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The BAZ Group
President Molly Zraik
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Five
years ago, Molly realized she had to change her management
style in order to get the most out of her employees.
She decided to create goals for employees that were
in line with their individual strengths, instead of
making them work exactly like she does.
Molly Zraik thought she would follow in her attorney
father’s footsteps.
Describing her childhood growing up in Toledo as ideal
and full of happy memories with her stay-at-home-mom
and father, Molly said she planned to go to law school
like her father. She also planned to follow her mother’s
sage advice. “I never forgot what my mother
told me. She said, ‘You must be able to take
care of yourself, even if someday you decide to stay
home with your kids. You must take responsibility
and have the ability to provide for yourself,’”
recalled Molly.
It was during this time when a young Molly saw her
father working independently as an attorney, setting
his own hours, playing golf, and enjoying time with
the family, that she decided she wanted that type
of career for herself.
Following high school, Molly attended college in Indiana
and received a degree in economics and philosophy.
“I thought I would finish college, work for
a while and then go to law school,” Molly said.
“I figured that I would do better as a law student
if I had a few years of work experience under my belt.”
At age 23, Molly took a commission-based position
in the telecommunications industry cold-calling customers
in Detroit. Although she learned a lot, Molly became
frustrated with the very small commissions, as well
as the company’s disorganization. “I would
literally spend eight hours a day on the phone, knowing
I needed to get one client per week to make the money
I wanted. “It was discouraging when the money
did not come in like it was supposed to,” Molly
remembered. “I was trying to teach myself sales
because I had no training, and I had to figure it
all out on my own by setting goals and working really,
really hard.”
Soon, Molly began making her sales targets. Then,
she realized that she could better serve her clients
by having a deeper knowledge of the industry. So Molly
taught herself the technical part of the job to ensure
that her hard earned sale actually turned to revenue
for the company and commission for herself.
It became apparent, however, that the company she
was working for was not a good fit, and Molly knew
she could do better. But Molly was not ready to quit.
Instead, she decided to self-educate, with some help.
“I hit it off with one of the technical guys—Marc
Brown—and I started only working with him, because
I knew he did good work and he was willing to help
me learn.”
Over the next two years, Molly persisted in her work
for the business and developed an understanding of
the ins and outs of the business as well as the technical
side of the industry.
Marc, who would years later become her husband, encouraged
Molly to start her own telecommunications consulting
business. She moved from Detroit to Toledo and in
May of 1993, at the age of 26, started her own business,
the BAZ Group. Marc rejoined the business when they
got married, and he currently works as a principal
for the BAZ Group.
BAZ—which is from the first letters of Marc’s
last name and Molly’s last name—began
in Molly’s tiny apartment with her kitchen table
serving as her desk. According to Molly, Marc provided
her with a lot of assistance during her business’
first year, and then she was on her own.
“It was good timing for me to start my own business,”
Molly said. “I was single, no kids, and at a
place in my life in which I could take the plunge.
It takes a lot of guts and a lot of willingness to
get a business like this started—to knock on
doors and make those phone calls.”
According to Molly, the BAZ Group is an independent
telecommunications consulting firm that assists companies
in virtually all aspects of telecommunications.
Reducing telecommunications expenses and finding the
right services to meet the companies’ needs
is one of the primary services the BAZ Group offers.
“We basically come in and take a look at all
of your services, and then we go to the phone companies
on your behalf to get the right services and best
prices,” Molly explained. “Then the client
pays the BAZ Group a portion of what their company
saves.”
After six months in her tiny apartment office, Molly
was able to move into a roomier two-bedroom apartment
and then eventually into a townhouse for two years,
putting her office into the loft area. Molly hired
her first employee while in the loft office location.
In 1996, Molly’s business moved into an office
separate from her home, and she hired a second employee.
That year, she also landed a new client, a bank, and
that new account changed everything for her. “I
will never forget the day the bank signed my agreement,
and I went in the back of the bank to pull the 80
branch locations’ bills,” Molly laughed.
“I was so excited and nervous, and I remember
going home crying because at first glance of the bills,
the savings didn’t jump out at me as they usually
did.”
After a few nervous moments, Molly got to work. She
identified significant savings for the bank, and,
in return, she reaped an important fee. In fact, Molly’s
portion of the bank’s telecommunications savings
alone paid for all of her previous debt.
Putting her employees high on the list of priorities
is key to Molly’s business philosophy.
“I’ve always wanted to go out in the world
to make a difference, to really help people,”
Molly said. “So I believe in taking care of
the people who are around you every day. They have
to be productive, but there has to be that quality
of life, even in the office.”
Five years ago, Molly realized she had to change her
management style in order to get the most out of her
employees. She decided to create goals for employees
that were in line with their individual strengths,
instead of making them work exactly like she does.
Her philosophy seems to serve her business well, as
she lists Fortune 500 companies among her clients,
and has decided to forgo law school to stick with
her growing business.
“Everything for me has been by strength of will,”
Molly said. “I’m in an industry that was
brand new when we started, and I have no formal business
training. I don’t know if what I do is the most
efficient, but I do what makes sense to me, and I
think I’ve done pretty well with this.”
BAZ GROUP
Molly Zraik, President
6545 West Central Avenue, Suite 102
Toledo, Ohio
Phone: 419-531-7727
Website:
www.thebazgroup.com
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