NCEC in the News!
Wanda Urbanska
Researched and written by Ethanie Walentuk
An entrepreneurial undertaking is always a labor of love, and this is certainly true for Wanda Urbanska and her television series, Simple Living. It is now in its fourth season on PBS and reaches about sixty-five percent of US households, but realizing her vision for the series was no simple task.
Urbanska has been involved in the simplicity movement throughout most of her career. She has published five books with social science or self-help themes that focus on creating a simple and environmentally friendly lifestyle and letting go of consumer-driven and wasteful spending. In 1998 she was invited by PBS to host a special program called Escape from Affluenza. The success of the program led her to believe there was public interest in the topic: spreading the message to others on how to improve your lifestyle, community, and environment. She moved from LA to Mt. Airy in 1986 to simplify her own life. There the idea for Simple Living was born, and she began her crusade for funding and support to make the series a reality.
Urbanska didn’t realize right away that her endeavor was entrepreneurial; she just had an idea that she wanted to work on. She began fundraising and organizing the series in 2000 and soon saw the need for business know-how. There were many decisions to be made both about the nature of the business enterprise and also about the design and concept for the show itself. She says that with projects like this it is necessary to ask for help. She found the right people who had the information she lacked and was able easily to formulate her goals for the enterprise. She approached PBS for help on designing the show and decided to make a magazine style program with several topics discussed in each episode as opposed to a special topic show that could turn some viewers away each week. She also had to decide whether to pursue a non-profit or for-profit business model. Non-profit businesses forfeit creative control to a board of directors, but receive tax benefits that make it an appealing choice. Simple Living has a national advisory board of over thirty members who share Urbanska’s passion for public awareness about the issues she discusses each week. She has also partnered with several non-profit companies but has been able to maintain control over content and production.
Fundraising has been the most important challenge for Urbanska to get the series on the air. Today Simple Living has several partners and has received well over one million dollars through grants and donations from foundations, businesses, and individual donors; but getting support for an enterprise that didn’t yet exist was a difficult undertaking. Her passion for the message and her self-confidence helped her get through the initial start up. Her first corporate sponsorship was through Smead Manufacturing, and she says she was incredibly lucky during her application process. Her proposal was well received, and she received money within two weeks of the initial meeting. Once she had begun collecting money from several donors, she was absolutely determined to get the show on the air. She says she would have done whatever it took to not let her generous donors down.
A quality that facilitated Urbanska’s success has been her community involvement. When she moved to Mt. Airy she became involved with her local Rotary Club, United Fund, and Chamber of Commerce. She was a well-known community presence in Mt. Airy and had established credibility through her books and television appearances. When the time came to propose funding for Simple Living, she already had the community behind her to support her efforts and was able to form partnerships with many local organizations including Catawba College and the Gilmer Smith Foundation. These partnerships have been essential to the success of Simple Living and enriching for Urbanska personally as well. Her best advice for entrepreneurs is to become partnership oriented and always look for new relationships to foster.
The project came to fruition only after four years of planning and fundraising but is now airing its fourth season and has become a great success. PBS broadcasts the show weekly, and in Greensboro it can be seen at 6:30 p.m. on Sundays. It has become one of the most popular programs on the network, and viewers nationwide benefit from Urbanska’s tips on simplicity, financial stability, and environmental responsibility. As Wanda Urbanska has proved through Simple Living, there is always room to explore your passion and make a career with what you believe in if you are willing to strive for your goals.
This case study was conducted in November 2007 by Ethanie Walentukl, a News and Documentary in the Media Studies Department. Her work was part of and independent study registered through BCN 395.
These case studies were compiled and archived as part of the former BELL (Building Entrepreneuruial Learning for Life) Program's Entrepreneurial Innovation in the Arts (EIA) initiative to provide a library of examples of how artists in many different fields have achieved success. The cases were researched and written by UNCG students.