We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jon Cline a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jon, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Menomonee Falls, WI’s number one sports fan and photographer, Jon Cline, was limited in the sports he could participate in as a child due to having epilepsy. “Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to leave the house unless I had someone else by my side,” recalls Jon. “Having seizures made it difficult to learn or remember things because everything I’d been taught that day in school was wiped from my memory. I would wake up from having a seizure and wouldn’t remember where I was or anything that happened that day.

“My parents were relentless in trying to find help. In 1993, I was accepted to Gillette Children’s Hospital in Minnesota to see if I was a candidate for what was then a newly developed seizure surgery. However, after a month of intense testing, it was determined I did not. Shortly after that, I entered an experimental drug program, and three years later, I became seizure free. It has now been almost 30 years since my last seizure.”

As a youngster, Jon played soccer but he had to give up the sport once his team advanced to practicing headers. Hitting a soccer ball with your head is not recommended for persons with seizures. He then joined a bowling league, which he played on until he became too old for the league.

Teachers have always been instrumental in Jon’s life. In seventh grade a teacher encouraged him to join the track team to throw shot put and discus. Jon stuck with it all the way through high school. Upon entering his senior year, Jon remembers track coach Joe Hennes saying to him, “We could use someone like you to help the football team during practice and game nights.” After graduation, Jon continued to help the football team from 1998 to 2001. He has fond memories of that time.

Printing and publishing was a strong employment sector within Waukesha Country, so Jon earned an associate degree in printing and publishing from Waukesha County Technical College. He worked in the print industry for almost 10 years before starting Cline Design in 2006 as a hobby business.

Later Jon returned to WCTC for additional training and obtained certificates in photography, desktop publishing and small business. While covering community events, high school sports, parades and concerts for the local cable access channel, Falls Cable Access, Jon decided to turn his hobby into a full-time business.

During the high school baseball season summer of 2016, Jon mentioned to the Fall’s athletic director that he was looking to grow Cline Design. The AD asked him if he would be interested in doing photography at high school sporting events. They set up an appointment, and the rest is history.

Jon started attending varsity sporting events during the 2016-2017 school year. The following summer, he was able to take on more high school sporting events, along with middle and grade school sports, as well as junior events. He says, “The number one thing people are interested in seeing me at is their kids’ sporting events. I’m able to capture many action shots for them which is what they like.” Soon after, many nonprofits started reaching out for services because they can’t afford to pay what a professional photographer cost. That’s how it came to be that Jon appeared at all the local community events.

Jon expanded his business to include family photos, senior pictures and business headshots, as well as small weddings. He also enjoys creating video presentations of pictures for weddings, funerals, reunions or company productions. Jon will take pictures of whatever the customer needs.

He says It’s difficult to pick a favorite sport since they are all so different, but “one thing that’s the same in all the events I treasure the friendships I make with the parents, athletes and grandparents, along with other community members.”

Jon is a contributor to the monthly Falls Neighbors Magazine, entitled “Where’s Jon?” and it features pictures of recent community events he’s been at. A local official once said ‘It isn’t an event, if Jon Cline isn’t there” because I’m at all the events going on in our village. When the magazine did an article about me, they entitled it ‘Capturing the Present to Preserve the Past for the Future’. I liked that title so much that I since used it as my business motto. It’s especially meaningful to me because when I was young, I spent a lot of time looking at pictures in photo albums. Because of my seizures, I didn’t remember celebrations or events, so I’ve always relived them through pictures. That’s what I hope to do with the pictures I take.”

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My family has lived in Menomonee Falls, WI since 1982. I attended all the local schools and growing up in a small town, people easily recognize each other. Sports photography has become my specialty because when I take the picture, I can turn them into creative custom pictures that families can purchase digitally or order prints through me. What do I mean by my creative sports photography? Click on the link below to see samples of my work:

https://www.clinedesignphotography.com/creative

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

When I first started my Cline Design Facebook page, I had about 200 followers, mostly friends and family. When I started doing photography of local events in 2016, I would get people to like a post. When that happens, Facebook invites them to like & follow my page. When people see me at an event, they know all they have to do is go to my Facebook or Instagram page. Today I have over 3000 followers on Facebook.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

When customers order prints through me, I order them through a professional vendor, which was recommended to me by other photographers. The quality of their prints exceeds the quality you receive from your local photography finishers.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.clinedesignphotography.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/clinedesignphoto
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/clinedesignphotography
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/joncline1
• Twitter: twitter.com/DesignCline
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@clinedesign
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cline-design-menomonee-falls?uid=1PNN5F4WsMs_8x0gbP7cKQ&utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

Image Credits
Cline Design Photography