January 22, 2025 • 10 mins
Bret Scheider is the owner of a unique Cincinnati-based business that got off the ground with the help of SCORE mentors. Bret reflects on how the idea took root and is now spreading into new markets as a franchise opportunity.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
My name is Michael Dawson. You're a host of My
SINCI Small Business Stories. In this episode, I'll be talking
to Brett Schneider, owner of Wild Window Boxes. We'll find
out more about that, but first we'll be right back
after this message.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Did you know twice as many small businesses survive past
five years when they had the support from a mentor.
My SINCI Small Business Story is brought to you by
the volunteer mentors of SCORE Greater Cincinnati, a nonprofit organization
that helps launch hundreds of new small businesses and even
more jobs in Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and Indiana every year.
Our vision is to give every person the support they
(00:39):
need to thrive as a small business owner. Visit score
dot org slash Greater Cincinnati to request a free business
mentor or share your own expertise. You can also listen
and subscribe for more stories about overcoming challenges, clearing obstacles,
and owning a successful small business.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Welcome Brett, how you doing today? Great?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Thanks Herrey.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Not fair? Not fair. I was doing a little research
and I believe Wile Window Boxes was either a SCORE
finalist or SCORE winner for their client of the Year,
A couple of years ago.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Yeah, we were a finalist, I believe because we were
like a client of the month, So I think we
got qualified for the finalists of the year thing.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Yeah, gotcha? Good, very good. Well tell us about Wild
Window Boxes. How did the company get started?
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Sure, Well, my mom actually came up with the idea.
She wanted window boxes for her own house. Back in
the day, there was a company called flower Framers, and
so she wanted those for her house, and so she
started planting her neighbors houses as a means to make money.
And then when she went to get the window boxes
at the Sin Sandy Flower Show, he heard a lot
(01:46):
of people talking that, you know, they couldn't get somebody
to hang them, or they got tired of planting them,
they didn't want to climb ladders, they got tired of
watering them headway through the year, and you know that
theyoul always kill their flowers. So she was thinking that
that might be a pretty good idea if she could
put it all on one Unbrella and offer that us
(02:08):
more on a service. And so here we are fifteen
years later.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
So how did Score help you? What was their role
in your process of getting started?
Speaker 3 (02:16):
You know, in the beginning, well and even still now
if I'm honest, which you know, people don't really know
how to run a business. It's not like that's something
that they just teach you. So, you know, I was
a product manager and she was in real estate. Pored
to this and you know, they really kind of helped
focus us in on the different aspects of management and
(02:40):
just business ownership and different pitfalls that we needed to
watch out for. They kind of always focused us back
in on you know, maybe crazy ideas that we had,
or they were just instrumental in helping us develop the
company from really an idea into what a business should be.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
You know.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
So, now do you sell the window boxes with the
flowers already in them or do people like rent them
or how does that work?
Speaker 3 (03:06):
As we custom build window boxes, they made a TV
set so they and then we can paint them to
match your house, and then we install them so you
don't have to do that. Then we irritate them and
then really the majority of our business is the seasonal planting.
So a customer will sign up and well there's no
(03:26):
contract or anything like that, but every season they can
sign up with us and say, hey, I want spring
or fall or summer, winter, whatever it is. We send
out like a survey to them and they can pick
their different options, you know, whether they want height or trailing,
or what kind of colors they light, things like that,
and then our team uses that note or there's notes
(03:50):
in that survey to kind of come up with the
planting differences for them.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently,
perhaps some advice for other entrepreneurs to follow.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
I think probably every business owner would have something like that.
The thing that sticks out the most for me is
one year we grew entirely too fast, and I felt
like our quality suffered and it just wasn't a very
good experience for us. There's a lot of apologizing to
the customers, and thankfully they were very gracious and they
(04:21):
allowed us to continue. But so I would say, you know,
to you know, regulate your it's okay to say no.
I think that was kind of one of the biggest
learning curves for me, was that I don't have please everybody.
I can literally say no.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
So looking into the window of the future a pun
intended there. What does it look like for a while?
What's the future holding?
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Well, while it's going to continue to grow here in Cincinnati.
That's the plan where I can't see any reason why
we can't double what we do now, Like you know,
there's like almost three million people in Cincinnati and like
greater Cincinnati, and we plant nineteen hundred clients this season,
so I think that that's multiply reasonable that we should
(05:10):
be able to get you know, three thousand clients or so.
Then we're also franchising into other markets. So last week
I had the opportunity to go down to Houston. That
was our first let's say, debut of the franchise concept
to a group of franchise brokers. So we'll see how
that goes. But that'll be kind of maybe the next steps. Wow,
(05:33):
if it's successful.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Now, do you have other products beyond the window boxes?
Speaker 3 (05:39):
We really don't. We've been asked to do different things.
There's one office here and there, like you know, we'll
do the Christmas tree and the Kuroger lobby, or we'll
do the air and off centers Christmas decorations in their lobby.
But we really try to stick to our brand and
our you know what we're good at. Every time we've
(05:59):
tried to get our deviator expand that it hasn't been
as good. You know, it just seems like, let's just
stick with what we're good at.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
So now, do you service the whole greater Cincinnati area?
We do.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Yeah, Like we go all the way up to like
Batavia and all the way to Lawrenceford. We're out in
Bright all the way up to Lebanon and found the
you know, Union and Florence or Florence and Union. Maybe
even a little past that in some parts of Alexandria.
But yeah, with the whole greater Sincentirea. We have some
(06:37):
clients in Columbus and a few in Lexington and Louisville
as well, so but they're very rare.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Yeah, owning a company has its challenges and benefits. What
do you think are some of the best and works
parts of owning a business?
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Say? I think both without a doubt. The team can
be super rewarding and they can you know, make me insane.
So I think that that's really the best and the worst. Like,
you know, it feels like you're always either dealing with
an issue or you know, somebody on your team is
(07:16):
really happy and appreciated. So there's this constant ing and
yang going back and forth. Well, for me at least,
you know.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
And so are you still working with Score?
Speaker 3 (07:26):
I haven't had a meeting with our counselor in a while.
I keep in contact with him, but I don't. I
haven't really, we haven't really met with him per se.
So I think if there was ever a need, I
would absolutely go back to them. But at this point,
I feel like I don't really know what I would
talk to him about right now, like what immediate needs
(07:47):
i'd have. But yeah, if we ever needed something and
I felt like he would be you know, an asset
or somebody to give me good advice on something like that, yeah,
absolutely good after him?
Speaker 2 (07:58):
And how long have you been a business?
Speaker 3 (08:01):
This past year was our fifteenth year, So this is
our sixteenth year.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Okay, So you worked with Score a long time ago?
Speaker 4 (08:09):
Actually, yeah, and we just we got the the client
of the month maybe maybe five or six years ago,
so it.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Wasn't that long ago that we've you know, try to
slowed down working with Score. I mean we worked with
them for quite a while.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
If I came to you and said, hey, I got
an idea I want to start a business, would you
point me to Score?
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Yeah, for sure. I mean they had so many different resources,
you know, so if you need to work on marketing,
there's somebody that they can talk with you about marketing
or finance or our particular coacher person was heavily into finance.
But you know, anytime we needed something, you know, they
would bring somebody else into the meeting and we could,
(08:54):
you know, so that was hugely beneficial for us.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
So how can we learn more about your business? Store locations,
web address, phone number? What do you have for us?
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Yeah, so we don't really have a brick and mortar store.
I mean, we have a warehouse and an office and stuff,
but we don't have people come to the from to
our office just because we go to them and we
measure their window boxes and you know, we really have
to go to their house anyway. So some of the
way we'd like to do things that if they ever
(09:25):
want to do anything, that they can call the office
at five one three four two two one three seven.
They can look us up at wowwindow Boxes dot com.
I mean, they can email us at into at wilewindow Boxes.
They can find us on Facebook.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Very good. Thank you Brent Snyder of Wild window Boxes.
Thank you for being on the show N Time. Thanks
for having me. If you would like to sign up
with a mentor, or we'd like to become a mentor,
go to score dot org and click on the appropriate link.
Please subscribe to this podcast and share the link. Thank
you for listening.
Hello.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
My name is Michael Dawson. You're a host of My
SINCI Small Business Stories. In this episode, I'll be talking
to Brett Schneider, owner of Wild Window Boxes. We'll find
out more about that, but first we'll be right back
after this message.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Did you know twice as many small businesses survive past
five years when they had the support from a mentor.
My SINCI Small Business Story is brought to you by
the volunteer mentors of SCORE Greater Cincinnati, a nonprofit organization
that helps launch hundreds of new small businesses and even
more jobs in Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and Indiana every year.
Our vision is to give every person the support they
(00:39):
need to thrive as a small business owner. Visit score
dot org slash Greater Cincinnati to request a free business
mentor or share your own expertise. You can also listen
and subscribe for more stories about overcoming challenges, clearing obstacles,
and owning a successful small business.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Welcome Brett, how you doing today? Great?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Thanks Herrey.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Not fair? Not fair. I was doing a little research
and I believe Wile Window Boxes was either a SCORE
finalist or SCORE winner for their client of the Year,
A couple of years ago.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Yeah, we were a finalist, I believe because we were
like a client of the month, So I think we
got qualified for the finalists of the year thing.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Yeah, gotcha? Good, very good. Well tell us about Wild
Window Boxes. How did the company get started?
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Sure, Well, my mom actually came up with the idea.
She wanted window boxes for her own house. Back in
the day, there was a company called flower Framers, and
so she wanted those for her house, and so she
started planting her neighbors houses as a means to make money.
And then when she went to get the window boxes
at the Sin Sandy Flower Show, he heard a lot
(01:46):
of people talking that, you know, they couldn't get somebody
to hang them, or they got tired of planting them,
they didn't want to climb ladders, they got tired of
watering them headway through the year, and you know that
theyoul always kill their flowers. So she was thinking that
that might be a pretty good idea if she could
put it all on one Unbrella and offer that us
(02:08):
more on a service. And so here we are fifteen
years later.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
So how did Score help you? What was their role
in your process of getting started?
Speaker 3 (02:16):
You know, in the beginning, well and even still now
if I'm honest, which you know, people don't really know
how to run a business. It's not like that's something
that they just teach you. So, you know, I was
a product manager and she was in real estate. Pored
to this and you know, they really kind of helped
focus us in on the different aspects of management and
(02:40):
just business ownership and different pitfalls that we needed to
watch out for. They kind of always focused us back
in on you know, maybe crazy ideas that we had,
or they were just instrumental in helping us develop the
company from really an idea into what a business should be.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
You know.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
So, now do you sell the window boxes with the
flowers already in them or do people like rent them
or how does that work?
Speaker 3 (03:06):
As we custom build window boxes, they made a TV
set so they and then we can paint them to
match your house, and then we install them so you
don't have to do that. Then we irritate them and
then really the majority of our business is the seasonal planting.
So a customer will sign up and well there's no
(03:26):
contract or anything like that, but every season they can
sign up with us and say, hey, I want spring
or fall or summer, winter, whatever it is. We send
out like a survey to them and they can pick
their different options, you know, whether they want height or trailing,
or what kind of colors they light, things like that,
and then our team uses that note or there's notes
(03:50):
in that survey to kind of come up with the
planting differences for them.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently,
perhaps some advice for other entrepreneurs to follow.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
I think probably every business owner would have something like that.
The thing that sticks out the most for me is
one year we grew entirely too fast, and I felt
like our quality suffered and it just wasn't a very
good experience for us. There's a lot of apologizing to
the customers, and thankfully they were very gracious and they
(04:21):
allowed us to continue. But so I would say, you know,
to you know, regulate your it's okay to say no.
I think that was kind of one of the biggest
learning curves for me, was that I don't have please everybody.
I can literally say no.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
So looking into the window of the future a pun
intended there. What does it look like for a while?
What's the future holding?
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Well, while it's going to continue to grow here in Cincinnati.
That's the plan where I can't see any reason why
we can't double what we do now, Like you know,
there's like almost three million people in Cincinnati and like
greater Cincinnati, and we plant nineteen hundred clients this season,
so I think that that's multiply reasonable that we should
(05:10):
be able to get you know, three thousand clients or so.
Then we're also franchising into other markets. So last week
I had the opportunity to go down to Houston. That
was our first let's say, debut of the franchise concept
to a group of franchise brokers. So we'll see how
that goes. But that'll be kind of maybe the next steps. Wow,
(05:33):
if it's successful.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Now, do you have other products beyond the window boxes?
Speaker 3 (05:39):
We really don't. We've been asked to do different things.
There's one office here and there, like you know, we'll
do the Christmas tree and the Kuroger lobby, or we'll
do the air and off centers Christmas decorations in their lobby.
But we really try to stick to our brand and
our you know what we're good at. Every time we've
(05:59):
tried to get our deviator expand that it hasn't been
as good. You know, it just seems like, let's just
stick with what we're good at.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
So now, do you service the whole greater Cincinnati area?
We do.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Yeah, Like we go all the way up to like
Batavia and all the way to Lawrenceford. We're out in
Bright all the way up to Lebanon and found the
you know, Union and Florence or Florence and Union. Maybe
even a little past that in some parts of Alexandria.
But yeah, with the whole greater Sincentirea. We have some
(06:37):
clients in Columbus and a few in Lexington and Louisville
as well, so but they're very rare.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Yeah, owning a company has its challenges and benefits. What
do you think are some of the best and works
parts of owning a business?
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Say? I think both without a doubt. The team can
be super rewarding and they can you know, make me insane.
So I think that that's really the best and the worst. Like,
you know, it feels like you're always either dealing with
an issue or you know, somebody on your team is
(07:16):
really happy and appreciated. So there's this constant ing and
yang going back and forth. Well, for me at least,
you know.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
And so are you still working with Score?
Speaker 3 (07:26):
I haven't had a meeting with our counselor in a while.
I keep in contact with him, but I don't. I
haven't really, we haven't really met with him per se.
So I think if there was ever a need, I
would absolutely go back to them. But at this point,
I feel like I don't really know what I would
talk to him about right now, like what immediate needs
(07:47):
i'd have. But yeah, if we ever needed something and
I felt like he would be you know, an asset
or somebody to give me good advice on something like that, yeah,
absolutely good after him?
Speaker 2 (07:58):
And how long have you been a business?
Speaker 3 (08:01):
This past year was our fifteenth year, So this is
our sixteenth year.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Okay, So you worked with Score a long time ago?
Speaker 4 (08:09):
Actually, yeah, and we just we got the the client
of the month maybe maybe five or six years ago,
so it.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Wasn't that long ago that we've you know, try to
slowed down working with Score. I mean we worked with
them for quite a while.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
If I came to you and said, hey, I got
an idea I want to start a business, would you
point me to Score?
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Yeah, for sure. I mean they had so many different resources,
you know, so if you need to work on marketing,
there's somebody that they can talk with you about marketing
or finance or our particular coacher person was heavily into finance.
But you know, anytime we needed something, you know, they
would bring somebody else into the meeting and we could,
(08:54):
you know, so that was hugely beneficial for us.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
So how can we learn more about your business? Store locations,
web address, phone number? What do you have for us?
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Yeah, so we don't really have a brick and mortar store.
I mean, we have a warehouse and an office and stuff,
but we don't have people come to the from to
our office just because we go to them and we
measure their window boxes and you know, we really have
to go to their house anyway. So some of the
way we'd like to do things that if they ever
(09:25):
want to do anything, that they can call the office
at five one three four two two one three seven.
They can look us up at wowwindow Boxes dot com.
I mean, they can email us at into at wilewindow Boxes.
They can find us on Facebook.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Very good. Thank you Brent Snyder of Wild window Boxes.
Thank you for being on the show N Time. Thanks
for having me. If you would like to sign up
with a mentor, or we'd like to become a mentor,
go to score dot org and click on the appropriate link.
Please subscribe to this podcast and share the link. Thank
you for listening.
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