19-year-old Brittany Rognerud brings back business supply offerings in Falls
Brittany Rognerud wasn’t sure what path she was going to take at 19 years old.
But she found that the void left in International Falls when a previous office supply company in town, for which she worked, closed was big enough that she wanted to see if she could fill a need in the community.
So, with some financial and business assistance from her grandfather, Howard Davis, owner of Davis Electric, the Falls teen is starting the business under the name Regional Business Products, LLC.
“When they closed I kept getting these e-mail and calls, ‘Can you order this, can you order that?’ and I couldn’t. And I missed it.
“And my grandpa’s like, ‘Why can’t you?’ I said, ‘Well, I’m only 19, I can’t start a business.’ And he said, ‘Yes you can, you can do anything you want to do.’”
So in January Rognerud went into business for herself.
Having this business has helped her gain a lot of connections in the community, even during the short time she has been open.
“My favorite part about it is getting to go out in the community and meet people,” Rognerud said. “I wasn’t aware of all the businesses that are here, because I never had a reason necessarily to go there.”
Most of her time now is spent developing client relationships and traveling to area businesses to let them know about her company.
The crux of her endeavor is visiting area businesses and having them select products they want to order. The products are delivered by Rognerud the next day. Orders can be placed in person, by phone or by e-mail. A print or online catalog is available for those who want to select specific products, or Rognerud can recommend options for those who do not want to or have time to browse the catalog.
“The catalog is huge, it’s like the Bible,” she said.
Paper, pens, pencils, manila folders, paper clips, staples, toner, office chairs and other furniture, Bluetooth headsets, batteries, memory cards and about any product that is necessary to make an office run smoothly are available from the catalog.
Rognerud explained that a company does not have to place a bulk order to do business with her. An order as simple as a box of pens can easily be fulfilled.
“If 25 people just need a box of pens then I have a nice sized order,” she said. “A lot of people say, ‘Oh, I don’t order much.’ But you do, you just don’t realize it.”
In the market of fast online sales, free-shipping offers and a wide variety of options for delivery of office supplies, Rognerud hopes area businesses will order through her in order to support another local business.
“It’s local, and I think that’s very important,” she said. “We’re such a small community. I chose to live here and I need to be able to make a living here so I can raise a family and live here in a small community. And if somebody is willing to buy something from me, I’m more apt to be able to shop local as well.”
“A lot of people like that face-to-face communication and the local part of it,” she said. “Plus, I really enjoy the company of my customers and I feel they enjoy my company as well.”
Having Rognerud order and deliver the products also reduces employee time spent shopping for business supplies. In addition, through one of the vendors she works with she is able to offer custom office supplies with a company logo or other message on the products.
Having this business is the culmination of a life-long love of office supplies.
“I have been obsessed with pens and pencils and notebooks since I was probably 5 years old,” she said. “I love organization and it just makes my life better.”
She said that from a young age she had a desk in the bedroom she shared with her sister that was off limits to anyone else. “I had my own stapler, I didn’t share mine with my parents. ... My sister couldn’t touch it. It was organized and it was mine, the way I wanted to do it. I wanted to spend my money on office supplies and school supplies more than on clothes.”
Her family support has been what’s made the business venture possible, she said, especially that of her grandfather. Davis has been in business in this area for about 30 years, she estimated, and said she and her grandfather are both personable people.
“I feel like as long as I strive to be like my grandpa, I want to have that same reputation, that positive inspiration,” she said. “I couldn’t be here without him.”
Rognerud can be contacted by phone at 324-1061 or by email at sales@regionalbusinessproducts.com.
