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BIO: Jeffrey Meltzer – Founder & President, Applied Ergonomics
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onJeffrey Meltzer is founder and president of Applied Ergonomics, a Chicago-based leader in ergonomic office solutions, specializing in design and consultative services. With more than 30 years in the ergonomic furniture industry, Meltzer has redefined traditional contract furniture dealerships and created a full-service concept in Applied Ergonomics, the only U.S.-based contract furniture dealership that also provides ergonomic product specialization (ErgoVAR) and consultancy.
Tell me about your early career.
I entered the world of ergonomic furniture 30 years ago. After
graduating from Michigan with an undergraduate major in Business
Administration, I had a few different careers as I looked to find the
right fit. I spent 5 years as a market maker on the CBOE. I worked for
my family in our large retail business, which has since gone out of
business, and also did residential rehabbing and commercial contracting.
At that point in my life, I was looking to shift my focus into
something that combined all of these skills but also dealt with wellness
and made a difference in people’s lives, and it just so happened that
one of my brother’s best friends was a doctor who was funding a startup
called Back Care Incorporated. I started working with them doing
ergonomic furniture design and sales, something that was fairly unheard
of 30 years ago. We were selling ergonomic furniture, primarily chairs
and computer accessories, and my work there allowed me the experience of
getting versed in ergonomic furniture, while also utilizing my business
background.
How did the concept for Applied Ergonomics come about?
As Back Care Incorporated started to fail from management errors, I
decided to go into business for myself. That decision also gave me an
opportunity to expand into entire office design. My first project was a
whopper – furnishing the corporate offices of Boston Chicken, aka Boston
Market, which was moving from Naperville, Illinois to a new campus in
Golden, Colorado. They were a very dynamic organization, moving people
and furniture at a very high rate each year. They wanted a product with
revolutionary capabilities and I had their solution. This project, and a
few others in our early years, catapulted Applied Ergonomics into the
limelight as a top-tier furniture dealer. We’ve continued to embrace
revolutionary practices and product lines to maintain our spot atop of
that list.
How was the first year in business?
Winning that first project with Boston Chicken was a huge boost for us.
At the time, I was still operating the business out of my house. The
corporate relocation took over three years and included designing office
space and workstations for more than 1,100 employees. From there, we
went on to win a major succession of large corporate projects and just
kept moving the company forward. We experienced some major growth in
that first year and continue to do so.
What was your marketing strategy?
We’ve always had two sides to our business, the ergonomic consultancy
and the contract furniture dealership. We partnered with the
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, a division of Northwestern
Memorial, and other occupational therapists to serve their patients.
These referrals often lead to working with the organization on all of
their furniture needs, whether ergonomic in nature or not. We were also
early adopters of online search engine optimization and pay-per-click
advertising.
How fast did the company grow during the first few years?
From nothing to what we’ve become; it all happened right away. All while
I was working out of my basement with only one employee. Not long
after, we added our second employee.
What is special about your business and industry?
I love that our business has an impact on our clients in so many ways.
With ergonomic interventions, I can literally take someone out of pain. I
have even kept people out of invasive surgery. That’s a very immediate
and direct impact that we have on improving people’s lives. But, in our
primary business of designing and furnishing spaces, we make a
significant impact as well. We help organizations define and enhance
their corporate culture, lifting attitudes both within and outside the
organization. We improve productivity, collaboration and space
utilization. And, we do it while helping to improve the environment with
sustainable and recycled content, using vendors that employ green
manufacturing practices. Of course, we use ergonomic principles and
products to improve everyone’s health and well being whenever possible.
How do you define success?
I define success in a couple of ways, both interim and long term.
Ultimately, I define financial success as building a company that is
saleable, that can survive without me. I haven’t achieved that yet but
we’re well on the way to doing so. Interimly, I define success as
supporting my family and taking care of my employees generously. I also
define success from our clients’ perspective. We are in a business that
is fraught with opportunities to make mistakes that impact our clients;
the fact that we have so many long-term customers who entrust us with
their businesses is a testament to our success.
What is the key to success?
What’s been the key for us so far really comes down to the care that we
put into each project. Each client is entrusting us with not only a
large sum of money but also the ability of their organization to
function, and function well. If a client is moving and we don’t perform,
it’s not pretty. There are no second chances to get it right. So we
treat each customer with the care and concern that we would for our best
friends. We go through every detail multiple times, and when mistakes
do happen, we get them corrected quickly.
What is the greatest lesson you’ve ever learned?
You only have one name, and we live in a very small community, so be the best version of yourself.
What are some quotes that you live by?
I live by the quote “live and let live” every day. No one has the right
to impose their morality on others and most who try to are hypocritical.
What are some of your favorite books?
I read a combination of business, personal growth books and novels. I’m
especially fond of Daniel Silva’s fictional character, Gabriel Allon, an
Israeli assassin/spy who was recruited to avenge the Munich Olympics
massacre. He goes on to work on many complex assignments that are
well-researched and written and are very quick reads.
Tell me about one of the toughest days you’ve had as an entrepreneur.
When I first went into business, I aligned my company with a
revolutionary young manufacturer, Teknion, and grew to be doing 25
percent of their Midwest volume while still operating out of my home
office. I soon moved into a new office and filled it with Teknion
furniture as display, at which time they decided to change their
distribution model exclusive to only larger firms and cut us as a
dealer. My entire customer base was filled with furniture that I could
no longer sell. I lost almost all of my business overnight. That was the
greatest challenge I’ve ever faced.
When faced with adversity, what pushes you to keep moving forward?
Rolling over and quitting has never been an option. I started Applied
Ergonomics the year my wife gave birth to our first daughter. Failure
was never in my mind.
What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs?
I love the business that I’m in but I would advise a young entrepreneur
to invest in a business that has two specific features, which of course,
mine does not. First, while we have many repeat customers, they don’t
need us with any frequency. Start a business that has longevity working
with the same people, where new sales mean that you are adding accounts
that will maintain a consistent revenue stream; so sales wins are
accretive rather than transactional. Second, try to find a business that
is somewhat insulated from recessions. No business is entirely, but
ours is the first to get cut and among the last to get re-budgeted.
Original Article posted at UnderdogNYC: http://underdog.nyc/jeffrey-meltzer