave worked for a company andthen he decided that he was
going on his own.
He's been on his own for, Iwant to say, 13 years.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
Okay, so while you were raising kids?
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Yes, With kids.
You know Brandon's 31, jake's28, paige is 25, and Dylan's 23.
Speaker 3 (31:34):
Okay, same timing as.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Well, it might have been a little bit before Barry O
Okay, he went on his own, andthen the boys followed suit.
You know, they all have theirown responsibilities, and it's
doing phenomenal too, and it'sbecause of Dave and the boys and
all their workers, so they havea great staff, so industrial
(31:59):
painting.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
what is that?
What's the common customer?
Speaker 2 (32:01):
It's like coatings.
They do a lot of dealerships,they do a lot of water towers.
They do a lot of sky risesdowntown Chicago Wow, a lot of
sky rises downtown chicago.
Wow, a lot of, yeah, a lot ofcoatings.
They do the painting too on theoutside, but the coatings is
what they they're known for ingarage floors, like you know,
(32:22):
epoxy garage floors.
So, yeah, they they're, they'regood at it.
That's awesome.
Yeah so, yeah, so.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
Yeah, that's awesome, especially if you it's always
that commercial side, whenyou're getting into that stuff.
That's where you, whenever Ithink about like people that are
in contracting businesses, it'slike residential is good, but
really the best part is to getinto the commercial side of
things.
Yeah, you just have you'reworking with businesses.
They have bigger budgets andthey have you know usually does
(32:50):
pretty well.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
You're working with businesses they have bigger
budgets, and they have, you know, usually does pretty well.
So correct, right, yeah, andthat's why Dave moved away from
the residential and just doesindustrial.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
No, that's awesome, that's awesome.
So I, yeah I love how you justhave this entrepreneur side of
your family and you're reallyteaching your kids that stuff
and they're in the business.
Did they always want to be inthe business, or did they ever
want to go off and do their ownthing?
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Jake Brandon always wanted to be From the get-go.
He was not a college.
He did college for a year formom and said, mom, I'm done,
really, went with dad right away.
Dylan went with dad right away.
Jake decided to go to school.
He was going to be a policeofficer and then you know I'm so
great he got his degree andeverything.
(33:36):
But I'm grateful he went withDave because it's just too
dangerous now.
And Paige went to school to bea teacher and she decided she
wasn't going to be a teacher andshe's Dave's office woman.
So I'm like, okay, whateverguys, they're all making it work
.
The three boys all have homesand we have our first grandbaby,
(33:58):
one on the way on September.
Again, congratulations, thankyou.
They have beautiful homes,beautiful wives and it it's all
worked out so far.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
And that's just.
That's just the dream.
Yeah, you know to be able tobuild a business and then to
have your kids work in it andactually want to be there.
Yeah, you know that sounds likethey chose that to do it and
versus.
I'm forcing you to.
You know, work for us.
Speaker 2 (34:23):
Yeah, dave did not force them at all to come, and I
forced them to be at burialwhen they were in high school
because I needed them in highschool.
You don't really have muchfreedom and they were fine with
that.
They liked working in highschool.
They're all good, they allstill get along and they're all
(34:43):
hanging out do you think thatit's?
Speaker 1 (34:49):
do you come across more and more like new
businesses that are kind of likethey have the same vision as
you guys, or what do you thinkkind of holds back people from
starting businesses this year or, you know, doing it now?
Right.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
I think a lot of it has to do with real estate and
how high rent is or how high thebuildings are.
I think it's scary, it truly isscary, as you know.
It's just scary.
How are you going to make it?
How are you going to do it?
People say it's the first yearand it really isn't.
(35:24):
It's the first five.
That's what I think contributesto it.
If my brother didn't push me todo this, I don't think I would
have, because I would have beentoo scared.
He said, sheila, you're goingto make it be your shop, run
with it.
So and I always wanted to makehim proud.
(35:47):
So I'm like, oh, yeah, I did it.
But yeah, every time he comesin from St Louis, he's like, oh
my God, sheila, this is justincredible.
He's like these people areincredible.
I said, yeah, all you guys, allthe customers, are like my
family.
They know everything about meand they, you guys, all have my
cell phone numbers.
That's the way I want it.
(36:09):
I don't, you know I'm, I'm nothere just to be an owner.
I'm like I tell my staff Iclean the toilets, I wash the
floors, I bleach, I doeverything you guys do.
And just because I signed yourcheck doesn't mean anything,
yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
I'm just one of you guys, yeah, so I'm sure they
respect you so much for that too.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
I try.
You know it's like just do yourjob, yeah, and have fun with it
.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
Well, at the same time, you know, there's the old
adage is that no one's going tolove your business as much as
you do?
Right, you know, it's like it's, it's like actually probably
impossible for people to to feelthe same way you feel about it.
Right, because you put in theeight hundred thousand dollar,
build out, right.
You've paid that back and andyou've gone through the covet
and you saw the the red linesthat you were getting and and
(36:55):
then all of a sudden bounce back.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
I mean, what a story of like perseverance and and
resilience yeah, which you know,it was rough, but I'm so glad
we made it.
You know, yeah, I don't, Idon't see do you think okay now
that?
Speaker 1 (37:09):
because so it kind of relates a little bit to like
the 75 hard thing that page hasdone right, so she is a champion
of 75 hard and not only 75 hardbut, live hard, which basically
means she's very disciplinedand she did it for a full year.
She's one of the very fewpeople that we know that have
completed that, and actually meand Rachel, to kind of put us in
the same category which hasbeen nice, but we are also live
(37:31):
hard champions, which is reallycool.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
Yes, yeah, but I think we only know a total of
like four.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
I think there's only like four or five people that we
know?
Speaker 3 (37:38):
Yeah, I can think of four.
Yeah, so Paige falls in thatcategory.
So she's very unique, right?
Yeah, and she's so young.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Yeah, and so really, the mentality of like the 75
Hard program is that you aregoing to be very disciplined
Every single day.
You're going to work out twicea day.
One of them is going to beoutside, You're going to drink a
(38:04):
gallon of water and then you'regoing to take a selfie.
And you're going to do this for75 days straight.
And so when you do this program, you get these confidence
boosters that happen, becauseyou're like man, this sounds so
freaking hard.
But when you take it one day ata time, you're like oh, I just
checked off another one, checkedoff another one, checked off
another one.
Before you know it, you're 60days deep into it and your
confidence is off the charts,because you just can't believe
all the hard things that youdidn't think you could do, but
(38:25):
you did it.
And so when you complete theprogram, you're like, you know,
you kind of sit back a littlebit.
You're like what other hardthing can I do, Right, Right.
So and I want to bring it backto you because it's like you
went through the depths of COVIDand you bounce back from it Is
there anything that you thinkthat your business could like?
(38:45):
Like, do you feel yourconfidence level.
It's like, oh, we couldprobably take on anything that
maybe comes our way.
We know that we can get to theother side of it.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
Yes, I I, now that I got through COVID, you know, and
I don't think anything.
You know I I'm not scaredanymore.
You know, it's like I'm.
If we all got through covid, Ithink we'll all make it.
Yeah, because hope to god therewon't be another covid.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah it's like, well, you know,
there's a lot of business and Idon't know if there's any like.
You know, tariff things that,or like recession fears or like
any of that stuff.
You know, a lot of times welike to hear how does the
business owner feel about theirbusiness and like, what's the
confidence level?
And you know, when you gothrough the hard times of what
COVID is, and now all of asudden you're like, well, you
(39:33):
know, that was pretty hard, butwe ended up getting through it.
Right, that was pretty hard,but we ended up getting through
it, I feel like at the same time, when we have these talks of
maybe there's a recession coming, maybe we're doing some policy
changes that might impact us,but do you feel that we could
get through any of those thingsthat come our way?
Speaker 2 (39:52):
I would hope so.
I listen to a lot of businesspeople radio radio and the
recession does kind of scare medue to the fact that burial is
it's not a necessity.
Yeah, you know I'm like oh boy,you know, please don't not
again.
But hopefully, you know, I'lldo everything I can, if we do
(40:15):
get into a recession, to hold onto it can, if we do get into a
recession to hold on to it.
So you know I don't, I don'tknow if they're.
You know it'll be scary if we dogo into a recession.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
Let me ask you about.
So there's a lot of hype aroundthe Chicago bears moving out of
the city and coming toArlington Heights to purchase
the Arlington park racetrack,and that might be a good thing
for a number of people, but thenthere's also a downside for
others that people may think ofit as well.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
Where do you?
Speaker 1 (40:44):
kind of stand on if the bears come.
Well, I think.
Either way this whole oldracetrack is going to turn into
some type of entertainmentdistrict that they're looking to
do here in Arlington.
And you know the mayor-electhas.
We've listened to him a coupleof times.
It's Naglia and he said youknow, what we don't want to do
(41:05):
is have this new Arlington Park,you know, take away from the
downtown and we don't want tohave a second downtown and
people don't go to the firstdowntown that they've built up
for for years and years andthings like that.
Where do you kind of stand onsome of the things that might be
impacting Ironton Heights inthe coming years?
Speaker 2 (41:24):
The Bears, I think may be a good thing because it's
going to drive traffic and it'sgoing to make businesses better
.
I'm with the new mayor, I thinkthat have two different
locations and I think we'll allmake it because, think about it,
the Chicago Bears come toArlington.
(41:44):
There's thousands and thousandsof people.
We're going to need more thanjust Arlington Parks restaurants
.
We're going to need ourdowntown too, and the only thing
that scares me is the traffic.
How are they going to getNorthwest Highway up and running
like it should be?
(42:05):
Yeah, I was born and raised inMount Prospect and it seems like
the structure, theinfrastructure, I don't know.
Is it going to hold all thesepeople?
I don't know.
Yeah, I'm going to hold allthese people.
I don't know.
Yeah, I'm excited to see, likeI would love.
You guys may not have knownPoplar Creek.
(42:25):
It was an entertainment thingout in.
It's the old Sears building.
Oh it used to be where the Searsbuilding was and it was an
outside entertainment likeconcerts, and I think that would
be phenomenal for the suburbs,because we only have ravinia
right yeah and, but you know,when the bears aren't playing,
(42:47):
make it a concert facility and,oh yeah, make those all these
restaurants downtown and the newdowntown thrive yeah yeah, and
that might be a good thing forsummer, absolutely.
So I don't know.
You know it won't be.
I bet you it doesn't eventranspire for 10 years.
You know it's like everyone'sso up in arms.
(43:09):
A lot of people are up in armsand I understand tax wise and
you know everything else and youknow I worry about the traffic
and you know what happens withthe people coming in from the
city and but it's, it's not evennearly.
They haven't even done anythingwith it yet and you know you
(43:31):
got to hope that the new mayorsees that light and he's an
architect, so he's going to dowhat's right by Arlington.
He's not gonna put somethingthat it doesn't make sense yeah,
yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (43:44):
I mean in.
In my opinion, I think this isjust like a once in a lifetime,
once in a generation typeopportunity that, if the bears
do decide it's, it's only goingto bring a lot of prosperity to
the area and like those are theissues.
Yeah, you're going to get someissues, but I feel like those
are all fixable and you canfigure that out.
Speaker 2 (44:02):
Right, Right, you know the growing.
You know everything's going tohave to grow a little bit in
order to make you know, and Ithink it would be a great thing,
you know, the bears come intoArlington Heights.
Yeah, Some people are likeSheila, really, I'm like, but it
would be.
So, you know, instead of havingto go to the lakefront you know
(44:25):
a lot of families don't want togo to the lakefront- yeah, it's
hard, it's really hard to getto it's very hard to get there.
Speaker 1 (44:31):
Arlington Park is actually very easy.
There's a train, there'shighways.
Speaker 2 (44:35):
Right, exactly, you know I mean it.
There's highways right, exactly, you know I mean it would make
the most sense for them to movethere and it's a and it's a
massive it's a massive propertylike over 300 acres yeah and I
mean so.
Speaker 1 (44:45):
So I guess, to you know, as a potential expansion
of barrio, have you thoughtabout, hey, if they actually do
expand and they got some, theygot some storefront space, would
you maybe have a secondlocation?
Speaker 2 (44:58):
uh, I don't know.
Yeah, yeah, we'll have to seewhat transpires.
Yeah, I've seen, like picturesof what they want to do.
Have you guys seen those andlike in them, yeah, it's going
to be beautiful if that's whatthey're doing.
I don't know, I don't.
You know, who knows, who knowswhat life will bring us?
Speaker 1 (45:16):
but yeah, have you thought?
Have you thought about otherexpansion, to open up another
store anywhere else?
Speaker 2 (45:23):
There's been like six or eight people that have come
to me and wanted to franchise it.
Speaker 3 (45:27):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
I will not why, because it's my little thing and
it's Arlington Heights littlething and there isn't another
one.
It's Arlington Heights littlething and there isn't another
(46:02):
one.
And the other thing is is thatwhen you franchise and florida
one was hawaii I'm like where,where am I gonna find the time
to do that and make sure thatarlington's running the way it's
supposed to?
Yeah, true, so I I never hadthe desire to franchise it and I
I don't know if my brotherthinks I'm crazy because he'll
like put in his snippets.
You know when they were askingyeah, and I'm like jim, he's
(46:25):
like I'll leave you alone.
I'll leave you alone.
He's like you wanted one andhe's like and that's your baby.
And yeah, I don't think I havetime for another one, and you
know, if I walked into one andit was dirty, I I'd lose it.
Yeah, so I I don't.
You know, I don't want to bethat person, but yeah, I'm, I'm
(46:46):
good with.
Speaker 1 (46:48):
I'm actually curious how so you got you got such a
nice size loan.
Was it hard getting that loan?
Or, especially because you knowyou were prior to burial, you
said you a stay-at-home momright?
Speaker 2 (47:01):
Yes, yeah, stay-at-home so like.
Speaker 1 (47:04):
The recent experience level that maybe a bank would
be looking at is like oh well,you know.
Speaker 2 (47:09):
Oh yeah, I have no job, right yeah.
Speaker 1 (47:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (47:20):
Was it hard to get a business loan and all that
build-out loan or what helpedyou kind of secure that?
It was very hard due to thefact that I truly, being a
stay-at-home mom, had no income.
So you know, banks don't wantto do anything with business
owners anyway.
You know business owners anyway, because we're a risk.
It will always be a risk.
Um, my brother co-signed for me.
Okay, yeah, and thank God hedid, because Berrio wouldn't be
(47:42):
here, because there's no wayDave and I, building our family
and his business, would have themoney to build that out.
Yeah, but yeah, he is the onethat co-signed and it was his
name first and then my namesecond and I made sure I paid
that rent every month.
Speaker 1 (48:02):
There's so much responsibility on your shoulders
.
Speaker 2 (48:04):
I'm like I'll pay the loan before I'll pay the rent,
because I didn't want his creditwrecked.
Speaker 3 (48:09):
Yeah, I mean, that's an amazing gift.
Speaker 1 (48:11):
Yeah, yeah, and sometimes that's what it comes
down to, is that?
You know, for these businessesto to get started off the ground
, it's not, you know, it's not asolo thing you have.
You have to have other peoplethat are rooting for you and
that can actually help you, andwhether that's a family member
(48:32):
or whether it's it's a friend,you know, I feel that a lot of
people they don't want to dobusinesses is because they think
they have to do it all bythemselves.
Yes, and for your case, you werelike I don't know what I'm
doing, but your brotherintroduced you to a school that
helped.
It sounded like yes, and thenhe was there to help support the
(48:56):
financials, to get it off theground, and then just give you a
lot of confidence and hoorah,and you know.
Speaker 2 (49:03):
So it's just like you got to have this little support
system if it wasn't for myhusband and the kids and jim and
his wife and you know they'rethey were my biggest
cheerleaders and there, when Ifell you know all the time too,
I mean it's like machines broke.
You know, they were alwaysgetting phone calls, yeah, and
but yeah, they were my biggestcheerleaders and thank god I had
(49:25):
them, because I don't thinkwithout them, obviously I
wouldn't have been able to do it.
Yeah, and Dave has been atrooper because I had no idea
what I was doing and he had thefour kids at home I'm'm like
have at it.
buddy and I was also bartendingat Chevy Chase Country Club.
Speaker 3 (49:43):
Oh were you.
Speaker 2 (49:44):
On the weekends for weddings.
Yeah so, yeah.
So I was like, okay, dave's astay.
He wasn't a stay-at-home mom,but he was home on the weekends
with the kids, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (49:59):
Because you had to do what you had to do right yeah,
yeah so I love the grit, yeah,so I think I know the answer to
this question, but was it worthit?
Speaker 2 (50:04):
yes, it was very well worth it.
Yeah, I think back of you, knowall the worries and everything,
and it still was worth it.
And the kids that come in there, you, they just have little
smiles on their faces and allthey want is those machines.
And I ask them how their day isand how school was so.
Speaker 1 (50:26):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (50:27):
I truly love it yeah.
Speaker 1 (50:29):
Now I actually want to talk about this a little bit
and you don't have to go intothe secrets or whatnot.
But so the other day you andPaige came up to me and said,
hey, we're actually going to trythis whole protein frozen
yogurt mix and so new product,which is pretty awesome.
Yes, can you go into like someof the details of kind of like
what that looks like?
Speaker 2 (50:48):
We were in St Louis, which is where First Form is
located.
My kids, dave, myself.
Paige is a big, big supporter.
Yeah, they have it.
That company is unbelievableand if we can ever get you in
there, jason, you would just dieat the way that they they, you
(51:14):
come out of there.
We went to a summit and youcome out of there and they've
never had a cleaning person inthe building.
Everything is like just so.
All the time it's all theemployees they don't have a
cleaning staff.
Speaker 1 (51:29):
It's all the employees, the employees do
everything.
Speaker 3 (51:32):
Yeah, I've heard andy talk about this on the podcast.
Speaker 2 (51:34):
Like his expectations .
Yes, staff and the type ofpeople he hires, and it is been
this place is you come out ofthere and you want to rip your
business apart and redo it toandy's standards.
It's like if he can do it, whycannot you?
Can't you need somebody that islike andy that is going to do
that?
(51:54):
But so they have would know.
You two would know more than Iwould, because I'm not.
I don't do the protein, but Iobviously starting now.
We talked to us too and we'regoing to get with first form and
add first form protein powderto to one of our machines and I
(52:18):
think it's phenomenal, it's very, very healthy, it's I.
I think Arlington Heights wouldlove it.
Speaker 1 (52:26):
I think so too Honestly.
Speaker 3 (52:27):
Yeah, and.
Speaker 2 (52:29):
Arlington and anyone because you can't.
You know you're not going tofind it anywhere but burial.
Speaker 3 (52:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (52:35):
And, you know, I'm hoping that all the surrounding
areas use it, because it trulyis very healthy.
Speaker 1 (52:41):
Yeah, oh, I love it, I love it.
So I'm actually wearing a firstform shirt right now.
Yeah.
Always, Always Well thebrilliance of that company is
that when you continue to buytheir products, they will send
you free t-shirts, and so mywardrobe is probably at least
two times a week, and maybethree times.
Speaker 3 (53:00):
It.
Yeah, it's just a.
It's just a free t-shirt that Igot before I got pregnant.
Now they don't fit, but youknow it's.
Speaker 1 (53:07):
It's great.
And so for those that aren't,aren't familiar with first form,
or or Andy Frisella.
So, andy Frisella um, when wewere talking about 75 hard, andy
Frisella came up 75 hardprogram, which has gone viral
and is very well knownnationwide now.
So he's the creator of thatprogram and he's just a mental
toughness guy, greatentrepreneur.
(53:27):
He does a podcast called realAF.
It's very explicit, but he'salso he gives the realities of
running a business and he givesso many great tips and he talks
about people's stories of reallychanging their lives through 75
hard.
And we've seen that throughPaige.
Yes, paige has come up to usand said I'm a completely
(53:49):
different person from where Iwas when I first started this to
where I am now.
First, she looks fantastic, butmore importantly, it seems like
her mental toughness is off thecharts and she's also just
zeroed in on the vision and whatshe's wanting to do with her
life.
Speaker 2 (54:07):
We are so proud of her, truly, her mental status,
her physical status, everythinghas just changed.
And Dave did the same thingwhen his parents were sick.
He did the 75 hard and it trulygot him through both his
parents dying eight weeks apart.
And we credit Andy for that,because you guys do 75 hard.
(54:36):
It's a big deal to do it, butfor that man to just keep
mentally, you know, talkingabout it is just incredible.
And we've all every one of usin our heneman family have
learned from andy fusela and Iwish we could meet him one day,
but yeah, I don't think that'sgonna happen I think page will
(54:59):
make it happen oh yeah, sheseems close yeah, she's like I
will get in there.
She, yeah, she found his car inthe parking lot last weekend at
the summit and she was gonna sitand wait and I'm like, oh great
, stalker, stalker.
But yeah, he, she, she lovesthe program, yeah, and it's done
(55:20):
wonders for anyone that triesit.
Yes, is it intimidating atfirst?
I've never tried it, I, I.
But I've seen Dave go throughit, I've seen page go through it
and they're just, it's justincredible.
Yeah, the way she looks, theway she talks, the way she feels
, you know, and she's just theway she talks, the way she feels
(55:41):
you know, and she's just, it'sa, it's a permanent life changer
, and that's why we haverecommended it to so many people
.
Speaker 1 (55:47):
And actually at one point it wasn't this past year,
but the year prior I had made ita goal of mine to actually try
and influence like a hundredpeople to to do the program and
I think I my my list.
I didn't get to a hundred, butI got to 40 and but of the 40
that I ended up completing it,it's hard, it's very hard.
I think it was only about 13.
I give you guys credit becauseI can do it.
(56:11):
Well cool, anything else yougot for Sheila.
Speaker 3 (56:16):
Well, I was going to ask kind of a tag off of Paige's
podcast.
We kind of asked her off ofPaige's podcast.
We had kind of asked her.
She's so impressive and I thinkjust making the decision to do
75 hard at her age is soimpressive, because you're in
the height of like going outwith your friends and kind of
exploring and partying.
And she made the choice to likefocus in and be disciplined and
(56:38):
commit to this program, notjust for 75 days but, like you
said, for a live hard year.
And one of the questions we hadasked her, you know, was kind of
where that work ethic and wherethat discipline had kind of
come from.
And she credited you and Dave,your husband.
And so I'm curious now, as aparent of two young kids, like
she made it as an example oflike you know, when I wanted
something as a kid, like Ididn't just get it, I had to
(57:01):
work for it, you know theexpectation was okay, we'll go
sweep the floors or something ifyou want that.
And so I'm just curious youknow we're new not new parents,
but still young parents I thinkin the journey you know our
oldest is only five Any adviceor tips you have as far as
parenting and keeping kidsfocused and disciplined and just
(57:21):
raising tips.
Speaker 2 (57:22):
Yeah right.
Raising a family.
Obviously you guys know it'shard.
In this day and age it's evenharder.
Our youngest is 23.
I came from eight siblings.
I'm the baby of nine, wow.
So we were born and raised inMount Prospect.
We didn't have much much.
My mom and dad both.
(57:43):
When I went in first grade mymom went to work first full-time
, so we didn't have much.
I mean, there's too many kidsand you know there's just stuff
going on.
I would not change it for theworld because it was.
Mom and dad don't have anymoney and every couple weeks you
got a liter of pop.
(58:03):
You know, my mom made dinnerevery night.
It wasn't like we were starving, it wasn't like we're.
We were poor but we weren'tpoor.
So I truly, when I wanted tohave a family and dave was
raised the same way, but he wason the golf course in Mount
Prospect, so that's our bigclaim to fame I was on one side
(58:25):
of the tracks and he was on theother.
He makes fun of me all the time, still to this day.
But we wanted our kids to knowhow, wanting something, you have
to work for it, and how wantingsomething, you have to work for
it, whether it be a pair ofshoes, whether it be that shirt,
(58:45):
whether it be you know,whatever it was.
And we started that withBrandon and it just trickled
down to we're not going to handyou things.
Handing kids things is adisaster, and we've definitely.
We've handed them things, youknow, in their lifetime, but
(59:12):
we're not handing them cars.
We're not.
You want a car, a new truck, goout and get one.
You know that ain't our problemand I think, if you interviewed
all four of them, they'regrateful for that, because there
are kids nowadays that just gethanded everything.
They don't even really have towork.
But I think it's because otherfamilies are working, kids are
(59:35):
working.
So keep your head up.
You guys got really good headson your shoulder and I think
you'll do fine, you're.
I just I think giving them toomuch is a disaster, because I've
seen it and I think you know, alittle responsibility, even the
five-year-old.
just give her a littleresponsibility and it won't hurt
(59:57):
.
It won't hurt, I know it's hardyeah, you know, but you guys are
going to do phenomenal.
You know they're beautifulchildren and they're so polite
and that's the biggest part isthe politeness, and you guys
have already done that.
So, hands down, I've alreadydone that.
So, you know, just keep goingthe way you're going and don't
(01:00:21):
give them everything in theworld, even though you want to.
You know it's hard, it reallyis Because, coming from nothing,
and you know you want your kids, we wanted our kids to have
more, yes, but we weren't goingto.
Oh yeah, here's a brand new carhere and their friends were
getting that.
Speaker 3 (01:00:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:00:38):
And it's like no sorry, you know, and their
friends were getting that, andit's like no sorry, and they
would compare it.
Why didn't my friends get cars?
No, you're going to have thebeat-up pickup truck and they
loved it and now they havebeautiful cars and they pay for
their own stuff and they don'task Mom and Dad and they're
still, yeah, and they'reindependent, even though they
work for your business, butthey're independent people and
they're still.
Speaker 1 (01:00:59):
Yeah, and they're independent.
Speaker 2 (01:01:00):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (01:01:01):
Even though they work for your business.
But they're independent peopleand they're doing well and I'm
not saying we would never bethere.
Speaker 2 (01:01:08):
We would be there in a heartbeat if they needed us,
but we never handed them.
And the other thing is all thegame, all the TV and all the
iPads.
I see parents come in atTiberio.
They get the kid's yogurt andthey hand them their phone.
You know, just talk to them youknow, you know but that's
(01:01:33):
society now too yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:01:35):
Yeah, it's but yeah, yeah it's.
It's tough to be a parent,because sometimes you need some
you need some of the peace andquiet.
Yes, yes, yeah but yeah, yeahit uh, you know there's a hard
balance.
There's a really hard balancewith it because it's so
accessible now, so accessible Iagree.
Speaker 2 (01:01:55):
Yeah, but I agree, yeah, but notice the next time
you guys are in how the girlsreact.
They have a conversation withme the other night.
That's awesome.
Speaker 3 (01:02:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:02:10):
They both had conversations with me, gave me
hugs.
Looked me in the eye.
Speaker 3 (01:02:15):
You guys are doing phenomenal.
Speaker 2 (01:02:16):
That's what every parent should be doing.
You know, not hugging people,but have a conversation with
people.
You know, that's what I thinksociety is missing.
But that's just me I'm, youknow.
Speaker 1 (01:02:31):
I love it.
Yeah, I love it.
Well, sheila, well, thank youfor all of this.
This was a fantastic show Ireally loved it Thank you guys.
So the way that we wrap up isjust kind of like the big
takeaway from the conversation.
And so, Rachel, I want to startwith you.
Speaker 3 (01:02:46):
I always have to go first.
Speaker 1 (01:02:47):
I always got to yeah, I start the wrap up, and then
she does.
She brings the big thoughtwhat's your biggest takeaway
from this?
Speaker 3 (01:02:54):
My biggest takeaway I have so much respect for how
you choose to run your business.
There were several pieces inthere about like making a choice
not to franchise because youdon't want any impact to the
brand that you've created andthe high quality of business and
product and customer serviceand staff and I have so much
(01:03:14):
respect for that.
I just think that's a bigreason of why we love going
there right.
It's always a great experienceand it takes a lot of commitment
and work and discipline tomaintain that over 13 years and
to ensure that going forward.
So I really love to hear that,even though I kind of already
knew that just from going in.
Speaker 1 (01:03:32):
It's like it's a feel you know you walk into a place
and you know it's well run Wellthank you Well, yeah, and I want
to kind of piggyback off ofthis, because it just feels like
, when you walk into your shop,this is the classic mom and pop
shop and it is in your communityand these are real people that
(01:03:55):
own this place.
These aren't big corporationsthat are.
You know, if you were to robBarry Yeo, that would make a
massive, massive dent into thatbusiness owner's pocket, right.
And so you just think aboutthese businesses so differently
when you know the owner, whenyou see the owner because she's
(01:04:16):
there on a regular basis and youcan get to build that
relationship with them you just,this is like all about building
community, and I love what youdo, which is, hey, I hire high
school kids that are at all thesurrounding high schools, right,
and that's a choice that you do, yes, and that's incredible.
(01:04:44):
And you know, again, I just Ithink what's really hard for a
lot of us is like, oh, you know,oh, it's just the wendy's or
it's the starbucks and, like youknow, you don't ever really
know those people.
Yeah, maybe you see them onevery, but you, you just don't
feel the same way because it'ssuch a big corporation, right,
that owns those places, and sothat's why I love that you're
the business owner.
This is what america is made up.
Made up a small business,correct, right, and you know, in
(01:05:06):
arlington heights, downtownarlington heights is made up a
small business and so that'swhat's really unique about this
place and so anyway.
So I think that's that's a bigpiece.
But also a big takeaway is thatyou did this with I don't know
what I doing, but I'm going tofigure it out mentality and
that's just.
You know, it's not somethingthat can really be taught, but
(01:05:27):
it's just like you know, somepeople just need to take the
leap.
Speaker 2 (01:05:30):
I was very scared, but yeah, I'm glad I did Like I
said I'm grateful and it workedout, yeah, great.
Speaker 1 (01:05:37):
And you said you you would.
Speaker 2 (01:05:41):
It was all worth it.
Speaker 1 (01:05:42):
Yes, I would not change it for the world.
So yeah, so incredible,incredible stuff.
All right.
So, sheila, what is, what isyour big takeaway, or what is it
the big takeaway that you wanta listener to kind of hear from
the conversation?
Speaker 2 (01:05:53):
Go with your heart and be a good person.
Do what's right.
If you have a dream of openinga business, open it.
I know everyone fails in lifeat something, but I promise that
if I can make it, anyone canmake it.
So go ahead and do it and makethat American dream come true,
(01:06:16):
because you never know.
Yeah, I love it.
Yeah and I.
You never know.
Yeah, I love it, yeah and Ilove you guys.
You two are amazing people.
I'm so glad that.
I'm glad that Berrio connectedus and that's you know.
It's just amazing how manypeople I think are family, and
(01:06:36):
you know my Paige loves yourdaughters and she can't wait for
the baby to come in May.
She's got it all over our houseon every calendar.
She's so sweet and that's whatmakes me happy about having
Barry O, because you know wewouldn't have met you guys if we
didn't.
Yeah, you know so.
Speaker 1 (01:06:56):
That's absolutely true, that's absolutely true.
And if I wasn't wearing mybecause I have so many of these.
Speaker 3 (01:07:00):
First, form t-shirts.
Speaker 1 (01:07:02):
When I first walked into Berrio the very first day,
paige was working and I wore afirst form t-shirt and she's
like, oh my God, first form.
She's like no one knows aboutthat company except me, but that
guy does.
Speaker 2 (01:07:17):
And so she ran.
Speaker 1 (01:07:18):
She ran and I took maybe two steps into that store.
I mean, your cashier is likeit's in the back.
She ran around and she's likeI'm Paige, I need to meet you
that's Paige so, anyways, I'm soglad.
Speaker 2 (01:07:37):
I'm very glad, I'm glad that you know.
Every day I take something awayfrom a learning.
I'm so glad, I'm, I'm, I'm veryglad, I'm glad that you know
and I, every day I takesomething away from a learning
experience from burial.
Every day I walk in there, it'sa learning experience, or I
meet somebody, or you know, youknow, and I just try to make
people smile because that's whatlife's about.
Yeah, heck, yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:07:57):
Yeah, yeah, awesome, all right.
Well, thanks for listening tothe show, sheila.
Thanks for coming on.
Really appreciate the time andif you found any value in the
show, please share it,especially if you are in
Arlington Heights and youhaven't checked out Barry Yo
downtown.
What is the best way?
How can people book events orlike?
How can we get in touch withyou?
Speaker 2 (01:08:18):
You can get in touch with me on our website.
It's wwwberry-yocom.
You can call the store224-735-3112.
Or my email is sheilahenn9 atsbcglobalnet.
I respond to all of those, soreach out.
(01:08:41):
I would love to talk to you.
I'd love to book your nextevent.
We go to schools, we go toblock parties, we go to showers,
we go everywhere.
Now we cater everything.
Speaker 1 (01:08:52):
All right.
Well, actually, what's great isthat me and the guy down the
street, we are going to beorganizing our block party up
here.
Oh, perfect, for this comingAugust.
So we will definitely let youknow about that.
Sweet, that was a good littletip.
Speaker 2 (01:09:04):
Yeah, and I'll do anything.
I've done wedding receptions.
I'll do anything anyone wantsme to do.
Speaker 1 (01:09:10):
Wow, yeah, wow, that's fantastic.
So I didn't know any of that,so cool.
Speaker 2 (01:09:14):
I will do whatever needs to be done.
Speaker 1 (01:09:17):
Sweet.
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