There was a time in Wes McArtor’s life, when he was just starting BEI Services with Greg Moseley, that the business was consuming his world. After all, a new business—like a newborn child—tends to dominate one’s every thought and action, and all else tends to fall by the wayside. It got to the point where McArtor felt as if he had struck rock bottom.
With the help and encouragement of his wife, Lisa, McArtor was able to reprioritize his life, knowing that he needed to put his faith and family above work. Everything else fell into line, giving him the balance and peace of mind he needed.
“I ignored (faith and family) in the early years of starting this business,” said McArtor, a 2019 ENX Magazine Difference Maker. “I changed course and started putting God first, family next and work third. Miracles started happening and we’ve been successful beyond my wildest dreams.
“My dad always drilled into me that if you are willing to work harder than everyone else, you’ll achieve more than most will ever dream of,” he added. “That’s proven to be true. I’ve learned over time that there needs to be balance, but Greg and I’s faith, dedication and hard work is why we are still here. Too many companies just focus on the almighty dollar, when it’s God Almighty that deserves the focus.”
Faith, family and hard work have catapulted McArtor and NEXERA (A BEI Services Company) to the apex of the industry in providing copier and printer device data and benchmarks to the dealer channel for more than 25 years, as well as a roadmap for clients to reach the pinnacle of service excellence. Most recently, the company’s imaging-Device-as-a-Service (iDaaS) tool for no-meter billing is in the foreground of the industry-wide movement.
As such, McArtor is a shining example, both from a personal and professional standpoint, of the need to prioritize in order to move forward.
Genesis of an Idea
After serving a stint in the U.S. Marines, McArtor landed a technician’s job with Savin’s Dallas branch in 1981. Twelve years later, fortified by his wealth of experience in the field, McArtor and Moseley set about creating BEI Services to provide a third-party source for standards and comparative-service reporting on a national level. McArtor derives much satisfaction from watching his customers improve on their metrics and thrive, as well as seeing his own team enjoy personal and professional growth.
“We are blessed to still be in business after 26 years,” McArtor said. “Greg and I have always tried to do the right thing first, then if we can make a little money at it, we’ll be successful. We still believe integrity means something. Not every one of our customers is as successful as we’d like, but if they fail, we see it as our failure and try to improve ourselves to prevent it from happening again.”
He credits Dick Elixman, NEXERA’s CFO, with challenging him to look beyond data analytics and solutions and realize that the business is really about people. “Truly successful leaders are those who know how to get results through others, and that skill translates to many facets of life,” McArtor adds.
So far, 2019 has been an eventful year for McArtor, beginning with BEI’s merger with Business Systems Consulting and the rebrand to NEXERA, which he called a “Herculean effort” for his team. The company learned new ways of helping customers, put new products into place and doubled in size. As the new entity settles into place, McArtor will be looking to expand its presence in other countries.
Added Firepower
Continuous improvement is a key cornerstone for NEXERA as well as it is for clients. “We can now offer expertise with ECI and Compass/Sherpa that no one else can do,” McArtor remarked. “NEXERA will bring our analytics power to guide our development of a dealer’s team so everyone can be successful. It simply costs too much to replace a team member, so investing in their development pays big dividends.”
Away from the office, Lisa and Wes McArtor have been together for nearly 30 years. They have a son, Josh, who got engaged last month. Their youngest child, Dakota, is married and acts as a guide for TDK Safaris, which the family owns and operates in South Africa. Lisa and Josh recently flew there for the start of the safari season. The family enjoys camping and riding their side-by-side UTV. As for Wes McArtor, he enjoys competitive pistol shooting, the guitar and entering his old muscle car in shows.
