The addition of local talent and experience has positioned the dealership for continued success.
Two years ago, Shore Business Solutions President George Krebs was at a crossroads. With his Farmingdale, New Jersey, dealership’s 40th anniversary approaching in 2020, he knew it was time to consider passing the baton off to the next generation. Though he has two sons, both had chosen careers outside the office imaging industry. Committed to Shore’s employees and customers, Krebs looked locally for a potential partner to develop a succession plan. He didn’t need to look far.
Above: George Krebs and Chris Wolowitz in Shore’s newly renovated showroom.
Only minutes down the road on the Jersey Shore, Chris Wolowitz was simultaneously looking for his next business opportunity. After spending his career developing a solid skillset in the imaging industry—logging 13 years at Ricoh, followed by positions at TGI Office Automation and United Business Systems—Wolowitz wanted to work closer to home and become more involved in his own community. He had known of Shore Business throughout his career, driving past the dealership often en route to his past offices, He had even met Krebs in passing several years earlier at a local Chamber of Commerce event, but viewed him more as a competitor at that time.
In June 2018, Krebs and Wolowitz sat down at a local diner to begin getting to know each other, as well as discuss the future of Shore. By the end of the meeting, Krebs felt confident he had found his successor, and Wolowitz knew he had found a partner and the opportunity to expand a local dealership within his own community.
“I hadn’t met anyone or any company that I was interested in partnering with, or to be bought out by,” said Krebs. “When I met Chris that day in June, that was the break I was looking for. We just seemed to hit it off right away. We had a lot of meetings and a lot of discussions, and each one was easier than the one before.”
An Inspired Partnership
In January 2019, Wolowitz joined Shore Business Solutions as vice president and co-owner and has been working through the succession plan with Krebs, with the intent of a full leadership and ownership transition to Wolowitz over the next two to three years.
“As a salesperson, you meet people every day, you sit across the table from them, and within the first few minutes, you know how the meeting is going to go,” said Wolowitz. “I felt comfortable from the first second I sat down with George that day. George is probably the most genuine person I’ve met. The integrity that George brings to the table in any decision for the organization is something in our industry that we don’t see as much as I see every day here. From what we both believe in, and we both stand for, it was obvious how we did mesh and gel very quickly.”
Above: Shore staff in the dealership’s back parking lot celebrating the dealership’s 40th Anniversary while social distancing on May 1st 2020.
Wolowitz stepped into a successful, mature business, established diligently by Krebs and the dealership’s original owner over four decades. Shore Business has been a longtime partner of Sharp, and the dealership has a legendary, working Sharp 740 in its office. The customer base was just as loyal and satisfied by Shore’s products and services, as exemplified by the fact that one of the customers that bought a 740 in the 80s is still one of Shore’s clients.
“We have lots of accounts that have been with us 20, 25, 30, 35 years,” said Krebs. “That speaks to our family approach to doing things, the fact that we live and work right where all our customers are, so we have accountability by living where we work. Same for employees. We just celebrated the 20th anniversary for one gentleman here. Our service manager has been here 35 years, and nearly everyone has been here for at least eight years.”
Shore Business also sells products by Kyocera, KIP wide format, and Muratec, and is an authorized Brother service center. The dealership also offers MBM finishing products, folders, paper-cutters, and shredders.
When Wolowitz joined Shore, he envisioned something more, a sure-footed evolution for the company, one that would build on Shore’s solid foundation. Wolowitz’s initial impact on Shore Business was immediately visible. He initiated a complete renovation and redesign of Shore’s office space, as well as its business logo and apparel, to give the dealership a new look and feel, creating a true brand.
“It’s invigorated everyone here,” said Krebs. “I’d say the biggest change in this company is the attitude. Chris and [his wife] Danielle have brought a whole new attitude and youthful perspective to things. Their enthusiasm has rubbed off on everyone here, and I think up to this moment, it’s been their greatest contribution and they have a lot more to offer here.”
Between Monmouth and Ocean counties alone, Shore Business has more than 900 accounts. While the dealership excelled at managing the core MFP line, it had not expanded into MPS, wide-format printers, and other “bolt-on services” with other solutions tied in.
Above: Gary Grant, service manager and Doug Campbell, project manager in Shore’s newly renovated and organized parts room.
“There are a lot of opportunities right there in front of us,” said Wolowitz. “These are the future. I come from a production background, and while we’re not yet strong in this area, it’s something that will be very important. In the past, in sales, production always helped to get me to my numbers more quickly. Now that I’m an owner, I’m looking at annuity streams, the long term, the things that will prolong the value and integrity of the company itself, as opposed to being paid on a deal and just continuing to sell more and more products.”
Viewed as a trusted partner in the community, Shore’s customers are asking for more IT-based services, and Wolowitz is committed to deepening those relationships with those services. In this vein, Wolowitz and Krebs mapped a plan to invest in one of Shore’s tenured technicians, who has a strong IT background. This technician has dedicated the better part of the last year learning and studying for his Microsoft certified solutions expert (MCSE) exam.
“We now have someone on our staff to build out that [IT] program, along with Danielle, to expand,” said Wolowitz. “Whether or not we look at Collabrance or Continuum, companies everyone is looking at, or building within, and determining what’s best for our company, the future is IT services, production, and we can’t forget about moving the machines that are paying the rent and keeping the lights on everyday here. There are a lot of ideas that swirl in my head every night, but what I’ve learned is you really need to have the process first before you jump in so you don’t lose money on a bad investment or lose customers in the meanwhile.”
Shore’s customer base comprises mainly small-business entrepreneurs. They are a 10-person CPA firm, or a 15-person law firm. Shore Business is not looking to build its own network operating center (NOC), instead the dealership is looking to partner.
Expanding Growth
In Wolowitz’s first year with Shore, the dealership posted over 30% organic growth, purely driven by new ideas and selling opportunities. For 2020, Krebs and Wolowitz set Shore’s goals high, and until mid-March, when COVID-19 grounded business to a halt, the dealership had been well ahead of its first- quarter goals.
On March 30, Shore Business pushed ahead with bringing on three new salespeople to help the dealership keep up with its healthy growth. With quarantine orders across New Jersey and most of the U.S. in place, the entire staff at Shore Business has spent the past two months ramping up on training, taking advantage of online sessions offered by in-house leaders and the company’s OEM partners, most notably, Sharp and Kyocera.
Leading the charge in employee development is Danielle Wolowitz, director of business operations, formerly of Kyocera Document Solutions America, as well one of The Cannata Report’s 2015 Women Influencers and Chris’ wife. She is also spearheading Shore’s operations and marketing initiatives, including enhancing the dealership’s social media presence and online content.
Above: Chris and Danielle Wolowitz in Shore’s new sales bullpen.
“With the exposure I’ve had working with dealers like Shore Business, across the entire country, I’ve learned a lot,” said Danielle, who left Kyocera in December 2019 to join her husband at Shore Business. “I’ve sat in meetings and have seen things from all different perspectives, from really small dealerships that are a third of the size of what we are, up through the $100-million-plus dealers. I’ve had the pleasure and benefit to hear and learn how they feel this industry is going. I think that knowledge base and that network of people I can lean on have been a huge help.”
Danielle’s network has been pivotal in informing some of Shore’s expansion, including hiring and recruiting. Danielle has been able to call other dealers, outside their own market, to ask for their insight and advice as Shore Business has looked to grow and bolster its team.
Coming from the OEM side, Danielle has a firm understanding of the resources that manufacturers can provide.
“I’m trying to show our team that we are not just a company based in central Jersey,” said Danielle. “I’m trying to show them the breadth and scope of what our manufacturers can do.”
With their dedicated family approach, Krebs and Chris and Danielle Wolowitz are excited for the future of the industry and for Shore Business.
“In Ocean County, everyone knows our name, but we can take on more within those boundaries or even outside,” said Krebs. “There are a lot of successful businesses out there, but we’ve done it with integrity and a good family approach with a crew that’s been with us forever, and customers that have been with us forever. I think it speaks volumes about an old-fashioned way of doing business. It’s going to be me handing off this old-fashioned, entrenched family business to Chris and Danielle. Their basic values are right in line with that, but they have the latest and greatest ideas and the connections to take this business to the next level.”
For Chris Wolowitz it’s turned out to be much more than being in the right place at the right time.
“It couldn’t have been a better scenario,” he said. “We’ve found a great partner.”
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