There’s something special about the $15 million revenue level that has Joshua Wickstrom excited for the future of his dealership, Sharp Business Innovations (SBI). The Longmont, Colorado-based company he co-owns with Rich Lampshire currently stands at $7 million in annual revenue. That’s an impressive figure, especially considering the company debuted in 2020. Its hometown is also on a steady growth trajectory, approaching a population of 100,000, with Colorado cornerstones Boulder and Denver sitting within 30 miles to the south.
There are also larger competitors in the region, such as ACP, Automated Business Technologies and Frontier Business Products, which makes it imperative for SBI to have a clearly defined value proposition. Wickstrom and Lampshire have that covered: their company offers an unlimited printing program through Kyocera, their primary dealer line. From a service standpoint, SBI has a 90-minute on-site guarantee. It’s certainly resonating with prospects, as the dealer has been averaging 10 net-new customers per month, a number that continues to grow.
Which brings us to the reason why Wickstrom is targeting $15 million as his ideal size. His fear is that growing beyond that benchmark jeopardizes the close connections SBI has forged with customers. It’s those relationships, he believes, that provide the company with its primary point of differentiation.
“There are big companies in our back yard right now that use third-party people to deliver their machines,” Wickstrom noted. “Too often, the machine will sit for three weeks in the client’s office, still shrink-wrapped. To me, they’ve lost touch, and I don’t ever want to do that.”
Service and flexibility are the twin calling cards that establish SBI’s value proposition. Using Kyocera Fleet Services (KFS), the dealer can remotely monitor and manage its entire MIF, enabling it to head off service and toner alerts even before the customer becomes aware (more on this later). Plus, the value that accompanies the ability to pivot on a dime when the need arises can’t be overstated. As an example, a sales rep walked into Wickstrom’s office the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. His client desperately needed a unit to be delivered before turkey day. The machine was delivered immediately.
“It’s all about communicating with our clients, understanding their needs and recognizing when those needs change,” Lampshire added. “We’ll always be available to them.”
SBI offers a very balanced product and service portfolio. It carries the Sharp, Brother and Canon lines in addition to Kyocera (which includes the epic TASKalfa Pro 15000c). SBI furnishes wide-format printers through KIP and folder/inserters via FP Mailing Solutions. An acquisition provided expertise and an entry point into the Hon Company, a leader in office furniture.
In addition to addressing the needs of Colorado businesses, the dealer has advanced into Cheyenne, Wyoming, as well as parts of Nebraska and Kansas, reaching as far south as New Mexico. SBI has grown its profile in the Cornhusker State, and a dedicated telemarketer who previously worked with Wickstrom back in his insurance telemarketing days has proven to be a gem in unearthing business (more than $2 million in sales opportunities the last three years).
From a business vertical standpoint, SBI thrives in the education, health care, nonprofits and banking sectors (it boasts two sizeable banking systems with more than 200 MIF between them). It’s also getting traction in the legal space.
Head Start
The company history may be brief, but it’s been quite eventful. SBI was born in the COVID era as Wickstrom and Lampshire—both longtime industry execs—sought to build a better sales and service mousetrap that deviated from their previous experiences. They tapped some of the talented individuals they’d toiled with over the years, quality people whose core values dovetailed with their own. The duo acquired their former employer, SinglePoint Technology, and continued to grow and expand with the subsequent acquisitions of Great Copier Service and Journal Office Supplies. The latter addition had been a Sharp dealer for more than 50 years and in business for 78.
“In each of the acquisitions we’ve done, we’ve essentially blown the doors off of it, for the lack of a better term,” Wickstrom noted. “Essentially, we do a really wonderful job of going in and helping clients save money and improve their costs. An acquisition can be a painful process in the very beginning, but you quickly learn from it. And when you buy a business, it gives you the opportunity to have more of a warm sales call with their clients. Once we acquired Great Copier Service, we grew by leaps and bounds.”
One decision the owners made at the onset of their M&A activity was to not disrupt the businesses they added, maintaining the names, logos, personnel and other characteristics that gave these companies their identity. People value consistency and familiarity, whether its employees or clients.
“Drastic changes scare people,” Wickstrom noted. “People get nervous about the future of their job. So we’ve learned how to embrace the management side of acquisitions without being brash. We’ve been able to gain some really good partners, and we have wonderful folks in every location.”
SBI’s ideal prospect profile starts with profitability; a lack of it is a non-starter. Machines in field, leases in place and age of equipment also factor into the equation.
“We need to know what else the prospect brings to the table,” Lampshire added. “Are we getting sales, admin or other employees? All of this factors into our evaluation of a dealer and whether it makes sense for us to purchase them.”
Another critical variable is the variety of products sold by the candidate combined with bringing over experts/specialists in given technologies. For example, two employees onboarded in the acquisition of Journal Office Supply specialize in Hon office furniture, a higher-quality brand than those offered at big-box office retail stores. Whether it’s furniture, postage equipment, digital or wide-format gear, the opportunity to cross-sell within existing clients is providing a wealth of growth potential.
“I want our reps to go in and not just sell a copier,” Wickstrom noted. “I want them to have the ability to talk about other products if the client isn’t a good fit for copiers. Maybe it’s managed print services or postage machines. That’s how you grow.”
Taxing Moments
The 2025 campaign provided a stiff test for Wickstrom and Lampshire, particularly with tariffs. SBI had to revisit service contracts with clients, particularly when it was saddled with increases of 10% to 20% or more for toner and supplies. Wickstrom credited Kyocera with taking a judicious approach to an increase, holding off as long as possible before raising prices. There was only so much cost the manufacturer and dealer could absorb, and some of it had to be passed along to clients.
The increases SBI faced led to some “humble, very candid conversations with our clients,” according to Wickstrom, and he found them to be understanding. The right-sizing of service and supplies costs allowed the dealer to break even on those pacts. None of the clients whose contracts were altered challenged the action, but it was nonetheless a difficult period.
With costs increasing, SBI was able to counter-balance the tariff situation with its sustained drive to acquire net-new business. Account reps are charged with finding a minimum of two new clients per month, which translates into 10 to 20 across the organization and 200-plus for the year. That fortifies the efforts made by the in-house lead generator, who migrates from territory to territory to reel in new business.
“Having troops and boots on the street helps complement our growth through acquisitions,” Wickstrom noted. “Our prospector doesn’t leave a stone unturned, either. She gathers wonderful intelligence, such as lease expirations, who they do business with today and what their current machine is. She’ll ask about volume and printing, and then she’ll set an appointment for that rep. She’s absolutely phenomenal.”
Print Buffet
Wickstrom and Lampshire’s experience with unlimited printing and copying programs predates SBI. Frankly, the duo find it hard to believe that more dealers haven’t embraced the concept. Wickstrom compares the cost-per-copy model to the old mobile phone minute-based plans and prefers the more progressive unlimited platform, in which page allotment needs are determined in advance via SBI’s 360 Analysis and modified as needed. The 360 provides valuable data on the client’s printing habits, accurately determining volume usage.
The beauty for end-users is the rollover program, which allows clients to push their unused allotment into the next month as opposed to a use-it-or-lose-it proposition. Clients have found it quite appealing because it doesn’t penalize them for underutilization. School districts are a prime example, given their dramatic reduction in usage during the summer vacation months.
“I don’t ever want my client to receive an overage fee,” Wickstrom said. “It’s all about being reasonable. And when you help a client in this regard, it locks out the competition. Anytime someone calls on them, our customers will ask if they have a rollover program.”
“It’s good for budgetary purposes as well,” Lampshire noted. “Our program is growing by leaps and bounds. We’re helping them save money.”
First Responder
Another point of differentiation is SBI’s promise of a 90-minute, on-site service response time, which Wickstrom asserts is “unequivocally, the best in the industry.” He credits KFS with enabling the dealer to set a standard that’s superior to the industry average of four hours by being able to provide predictive maintenance and remediate 95% of tickets remotely. SBI is so confident in its ability to respond within 90 minutes that it offers a guarantee providing a 1% reduction in the client’s monthly service invoice for every 10 minutes the dealer is late to a call. The offer has never been triggered.
How is that possible? Just as a territory has an SBI account rep, it also boasts a dedicated service tech. It also creates more familiarity with clients, thus strengthening the relationship further. It also helps that two of the company’s top techs squared off with fellow Kyocera dealer techs nationwide, vying for bragging rights in the annual Kyocera Service Award competition.
“We maintain a lot of business just from a service perspective because of how well-rounded our techs are,” Wickstrom said. “There’s always been that question of which is more important, the sales side or the service side. Looking at it from a 30,000-foot perspective, it’s easy to sell a copier. But if you can’t service that thing, you’ll never sell another one. Our techs are beyond wonderful.
“KFS has been a game-changer for us. We embraced it when Kyocera first implemented it, and we’ve been advocates of it for a long time. I’m surprised more dealers don’t use it. Kyocera asked us to talk to other dealerships about how wonderful it is. It’s one of those ‘work smarter, not harder’ propositions.”
Blocking and Tackling
Moving forward, SBI will continue to lean on organic and acquisition growth. New business will always be a must, and hosted events/lunch-and-learns will bring the dealer closer to its client base and community. Plus, the top execs go out on deliveries, a gesture Wickstrom believes goes a long way with clients.
From a goal standpoint, Wickstrom would like to see a 20% boost in each of the company’s revenue streams. Lampshire feels success will stem from a rinse-and-repeat process focusing on the elements that made SBI successful.
“We’re in a time when people are saying that print and copy volumes are going down, but every month they’re going up for us,” Lampshire added. “We’re still thriving, and we’re still growing. I think that’s a success in itself.”
