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Home › Dad of the Month

Les Bogdanowicz

Each month, iParenting.com spotlights a father who inspires and moves us, who embodies the qualities that we all admire in a person, a man and a father. Above all, the Dad of the Month is dedicated to his children. Rich or poor, famous or not, he shines as an example of what fathering is all about.

Our choice for December is Les Bogdanowicz, an entrepreneur and father of one.

He marches to the beat of a different drummer, propelled by hope for his future and that of his family. He is constantly looking for ways to be and do better. He turns failure into an educational lesson, seeing it as an opportunity for growth instead of an ending. He is an entrepreneur, an engineer, a father and a husband. He is Les Bogdanowicz of Chicago, Ill.

At 33 years old, this doting father and M.B.A. has achieved so much at such a young age. As an entrepreneur he has poured his heart and hard work into growing two fledgling companies – a medical device company providing a therapy to patients suffering from illnesses that lead to blindness, and a glass business where Bogdanowicz and his wife find beautiful, handmade glass pieces to sell in the United States. These companies, while proving challenging and time consuming, are the results of Bogdanowicz's entrepreneurial spirit and his desire to do great things – and he still manages a full-time job as an engineer while he tries to get his businesses off the ground and running smoothly.

Despite all this, his true passion and what Bogdanowicz is most proud of is being a dad to Julia, his 2-year-old daughter with his wife, Harriet.

Outside the Box
"Les always says that he doesn't compare himself against other people, but instead, he compares himself to the person he knows he could be," says Harriet. "That means he tries things that most other people wouldn't, he's always thinking outside of the box and he inevitably bounces back from challenges with a perpetual hope for doing better in the future."

Harriet says Bogdanowicz is a good dad because he interacts with Julia just as much as she does – and it is not just doing "fun stuff." He does the day-to-day things as well. "It is never a problem for him to take Julia as he goes about his day, and while they are together, he doesn't miss any opportunity to turn average activities into educational games," she says. "They practice counting or naming colors while shopping at Home Depot."

Bogdanowicz says his favorite part of being a dad is a little selfish. "Having Jules has staked my life, which is a very positive thing," he says. "I was a little disoriented with what was important and what not. That little 7 pounds of screaming baby managed to tackle this 6-foot, 240-pound bull to the ground, and has kept me down," he says. "It's given me a focus of what is important and what is not, and now I don't want to preoccupy myself with the trivialities of life that really don't matter. I weigh every decision with the impact on my family and most just don't stack up."

Because Harriet leaves for work first in the morning, Bogdanowicz takes care of Julia when she wakes up. He gets her milk and gets her ready for her day until the nanny arrives and he can go to work. He is home first in the evening as well, so he usually starts dinner and then takes Julia to the train station to pick up Harriet.

"I finish preparing dinner, clean up and the three of us spend the evening filling glass orders and making deliveries, or, on a slower night, we all take a walk or bike ride around the neighborhood," says Bogdanowicz. "Before bed, Les heats up Julia's milk, while I put her to sleep," says Harriet.

Bogdanowicz loves being a dad, and Harriet says it is obvious he is overjoyed every time he is around his daughter. He routinely brings home special gifts for his little girl ranging from shoes to sweaters to teddy bears. He is a strong believer in and teaches family values to his daughter and includes her in as much as he can.

"He can't imagine going on a vacation without her, and doesn't believe she should miss out on anything just because she's a girl," says Harriet. "He has already planned a trip for us this January so that he could start teaching Julia to ski!"

"I was never a person that would hang out, but I often find myself wanting to just hang out with the most delightful person I know, Jules," says Bogdanowicz.

Handyman
Always the multi-tasker, Bogdanowicz also enjoys remodeling and is considered quite the handyman. Harriet says he loves to shop for new fixtures and finishes and enjoys doing a variety of projects around the house.

Bogdanowicz says the work around the house seems to be never ending, but it is also an occasion to spend some time with his daughter. When he recently painted the office, he dressed her up in his old T-shirt, taped some plastic bags to her feet, gave her a paintbrush and they spent the next two hours painting together. "She shows everyone the room that she painted with Daddy," he says.

The busy season has begun with his glass company, so he spends lots of time working on it. Julia comes with him. "She finds moving empty boxes around fun and I enjoy the company," he says. When he has computer work to do, he will plop Julia in front of a computer with her favorite Web site and they work together. If anyone interrupts them, Julia says, "We're busy working; come back later."

Bogdanowicz juggles it all – being a dedicated father and husband, growing the glass business, traveling, remodeling, his job as an engineer and his passion working with his medical device business. At times, it can be challenging, and things do not always go as planned. He has been testing his prototype medical device, but the results concluded that even more testing is required. However, he is not the type to stop when things get tough. "Failures are an education for him, not an ending, and that takes a special kind of person," says Harriet.

Looking back on how she got together with her husband, Harriet fondly recalls how he joined the ethnic dance group in which she was participating. Bogdanowicz was assigned to be her dance partner – and since then their life together has been in perpetual motion. They have traveled many places together including Australia, Eastern and Western Europe. They work together on their glass business, often doing orders and deliveries as a family on nights and weekends.

An Inspiration
What Harriet loves most is the fact that her husband is a kid at heart, and she says that is a blessing to their family. "He sees the world through wondering eyes, and inspires me and Julia to take joy in every moment we have together," she says. "Living with him is like adding colorful paint to a grayscale picture. Without him, I'm sure I would be living a completely average and unexceptional life, and Julia would not be the inquisitive, funny girl she is!"

When asked what he would like Julia to know about hopes and dreams and his aspirations for his family, Bogdanowicz says the four Ls in life: "Live, Love, Learn and leave a Legacy," he says. "I'd like to leave my children with that bit of knowledge: To live life to the fullest, love and be loved, learn as much as you can."

Bogdanowicz believes that in order to be a good dad, you need to foremost be a good husband. He says it is important to him to provide Jules a unified front on all issues and that it is also important as parents to set an example of how a married couple functions and goes about life.

"She and our future kids will be in our shoes one day and I'd like them to ask the question 'What would my parents have done?' when they have parenting or marriage problems of their own," he says. "So I do my best to make sure that I'm the best hubby I can be, and being a good dad follows."

Bogdanowicz says he would not really be able to be a dedicated dad without having a good sidekick: Mom. He and Harriet work together to figure things out, and though they may stumble at times, he says they pick each other up, dust each other off and move on.

"Often we get involved growing our careers, working toward various accomplishments and honors, but the work that is equally important and arguably more important is how we spend our time with our family," says Bogdanowicz. "This often goes unnoticed, and being selected as a dedicated parent is a sincere way of celebrating the hard work that goes into parenting."

Bogdanowicz says he has many friends entering fatherhood now. "I think that all the dads that are doing their best in raising their kids deserve the tribute of being a dedicated dad," he says.

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