When Catherine Lazarock turned her back on an executive position in order to launch her own Grand Rapids telecommunications management firm in 2007, she relived her college days.
As she neared 40, Lazarock found herself waitressing six days a week at a Muskegon steakhouse to supplement her income. Sometimes she earned barely enough money to pay for the gas to get back and forth from appointments.
Then that unforgettable day finally arrived. Lazarock received her first commission check as a business owner -- a whopping $61.
"In my industry, it takes a while for contracts to get to me and pay me," says Lazarock, the now 42-year-old founder of
Symplicity Communications Inc. "In that first year, I was just surviving."
Since then, her company has grown to six employees, acquired more than 300 regional clients and just opened a satellite office in Indianapolis. As its name implies, the service seems simple enough: lower local, long distance and Internet data costs for clients by applying in-depth knowledge of the telecommunications industry. Lazarock says Symplicity saved her clients last year more than 30 percent on their average monthly phone bill, which amounted to about $1,378 a month.
"A lot of companies are doing so many different things that for them to take time to call the phone company, it's a 45-minute time commitment, and you can't even guarantee you'll get your answers," says Lazarock, a native of Grand Haven. "We're like pitbulls. We do not let go."
A Different CallingLazarock's rerouted her career path a few times. She quit a parks and recreation administrator job to pursue a bachelor's of arts in international relations at Grand Valley State University. As a single mother of a 4- and a 6-year-old at that time, she took as many as 26 credit hours a semester and worked assorted waitress jobs at area restaurants to scrape by.
"It was absolutely insane, but you wake up thinking every day: "What do I need to get done?" says Lazarock, who graduated from GVSU in 1996. "I feel like all of it has taught me time management and how not to be overwhelmed by the whole scope of things."
Her first job out of school was project coordinator for Ada Township-based
Amway Corp. She then took positions as international sales administrator for local auto supplier
Suspa Inc. and vice president of information technology at
Minicom Advanced Systems of Israel.
But it was during her role as West Michigan regional manager for
Telegration Inc. that she gained extensive experience in the field of telecommunications. Clawson-based Telegration is known as a telecom "master agent," serving more than 30,000 Fortune 500 corporations, municipalities and other organizations. Giant carriers such as AT&T, Verizon and Sprint contract with Telegration to bring in customers.
Telegration offered Lazarock an executive position overseeing other agents, but it was the agent's job description that appealed to her, she says. Lazarock expressed an interest, and Telegration gave her a "nudge," she says, adding, "I don't know if I would've had the courage to do it without that little bit of a push."
When she started Symplicity, Lazarock initially ran it out of her home. Then she moved into a "closet" office before nestling in her current location in 2009.
Dialing Up Results"I never thought I would grow up to read phone bills," Lazarock mused in her warmly-lit 400 suite of the Calder Plaza Building, 250 Monroe Ave. Business acquaintances have remarked on the suite's spa-like quality, she says, with its delicate greenery and Parisian trinkets. Its decor is appropriate, considering spas are one of the few indulgences she allows herself, preferring to be pampered at
Douglas J. Aveda Institute in Grand Rapids.
Lazarock hopes someday to open an office in Europe. Still, she says she is committed to keeping her business rooted in West Michigan. "I just feel like there's so much to offer in Michigan," she says. "It's businesses like mine that are going to turn the economy in Michigan around."
Symplicity helped local construction tool provider
Fastener's Inc. save significantly on its voice and data systems, says James Monroe, the company's IT manager. Fastener's trimmed 15 percent from its costs by using Troy-based
TelNet Worldwide , Monroe says.
Symplicity also helped the Fastener's dig a $4,000 credit out of a larger telecommunications firm. It turned out Fastener's was being billed for an Internet circuit that was never installed, Monroe says.
Such is the nature of the telecom industry, with errors peppering most bills, Lazarock says. And since telecom carriers are the ones ultimately paying her salary, it is a true love-hate relationship. "I think I've made up some swear words," she adds.
Never Phoning It InSymplicity's clients don't pay them a dime. The company's revenue is almost always paid by carriers, Lazarock says. Commission varies depending on the contract, but she claims neutrality.
"I present it to my clients like I'm Switzerland," says the Rockford resident. "It's all about giving the client the best information so they can make the right decision.
"I get paid by all the carriers so it doesn't matter to me. You can choose the best logo if you like."
What differentiates her from competitors, she says, is her willingness to follow contracts through implementation.
"I see a lot of agents that do what I do that are just schlepping contracts," Lazarock says. "They're just trying to get as many signed as they can -- they really don't care about the customer. I run into my clients in the grocery store and at the gym. You cannot just treat people bad."
She adds that she loves using Michigan-based companies because "it helps our economy. I think that's our responsibility as business owners and people to try to buy locally whenever possible."
Her business style is garnering attention. Symplicity is one of three finalists for the
Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce's Woman-Owned Business of the Year honor, one of several recognitions to be bestowed by the organization at its
2010 EPIC Awards ceremony May 19.
Business aside, Lazarock keeps a full calendar. She also serves as vice president of the
West Michigan Technology Association , sponsorship coordinator for the
Alliance of Women Entrepreneurs and an executive member of
Inforum. "It's very important to give back," she says. "They feel like business, but it's dinner and it's socializing and it's giving to foundations that help women in need.
"Thankfully I'm single because there's not much time for anything else."
Aaron Ogg talks to politicians, party store owners, himself, kids, leaders of big corporations and the unemployed and writes about them. His byline most often appears in The Grand Rapids Press.
Photos:Catherine Lazarock (3)
Symplicity Communications Inc
Photographs by
Brian Kelly -All Rights Reserved