THE BIRTH AND EVOLUTION OF WCS

It is 1993. Shirley and I are the young parents of 2 wonderful children - Justin - 9, and Elaina - 6.  I am a full time PE and Computer Science teacher in a small town called Paradise Hill.  Shirley quit her paid job in 1984 to become a full time mom and home maker.  Life is pretty good - we own our own house and are surrounded by nature in this beautiful, friendly little town.  We thought the one teaching wage would be enough income to live a comfortable life.  Well, turns out things started to get uncomfortable.  The life Shirley and I both experienced growing up ( a Mom at home and a dad bringing home the bacon ) wasn't working very well for us.   I wasn't bringing home enough bacon.  Shirley thought about going back to work as a salaried employee.  Our spoiled life would be over. No nice home cooked meals to come home to at lunch break, No mom to greet you as you walk into the house after school.  No mom cheering you on at the school track meet, or helping your teacher on special school days.  It also meant everyone chipping in on the household duties that mom did while we were somewhere else. No more nice family holidays together during all the school breaks.  Mom would get the  holiday shifts at the bank or wherever else she might be able to get a job.  She would also have to go back to a life of slavery, working for the man.  It sure didn't sound very appealing to any of us. 

How about this? We start a side hustle that will bring in a few extra bucks - a home based Business!  I had figured out a way to reduce the printing costs for the Computer Lab at school.   Why don't I turn this procedure into a commercial Business venture? Dot Matrix printers were the only print technology in the early 90's.  They were being introduced into Businesses everywhere.  Businesses had to buy expensive plastic cartridges that were loaded with inked nylon.  The ribbon would go round and round and, eventually, the print would be very faint because the ribbon would get all beat up and the ink in the nylon would dry out.  The Business would then throw the expensive plastic cartridge in the garbage and go buy another one.  STUPID! The only thing wrong with the cartridge was that the nylon inside was worn out and dried out.  Why couldn't you take the old ribbon out of the cartridge and put fresh, new inked nylon back into the cartridge? We could cut the Business's printing costs by about 70% AND keep all that plastic out of the landfill! A win-win for everyone.

WCS was born.  We turned our unfinished basement into a factory and office.  We would purchase 600 yard rolls of freshly inked nylon in various widths and colors. . I had to purchase equipment that would weld the ribbon together once it was loaded back into the cartridge.  We had to seal the freshly re-loaded cartridges into air tight plastic packaging so that they stayed fresh for the customers.  We started getting the word out about our new business.  Shirley and I started  a pick up and delivery service for customers within a 40 mile radius of us. The KFC restaurant would save up all their used till ribbons.  Shirley would go into Lloyd and pick them up every month ( they would use about 25 a month ).  I would spend evenings and week-ends re-loading these cartridges ( and all the other customer orders we had ).  It was kind of like a paper route.  Pick up the used cartridges one day.  Go back to Lloyd and deliver the freshly loaded ribbons back to the Businesses a week later.  Give them the bill.  The cost savings were substantial.  A new till ribbon would cost KFC around $9.  We would re-load them for $3.95.  The print quality was often better than new because the inked nylon was really fresh and I could often put more ribbon in than the original cartridge.  The cartridges could re-loaded up to 20 times or more.  Credit Unions, Car Dealerships, etc. had big printers that used cartridges with over 200 feet of ribbon in them.  They were paying $45 for new cartridges. We would re-load them for $12.95.  

Shirley would also re-load specific types of cartridges, but adjusted her work schedule around the kids and their activities.  She would tuck the kids in at night  and then go downstairs and load cartridges until she went cross-eyed.  We put in long days and nights to get this off the ground.  Mail outs, road trips to different communities on school days off were how we landed new customers.  I was still teaching full time, coaching sports, etc.. so 80 hour work weeks were just normal back then.  

We started getting quite a few customers that would mail used cartridges to us.  We would re-load them and ship them back to our customers.  The kids also starting working in the Business.  Justin wanted a new mountain bike.  Great! I will pay you X amount of dollars for every cartridge you re-load and you can buy your own bike. Both kids grew up around the Business.  Shirley was our main employee, but could adjust her work day and work week around everything else.  He job at WCS worked around her, not the other way around. 

What was our goal in the beginning? Create enough income from the Business to actually live on.  By 1997 we were there.  I took an unpaid year's leave from my teaching job.  We took the kids to Mexico for a 2 week holiday,  something we could never afford to do before the Business.  This gave us a wonderful sense of freedom and independence.  You start a Business, convince enough customers that our services will benefit them, work hard, and the money will start to flow.  The harder ( and smarter ) you work, the more money you make.  Being a School teacher doesn't work that way.  You work hard but get paid the same as everyone else.  Hmm.  I'm really starting to like this Business concept.

The extra time I had away from teaching allowed me to land more customers and pursue certain avenues that I didn't have time to pursue as a full time teacher.  I also had the time to streamline operations and put some more efficient systems in place.  Our Business income doubled that year and my stress level dropped.  I actually had time to enjoy life and take advantage of opportunities that arose.

The year off was drawing to a close.  I knew that I no longer wanted to be a full time teacher.  Running a Business and teaching full time was now my definition of hell on earth.  However, giving up teaching also meant giving up a pension and all the health insurance benefits associated with it.  A teaching wage was also a guaranteed income stream, something a father of two had to think about.  It also didn't help that I actually still really liked teaching, especially the PE and coaching part of it.  I truly felt it was what I was meant to do on this earth.

I asked if I could coma back as a half time teacher.  I would prefer to come in every second day and teach PE.  Our administration agreed to this.  I would come to school every second day, go to the gym and play with the kids and get paid.  My days away from school would be spent running the Business.  This is what I did until my retirement in 2010 ( after 30 years as a teacher )

Of course, this whole Business venture would have crashed and burned without Shirley.  She answered the phones, took orders, did pick ups and deliveries, re-loaded cartridges , did a bunch of office work, deposits, picked up the mail, and was also a full time mom and super wife. She has worked in the Business from the start and just retired from it in the fall of 2021.

That, in a nutshell, is how the Business started and how the foundation was built.  Everything evolved in a similar fashion to how printing technology and technology in general evolved.  Ink Jet technology was invented.  We ended up figuring out ways to re-load Ink Jet cartridges for our customers.  We had to invest in procedures and equipment in order to do this effectively.  The next technology was Laser printing.  We looked at the investment in Equipment and technology required to re-manufacture toner cartridges effectively and realized that it was not an option for us. Go big or go home.  We waited for the smoke to clear and then partnered with some very high quality re-manufacturers who had big wallets and the advanced technology required to do it properly, and we are glad we did.  

The first 20 years in the Business were very labor intensive.  We had to re-load ribbons and refill Ink jet cartridges.  We kept huge Inventories of product in our basement.  We would ship product all over western Canada. Many orders had all three product technologies - Ribbon, Ink Jet and Laser.   We quit re-loading ribbon about 8 years ago. We also stopped refilling Ink Jet cartridges about the same time.  The front runner, and winner in the technology battle was Laser printer technology.  Most of our Businesses stopped purchasing and using Ink Jet printers because of their high cartridge cost and spotty performance.  Their ribbon printers eventually died ( although we still have a few customers using them ).  Also, the cost of Laser Printers dropped dramatically and the print quality went up.  

Running a Business today has never been easier.  My first $2000 computer had less memory in it than a singing birthday card that costs about $10 today.  People have a very powerful computer in their pocket that they can take anywhere with them. It is also a phone, video camera, personal organizer and GPS system ( as well as about 100 other things ).  Telecom and Internet costs are a fraction of what they were 10 years ago.  Countries that had spotty, or no reliable internet services 15 years ago now have inexpensive and reliable networks. You now have the option of being fully connected to everything all the time ( a blessing and a curse, but a big advantage when running a Business). You can be just about anywhere on earth and your customers think you are in your office in Canada.  

What is WCS today? 98% or more of our  Business is now Toner supplies and Printer sales.  We  have access to just about any cartridge ( or printer ) available in the marketplace.  We have a network of trusted suppliers that can get a product shipped to our customers within  one to 3 days ( usually one day ).  We still provide personalized service, which means answering the phone when it rings and responding to e-mails in a timely fashion.  Our main focus and goal has not changed since we re-loaded our first ribbon. PROVIDE OUR CUSTOMERS WITH QUALITY PRINTING SUPPLIES AT AFFORDABLE PRICES.  Some of our customers have been with us for over 25 years! Technology has changed but the basic needs of satisfied customers have not.  Provide a valuable product or service, appreciate our customer and make them feel like they matter and are important.  We truly appreciate our customers.  They are the reason we are in business today and we have never forgotten that.  Our basic Business philosophy is still our biggest competitive advantage today. Why? Because so many Businesses today do not have this as one of their core values. 

2022 is a new era for us.  Elaina Wisser-Kyle ( our daughter ) and Meryll Wisser ( daughter in law ), are  getting more involved in the Business.  Elaina has an 18 month old boy and Meryll has 2 daughters ( 5 and 3).  They are both busy moms and, like Shirley in her younger years, appreciate the opportunity of planning their work schedules around their parental responsibilities, spouses and lives in general.  They are adding fresh ideas and enthusiasm to the Business.  They, like Shirley and I , see the opportunities of being involved in a Business that is open ended and can provide them with  opportunities a regular salaried job can't.   Keep posted.  To be continued >>>