Learning Valuable Business Lessons from the Monks

You wouldn't guess a multimillion-dollar business is housed on a quiet 600 acres in west-central Wisconsin. But that's the monk way. The sales are needed, they say, so they can survive and continue their religious works.

Plenty of religious orders are embracing new technologies and trends — like monks in Oregon who store and ship wines for wineries, and others who make goat's milk hand creams and soaps to pay for their ministries.

Father Bernard McCoy, 41, superior of the abbey about 180 miles northwest of Milwaukee — or "poster monk" as he likes to joke — is chief executive of LaserMonks.

The business started small in autumn 2002, when his printer ran out of toner as he and the order were trying to think of new ways to make money. It dawned on him that if he bought in bulk, he could save and pass that along to others — and make some money for the order, too.

The abbey is nonprofit and LaserMonks is for-profit, with all net proceeds going to charitable works like a school in Vietnam that teaches computer skills to children otherwise living on the streets, to domestic abuse shelters in California and Camp Heartland, a camp for children living with or affected by HIV or AIDS in Minnesota.

Since 2004, they've given away half a million dollars. The monks use about $150,000 a year for operating expenses, though between 15% and 20% of that is given away to charities as well.

Orders for office supplies are filled by a couple of vendors and manufacturers at warehouses throughout the country. They're then sent directly to customers using LaserMonks packaging. Overhead costs are minimal and they have only a handful of employees who handle day-to-day business, such as taking the 200 orders a day.

The employees also handle marketing and orders for the other ventures, such as monkegifts.com and a new site that sells coffee called benevolentblends.com.

"Our investment in inventory is zero," McCoy said. "You're able to run an enormous business."

The business is imbued with Cistercian hospitality, including a focus on customer service. The phone lines are answered by McCoy's soothing recorded voice that says, "Greetings and peace." Hold music is, of course, Gregorian chants. If customers fall behind on payments, the monks work with them.

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Source: By Ideal Investment Corner http://idealinvestment.blogspot.com/