Most people go through life looking for answers. George Spears, on the other hand, goes through life looking for questions. His Myers-Briggs results proclaim him a researcher at heart, and anyone with the opportunity to observe his lived manner and style would confirm the edict. Now the President of Equipment Solutions Inc., a manufacturer representative company serving the DC metro area and specializing in the restaurant industry, George’s unique deliberation in goal achievement centers on the development of an intricate sequence of what-if questions and helpful hypotheticals.
In much the same way Michelangelo stared at his block of marble for weeks on end before creating the Statue of David, George develops sophisticated mental constructs and considerations before setting to work in stone. The mental acrobatics of the strategy may be protracted and exhausting, but in the end, masterpieces are born.
Taking a peak under the hood, Equipment Solutions is, at first glance, a sales and marketing firm. Digging a little deeper, however, one finds elements of a manufacturer’s rep firm and a brokerage model at play in the mix as well. The company’s business model aims to resell products from high-quality manufacturers through a virtual sales force of five hundred representatives overseen by five managers working from 170 independent dealer firms dispersed throughout the region. Equipped with this small army, the company effectively coordinates the efforts of dealers selling products, consultants and architects designing buildings, and larger chains like the Marriott Corporation, orchestrating both successful relationships and profitable transactions.
What truly makes Equipment Solutions stand out against the backdrop of its competition is the organization lent through its infrastructure, which has been built up at a steady pace over the past three years. Their office is now outfitted to swiftly intake and output exceptionally high volumes, operating as leanly as possible. George has helped to define and promote these outstanding qualities through his focused attention on organizational development through sound infrastructure and team building.
When George graduated from Washington & Lee University in 1982 with a liberal arts degree, he would never have guessed how his future would unfold. “I was a typical kid with little direction. Nothing in college had particularly clicked for me,” he admits. Without a specific path in mind, he accepted a position as a project manager for a firm that built commercial kitchens. His five years at the company lent tremendous experience, allowing him to work on a number of large projects in New York and DC. Coincidentally, he came to learn about the various manufacturers he now works with through these projects, and it was only a matter of time before they approached him to see if he had any interest in transitioning over to the sales side of the industry. After earning his MBA from Marymount University in 1990, that’s precisely what he did.
George’s first experience in the manufacturer’s rep business came in the form of an independent contractor position, which quickly evolved into a partnership opportunity. During the next eleven years, he served as a Principal for both Mid-Atlantic Marketing Agents, Inc. and Target Distributing, Inc. These firms served as manufacturers’ representatives, a regional distributor, and coordinated installation experts nationwide. These early experiences provided an abundance of growth opportunities, and George gained nuanced expertise until one of his business partners decided to move on in 2001.
The equity of the companies was liquidated, and George seized the day by co-founding Equipment Solutions. With the promise and opportunity of a clean slate, he and his partner envisioned an enterprise that operated as a pure outsourcing sales and marketing company free of the ancillary activity that had weighed down their past businesses. Additionally, they started a healthcare rep firm known as Facilities Services, Inc. This company translated the skills and services provided by their other endeavors into a different industry, which quickly evolved into a Restaurant Equipment Dealership and was spun off shortly thereafter to avoid any potential conflict of interest.
“I’m a very visual guy and a very transactional guy. I was fascinated with the process of putting an organization together and the way a volume of sales is channeled through it.”
With a finance and business background, George’s emergence on and subsequent mastery of the restaurant business presents an astounding contrast. Though he had always enjoyed the practice and art involved in both creating and consuming a culinary project, it was the general business framework rather than the specific industry that first captivated him. “An opportunity was presented to me that just happened to be in the restaurant industry, and I was intrigued by the model and by the concept of volume,” he remembers. “I’m a very visual guy and a very transactional guy. I was fascinated with the process of putting an organization together and the way a volume of sales is channeled through it.”
“You bet on the roll,” says George. “When I first got into [the business], I didn’t have two nickels to scrape together.”
Though well equipped with solid industry knowledge, starting a company does not come without sacrifice. “You bet on the roll,” says George. “When I first got into [the business], I didn’t have two nickels to scrape together.” His start-up strategy was relatively straightforward: betting that if they worked hard, their sales pipeline would outpace their expense pipeline at some point and they would break even. The bet paid off.
For Equipment Solutions, break-even came ten months after first opening its doors. Shortly afterward, George continued to advance the business model by merging the enterprise with a company that specialized in furnishing and decorative aspects to create a highly diversified rep firm. The culmination of these moves results in a firm that today serves to bring buyers and sellers together and to act as a key player in the transactional process that ensues.
In many ways, the business George has chiseled out resembles a living body with its various pivotal facets. The strong infrastructure provides a skeletal framework, while the heart and lifeblood of the company is customer service and relationship building. The entity is then completed by the management of information, keeping internal records of all the facts and figures that affect the players they work with and monitoring them closely.
Analyzing the numbers weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, and by year-to-date, George delineates patterns indicating whether they’re keeping stride or not. In essence, he tracks the inhale, exhale, and heartbeat of the enterprise.
Since its inception in 2002, Equipment Solutions has evolved from six manufacturers to twenty-four. Sales have undergone a similar amplification, leaping from four to five million dollars in its first year of business to thirteen million today. This upward trajectory stems in large part from its consistent focus on diversifying its product portfolio and then providing its salespeople with responsive and comprehensive support. Whether it’s organizational, design, technical, or sales assistance, the ultimate aim is to provide a complete toolset for smooth transactions from inception to completion.
“We all have our own personal goals,” he acknowledges. “Mine is to do something larger. I’ve had a taste of what it’s like to develop a business, and I want to take this to the next level.”
Despite such incontrovertible success thus far, George’s story is far from finished. “We all have our own personal goals,” he acknowledges. “Mine is to do something larger. I’ve had a taste of what it’s like to develop a business, and I want to take this to the next level.” With its infrastructure intact and streamlined, Equipment Solutions is poised to plug other components into its process quite seamlessly. As such, the company’s horizon is far from certain.
As George would quickly remind us, however, success does not occur in isolation. Considering his propensity for gathering and synthesizing new information, it comes as no surprise that he is particularly drawn to leadership groups. Having participated in such organizations for the past two years, he has had the invaluable opportunity to survey and analyze a vast array of people he would otherwise never have met. “Being exposed to so many different ideas has been such an eye-opener,” he stresses. “I’ve had a chance to see how different business models and best practices work within big and small companies, and all from a leadership perspective.”
By supplementing these experiences with his own reading and research, he considers the current epoch of his life to be somewhat of an apprenticeship—a time for him to observe and absorb to see how it all works.
Perhaps the most profound impact this research inclination has had on Equipment Solutions is its propensity for genuine reflection. With a leadership philosophy that revolves around open-mindedness, George holds it paramount to examine all possible courses of action in the face of a particular end-gain. “My style is to make sure that all questions are asked before a decision is made,” he confirms.
“It is a path toward credibility,” George explains. “Everybody ends up sharing the same goal, and if someone falls off, it’s easier to collectively pull them back on board.”
This is attained through posing a vast array of “why” and “what if” queries aimed at uncovering and weighing the theoretical underpinnings of each and every decision. Not only does this process lead to an educated and sound outcome, but it also inspires strong commiseration and support from others involved. “It is a path toward credibility,” George explains. “Everybody ends up sharing the same goal, and if someone falls off, it’s easier to collectively pull them back on board.”
The what-if game is applicable not only in day-to-day decision making, but also in the grand scheme of a life’s trajectory. Despite his characteristic laid-back demeanor, he demands a full-blown inquisition in this regard, particularly when young entrepreneurs find themselves entering the workforce. “First, ask yourself very pointedly what your end-gain is. Then ask why? Why, why, why?” he emphasizes. “Next, ask yourself if you have the aspiration to own your own business or if the corporate world is more up your alley. Do some serious soul-searching; some serious why-asking.”
Thus, the constant theme radiating through George’s strategy and influence is to start with the end in mind in order to conceptualize of your immediate options. In other words, don’t set a chisel to your marble before you have a complete and radiating image of David in your mind’s eye. After all, it is precisely this ability to start with an envisioned end-gain and work backward that truly allows us to move forward in our professions and our lives.
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