Singular Focus

The path from employee to entrepreneur often can be paved with the frustration that an employee accumulates when his or her objectives don’t align with an employer’s culture or priorities.

Before he established Metropolitan Archives, Landover, Md., Joe Incarnato experienced this type of frustration when the local records management company he had worked for since 1988 was acquired by a publicly held

international firm in 2000. While he stayed on with the company for two years, Incarnato says he felt his employer’s “cookie-cutter approach” was not appropriate for the Washington, D.C.-metro market, nor was it what the original company’s customers had come to expect in the way of customer service.

“The D.C. legal market had a need for a locally owned and operated records management company,” he says, adding that clients prefer when a person rather than an automated system answers phone calls.

In January of 2005, Incarnato opened Metropolitan Archives in a 50,000-square-foot building. Doug Peters, a co-owner of the company that had employed Incarnato as vice president before its acquisition, joined him in the business after his five-year non-compete agreement expired. The duo bought out Incarnato’s original investment partner, forming a 50/50 partnership.

Within three years, Metropolitan outgrew its original location. In 2009, with the help of a U.S. Small Business Administration loan, the company secured a 177,000-square-foot facility, purchasing 105,000 square feet initially with the option to buy the remaining space in the future.

NARROWING THE FOCUS
“Our core competency has always been document storage,” Incarnato says of Metropolitan Archives.

Records storage accounts for 98 percent of the company’s revenue, while vault storage contributes 0.5 percent, and shredding accounts for 1.5 percent. Metropolitan’s records management business is comprised of 40 percent active file management and 60 percent document storage, he notes.

Much of Metropolitan’s shredding activity is the result of customer records reaching the end of their specified retention periods. The company has some collection containers in the field, primarily with one client, Incarnato says, and does not actively pursue destruction accounts. “There are a number of decent shredding companies in the area. We kind of let them do their thing, and we do our thing, and everybody is happy,” he says.

Metropolitan Archives began offering media vaulting in 2005 and has fewer than 10 accounts that it provides tape services to in the form of daily or weekly container rotations. “I don’t think it’s our specialty,” he adds. “That is why we really haven’t gone after it.”

The company prefers to concentrate on its hard copy records storage business. “The document side keeps us busy through requests off of our website and word-of-mouth referrals,” Incarnato says. “If we ever felt like that was starting to slow and we didn’t have opportunities there, we would start to look in a different direction.”

Despite the much-talked-about “paperless” office, Incarnato says he does not believe this will soon be a reality that records storage firms will have to contend with, particularly in Metropolitan Archives’ service area. “Keep in mind that this is Washington, D.C.” he says. “This town is built with paper. Honestly, I think that we are fortunate to have the government here, because even a lot of private sector folks are doing government activities to a certain degree.”

STANDING APART
Incarnato counts Metropolitan Archives’ focus on hard copy records management among the company’s strengths. The fact that the company owns its building also offers advantages. “We are not beholden to a landlord and can better control our costs,” Incarnato says.

Additionally, Incarnato’s and Peters’ involvement in day-to-day operations contributes to the company’s strength, Incarnato says. “We are both out there making sure that we are doing things right.”

Metropolitan Archives continues to post growth of up to 15 percent annually. Incarnato says organic growth from existing accounts contributes 9 percent of Metropolitan’s growth and new account acquisition contributes 5 to 6 percent. 

Metropolitan Archives’ reputation for reliable and responsive customer service has raised its profile in the D.C. market, Incarnato says. “People continue to be frustrated by the hoops they have to jump through with the larger companies.”

Instead, the staff of Metropolitan Archives is willing to jump through hoops for its clients.  

LOOKING AHEAD
Incarnato says Metropolitan’s approach to customer service has much to do with its continued growth. Despite how large the company grows over the years, Incarnato says it will strive to keep the small-company feel by offering responsive, personal service.

And the company does plan to grow in the coming years, with the goal of purchasing the rest of the space available at its current location by 2014. “Our goal continues to be to go after new business to do that,” Incarnato says.