We recently connected with Bryan Parylak and have shared our conversation below.

Bryan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Like most entrepreneurial stories go, I was making another man rich while I could barely survive. It was during the pandemic, 2020-2021. I was working for a small startup company. We specialized in window replacement services for residential homeowners. The operation was a small team, 3-6 people, depending if there was turnover. I had gotten into the industry in july 2019. At the time, I was also working at Philadelphia’s premier night club as the top performing VIP Host. Leading up to the pandemic, my attention was mainly on my night club job. However, once the world stopped, I had to turn my attention elsewhere. Homeowners were still buying windows. Homeowners were actually doing more renovations to their home during the pandemic than before. They were stuck inside, noticing all of the projects that they had been putting off. I was zoned in at this point.

Fast forward 10 months. It is December of 2020, I am still new to the industry. I sold approximately $867,000.00 in windows with the average window price being $599-695.. That’s a lot of windows.. During this time, the owner of the company was never around. My stress levels were high, because I was selling product, project managing, scheduling, ordering product, hiring and training employees, along with starting to write a SOP / company playbook. I was not trained for any of this. This was very much “hey do this and figure it out”. I have always bet on myself and I love being thrown to the wolves…. As long as I am being compensated. After taxes and deprecation on my vehicle, I made a total of $33,000 and change…. As I said, I could barely survive.

It’s now March 4th 2021. I request my employer that I need a small raise. He had recently started to pay me $1,000.00 /mo salary plus commissions. But the payments were always late… my situation did not change. Two days after I requested the small raise, I received an email at 3:47am, it was a request to sign an NDA….In the NDA there was an indefinite non-compete added at the bottom. None of this was legal by the way, the office manager had copy and pasted notes from the internet. It was the principal. The slap in the face.. I was forced to make a decision.
After a long and stressful night, unsure of the future. I called my mentor, my now partner and asked him if we can do this. If we can successfully start a window company, if I leave….will I be ok? March 7th I quit, March 8th 2021 we came up with a name. Within 72hours we had our company name, all legal paperwork started and filed and our first sale. Nine months later, Smart Shield Windows became a million dollar startup. When I left, the install teams followed me. They said “we’re only here because of you”. That gave me hope. That made me believe in myself.

Bryan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi, my name is Bryan. I’m 31 years old, im a Cancer. I got in my industry (home improvement) by putting myself out there and not being afraid to learn new things. You have to leave your comfort zone, its scary…But so is staying the same. When I was 20, I joined the military. I enlisted into the US Army as an infantry mortarman. I served for just over 3 years, it was the best worst experience that I would do all over again. Being in the military turned me into the man I am today. I was able to develop a high stress threshold. Knowing how to think, move and communicate effectively when your stress levels are high is key. You cant freeze. I transferred what I learned in the military into my business. The good, bad and the ugly. Our business is Smart Shield Windows. We provide high quality window and door replacement services to our customers. All at an affordable cost. What I learned as a young salesman is that the market for the window industry is all over the place. The prices from company to company are often times non-comparable. The bigger companies sell mid-grade windows at a premium price. Then there’s us…Smart Shield Windows. We sell one of the best vinyl products in North America. We use OKNA Windows for the majority of our customers.. they have created a superior window at an affordable cost. They do not do any advertising or marketing. They rely on companies like ours to get the word of mouth out. It makes for a beautiful relationship. They also do not sell their product to any contractor, there’s criteria’s that have to be met. When our sales rep’s enter the home, 9/10 times, they’re leaving with a sale. Based on our reviews, the product and our non-pressure sales method. It is a layup.. our customers aren’t under the impression they’re being sold. I’ve created a sales process that speaks to the subconscious mind throughout the whole appointment. When our rep’s ask for a signature, we collect it.

What I’m most proud about is that we’ve successfully entered a market place (and made a huge impact) that we had no business being in. We are revolutionizing the industry. My background is hospitality. In the contracting space, that is non-existent. Everyone is used to the contractor that comes into their home, smells like cigarettes, they showed up late, likely wearing dirty work boots throughout their home and lastly makes the project seem like it will be a huge project. When Smart Shield product specialist enter our customers homes, we are 10-15 minutes early. We have manners, clean cut and professional. Our team wears a tucked in Polo with company branding and appropriate slacks. In the winter, we add a full zip North face that is company branded. Our team communicates effectively, we send proposals out within 60 minutes of leaving the customers house. My partner and I are proud that we are able to change how window replacement projects are conducted. Our install team also follows the same procedures, except their company attire is work appropriate. We leave no mess behind.

It’s important to know what your industry is lacking. Take the flaws of the industry and turn them into your strengths. Also, pay your employees correctly. At Smart Shield Windows, lack of money is never a problem any of our employees will come to us about. Also, pay your employees on time. A real leader eats last.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

My favorite sales story that I tell our employees is this: Its the summer of 2020, I’m driving in my red Acura ilx. Its a tiny car, I’m 6’1, 220lbs, in shape.. the car is tight for me. It’s also not ideal for me to be carrying a window in it plus all our sales materials.. I had my eye on this hot, blue Acura TLX A-Spec. As im on my way to my window estimate, I see the car on the road and I say to myself “Im going to close this sale, at the house and then Im driving to the dealership and buying this car”.

Im at the house, I give the homeowners my pitch, the full window presentation. The wife loves the windows, the husband doesn’t want to buy the windows. He’s making every excuse on why he cant buy today.. he does not like the financing plan, he lost his check book, he doesn’t have cash on him. He says “Give me until tomorrow, i’ll head to the bank and get a cashiers check”… I knew that was not going to happen… So finally I say “Sir, you need the windows, your wife loves the windows. Im here today, giving you a great price with a discount applied. I dont need the full deposit today, so lets do this. There’s an ATM down the street. I only need $500 today and we can lock this price in. Does that sound fair? I’ll drive!” The room is silent, no one is saying a word. I make the first move, I grab all my stuff, pull my car keys out and said “cmon, im driving!”. I wanted the sale so bad that I drove this man to the atm to get it. If you’re in sales, be ethical, have respect, but you need to know how to overcome every objection and turn it into a yes!
I went and bought the car that day.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

My partner ran the night club that I worked at. He was in on the interview process with the person who recruited me. My partners name is Brian, I’m Bryan with a Y. He’s Brian with an I. If we ever start our airbnb company, I think we’ll name it Bryian Squared, or something corny like that. Brian is the owner of Area Presents, an entertainment company. His team produced the largest EDM parties up and down the east coast from 2005-2015. Brian is a mentor and a coach, he knows business. I didn’t, at the time. He taught me everything he knew, he’s a successful guy that did not withhold the secrets.

I didn’t grow up with an older brother or a father figure. My mom was a single mother who worked as much as she could to provide me with private education and a warm home. Brian was the first person that ever put effort into helping me be better. Brian saw what my former employer was doing to me, he brought it to my attention. He gave me the courage to believe that we could go into business ourselves and create something better. I did not know a thing about business, but I can sell, and that is the hardest part. I could learn everything else along the way. With the right guidance, anything is possible. Today, as I write this (1/9/2024). Our company has grossed $5.8M. We had our first multi million dollar year this year. Our team brought in $2.8M. We started as a small 4 person operation, we now have 17 team members that are full time. They are full of motivation and most importantly, they believe in what we’re doing. I go to work everyday knowing where I was, what I went through and who we will never become towards our team.

Most people today, they do not have a coach or a mentor. My personal “why” is to help people believe in themselves. I was the guy who was made to believe I was not good enough, that I am dumb. I am not any of those things. I will be the Bryan to others that Brian is to me. It is my mission in life to help others believe in themselves and get their slice of the American dream.

I did not think that an interview at a nightclub would have led to this. Never in my wildest dreams..

Contact Info:

• Website: smartshieldwindows.com
• Instagram: bryan_is_myname
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanparylak/