Capstone Office Products, Fairfax, Virginia, has a superpower: operational excellence in the federal government arena. It’s a specialism that isn’t always straightforward, especially during tough times like the COVID-19 pandemic and the current whirlwind of changing government rules and regulations. But mastering the art of compliance is its secret to success.
Carving a niche
Capstone was founded in 1993 under the name of Cornerstone Office Solutions by Nancy V. Cope, owner and vice president. “Jim [Cope, her husband and company president] was selling office supplies, furniture, IT and managing operations for another company,” Nancy recalls. “His goal was always to open another company. I had a career in marketing and communications, which included positions with the state department and in public affairs. I left my career, wrote a business plan and took it to the US Small Business Association. I launched the company and Jim joined me later that same year. I work on the marketing side of things, while Jim takes care of the operational aspects, including keeping up on and handling government regulations and contracts.”
The company initially sold to commercial businesses but also started going after government accounts. In 2009, the federal and state rules and restrictions for vendors became stricter, prompting it to spin off a second company to handle government contracts. Today, Cornerstone exists for historic reasons, but Capstone is the operational side of the company, servicing all its federal government accounts, which make up 95 to 98 percent of its business.
According to Nancy, this focus is deliberate: “We’ve had so much success that 100 percent of our efforts go toward the government sector. Jim does wonderful work in this area. A lot of companies sell to the federal government, but not many do it well. Given its complexity, government compliance is an art form. In fact, we won an award last year from the National Industries for the Blind (NIB). It was the first time in the NIB’s 75-year history that it presented an award to a vendor.”
A government-formed nonprofit, the NIB is the largest employer of people who are blind in the US. Its mission is to enhance the personal and economic independence of these individuals by creating, sustaining and improving employment, including the manufacture and sale of products to meet commercial needs and strict government standards.
Nancy enthuses that the government sector has proved very lucrative for Capstone: “We excel in government because we know how to deliver it the way those customers need it. We keep them compliant—in fact, last fall we were recognized for developing systems that ensure high compliance results.”
Along with government expertise, Nancy attributes Capstone’s ongoing success to “going the extra mile to add value to customer relationships and maintaining an honest and trustworthy marketing strategy.”
Jim suggests that flexibility is another of Capstone’s strong points, but one that can prove tricky at times: “You used to be able to predict the future somewhat but now so many of the changes are unpredictable. But we have a structure that can adapt.”
“People not being in the office has been another huge challenge,” Jim continues. “The new administration is a bit unstable at this point, but we are hoping for a huge uptick in workers returning.”
Words of wisdom
“A lot of independent dealers decide selling to government is too hard, too complicated,” says Jim. “But there’s fantastic diversification in the market and before COVID-19, the federal government was highly stable, even when the commercial sector was in recession. The government is taxpayer supported so it is less affected by economic swings. I also I think many of them don’t realize there is a lot of low-hanging fruit to be captured in local government. Going in cold to government is tough, but programs like EPIC and groups like ISG can help.”
Headquarters: Fairfax, Virginial
Top management: Nancy V. Cope, owner and vice president; Jim Cope, president
Main wholesaler: Essendant
Number of employees: 9
Annual sales: $2–$3 million
Verticals: Technology and office products 80%–90%; janitorial 5%–10%; furniture 5%–10%