Today we’d like to introduce you to Bill Cesaroni.
Bill, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
After finishing graduate school at Michigan State University in 1971, I acquired my first industrial design job with Mel Boldt & Associates, which was the largest and most as successful consulting office in Chicago… I was surrounded by talented and generous designers who taught me a great deal during my five years and 10,000 hours. I then tried corporate life with Bell & Howell Corporation, however it was a dying company so I decided to go on my own in 1979.
Fortunately, one of my early connections was an elderly designer named David Painter, who was in the process of retiring. We became friends and eventually agreed on an arrangement where I would do all the design work and he would become my salesman.
It worked out so well that within a year I started hiring industrial designers and engineers… I always hired designers who were stronger in areas where I was weaker. One of my first associates was Paul Bond, who was artistically talented and mechanically gifted. Paul still works with Cesaroni Design to this day. Within our second year, I bought my design studio, which is a small building located only a mile from our house in Glenview. Our staff has varied in size from two to twenty-five, which included an engineering office in WI. Currently we include five salaried industrial designers and three hourly associates.
We are fortunate to work with some great clients that enable us to do some very successful industrial design work. We have also been blessed to have a great staff of talented graphic and industrial designers. Several of them have been with us over twenty years. Regardless of what one reads about “celebrity designers”, no individual designs a product by themselves. The success of a product is always based on a team of professional people working together.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Two years after I incorporated Cesaroni Design, we slipped into a recession. Our largest housewares client informed me that our design budget for the following year would be cut in half. I had just hired my third designer so I had to cut my salary to keep them all employed. Fortunately, our salesman kicked in and the recession only lasted a year. We held the office together and were ready to grow for the remainder of the 80’s. During the 80’s, we designed everything from slot machines to medical equipment. We were also very fortunate to be involved in the beginning of the fitness industry. During the 80’s we were one of the first consulting offices to convert from hand drawn concepts to CAD.
This proved to be very expensive, however necessary to remain in business. In the beginning of 3D CAD, I purchased one station for $60,000.00 and six months later, I bought a second seat that was twice as powerful, for $30,000.00. The expensive overhead put a lot of the old established offices out of business.
The next recession occurred in the early 90’s, however it only lasted around a year. I maintained the attitude of keeping everyone employed and it paid off again. The next recession that occurred around 2000 was a little more severe, however nothing compared to 2007. I was so angered at Wall Street, I was more determined than ever to keep our people employed. It was a tough two years, however we got through it and are still here today.
Surviving the expensive transition to CAD and the multiple recessions in our economy have been a challenge, however well worth the effort.
Cesaroni Design Associates – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Cesaroni Design is a privately-owned consulting company that works for public and privately held corporations that require assistance designing their products. We specialize in taking a product idea from marketing or engineering and developing the concept into an aesthetic and functional prototype… We are known for creating beautiful products that are manufacturable and profitable for our clients. We are most proud of the success our products have had for our clients. We are extremely good at working with all the other professions required to bring a product into the market place. Team work is critical and we live by it… There is no room for big egos in product development.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I personally define success (regarding an individual), as anyone who is getting up every morning and doing what they love to do. That doesn’t mean they have to be self-employed. it just means they have career or job satisfaction. Fortunately, we have the option of changing careers as often as we want to or can afford to. I was lucky and selected my lifetime career when I was just eighteen years old. I personally wanted to have more control over my destiny so I became self-employed. I don’t recommend self-employment for everyone because it requires a great deal of additional time out of one’s life. I was fortunate to have an understanding family.
I define a business successful when it delivers a quality product and is fair regarding the treatment of their employees. If a CEO earns 200 times what their average employee earns, I do not consider that fair or smart. It breeds discontent and a lack of loyalty.
When I started working, corporate CEOs were usually employees who worked their way up from lower level jobs after many years of experience with the company. They knew almost every one’s name in the company and were highly respected individuals in the community. Unfortunately, today most corporations do not have the CEOs I remember.
I find many privately-owned CEOs to be the exception. They are more willing to invest their own money into their companies and their employee’s wellbeing, these quality CEOs really surfaced during the 2007 / 2008 recession. Cesaroni Design is fortunate to work for many of these privately-owned corporations and is usually were we are allowed to do our best work.
Contact Info:
- Address: Cesaroni Design
1865 Grove Street,
Glenview, IL 60025 - Website: www.cesaroni.com
- Phone: 847-724-8840
- Email: wcesaroni@cesaroni.com
Image Credit:
Scott Edwards
efgimage – www.efgimage.com
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