Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenneth Williams.
Ken met a gentleman on an airplane in 2004 while he was traveling for a business trip with his former company Discovery Card. Ken and this gentleman struck up a conversation. This gentleman was an owner of a shredding company in Chicago.
This gentleman was intrigued by Ken’s business savvy and communication style (and ability to build rapport easily). Before the end of the flight, this gentleman asked Ken to join him in his Chicago shredding and storage business.
You could say the rest is “history.” The reality is that Ken took an existing shredding/document destruction/strong business in Chicago – made the enterprise profitable and created a positive brand and name recognition.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Far from smooth and very challenging. As Jim Collins from the book “Good to Great” suggests getting everyone on the bus is not an easy task. (The company was also called “The Chicago Shred Authority”) When I joined forces with the gentleman I met on the airplane, revenues were down, the company was not profitable and was only providing document destruction services to existing clients.
I rolled up my sleeves to set up endless best practices to increase sales, staff morale and most importantly create excellent brand name recognition for Chicago land and out of state.
I quickly become the President of NAID., National Association for Information Destruction. www.naidonline.org.
I also approached growing the business as strategically as possible becoming certified with the MBE of Chicago and a host of other workshops & classes for leadership certifications.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about The Shred Authority – what should we know?
Our business model is very basic. We provide shredding services to primarily (however the general public is welcome to destroy their documents with us). We also have room for storage from legal boxes to household items. Storage is an area we are currently growing. Since we are outside the City of Chicago we are able to provide better rates for storage services. Our facility is the state of the art when it comes to Security as well!
We are proud of our excellent name in Chicago land and that we continue to care about the business of pleasing our customers. We continue to over deliver our services!
What sets us apart is very simple – we are one of the few privately owned MBE shredding companies still in existence in Chicago.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My staff, MBE, family and a host of others.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shredauthority.com/
- Phone: 888-747-3302 or 312-842-2900
- Email: infor@theshredathority.com
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
