Home Living Window Fashions

Shem Isaac: Drawn Into Shades

By James Florence, Diamond Certified Resource Reporter

BENICIA — While he initially planned for a temporary stint in the window covering industry, Shem Isaac ultimately found himself drawn into a permanent career. “Before I got involved in window coverings, I was in the water purification business,” he recounts. “My company was being bullied by a much larger competitor, and it got to the point where I was having trouble supporting my family. An acquaintance of mine who had a small window covering business offered to pay me $500 to get some appointments for him. I went out and got him seven appointments. He came back and said, ‘These leads are garbage. I didn’t make a single sale!’ So, I went out the next week and got him six more, only to get the same result. I couldn’t understand what was going wrong, so I asked him to take me along on a couple of appointments. It didn’t take long for me to see what the problem was. His sales presentation was ghastly. He didn’t explain anything to the client—he just told them his shutters were the best and everything else was subpar. Then, without measuring any windows or even touring the house, he gave them an estimate of $10,000. The homeowner was speechless…because what do you say?”

Determined that he could do better, Shem asked his acquaintance if he could try his hand at some sales presentations. “I went out there and struggled,” he admits. “I had no mentor—actually, he was an anti-mentor—so I had to figure it out for myself. It took two weeks to make my first sale. I didn’t do a great job, but I spent a lot of time educating the homeowner and offering them design and color suggestions, which they appreciated.”

Following this first successful appointment, it didn’t take long for Shem to hit his stride. “I would learn more with each sale I made, and it just snowballed from there,” he affirms. “Our profits doubled in my second month and then again in the following month. All this time, I still had plans to return to the water purification business. However, I gradually fell in love with window covering sales. I found out I was good at it and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Today, as owner of Home Living Window Fashions, Shem says his favorite part of his job is developing his staff. “I’m a hands-on owner and I take time to train and foster my employees. Whether it’s going into the field with my salespeople and installers or spending time with the scheduling department, I want to invest in the people who make up and represent my company.”

A resident of Vallejo (where he lives with his wife and business partner, Melody, and their children), Shem spends his time outside of work on a variety of pastimes. “Melody and I have twin daughters and a son, so family is the biggest aspect of our lives,” he says. “We like to watch movies, go on hikes, do backyard barbeques and take road trips together. I also enjoy reading nonfiction books and watching the latest superhero movies and TV shows.”

In regard to a professional philosophy, Shem references a book he says has been particularly influential in the way his business operates. “‘The Speed of Trust’ by Stephen Covey is all about developing relationships and attitudes that instill trust in your clientele,” he explains. “We need to have speed of trust with our vendors so we know they’ll back us up if a customer has an issue. We need to have speed of trust with our employees to set them up for success. And, of course, we need to have speed of trust with our customers so they feel comfortable and confident in our services. If an issue arises, we don’t have a ‘Well, you have to prove it’ mentality—we’re like, ‘OK, let’s move forward and get this taken care of.’ That’s what it’s all about.”

When asked what he’d do if he were to retire tomorrow, Shem says he would start a business to help young entrepreneurs. “That would allow me to fulfill my love of mentoring. The number one reason small businesses fail is because they’re under-capitalized, so I would probably provide some seed capital and then coach them to avoid the number two cause of failure: lack of vision. I think that would be a very rewarding way to spend my time and effort.”

Ask Me Anything!

Q: What was your first business?
A: I owned a comic book and sports card shop in Napa when I was in my early 20s. We had a small arcade and we were across the street from a high school, so it was a really fun environment.

Q: What’s your favorite local restaurant?
A: Manny’s Steakhouse in Vallejo.

Q: What’s your favorite book?
A: “Launching a Leadership Revolution” by Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady.

Q: Do you collect anything?
A: I collect gold and silver bullion.

Q: Who’s your favorite superhero?
A: Captain America.