From Salesman to CEO
Drive, thick skin and a customer-focused approach propelled Brandon Guzman’s quick rise in the industry.
You could say I grew up fast. I was a latchkey kid from Puerto Rico with a single mom. I didn’t have any rules. If anything, that fueled my drive to create something, succeed at something.
After moving to Cleveland, Ohio, with my mother, I attended a local Catholic school and was always searching for ways to make money. At age 13, as an eager eighth grader, I officially joined the workforce as a bag boy at the Heinens—a popular local grocery chain. I walked to work after school and worked as long as they would let me. That job taught me a lot about work ethic.
Entrepreneurial Spirit Emerges Early
My first entrepreneurial endeavor happened the summer after my freshman year of college at Ohio University. My friends and I had all returned home and we needed to make some cash for books and tuition. So, we decided to start a lawn care company. We rented some equipment for lawn cuts and mulching, and we printed thousands of flyers that we hand delivered to every mailbox.
We started to get some calls, and then referrals, and then it just took off. Sure, it was a simple business idea, but I found I loved building something from the ground up. And I learned I could outwork the competition.
Once I was back at Ohio University, I tended bar every night I could while working toward my business major. After graduation, I took a job I thought would lead to a big career and a big paycheck—insurance sales. I had no idea what I was doing or talking about. I compensated by outworking every other rep in the room. I was good at sales. I have the drive for it, the thick skin, the confidence. But I did not like the company. It was stagnant.
A Startup Calls
A chance encounter with an investor introduced me to a new startup that was looking for its first sales rep—MFS Supply. I jumped at the offer. The idea of working at a company that had its whole future ahead of it appealed to my entrepreneurial spirit.
I started with MFS Supply that Monday. As I walked into the office, I realized the reality of startups. I walked into a single room shared with the other two employees where we had to jostle for chairs. There weren’t any desks. The only bathroom was in another tenant’s office. If all of us were making calls at the same time, you couldn’t hear yourself think.
I took to it immediately though. This fledgling company needed its employees to mold it, grow it, establish its brand.
Growing Pains
In 2007, the year I started at MFS Supply, the company sold five products into the property preservation space to about 20,000 contractors nationwide. As the subprime mortgage crisis hit and the recession enveloped the U.S., MFS Supply thrived. Banks were foreclosing on homes left and right, hiring more and more property preservation contractors to secure and winterize the properties. MFS Supply’s customer base grew to 60,000 contractors by 2008 and hit 100,000 contractors at the height of 2009.
I led the charge on expanding inventory from securing products to winterization materials. In 2007, as the first and only sales rep at MFS Supply, I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know the industry, the customer. I worked 10-12 hours a day, just calling customers. Not just to sell but to ask them questions, have a conversation and start educating myself on what they really needed. The idea of really collaborating with your customers, listening to them, putting them first is what made MFS Supply stand out from the competition. It’s now a core value of the company and something we do every day.
This set the tone for me and the company. I built out a strong referral program with my customers, and the company grew by focusing on adding value.
When I was promoted to senior account manager, I was tasked with bringing in more sales reps to support growth. The customer-focused attitude was instilled in all of us.
I remember a time I had a customer who had to have product the next day for a job. But he couldn’t afford the $300 overnight shipping. Another rep and I jumped in my car and drove the three hours to his home to deliver it to him. Often we’d get a customer order after the UPS pickup cutoff. We’d box up the order and take turns driving around the neighborhood to catch a UPS truck to hand off the package.
Eyeing the Future
In 2010, I signed up for night classes at Baldwin Wallace and started working toward my MBA. College had prepared me for sales, but I wanted a full understanding of management, operations and finance too.
My MBA classes were a key driver in my career expectations, shifting my focus beyond sales goals and toward management. The same year I graduated from the MBA program, I was promoted to director of sales.
In this new role, I oversaw the birth of a new market—REITs. In 2015, these real estate investment trusts started snapping up affordable homes in bulk in the wake of the financial crisis. Invitation Homes, American Homes 4 Rent—MFS Supply was their first vendor.
REITs didn’t need many securing products, they needed appliances. This was MFS Supply’s first big product diversification. Selling appliances was a different ballgame—new shipping structure, new pricing model, huge variety of SKUs, new sales knowledge. So, I built out an appliances team to support this initiative.
The following year, I launched into another new market—multifamily—and was promoted to vice president of sales and marketing. The appliance game is tough. High competition, low margins and price driven. We found it was a great way to get a foot in the door in the multifamily industry but not a product we could use to build a partnership around. I was getting feedback from customers that they were looking to decrease the number of vendors they had to juggle and manage. That idea really stuck with me—how could MFS Supply transform from “lockbox company” or “appliance vendor” into a full solution for our customers?
I launched the cabinetry program with a partnership with Partners Home Supply, a cabinetry company based in New Jersey. The cabinet program took off. Many of the property preservation contractors from 2009 fixed and flipped homes as the foreclosure market slowed down. They began to partner with MFS Supply for cabinets and appliances. By 2017, I oversaw the acquisition of Partners Home Supply.
Taking the Reins
That same year, I interviewed to become president and CEO of MFS Supply. The board brought in five potential CEOs to interview, and I was present for each one of them. I remember I could just tell they didn’t have what I have. They all had way more experience running companies than I did. But they didn’t have the drive, grit, passion to harness the growth of this company. The board of directors agreed with me. In July 2017, I became president and CEO and was named one of Crain’s 40 Under 40 Movers & Shakers in Cleveland.
Fast forward to today. MFS Supply has expanded its product offerings to include lighting, plumbing, electrical and HVAC. In 2018, I launched onestock, MFS Supply’s private label to source key products for customers and pass the savings on to them. This year, the cabinetry branch launched a new collection and is building 900 cabinets a day.
Our team is tackling the B2B e-commerce structure, beginning with the launch of www.mfssolutions.com for multifamily and renovation customers. MFS Supply is also planning further expansion of its warehouses, offices and distribution network with a new location coming soon to Columbus, Ohio. I’d say I’m most proud of keeping the DNA of the business intact while we grew so much. We’re still completely focused on our customers. I don’t get to chase after UPS trucks as much anymore, but I still talk to customers every day. Every new product or program we launch is designed to help them build their business.
