Steven Farabi

Experience

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  Linde Thomson Langworthy Kohn & VanDyke, P.C.

  Jan 1982 - Jan 1985

  Attorney

  With approximately 70 attorneys, this was one of the larger law firms in Kansas City. I primarily worked in the business defense section doing the usual research and motion filings associated with trial preparation or appellate practice for our business clients.

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  Corporate Technology, Inc.

  Jan 1985 - Jan 1989

  Principal

  B2B office equipment sales

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  Basic Business Products, Inc.

  Jan 1990 - Jan 2017

  Co-founder and Co-CEO

  As a co-founder and co-CEO of Basic Business Products, Inc. I shared in the responsibilities and successes for growing the company from start-up in 1990 to a peak of 20+ employees and two million dollars in sales. The recent completion of its sale to Office Products Alliance, the largest independent office products dealer in the Kansas City Metropolitan area, now opens the door to new opportunities for me. (A review of their website is a good overview of the products and services we offered at Basic Business Products.) Establishing a solid financial footing and then carefully allocating capital to grow the company required a wide variety skills in leadership, vision and innovation, all of which are necessary to address and solve the challenges facing a small business entrepreneur:- Negotiating contracts with various distributors for the rights to sell certain product lines- Learning the most productive way to secure new clients and provide the service necessary to keep them re-ordering year after year. (We established a base of several hundred businesses.)- Acquiring the knowledge to be your own human resources department including: hiring sales employees, administrative personnel, service technicians to support our office equipment sales, factory technicians to refurbish laser toner cartridges and delivery drivers; setting up appropriate pay schedules such as commssion/bonus or hourly or salaried; instituting and acting as fiduciary for a 401(k) plan; selecting the appropriate group health care plan.- Strategic planning to appropriately expand the product lines we carried in order to be a full service/one stop office products provider while maintaining suitable profit margins - Develop an online ordering system for our clients that was efficient and easy to use- Constantly re-evaluate the best outreach methods to contact potential new clients and stay in touch with current clients via advertising, newsletters and promotional or educational emails. Show less

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  Self-employed

  Dec 2017 - now

  Small Business Consultant

  Offering consultation and advice on transitioning from company employee to starting and managing your own business. Some major considerations for a small business start-up include: access to sufficient working capital, hiring plans plus compensation and benefits, location and lease, business type and taxes, support from third parties such as attorney, accountant or payroll processing and billing company, new client acquisition and marketing strategies.