Spotlight on Mike Corey: This Phoenix, Arizona resident is president of Imaging Technology Solutions. Mike Corey is also an active member of his community, a husband, father of three and annual host of one of Ahwatukee's most popular "Haunted Houses" on October 31.

1. Spotlight on: Mike Corey

2. Among his friends, Phoenix resident
Mike Corey, president of Imaging
Technology Solutions, is affectionately
known as the “Haunted House Guy.”

3. “I liked the idea of being in charge of my own destiny,” Mike Corey said, “especially
in the way I could treat my customers.”
--Mike Corey, president of Imaging Technology Solutions, on why he started his own business.

5. A family man….

6. He runs a successful
business…

7. Imaging Technology Solutions
Copy & Imaging Systems
The Phoenix Business Journal
2.0 minutes with…Mike Corey President/Imaging Technology Solutions
September 2008
• What is one of your business goals for 2008? “Drive innovation! We want to continue to empower our employees to
strengthen customer relationships. It helps us develop new ideas and enhance existing products and services.”
• How do you recruit and retain quality employees? “Our employees may earn ownership through sweat equity. It’s a pretty
simple formula for success. Everyone’s eligible. If you put the company first, and perform well, our customer’s will be
rewarded. If an employee does that then we want them to be rewarded with more than a pat on the back.”
• What is a significant goal you achieved in the past 12 months? “Ensuring our employees have health care coverage with
absolutely no out of pocket expense. It’s the right thing to do. No one at Imaging Technology Solutions has the burden of
having to take money out of their pocket for health insurance. Imaging Technology Solutions has also made a concerted effort
to give back to the community through various events.”
• What do you believe is the most significant issue facing small-business people today? “It’s the uncertainty in the local
economy. Small business owners currently have a ‘wait and see’ attitude. It’s causing a ‘snowball effect.’
• What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome in growing your business? “We’re operating in an inefficient market. The
challenge is training our sales force to find better prospects. To take advantage of current market conditions, we must find
prospects willing to rely on us.”
• What advice do you have for an entrepreneur just starting out? “Don’t get discouraged. Unexpected challenges will
happen. If they are really big, they can distract you. Keep telling yourself to stay on target and don’t be afraid to seek advice.”
• Do you have an exit strategy? What is it? “We don’t have an exit strategy set in stone. If and when the time comes that we
feel it's time to move on our first choice is to give someone within the Imaging Technology Solutions family an opportunity to
become the managing member.”
• What do you know now that you wish you would have known when you started your business? “There’s no magic formula.
Success comes from surrounding yourself with the right people. If you try to do it all yourself you’re just setting yourself up
for failure.”
• On a daily basis, what are one or two key performance measurements that you frequently keep an eye on? “I get a daily
report on our service performance. At the end of the day I print out a spreadsheet that tells me everything from our response
time to customers to how many calls we’ve completed and everything in between that has to do with customer service. I also
look at a daily activity report to ensure our marketing team is doing everything they can to get our message out to current and
potential customers.”
• What mistake have you learned from? “I’m very persistent when I work on something challenging. I’ll never give up until I've
succeeded. There have been times in my career when I should have moved on sooner. There's a very fine line between being
persistent and being counter-productive.”
• What's the best piece of business advice you ever received? “Recognize the skills and traits you don’t have and hire people
who have them.”
• What advice can you offer other entrepreneurs? “I speak to a lot of soon-to-be entrepreneurs. Most have great ideas but
they don’t really have any idea of the commitment it takes. I tell them not to expect an eight-to-five job. It just doesn’t work
that way.”
• What is the best small change you've made in the past year that produced surprisingly big results? “In business, time is our
most precious non-renewable resource. By automating the mundane, you free yourself and others to perform tasks that have
the potential to significantly improve your business. It's relatively easy to come up with a list of repetitive tasks, and then
make conservative estimates on how many hours a day it takes to complete them. When you calculate what that additional
time is worth it can make a dramatic impact on your bottom line.”
• How do you foster teamwork? “We involve the employee’s in most decisions. Our business is pretty simple and there’s no
point in running a covert operation. When we make important decisions no one is surprised. It’s a philosophy that works
because people know their input is being considered. As a result, changes are usually pretty transparent in our organization. It
fosters a good sense of teamwork.”

8. …And Gives Back to His Community

9. In 2007 and 2008 Mike Corey
donated a copier to Camp
Invention.

10. Mike Corey with Hope Massar (left)
and Julie Perks of Camp Invention

11. His Goodwill Efforts are recognized by the
media…including Ahwatukee Foothills News and
Ahwatukee Republic

13. The business, Imaging Technology
Solutions, is also cited in the media.

14. The Arizona Republic

15. The East Valley Tribune

16. www.azcentral.com
“Copy, imaging-systems firm opens Tempe base.”

17. About Imaging Technology Solutions
With several financing and leasing options available on new equipment,
Imaging Technology Solutions educates its customers--enabling them to
make the best possible decision on equipment that fit their needs. In
addition to offering a variety of the best products on the market,
including copiers, printers and business equipment, Image Technology
Solutions services and repairs most of the major brand names. Its
service technicians understand the need for quick response time to keep
offices running smoothly. Most service calls are same day.
Mike Corey
President
Imaging Technology Solutions
2415 W. Huntington St.
Suite 101
Tempe, AZ 85282
(480) 628-5335
www.imaging-tech.net/