By John Flood

JOE HU/TOWN CRIER Fred Sischka, owner of FastFrame, a downtown frame shop, spent 24 years working in senior management for corporations. Today, he finds more satisfaction as a small-business owner.

Fred Sischka, owner of FastFrame, a frame shop in downtown Los Altos, made a decision to take the road less traveled and he never looked back.

After spending 24 years in management positions in research and development working for Memorex, Tandy Corporation and Unisys Corporation, today he gets more satisfaction running his own retail business, he said.

His shop, which is one of more than 300 franchised FastFrame locations nationwide, offers specialty custom framing. Sischka specializes in fine art, mirrors, keepsakes and memorabilia, including preservation- and museum-grade framing.

The 2,100-square-foot store offers a variety of styles and prices primarily at the upper end of the scale. The shop produces about 400 frames per month at an average price of $300 each, he said.

When Sischka, 61, bought the Los Altos store in 1994, it was a money-losing business. Today, it’s the largest FastFrame outlet in the United States.

“I must be doing something right,” he said with a laugh.

Sischka, who also owns a FastFrame outlet in Willow Glen, takes on custom projects with a certain relish.

“To survive today in the high end, you can’t turn anyone away,” he said. “We do a lot of unusual things like guitar collections that needed custom bolts and screws.”

Sischka decided to leave the corporate world in 1993 because he didn’t want to see what happened to his father happen to him.

“I saw my father develop high blood pressure from the stress of corporate life when he was 45,” he said. “He passed away prematurely from complications from an operation related to his blood pressure. He was more fit than me.”

Sischka, who is married with two grown children, wears his hair ponytail-style, perhaps as a way to tell the world that he never intends to join the corporate scene again. But he needs no such symbolism. His outlook on work and career reveal a thoughtful man who has spent time reflecting about his values and his mission in life.

He holds no affection for the corporate life.

“Corporate America doesn’t value age anymore,” he said matter-of-factly, adding that corporations can hire younger workers for lower wages than they pay middle-aged senior managers.

Sischka witnessed the indignity his father suffered when the company he worked for cut his staff, putting him to work for younger men and stopping his raises.

“He turned the other cheek,” he said. “He took it and it hurt him. I decided that wasn’t going to happen to me.”

Going from the clean-hands environment of the corporate life to a life of doing it all himself never deterred Sischka.

“I had never worked with my hands,” he said. “And it made the challenge more attractive. You end up learning how to do everything. Besides, I wanted to do something without 16 levels of corporate review.”

After researching a variety of franchise business opportunities, Sischka decided to invest in a FastFrame franchise because the business aligned itself with his personal interest in art.

“I spent 15 years collecting fine art,” Sischka said. “I came at the frame business from love of art.”

Today, Sischka manages a staff of four employees while handling a steady of stream of customers.

“We set ourselves up to be the best we’re involved in,” Sischka said. “Our customers confirm this by the way our business continues to grow. Even after the dot-com collapse, our business continued to grow.”

Sischka offers advice for those who might find the corporate life unsatisfying.

“Sitting pat is a bad thing,” Sischka said. “You have to put yourself first while taking care of other obligations like your family. Being happy is part of keeping and guarding that valuable asset called yourself. Put yourself first and you guard that investment. Change is good. You have to decide what you want to do and do it.”

FastFrame is located at 371 State St. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. For more information, call 949-3278.