Electronics service center continues in Wheeling
An interview with Ira Berman, owner of SkokieTV Service Co. in Wheeling.
Q: Describe your business. What do you do?
A: We are a family-owned full service consumer electronics service center. We employ certified technicians and are factory authorized for many brands. We repair LCD, plasma, LED, TV, DVD, VCR, stereo, receivers, amplifiers, turntables and microwaves. With the demise of the VCR and reel to reel tape decks, we are restoring old ones for customers that still like to use them.
Q: What made you start your business?
A: I was an engineering technician working for a similar company and thought I could do a better job.
Q: What has been the most difficult obstacle in running or starting a small business?
A: Managing. Everyone thinks they can run a business, what could it take? It takes a lot of work. Payroll, insurance, phones, etc. and then managing employees. I took several management courses and am still learning.
Q: What do you enjoy most about operating your business?
A: The freedom to stand on my own. The buck stops with me. If it’s not right, fix it. I
also wrote the computer program that runs the business, refining it over the
many years.
Q: Is this what you pictured yourself doing when you were young?
A: No, I went for electrical engineering. Two years at Argonne National Labs cured me of that. I did not find it challenging. I started working part time fixing TV’s and
loved it. Went on from then.
Q: What keeps you up at night?
A: Not much. sleep like a baby.
Q: If you could give one tip to a rookie business owner, what would it be?
A: Be prepared. Don’t go in on a shoestring. Have some money behind you.
I guarantee the costs will exceed your projections by a lot. Before you do it, take a management course to teach you the actual hourly cost of doing business so you know what you need to make.
Ÿ Every Monday we feature a small business. We want to hear about yours. Contact Kim Mikus at kmikus@dailyherald.com.
Skokie TV Service Co.
<B>Address:</B> 141 S. Milwaukee Ave, Wheeling, IL 60090
<B>Phone:</B> (847) 537-6666
<B>Owner: </B>Ira Berman
<B>Year business started: </B>1976
<B>Web address:</B> skokieservice.com