What does it take to start up a successful office equipment reseller and IT integration firm? Luck, hard work, and the ability to recognize opportunity when it comes along, says Fahim Hayat, co-founder of Hayats LLC in Stafford, Virginia. Hayat and his partner Abdullah Abdi have done remarkably well since founding the company in 2012. However, they admit that it’s a tough business and a supportive supplier can make a huge difference. Although Hayats LLC has grown quickly, the partners started with a different business model and did not fully realize how to optimize sales and profits. During this period, Hayat and Abdi began to see paperless document solutions as a key opportunity for their clients. Yet there are major challenges to going paperless.
The folks at Tech Data, a trusted distributor, suggested they look at Epson. “We tested Epson products with a handful of our high-end clients, and those tests went really well. Also Bill, our Epson rep, was a pleasure to work with.”
With the new relationship in place, he adds, “We really started to focus on selling scanning.”