Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Zisek.
Mark, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I had an Entrepreneur class as part of my MBA program at NYU Stern School of Business. I commuted to school via train. My Professor happened to be on my train in and out of New York City. During those rides, he instilled in me that if you find a need you personally have, there are 300 million+ Americans and most likely a large percentage will have a similar need. That then is the basis of your business.
Fast forward 5 years and I was at an industry trade show and through happen-stance, ended up talking to the person who had one of the more unique promotions: Open a “faux” door with your hotel room key card and win a giant prize. She mentioned how hard it was and I thought “how hard could that be”?
A few years later, a friend and I were talking about businesses and we decided to pursue this. It took quite a few cold calls and hotel visits to understand the industry. One big learning was that to get the trade show and meeting business as customers, we needed to work with the hotels on their everyday keys. So, we flipped our business model and that is now all we focus on. We have also expanded our product offering to include key holders, notepads, pens, Do Not Disturb and other signs.
We have grown to 10+ people (plus some contractors) that help manage the company day to day, which services almost 1,000 hotel customers around the world. This includes quite a few in San Diego.
Has it been a smooth road?
It certainly hasn’t been easy.
Both my former partner and I started the business in our spare time and had to make a big decision to leave our Corporate jobs and pursue this.
We also struggle with normal growing pains – maintaining the same level of customer service with 100 customers, as with 1,000. We have had some failed hires and also work too many hours, but enjoy the business and that makes these “bumps” easier to manage.
In our continued evolution and to improve some of these struggles, we are in the midst of a massive automation project which we hope to have in place early 2018. This will vastly improve internal efficiencies and customer communications.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Front Desk Supply is focused on the hospitality industry with an offering of key cards, key holders, notepads, pens, in-room signs (Do Not Disturb signs, etc), as well as marketing materials (business cards, postcards, etc) and other paper and plastic products.
We are very highly focused on our customers and while many say that, we mean it. We have quite a few customers that we end up developing personal relationships with and regularly go the extra mile to ensure their satisfaction.
To that end, we offer complimentary graphics services and our wealth of industry knowledge to help our customers make their hotels more memorable with their guests. We have short leads times and are focused on custom products. We also stock a variety of generic products (can be ordered by any hotel) should our customers need something faster. We also focus on operational efficiency so that we can keep our prices competitive.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Yes, San Diego is a great place for business. First, for a hospitality supplier, there are so many hotels that cover the range of the industry – small, medium, and large; branded hotels and independent hotels. In addition, there is a booming and year-round tourist business.
That tourist business is aided by both the San Diego (and regional within San Diego) Chamber of Commerce as well as the San Diego Visitors Bureau. We have been members of each at various times and think both offer great networking as well as opportunities to get business advice and other partnership connections.
Further, we have used SCORE and other similar organizations to gain insight on specific topics and having that wealth of experience easily available is a great resource. There are also quite a few business incubators and office space companies to cover every need.
I would certainly recommend this as a city for business, though one big improvement would be a better mass transit system to enable saving time in traffic which seems to be moving more in the direction of Los Angeles which I avoid at all costs.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3830 Valley Centre Drive
STE 705, #142
San Diego, CA 92130 - Website: www.frontdesksupply.com
- Phone: 888-859-2061
- Email: info@frontdesksupply.com
Image Credit:
Front Desk Supply
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