The Supply Shop's owners approach one-year milestone

The Supply Shop, 535 N. West Bypass, Ste. E, offers toner cartridges for printers, copiers and fax machines, as well as toner equipment for postage and banking hardware. “Our main focus is the remanufactured cartridges. We try to keep them out of landfills and save people money,” said Thomas, noting that The Supply Shop’s remanufactured cartridges sell for 30 percent to 50 percent less than new cartridges.

Thomas and Pratt met casually through a pool league Pratt managed and Thomas played in with her husband.

Eventually, the duo ended up working together at a Branson office-equipment supply store that has since closed.

Pratt met The Supply Shop Founder Terry Holcom when she was rebuilding cartridges for a Republic company, and when she heard that he was ready to retire and close up shop, she seized the chance, enlisting Thomas to join her in ownership.

Pratt and Thomas said they invested roughly $30,000 to buy the company, with funding coming from Pratt’s pocket and a small loan from Regions Bank.

Holcom, who started the company in his Highlandville home and moved it to Nixa in 2005, remains in contact with Pratt and Thomas, offering his expertise on postal meters and mailing equipment. “They know their laser printers and copiers as far as toners go, but they were new to the mailing machines side of (the business),” Holcom said. “They’ve grown quite a bit since buying the business.”

These days, the business is essentially a two-woman shop, though Pratt and Thomas have a delivery driver and independent sales rep in Bolivar.

Balancing roles

Pratt and Thomas are equal owners of the business, and they don’t get hung up on using particular titles.

“It doesn’t matter, because we both have a job to do,” Pratt said.

Thomas’ forte is in sales, and she spends her time making cold calls to businesses and using connections from networking groups to build the company’s customer base.

Thomas said roughly 90 percent of The Supply Shop’s customers are in southwest Missouri – a fact that led the duo to move the business from Nixa to its current home in the Wilson Center on West Bypass after their purchase. “We chose this location because we deliver to our customers, and we don’t need a walk-in shop,” Thomas said.

“We kept the overhead low so the pricing could be low.”

Outside southwest Missouri, The Supply Shop has customers in California, Florida, Texas and Virginia, and Thomas hopes to add other nationwide clients through www.thesupplyshoponline.com.

The work of maintaining The Supply Shop’s cartridge inventory, meanwhile, falls to Pratt, and the company strives for next-day shipping.

“I actually break them all the way down, replace all the parts inside them, test them and sell them,” she said, noting that some customers are surprised to learn that she’s responsible for the hands-on work.

Solid sales

Beyond remanufactured cartridges, The Supply Shop also performs repairs for its customers, including Angela Tate, front-desk manager for the Radisson Hotel in Branson.

“We call them and they come … very quickly. They’re very efficient,” and they do a good job, Tate said. “You don’t know when your printer’s going to break down, and usually they need it right back up, and they come and they come and take care of it.”

Thomas said the business has the capability to offer general office supplies to customers, but she isn’t happy with the logistics yet.

“I want things to be easy for the customer,” she said. “Customers … have to get a part number, call me so I can look it up and call them back … and it’s just a big hassle. … Until we can find an easier way to market those products, we’re not even going to get into that.” In the meantime, the duo is staying plenty busy with the Supply Shop’s core cartridge business.

With an average of $13,000 in sales each month, Pratt and Thomas expect to end their first year with $150,000 in revenues. “That’s … if we don’t bring on any more clients, which is not going to happen,” Thomas said.

Pratt noted that with school orders, she’s probably sent out at least 250 rebuilt cartridges in the last month.

“There’s been times when it would have been nice to have (another employee) in here,” Pratt said. “I’ve tried to hire a couple of people, but they just don’t put the same quality into it.”

While Pratt and Thomas would like to add a few employees, another goal they have is to attend the 2009 International Imaging Technology Council in Las Vegas. Their biggest goal, however, is more long-term.

“I’d like to be a chain, eventually,” Thomas said.[[In-content Ad]]