Good luck can strike when you least expect it. For example, you cross paths with another dealer while waiting for your order at Essendant Will Call, you start chatting and before you know it, you’ve landed a new job. That’s just what happened to Burt Reese, general manager of Carolina Business Supplies, Charlotte, North Carolina, 14 years ago—and he’s never looked back.
Carolina Business Supply was established in 2009 by Randy and Alice Dixon. The couple had a history in the office products industry but were missing one key factor: their own dedicated customer base. Undaunted, they worked hard to grow the business organically. In 2011, Burt—who had been working for a small independent dealer—joined Carolina Business Supply.
Roads to success
“We’ve always been committed to thinking outside the box,” says Reese. “The company was started a lot later than most of our competitors, so we always knew just copying what they were already doing wouldn’t cut it. We had to push the envelope to sell things most office dealers don’t. That’s why our name has been ‘Business Supply’ from the start.”
Some of the company’s more unusual offerings include contractor bags for a restoration franchise; pallets, zip ties and carton staples for a bicycle manufacturer to ship its products; trash bags for thrift stores to wrap customer purchases in; and gloves, hairnets, aprons and other food preparation supplies for a local commercial bakery.
Insight and honesty have also been crucial to the company’s success, explains Burt: “We do our best to be consultants. We have turned business down when buying something from us is not in the customer’s best interest. Recently, a law firm was moving and needed a couple of furniture dollies and asked to buy them from us. We told them where we’d gotten ours so they could save our markup. They appreciated it. We ended up selling them about $20,000 worth of fireproof filing cabinets because we treated them right. We have great customers and see them as stockholders—as investors in Carolina—not just a way to make a profit. We’re not trying to get their very last nickel. We want to add value, and we want them to know we value their business and value them as people.”
The company has also found it advantageous to encourage larger customers to buy essential items in bulk, which saves them money and reduces deliveries.
Sage counsel in challenging times
While Burt acknowledges that Amazon is inevitably a threat these days, he doesn’t see it as existential. “The biggest challenge is keeping up with the changes in our industry and trying to be the solution driving that change,” he muses. “I heard someone use the term ‘solutionist,’ and it’s a great term. It may look different or affect different parts of our business, but change is never going away. Too often, dealers are put off by it; they act like, ‘Woe is me’ and wish the good old days would come back. Things may backtrack a little now and then, but the times are never going back to what they were, so you need to do what makes sense to move forward.”
Burt also advises: “Don’t assume anything. Ask questions. Don’t assume with a furniture order that you have to assemble it all. Ask. We found some customers have their own maintenance department and would rather see them working than pay them to drink coffee. Don’t assume things must be done a certain way just because they’ve been done that way in the past. Don’t be afraid to suggest a different way. Sometimes, people will say no; but often, they will be open to the idea and be pleased you asked.”
Headquarters: Charlotte, North Carolina
Top management: Randy Dixon, co-owner and vice president of sales; Alice Dixon, co-owner and vice president of operations; Burt Reese, general manager
Annual sales: $4 million
Number of employees: 10
First call wholesaler: Essendant
Sales categories: Office products, 50%; janitorial, 20%; furniture, 10-15%; safety, 10%; packaging, 5-10%