Excel Business Solutions, Inc., Mason City

The Iowa Small Business Development Center at North Iowa Area Community College helped David Ries develop a business plan, create financial statements including cash flow analysis, and work on human relations issues in order to obtain financing to expand and relocate his business solutions company.

David Ries was an experienced sales person in an office solutions company in Northern Iowa for almost seven years, where he dealt mainly with office equipment. After leaving that company he spent a year working for a commercial printer. An entrepreneur to the core, David is a self-starter and an excellent sales person, so he decided to form his own company – one that sells Xerox and other products and other products.

Taking advantage of his extensive experience, he acquired the rights to the Xerox sales territory for Northern Iowa. He opened his business, Excel Business Solutions, Inc., in December 2010 with one full-time and one part-time employee.

Business was great but David decided he needed to expand and add additional staff in order to continue growing. Hearing by word of mouth about the services offered by the Iowa Small Business Development Center at North Iowa Area Community College (SBDC), David went to the SBDC for advice and assistance.

SBDC Regional Director Ted Bair helped David create a business plan, develop necessary financial statements, analyze projected cash flows, and work on his company’s human resources policies.  The SBDC helped David secure a $2,500 NanoLoan from the NIACC NanoLoan Program and a $25,000 loan from the USDA Revolving Loan Fund so he could hire additional employees and expand his business.

David is very grateful for the advice and assistance he received from the Iowa Small Business Development Center, saying, “The SBDC has been instrumental in our growth and we would not be where we are today without them.”

Because of the company’s high performance, in late 2012 David had an opportunity to acquire the Xerox sales agency in Rochester, Minnesota. He took the chance and opened his second location in January 2013. Luckily he needed no additional financing to do so. His company’s growth has been exceptional – 2012 sales increased more than fifty percent over its 2011 sales. In addition, David has expanded his market, created a couple new sales positions, and increased profitability by more than 50%. Through quarter one of 2013 the company has already sold over $300,000 of Xerox products. He now employs a total of three full-time people in his two locations, and wants to add two more positions immediately.

Along with selling Xerox products, Excel Business Solutions, Inc. provides managed print services for businesses in Northern Iowa and Southern Minnesota. His company provides direct consulting on these expanded print services and contractually engages customers for Xerox products, maintenance, and service.

For more information on this highly successful business solutions company, visit www.excelbsolutions.com.

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