Larry Zavadil

Larry Zavadil grew up on a small farm near Glenwood, Minnesota, and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism and advertising. Following graduation, he was successfully involved in several small business ventures – owning and operating Mr. Z’s Pizza and movie theaters in two rural communities. He also sold automotive parts, produce and eventually became a salesman of business forms for National Cash Register’s (NCR) Systemedia Division.

In 1981, Zavadil founded American Business Forms with a vision to create a unique distributorship in which the customer was the person in charge. His theory was that a salesperson should be an extension of the customer’s purchasing department and should put forth the best product proposition to the customer.

Zavadil was not afraid to take the risks necessary to build, develop and share his vision. Step by step, he began inventing a company in which the customers’ needs were met with a high level of expertise and customer service. At the same time, sales professionals enjoy a superior income, operate under the American umbrella while building their businesses and are in total control of their professional life, earnings and goals.

Zavadil’s successes have been recognized in several ways since the beginning. Five years after the company’s founding, American was named to the list of Inc Magazine’s 500 fastest growing privately- owned businesses in the United States. (A company is only eligible for this award after being in business for 5 years.)

A good barometer of success in the independent business forms distribution industry exists in the annual nationwide list of the Top 100 Distributorships published by Business Forms, Labels and Systems magazine. In 1985, after just 4 years in business, American had climbed to number 42. Progressing steadily, the company reached the top spot in 1998 and has placed third or higher since 1995.

For a company to experience continuous growth, it must adapt to the ever-changing needs of the business world. Zavadil embraces change, imagines the future and then sets out to become part of it. To broaden his company’s offerings, he provides the necessary tools and encourages his sales associates to branch out and offer other business needs. Promotional products, e-commerce solutions and office furniture and supplies have been successfully added to provide end users a one-stop shop. Those products, along with warehousing and fulfillment technology allow American to be a fully integrated solution for end user customers.


(1989) Larry Zavadil was awarded the Small Business Association’s Award

(1995) Trade West Publishing named Larry Zavadil Business Products Professional of the year.

(2001) BFL&S Distributor of the Year

(2000-2003) Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) ranked Larry Zavadil’s company among the top 25 distributors for the past 4 years.

(2002) Larry Zavadil became an award finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year

(2002) Minnesota’s VFW Distinguished Citizen Award was given to Larry Zavadil in May

(2003) Zavadil was honored as a Minnesota Keystone Program 10 Year Participant for his commitment to giving at least 2 percent of the company’s pre-tax net earnings to community projects and programs.

(2003) National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame Leadership Committee

(2004) Larry Zavadil became an award finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year.

TYPE OF BUSINESS AND CURRENT ACTIVITY

It’s always been about the American Dream for Larry Zavadil, founder, president and CEO of American Solutions for Business of Glenwood, Minnesota. His passion to create opportunities, take chances, make choices and, most importantly, help others, drove him to begin his forms distribution company in the basement of his home, offering his customers guaranteed quality products, on-time delivery, competitive pricing and extraordinary service. He spent his days on the road, and at night, on a manual typewriter borrowed from a neighbor, he typed orders, created invoices and completed the paperwork from his day of sales.

From this humble beginning and with his vision intact, Zavadil has seen his company grow from a small distributorship, with annual revenues of $550,000 to an industry leading distributor of printing, promotions, office supplies, corporate apparel, e-commerce solutions and enterprise-wide document management. In the year 2000, Zavadil placed the corporation into an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). Under this plan (which is non-contributory), shares in the corporation are purchased annually with corporate profits and distributed to qualifying sales associates and employees. The company currently employs over 800 sales associates and staff people in 49 states, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Because of Zavadil’s commitment and dedication to the community, personnel working in the home office in Glenwood, Minnesota, are departmentalized in 5 different buildings in the small city of 2500 people. Zavadil’s loyalty to the local area, the State of Minnesota and to our country is obvious. He contributes thousands of dollars to local, regional and national charities. From youth basketball and the local Food Shelf to the University of Minnesota and the American Cancer Society, Zavadil’s generosity is beyond measure.

Zavadil has been the heart and soul of the company since its launch. In addition to providing the financing for the company, coordinating vendor shipments, providing effective customer service and tending to numerous daily business details, he also devoted considerable time to offer support and encouragement to the sales associates, while working to attract new management personnel who shared his philosophy in order to make a smooth transition into the future.

From the beginning, Zavadil’s genuine concern and unselfish sharing of his time and talents has created an atmosphere that makes company personnel feel they have become a part of his “American” family.

INNOVATIVE APPROACHES

Even while working for a large corporation, Zavadil felt his true “boss” was the customer and that he was an extension of the customer’s purchasing department, responsible for offering the best products and services possible. He set American’s priorities featuring the customer as number one, the sales associate as number two, the vendor as number three and the company itself is number four. His premise was that if the needs of the first three were met successfully, the company itself would prosper. Focusing on others’ needs before company profit was not only unique but also meant that Zavadil would need to remain innovative and flexible.

Over the years, American has formed a working relationship with over 6,000 vendors. Over
700 of those vendors are involved in the “Partners for Progress” program. These special vendors are supplied with key tools to update American Associates regarding their products and services. The “partners” are invited to exhibit at the company’s vendor showcases held twice a year in conjunction with sales conferences.

Opposing standard industry practice, Zavadil’s system offers sales associates the majority of the profit. American’s generous commission splits are unprecedented within the industry. The attraction for potential sales people is that they can be affiliated with a dependable company that maintains favorable terms with vendors, allows them to reap most of the profit and draw upon knowledge and support of others while remaining basically independent.

When the customer is perceived as number one, innovative solutions for potential and current customers is a top priority. As early as 1983, American developed a program for inventory management. When sales of promotional items grew, American joined associations including ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute), which makes sourcing software accessible to American Associates.

In the mid 1990’s, ideas involving e-commerce emerged and the company began offering a variety of electronic solutions. American built its own system (called ACES) for on-line catalogs customized for customer use. The system is used for a variety of customer fulfillment programs and utilizes the company’s 25 warehouse/distribution centers located across the nation. Eventually another system (called AIMS) was developed to make key information available on-line to customers, sales associates, vendors and corporate personnel. The system is proving to be a significant milestone in the management of information in today’s fast paced business world.

FUTURE PLANS

American is actually a network of entrepreneurs who have a strong business background, great relationships with their customers and a desire to grow and prosper. Today, a considerable amount of the company’s revenue comes from printed forms, labels and related services. Over time the demands for these products and services has changed and undoubtedly will continue to change for the foreseeable future.
While the opportunity remains constant to generate strong revenue and profit from the vertical relationships established within this traditional blend of business, it is also critical that American continues to introduce new products and services into our marketing channel so that our sales associates can also expand their relationships horizontally.
Clearly, technology will play an ever-increasing role in the growth of these new products and services. American’s e-commerce system provides our sales associates with the ability to create electronic storefronts for their customers through which many of these new products and services can be managed. From customer-specific products to office and janitorial supplies this storefront gives customers easy access to one-stop shopping for many of their business needs. Today, customers can also purchase their business cards, stationary and envelopes with the click of a mouse. Promotional products and apparel can also be sourced and ordered on line.
Although technology is an important part of our long-term strategy, we will never lose sight of the value that comes from relationships. People buy from people. American is committed to the balanced blend of technology, products and people.

Expectations are that the remainder of the decade will present unforeseen business challenges and countless opportunities. American will be there with a wealth of resources and innovations to assure customers, supplier/partners and employees a share of the American Dream.

PEOPLE PHILOSOPHY

America is the land of opportunity and American Solutions for Business is the company of opportunity. Founder Larry Zavadil keeps the American pioneer spirit alive by encouraging his people to explore new ground, take chances and search for innovative solutions to problems. And the people of American constantly respond with inventive and resourceful answers that are consistent with the company philosophy of operating with the customers’ best interests at heart.

When the Glenwood Chamber of Commerce nominated Zavadil for the Small Business Association’s Award (which he won in 1989), it cited such qualities as his “exceptional level of integrity, honesty, dedication, generosity and sincerity to this community, customers, employees and family” and cited him as “not only a source of employment that stimulates the local economy, but he is also a key force in enticing other business people to relocate their firms to our community.” It is this loyalty to his employees and his community that has kept the corporate headquarters in Glenwood. In 2000, appreciation for Zavadil’s commitment was expressed by both Starbuck and Glenwood Chambers of Commerce and industry developers and leaders at a “Salute to Industry Day Award Luncheon”.

Employees were also Zavadil’s first concern when considering the eventual transfer of ownership of the company. He felt the best solution was to form an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Program) for office employees and those sales associates who wished to participate. The ESOP became effective on July 1, 2000. Zavadil and the Management Team are assisted by input from two committees – the Sales Steering Committee (sales associates) and the Operations Steering Committee (corporate departments). The move to an ESOP has empowered American’s employee owners to make wise decisions that will benefit the company. While the employees have purchased American from Zavadil, he remains the guide.

Since 1983, American has used its two sales conferences each year not only to update and train sales associates, but also to give them the chance to share their expertise with each other and meet vendors and corporate staff in an informal setting. A series of annual achievement awards was implemented beginning in 1990.

The President’s Award (1991) is considered the highest award and can be given to any company employee. Zavadil chooses the recipient based on a commitment to improve the company for the benefit of all and in recognition of contributions to the company (non-monetary).

Both the Salesperson of the Year and the Rookie of the Year go to sales associates based not only on dollar sale amounts, but also on dedication and implementation of the company’s values and goals.

In 1997, the Comeback Award was initiated to recognize those who have recovered from financial setbacks.

Awards of Distinction are given to recognize 12 sales associates and 12 office staff people who have been most helpful to their peers. Recipients of these awards are chosen by their peers. Management also selects one sales associate and one staff member to receive special awards of distinction given in memory of two of American’s deceased sales associates. Another award recognizes outstanding customer service representatives.

Awards based solely on sales volume are the Million Dollar Club Awards.

The “Top 20” sales associate list is based on contributions to the company.

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