![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Dan-Strull-1.jpg\")
Strull paused and looked about the room at his own \u201cplayers.\u201d It occurred to him that GoodSuite, through savvy drafting (hiring) and strategic trades (acquisitions), had amassed a core of professionals who rank among the industry\u2019s top performers. On the latter front, GoodSuite pulled off a pair of deals in successive years, obtaining Select Business Systems of Fresno, California, and most recently, Strata IT of Los Angeles. The deals enabled GoodSuite to nearly double its revenue to north of $10 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The upshot is that Woodland Hills, California-based GoodSuite is now poised to compete at a level Strull couldn\u2019t have imagined when he founded the company then known as Copier Headquarters in 1998. And while GoodSuite has been able to carve out a slice of the pie in client-rich Southern California, he has designs on dominating the Golden State by 2025 (dubbed the Conquer California campaign) and believes his star-laden franchise is well equipped for even greater heights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt took time to build, and it\u2019s because of the good people we have,\u201d Strull noted. \u201cThey come to work every day and drive us to become better. I think everybody comes to work with a focus on delivering for our customers. They have a clarity in knowing what needs to get done in order to realize the goals we\u2019ve set. So far, it\u2019s been a great ride.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If there were trading cards for all-star office dealers, Strull\u2019s team checklist would include Paul Cooper, president; Brent Portera, the vice president of technology services; Christianne Strull, CFO and Dan\u2019s wife; Jodie Grice, vice president of customer experience; Thomas Chacko, vice president of operations; Stuart Fratkin, executive vice president; Gary Dergazarian, sales; and Greg Smith, director of marketing. The Strata IT \u201ctrade\u201d also added a heavy hitter in the form of Pete Robbins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Needed Hug<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It wasn\u2019t long following the 2018 name change, on the heels of the company\u2019s 20th anniversary, that fortunes began to truly skyrocket for GoodSuite. Strull turned to a buddy in the branding realm who helped devise the new moniker, a process that involved using the marketing wheel. Strull searched the wheel for descriptors that fit the company\u2019s image, and one was a \u201cmother\u2019s hug,\u201d which he felt was fitting\u2014a call from GoodSuite was like a hug from mom. The friend suggested GoodSuite, and the \u201cIT\u201d embellishment in the name underscores the growing strength of the dealer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was walking through the Las Vegas airport when my friend called and said, \u2018I\u2019ve got it, GoodSuite,\u2019\u201d Strull related. \u201cImmediately, I went to GoDaddy on my phone and purchased the domain. It\u2019s been one of the best-received changes we\u2019ve made.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the biggest changes at GoodSuite have transpired within the last 10 years. Strull entered the industry fresh out of USC-Marshall, spending 10 years with Xerox before entering its agency program with Copier Headquarters. He spent 15 years as a Xerox agent before switching over to Sharp in 2015 as an independent dealer\u2014another core change that\u2019s marked GoodSuite\u2019s ascension. From three employees at the onset, GoodSuite\u2019s ranks have swelled to 60, and its offerings have grown to include Konica Minolta and HP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lion\u2019s share of GoodSuite\u2019s customer base can be found in Southern California\u2014Los Angeles and Ventura County\u2014along with Fresno following the Select Business Systems acquisition. While MFPs are still at the heart of its catalog, tremendous growth continues to surge in managed IT and audio\/visual conference room\/digital displays. GoodSuite also counts managed print, cybersecurity, backup\/disaster recovery and managed VoIP among its primary services. The company witnessed 130% IT growth in 2021, and that figure has already been surpassed this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moments in Time<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Three of the biggest turning points in Strull\u2019s estimation are the addition of Sharp, the hiring of Portera as vice president of IT and the Select Business Systems acquisition; a smaller deal for Advanced Office Automation (AOA) of Ventura has also fortified the dealer\u2019s performance. The Strata IT deal (more on this shortly) has opened even greater avenues for growth and paved the way to a solid 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a banner year, a phenomenal one,\u201d Strull said. \u201cWe set a goal for achieving net-new business, and we\u2019ve crushed it already. I didn\u2019t see it coming; it\u2019s been a pleasant surprise. One thing after another has been falling into place. We were down about 13% in 2020, as we saw a couple of clients go out of business and a few switch to completely remote work. But 2021 was a bounce-back year; even with some customers not coming back, we\u2019ve increased volume with our other clients and added a lot of net-new IT clients.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Southern California (and Los Angeles in particular) is a highly fragmented market. Strull resists the urge to take on enterprise business simply because the SMB space here is such fertile ground. Given the region\u2019s wealth of dealer vendors and the lack of a Death Star-level competitor to be feared, organic and acquisitional growth opportunities enable GoodSuite to focus exclusively on California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the saving graces on the hardware side is GoodSuite\u2019s rock-solid relationship with Sharp. It\u2019s been mutually beneficial\u2014as the president of the Professional Dealers Group peer organization, Strull has convinced a number of member dealers to take on the Sharp line because of the OEM\u2019s track record in delivering product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GoodSuite is in discussions to acquire a company that\u2019s struggled with its current vendor in obtaining hardware. This dealer (pending completion, Strull will reveal the company at the end of the calendar year) has been besieged by backorders, some of which have been 10 months or more. He believes Sharp has stood out among the field in terms of delivering in a reasonable timeframe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Strull notes his company\u2019s backlog pales in comparison to many of his contemporaries. \u201cSharp has been the best business decision we\u2019ve ever made,\u201d he said. \u201cCall it luck, call it God working on our side. It\u2019s been a phenomenal move for us, our competitors and industry friends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Quality of Life<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Like many dealer execs, Strull appreciates the salutary impact employees can have on customer relationships\u2014treat your people well and they\u2019ll take care of clients. His philosophy is that employees are more important than customers; providing them with a high quality of work-life enables them to have clarity in their jobs. Strull doesn\u2019t want his employees to crash on their couches out of sheer exhaustion, completely spent at day\u2019s end due to an onerous workload. Anyone experiencing this, he believes, should question the company and position they\u2019re currently in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you have clarity, know what you\u2019re doing and like what you\u2019re doing, then you\u2019re not taxing your mind, and you\u2019re not overextending yourself in your mind,\u201d he said. \u201cYou should come home at the end of the day with energy so you can have quality of life. I spend all my days trying to remove roadblocks so our employees can serve our customers. If we make sure every individual has clarity, then we can have fun. We try to make every day for our employees and customers consistent, memorable and fun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fun Fridays during the fourth quarter each year underscore GoodSuite\u2019s commitment to enhancing the employee experience. In the past, Strull has whipped up pancake breakfasts, and team members can spin a wheel and win prizes. Massages in the break room and In-N-Out Burger treats are among a few (see the \u201cBuddies for Life\u2026\u201d sidebar detailing the dealer\u2019s commitment to the communities it serves).<\/p>\n\n\n\n While IT has proven to be the golden goose for GoodSuite, not everything works out as planned. In one instance, however, serendipity played a role in ensuring Strull\u2019s initiative gained some clarity of its own. A couple years ago, he embarked on a campaign designed to cross-sell managed IT to 25% of GoodSuite\u2019s MFP clients. Through the first year of the program, the dealer managed to cross-sell 6% of the MFP clients, but it soon became clear to Strull that the path forward would be extremely challenging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Strull had hoped to entice upwards of 15 clients per month to avail themselves of GoodSuite\u2019s IT services, he found that two to four additions per month was more realistic. Fortunately, the path to onboarding net-new clients through IT has proven to be more lucrative, to the point where the dealer now has a waiting list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe onboarding process is so robust, there\u2019s so much to do that you can\u2019t just flip a switch one day and support them,\u201d he said. \u201cYou need to connect all their systems and ensure a good onboarding experience. That takes time. But we\u2019re doing plenty of new IT clients, so that\u2019s a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Higher Strata-sphere<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Strata IT has enabled GoodSuite to become more focused. Previously, the company used multiple tools for each discipline, such as remote monitoring, backup\/recovery and cloud services, which meant there were approximately 16 platforms in which GoodSuite needed to become proficient. Strata IT helped cut that number in half. More IT experts and fewer tools equates to a higher proficiency level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GoodSuite is growing its marketing department as opposed to sales, which is also helping drive new business. Strull read Darrell Amy\u2019s \u201cRevenue Growth Engine\u201d and quickly refocused, hiring Smith as the marketing point person. Web submissions, phone calls, emails and other inbound queries have simply spiked the net-new opportunities to the point where new talent is needed to accommodate the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s all about marketing digitally and giving customers as much information as possible without trying to sell them something until they ask a question that requires a salesperson,\u201d Strull noted. \u201cBetween being more capable on the IT side and marketing handing us leads on a daily basis, it\u2019s really fueled the net-new growth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Strull began courting Select Business Systems, little did he know how much he would fall in love with the dealer, the employees and the city of Fresno. Heading into the deal, Strull assumed he would scale down the office and run everything out of Woodland Hills, with select sales people remaining in the area. But the growth has been so unexpectedly robust and the timber of employee so strong that Strull not only maintained the facility and most of its personnel, he\u2019s hired additional staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a short time, GoodSuite has embedded itself into the community. The dealer sponsors the Fresno Grizzlies single-A baseball team (Strull even threw out the first pitch at a game) and recently held a tailgate party prior to a Fresno State football game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re just loving our time up in Fresno,\u201d Strull remarked. \u201cIt\u2019s provided a roadmap for future growth. Fresno has shown us that we can do great things if we pick the right partner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Road to Growth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n That roadmap entails identifying prospective acquisitions that share GoodSuite\u2019s passion for clients and customers alike. Strull is considering adding more copier dealers but doesn\u2019t believe obtaining another IT firm is the key to geographic growth. However, he wouldn\u2019t rule out the possibility of adding another IT specialist. As in Select Business Systems and AOA, he\u2019s seeking a vibrant staff, family-type atmosphere and more all-stars who will help elevate GoodSuite\u2019s game. But organic growth isn\u2019t an afterthought; digital marketing will continue to fuel the net-new pipeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are diversification opportunities as well. The foray into the A\/V space may be complemented by furniture, which Strull is currently exploring with the help of a consultant, while water and janitorial services are long-term options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Strull looks to 2023, geographic and product expansion are the main priorities in pushing GoodSuite to find its better self. \u201cI\u2019m not going to do a revenue projection because we crushed our number by August,\u201d he said. \u201cA big part of 2023 is growing into areas that we\u2019re not in now. And we\u2019re focusing on having happy employees. We want to make every day a fun day so that employees are happy when they wake up and happy to go to work. I seek quality of life above all else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buddies for Life: A Huggable Reminder of What Matters Most in Life<\/strong> Earlier this summer, Dan Strull sat in an Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) L10 meeting along with his senior leadership team at GoodSuite, and he was checking his phone for updates on the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. MLB\u2019s annual midsummer classic culls the greatest players from among the American and National League teams in a battle of the highest-performing individuals, those who have attained the elite ranks. Strull paused and looked about the room at his own \u201cplayers.\u201d It occurred to him that GoodSuite, through savvy drafting (hiring) and strategic trades (acquisitions), had amassed a core of professionals who rank among the industry\u2019s top performers. On the latter front, GoodSuite pulled off a pair of deals in successive years, obtaining Select Business Systems of Fresno, California, and most recently, Strata IT of Los Angeles. The deals enabled GoodSuite to nearly double its revenue to north of $10 million. The upshot is that Woodland Hills, California-based GoodSuite is now poised to compete at a level Strull couldn\u2019t have imagined when he founded the company then known as Copier Headquarters in 1998. And while GoodSuite has been able to carve out a slice of the pie in client-rich Southern California, he has designs on dominating the Golden State by 2025 (dubbed the Conquer California campaign) and believes his star-laden franchise is well equipped for even greater heights. \u201cIt took time to build, and it\u2019s because of the good people we have,\u201d Strull noted. \u201cThey come to work every day and drive us to become better. I think everybody comes to work with a focus on delivering for our customers. They have a clarity in knowing what needs to get done in order to realize the goals we\u2019ve set. So far, it\u2019s been a great ride.\u201d If there were trading cards for all-star office dealers, Strull\u2019s team checklist would include Paul Cooper, president; Brent Portera, the vice president of technology services; Christianne Strull, CFO and Dan\u2019s wife; Jodie Grice, vice president of customer experience; Thomas Chacko, vice president of operations; Stuart Fratkin, executive vice president; Gary Dergazarian, sales; and Greg Smith, director of marketing. The Strata IT \u201ctrade\u201d also added a heavy hitter in the form of Pete Robbins. Needed Hug It wasn\u2019t long following the 2018 name change, on the heels of the company\u2019s 20th anniversary, that fortunes began to truly skyrocket for GoodSuite. Strull turned to a buddy in the branding realm who helped devise the new moniker, a process that involved using the marketing wheel. Strull searched the wheel for descriptors that fit the company\u2019s image, and one was a \u201cmother\u2019s hug,\u201d which he felt was fitting\u2014a call from GoodSuite was like a hug from mom. The friend suggested GoodSuite, and the \u201cIT\u201d embellishment in the name underscores the growing strength of the dealer. \u201cI was walking through the Las Vegas airport when my friend called and said, \u2018I\u2019ve got it, GoodSuite,\u2019\u201d Strull related. \u201cImmediately, I went to GoDaddy on my phone and purchased the domain. It\u2019s been one of the best-received changes we\u2019ve made.\u201d Some of the biggest changes at GoodSuite have transpired within the last 10 years. Strull entered the industry fresh out of USC-Marshall, spending 10 years with Xerox before entering its agency program with Copier Headquarters. He spent 15 years as a Xerox agent before switching over to Sharp in 2015 as an independent dealer\u2014another core change that\u2019s marked GoodSuite\u2019s ascension. From three employees at the onset, GoodSuite\u2019s ranks have swelled to 60, and its offerings have grown to include Konica Minolta and HP. A lion\u2019s share of GoodSuite\u2019s customer base can be found in Southern California\u2014Los Angeles and Ventura County\u2014along with Fresno following the Select Business Systems acquisition. While MFPs are still at the heart of its catalog, tremendous growth continues to surge in managed IT and audio\/visual conference room\/digital displays. GoodSuite also counts managed print, cybersecurity, backup\/disaster recovery and managed VoIP among its primary services. The company witnessed 130% IT growth in 2021, and that figure has already been surpassed this year. Moments in Time Three of the biggest turning points in Strull\u2019s estimation are the addition of Sharp, the hiring of Portera as vice president of IT and the Select Business Systems acquisition; a smaller deal for Advanced Office Automation (AOA) of Ventura has also fortified the dealer\u2019s performance. The Strata IT deal (more on this shortly) has opened even greater avenues for growth and paved the way to a solid 2022. \u201cIt\u2019s been a banner year, a phenomenal one,\u201d Strull said. \u201cWe set a goal for achieving net-new business, and we\u2019ve crushed it already. I didn\u2019t see it coming; it\u2019s been a pleasant surprise. One thing after another has been falling into place. We were down about 13% in 2020, as we saw a couple of clients go out of business and a few switch to completely remote work. But 2021 was a bounce-back year; even with some customers not coming back, we\u2019ve increased volume with our other clients and added a lot of net-new IT clients.\u201d Southern California (and Los Angeles in particular) is a highly fragmented market. Strull resists the urge to take on enterprise business simply because the SMB space here is such fertile ground. Given the region\u2019s wealth of dealer vendors and the lack of a Death Star-level competitor to be feared, organic and acquisitional growth opportunities enable GoodSuite to focus exclusively on California. One of the saving graces on the hardware side is GoodSuite\u2019s rock-solid relationship with Sharp. It\u2019s been mutually beneficial\u2014as the president of the Professional Dealers Group peer organization, Strull has convinced a number of member dealers to take on the Sharp line because of the OEM\u2019s track record in delivering product. GoodSuite is in discussions to acquire a company that\u2019s struggled with its current vendor in obtaining hardware. This dealer (pending completion, Strull will reveal the company at the end of the calendar year) has been besieged by backorders, some of which have been 10 months or more. He believes Sharp has stood out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1643],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51939"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51939"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51949,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51939\/revisions\/51949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Left-to-Right-Paul-Cooper-President-Brent-Portera-VP-Technology-Services-Dan-Strull-CEO-Stuart-Fratkin-Executive-VP.jpg\")
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![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/2022-GoodSuite-Love-Run.jpg\")
including the Love Run<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/2022-Charleston-Presidents-Club-Trip.jpg\")
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Some indelible memories are forever etched in our minds, and for Dan Strull, one such instance occurred when he was strolling through a market in Southern California. A small boy, eight years old or so, appeared in front of him and exclaimed, \u201cHey, you\u2019re that guy from the bear company.\u201d
It matters not that Strull is the CEO of GoodSuite, a growing multi-million dollar office technology dealership in California. That\u2019s trounced all day long by the recognition from a youngster\u2014whose parent is in the military and deployed in defense of our country\u2014who was likely the recipient of a Battalion Buddy Bear. It was a humbling, moving and meaningful moment, one Strull is not likely to forget.
\u201cThat was, like, the greatest moment of my life,\u201d Strull said, emotion lining his words. \u201cTo give back to those who fight for you every day\u2026it\u2019s what drives us. And it\u2019s so much fun.\u201d
Strull, whose father served in the Army, happened upon Operation Gratitude while seeking out organizations his dealership could support. Operation Gratitude is a non-profit organization best known for assembling and delivering 100,000 care packages each year to U.S. service members deployed in hostile regions across the globe. The group also supports veterans, first responders, Wounded Warriors and their caregivers.
After donating a copier and tech service to Operation Gratitude, Strull inquired as to what other ways he could offer support. Volunteering to do the care packages was an option that was appealing, but what really grabbed his attention was the Battalion Buddy Bears. The volunteer participant purchases the skins and stuffing, then assembles the bears that are distributed to the children of deployed service personnel. An accompanying note thanks the child for allowing his\/her parent to protect our country.
\u201cWe really ran with it,\u201d Strull noted. \u201cThen we did a program in which for every GoodSuite order we received, we built a bear in that customer\u2019s name, so the tag would show our name and the client\u2019s name. Then we started doing bear-building parties at schools and other companies. We\u2019ve built thousands of bears; we\u2019ve kind of become experts at it.\u201d
During the company\u2019s 20th anniversary celebration, Strull brought in 300 kids in a massive building party that yielded thousands of bears. GoodSuite has aligned with other organizations that support individuals who put themselves in harm\u2019s way for others, such as Grateful Hearts, which salutes first responders. And Strull reimburses employees who pick up the checks for service members they encounter dining in restaurants. But Battalion Buddy Bears hold a special place in Strull\u2019s heart.
\u201cLiving is giving. That\u2019s one of our core values,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s something we think about on a daily basis. It reminds us of what matters most.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"