From the Beginning: Their Companies Are List Veterans

One works with his father and brothers scheduling shipping pick ups and deliveries, another makes business people look good in his custom made suits and shirts, and another gives the tools used by musicians to create their art more easily. One other business owner provides information technology support and another heads up a mechanical design and construction firm. When the Business Journal began its Fastest Growing Private Companies list in 2005 there were five companies on that list that also make an appearance on this year’s list. So what is it about the leadership at these five companies that has allowed that to happen? There is a willingness to learn and adapt to changing market conditions; developing people skills and getting out in front of potential customers; and surrounding themselves with management and employees committed to the company and its mission. “I don’t think it’s any thing magic that we have,” said Mike Muench, the president and chief executive of Line 6, a manufacturer of guitars and amplifiers in Agoura Hills. “What I’ve learned is to have the right caliber of people in the organization and that they understand and share the goals.” Line 6 is joined by Allen Lund Company Inc., Cal Net Technology Group, Acco Engineered Systems Inc., and Art Lewin & Co. Custom Clothiers as the five companies making consistent appearances on the Fastest Growing list over the past five years. Transportation brokerage firm Allen Lund Company ranked the highest at No. 19 with an 88 percent growth between 2006 and 2008. Acco was the next highest at No. 33 with 51 percent growth. (Attempts to reach Acco President and CEO John Aversano were not successful.) David Lund, vice president of sales and operations, called the operation a true family business having been founded by his father Allen and includes himself and his two brothers, Eddie and Kenny. His business training has come primarily from working alongside his father, who he describes as a great listener and a consummate salesman with the innate ability to know what the customer wants The number one lesson that David Lund has learned and to what he credits the success of the company is surrounding the upper management with people who know what they are doing. Middle management at the 30 offices throughout the U.S. can tap into their entrepreneurial spirit and make their own decisions without having to pass everything through the corporate headquarters in La Canada-Flintridge. “We are the complete opposite of micromanagement,” David Lund said. At Line 6, Muench preferred to shift the spotlight from his role to that of the management team with a common goal of building a company that can grow and play a meaningful role in their industry. And if they make products that are used by U2’s The Edge, country singer Brad Paisley and members of The Kaiser Chiefs, No Doubt and Nine Inch Nails well then all the better. For Line 6 hasn’t achieved a 41 percent revenue growth between 2006 and 2008 by simply copying its competitors. “It is listening to our customers and giving them the kind of products they need to be successful musicians,” Muench said. Making needed changes and not being afraid to try something new are traits exhibited by Cal Net founder Zack Schuler and Art Lewin, owner of the Toluca Lake clothier bearing his name. Developing his people skills has been one change embraced by Lewin who was in his early 30s when he started his company. Now 42, Lewin admits to maturing to the point where the ups and downs of business cycles no longer stress him out. He’s also getting himself out more in public to engage in what he called “relationship marketing” to drum up additional business. Having been in business for more than a decade has also been a boost. “I get a lot of referrals because of my survival,” Lewin said. Cal Net’s Schuler takes the approach that there is only so much planning to be done to handle his company’s growth. Like Lund and Muench, Schuler points to having a dynamic team in place to handle any unanticipated problems. From his father, who also owned a business, Schuler picked up a strategy of fiscal conservativeness – not spending money unless a return on that investment can be proved beforehand. That doesn’t mean that Schuler isn’t willing to try something new. In 2008 he brought on a manager who in turn hired two telemarketers to drum up new business. That effort, however, turned out poorly and was dumped after six months. Since then the process has been refined and gone about in a different way that has become the number one way Cal Net brings on new clients, Schuler said. Mike Muench Title: President/CEO Company: Line 6 City: Agoura Hills Secret to Success: Listening to their customers and giving them the kind of products they need to be successful musicians Art Lewin Title: Owner Company: Art Lewin & Co. Custom Clothiers City: Toluca Lake Secret to Success: Building relationships one customer at a time, which allowed the business to grow from several hundred clients to several thousand