DBI We Do Office

I'm Chris Hohman and we are coming to you from our studio. It's at the Lansing Regional International Airport and we're going to stay in the mid-Michigan area specifically Lansing. We're going to spend a little time with Steve Claver, co-owner of DBI and might be good. First of all, welcome to the show. Happy New Year. I think happy bowling. You got to feel good that a Michigan team won the national championship. But let's talk a little bit about a refresher on what DBI is and what Sure. We're here on Michigan Avenue right in downtown Lansing and we do office furniture and office supply, really everything for the office. Yeah, absolutely. And with that, let's go now to 23. How was your year in 23 and give us some highlights? Sure. 23 was a great year. We're going to have record sales. So you can't beat that. We did the Farm Bureau building, which was a huge project, doing stuff with auto owners, Delta Dental, accident fund, So, yeah. Hey, let's talk a little bit about Farm Bureau because that was not only a project of getting furniture, but redesign and the whole thing. I mean, they renovated kind of a really old facility. They did. I mean, it was just a shell and they redid, It turned out beautiful. Yeah. Put in an atri So that, that moves me into the cycle. Let's talk about that office planning. How much it's changed and is it still changing? It is tons of common space, I mean, that's the buzzword probably now is collaborate. Of course, you've got to be back in the office to collaborate. But We talked about, they have these hush, they're called hush booths and they're Pretty neat things. We've got one here in our office a lot. There's been huge interest in them. Well, I have to tell you that right after the redesign, I went out and Don showed us around that he was a CEO at the time, I believe. And it was just, it was just an incredible facility. But the technology they have in, Or share information on screens, which seem to be everywhere. Well, and you're absolutely right. And the nice thing about being back in the office is you can have so many impromptu things. Whereas if you're at home, now you've got to get ahold of them. You've got to get ahold of them and get all together. Herding cats. Yep. You're absolutely right. Well, listen, with the evolution that's taking place in your industry, tell me about what you're anticipating for 2024. Well, I want to say one more thing for 23. We actually, we, you talk about customer settings. We had a customer and they wanted us to do their kitchen area around a popcorn machine. It was possible to me. Yeah, yeah, get the popcorn machine and figure out where that goes and how everything else goes around the popcorn machine. Cause that was the most important thing. Well, and that speaks to what you're saying is everybody's priority is different. Yeah. Absolutely. I'm glad you went back to 23 because I did want to talk to you. You said record revenue. Did you maintain margin? Yes, we did. Yes, we did, which was, which was great. We worked with a lot of people, Chris, man. We worked on with at the Farm Bureau building, And we have a lot of great partners in town. Yeah. Well, that's nice because then they carry that affiliation to their next job, which is, which is important. All right. 2024, we got a couple of minutes. What do you anticipate? Yeah, we anticipate another good year. Everybody'still growing and adding people and people are coming back into the office. I think people got away, So we've got to get back out there and, and really push for getting back, buying local and, and, and buying those office supplies from us. Well, I totally concur. And I think you're going to see an evolution of people coming back to work because, No. So coming to work might be a relief as well. Absolutely. And I want that line in the sand. I don't want to have to do all this crap all night long, No, you're absolutely right. Well, Steve Flabor, co-owner of a DBI office in Lansing, Michigan. Keep up the good work, my friend. I'm so happy to hear about 23 and, Great. Hopefully we all have a great 24. All right. I look forward to that. You've been watching the Michigan business speed on the Michigan business network. I'm Chris Holman, coming to you from the Capital Region International Airport. We'll be right back.