Opinion: Lasermonks combines business with faith

But recently I encountered an intriguing success story in Father Bernard McCoy, a Cistercian monk who has turned a pressing economic need into a growing business empire under the name of Lasermonks.com.

Nucifora: What was the genesis of the idea behind Lasermonks?

Father McCoy: Contrary to popular belief, monasteries are required to be self-supporting.

We had moved to a new location and were just in the process of looking for a new income source to support ourselves.

In the middle of all this, I needed a toner cartridge for my printer. It just struck me how incredibly expensive a bunch of black dust was.

I said to myself, “This is way too expensive. There has to be a better way.” I started poking around and discovered a better way and thought, “If I can save this kind of money for a small monastery like ours, just think how much I could save nonprofits, schools, etc.”

Nucifora: Just toner cartridges?

Father McCoy: In the beginning it was just toner. These cartridges for ink jet printers are so expensive, with mark-ups ranging from 500 percent to 3,000 percent. I approached the nonbrand-name vendors, those who make the remanufactured cartridges, and told them who I was and what I was thinking.

They said, “Oh, Father, you’ve got something here, and you can’t stop with just the nonprofit sector. You’ve got to offer this to everybody! You could have major market share if you play your cards right.”

We started out marketing ink jet and toner cartridges in the fall of 2002.

We expanded the next year to include brand name imaging products, everything from printers to fax machines, and people started asking us if we had paper clips, pens, etc.

That developed last year into offering a full line of office products, 40,000 items, everything you could get at any of the major office supply retailers.

Nucifora: How big is your support staff?

Father McCoy: There are the three brothers and we currently have six people here on the property who handle administrative and financial functions.

Nucifora: 2005 revenues – what are you projecting?

Father McCoy: I’m expecting somewhere in the $4 (million) to $5 million range. We did $2,000 in 2002, our kick-off year, $150,000 in 2003 and last year it was about $2.3 million.

Nucifora: How did you get your first order?

Father McCoy: I think it was a local church, because that was our best first target … Catholic entities. We started there because it was easiest to get in the door.

I knew that in this business, the hardest part was going to be getting in the door. For us, it was different because of who we are. Our branding, so to speak, is unique and untouchable.

Nucifora: So there was no professional help initially … attorneys, accountants, etc.

Essentially you got the idea, sold it internally and then rolled it out?

Father McCoy: Of course, after we got going we saw that there was major potential, so we sat down with our attorney and tax adviser to determine how we wanted to structure this.

The nonprofit Abbey, a 501c(3), owns Lasermonks Inc., which is a for-profit corporation.

That’s important, because initially people were saying “no wonder you can do it cheaper; you don’t pay taxes.” That’s absolutely not true. We pay taxes just like everybody else.

Nucifora: Except your profits are going to charity, are they not?

Father McCoy: Exactly. The profits from the corporate entity are.

Nucifora: Do customers treat you differently or cut you slack because you’re a monk and represent a religious order?

Father McCoy: I think they do. It gets us in the door. And one of the nice things that distinguishes Lasermonks from other companies is the focus that we place on what we call our commerce hospitality.

The monastic life has a 900-year tradition of monastic hospitality … every guest is received as Christ himself. We translate that monastic hospitality into commerce hospitality by treating every client, customer or vendor with genuine human dignity.

Nucifora: What’s the key element of your positioning?

Father McCoy: Our tagline really says it all … “Real savings, real monks, supporting real people.” Yes, you’re saving money, so, from the business perspective, you’re going to win.

On top of that, we use the profits to do good things and you can’t go wrong with that.

Nucifora: So the bulk of your business, I assume, is still with religious institutions?

Father McCoy: Actually, no. We had a lot of individual customer business that was initially fueled by a lot of good media we received.

But now our business is coming from the small- to medium-business sector and with a specific focus on corporate contracts and institutional business.

Nucifora: Theoretically, you are a highly profitable business?

Father McCoy: Yes, we are.

Nucifora: Would you ever sell the company?

Father McCoy: No. We’ve already gotten a few inquiries. The difference is that we can’t sell it and enjoy royalty-based revenues. … It’s because of who we are that we are doing so well.

And if we sold to a private company, at some point Lasermonks would lose its underlying foundation because there would be no monks involved.

Alf Nucifora is a California-based marketing consultant.

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