(bright gentle music) - I'm Norm Silverstein.

Glad you're with us.

Today, I'm in good company with Larry and Jane Glazer.

Jane and Larry take the word entrepreneurship to a new level.

First, each of them has embraced the risks involved in starting your own business, and both have mastered the skills it takes to reap the rewards of their risk taking.

Jane Glazer is an Athena Award finalist.

She's president and founder of the catalog company, QCI Direct.

Larry Glazer is the CEO and managing partner of Buckingham Properties, which has developed literally millions of square feet of space in the Rochester area.

The Glazers are not likely to describe themselves as a power couple, but their combination of regional roots, business success and community service sets them apart as Rochester notables.

Larry, Jane, thanks for being with us today.

- Good morning.

- Larry, I'd like to start with you.

You've talked about the fact your father was a major influence in your life and he was an inventor, but he wasn't able to take those products to market.

What did you learn from him?

- Well, my father was the hardest working person I ever knew.

I grew up in Buffalo and my father was always working two or three jobs, it seemed, and just to support his family.

He was not really well educated, but early on he had a very small little chemical company and he invented several products which went on to fame and fortune for other people.

So really what I learned is that there was a business sense that my father never had, but he had the work ethic, he had the intelligence, and he had the perseverance to develop product.

I learned things to do and things not to do from my father.

- [Norm] What was the most important thing you learned to do?

- The most important thing I learned to do was dot I's and Cross T's.

- Okay, so to be organized and to, I guess you'd say close the sale.

- Yes.

- Okay.

Jane, you grew up in a time when opportunities for women seemed to be limited, but you didn't let that stop you.

In fact, didn't you start off as a teenager with, was it a daycare center in your own backyard?

- Yes, I put together a paper that I sent out around the neighborhood, and I offered to take care of kids two mornings a week and feed them juice and crackers and all that.

And I even have a copy of it in my office because the truth is in those days, that meant, "Oh, I must wanna be a teacher."

But the truth was I was doing all the business aspects and I didn't recognize it till years later.

- [Norm] But you did become a teacher.

- Yeah, I did, 'cause you're supposed to either be a teacher, a nurse or a social worker.

Those were my choices.

- Okay, but what's interesting is there was a family business and both of you had an opportunity.

It was Great Lakes Press?

- Yes.

- [Norm] And Larry, you started out there.

- Well, I actually started out there in Rochester.

I had been living, we were married, living in New York, and I had the opportunity to move to Rochester, and I started out at Great Lakes Press in production, really not knowing anything about printing.

So I paid my dues.

I worked there for about 25 years and moved up through the company ranks.

And that's where I learned the art of selling, closing deals, negotiating and contracts.

- But somehow you got away from there.

You had a friend, Harold Samloff, who called you one day.

Am I correct?

- Yes, when we moved to Rochester, we really didn't know anybody, but I loved to play tennis and I found a group of guys who every Sunday morning at Pittsford Sutherland High School, got together and we played what I call pickup games.

And one of the guys I met was Harold Samloff, and one day I'm at Great Lakes Press.

I'm 22 years old, the phone rings and the guy says, "Hi, this is Harold Samloff on the phone.

Do you remember me?"

And I said, "Of course."

He said, "Well, how would you like to go in the real estate business?"

I said, "Well, okay."

He said, "I have a house on Buckingham Street and you can buy half of it for $1,000."

So I said, "Well, okay."

And I came home from work and I said, "Jane, I've just gone into the real estate business."

And she said, "Okay."

(laughing) And that was the end, the beginning of the Buckingham Properties and a partnership that lasted for 40 years.

- And today you have, Buckingham Properties has over, is it nine million square feet?

- It depends how you count, but I would say if we finish everything we're trying to do, we'll probably be in the 10 million foot range or something like that.

- Well, that's pretty incredible.

And Jane, you were also at Great Lakes Press, but you decided that maybe you could go out on your own?

- Actually, I was never offered a job at Great Lakes Press because I was a girl, and it was Larry who encouraged me to do something more.

He said, "You can do more than just teach.

You can do something.

You wanna go into business?"

And he suggested that I go into the mail order business because they were in printing.

And so he said, "Easy, we'll print a catalog and you'll just work part-time, come in and, you know, reap the benefits."

Well, it never was part-time, but it was a lot of fun.

And I was the first one evicted when the business was sold.

So then I had to go back to my husband and say, "Can you give me some place to go?"

And I got my first location on Lyle Avenue in the back of a old warehouse.

- I remember that.

(laughing) But today it's a little more than that.

It's in Chili.

How big is your space?

- Well, now I'm in a 250,000 square foot facility.

But the interesting part is that when that facility came up for sale, it was originally owned by Case Hoyt, who had bought out Great Lakes Press.

So as Larry says, "What comes around goes around."

And when he found it was available, he said, "This is the place for you to move."

So I'm out in Chili.

- Well, how did you two meet?

I understand it has something to do with summer camp.

- I'll let Jane take that one.

- Okay.

Well, we were counselors at Camp Seneca Lake, which is the JCC local camp.

And Larry was from Buffalo.

I was going to Ohio State, he was at University of Buffalo.

And he called my cousin to see, 'cause she was also going to camp.

And she wrote me a letter.

In those days we didn't have email and telephones were expensive.

She wrote me a letter and she said, 'I just talked to this guy, Larry Glazer, on the phone, and he sounds really good, but he's only a freshman, so maybe he'll be good for you."

(Norm laughing) And the rest is history.

- Okay, well take us back.

Where was your first date?

And I've heard this was a very interesting first date.

- Are you gonna tell that?

- No, you better tell.

(laughing) - Well, the first time we actually went out at camp, Larry squeezed a peach on top of my head.

What was the reason for that?

What was that all about?

- Just to get your attention.

- Anyway.

I don't know.

It was just a summer romance and it still is.

It's 45 years of a summer romance.

- [Norm] Well, I heard a story about, I think you told once, Larry, that on certainly one of your first dates you were delivering products and you'd made some deliveries with Jane in your car.

- [Larry] That was actually-- - That was our real first date.

- Real first date.

- I came to Buffalo to visit him from Ohio State, and he picked me up at the airport and he said, "Okay, well, before we go to dinner, we have a few things to do."

And it was delivering soap suds to these customers.

- I was in the chemical distribution business at that time while I was going to school.

And I would buy home cleaning products and repackage them.

And we had to make deliveries to customers on our way to our first date.

So the back of the car was filled with bags and boxes of soap suds and cleaning products.

- I should have known then there was something going on, you know, besides just the couple thing.

- Yeah, I guess so.

Very romantic.

- [Larry] Oh, very romantic.

- I must say.

There's been a lot written about both of you, and it always comes back to how you sort of play off of each other in terms of your strengths.

You've advised Larry to go with his instincts, is that correct?

And Larry, you've told Jane that, you know, she's capable of doing anything she sets her mind to and she should be making decisions.

Do you think you'd be where you are today without each other?

- No.

- No.

- Absolutely not.

- No.

We're a team.

- You're a team.

Okay.

For people who don't know, QCI Direct, it started out as a much smaller company.

Why don't you tell us a little bit about your origins and actually how you came up with the idea for a catalog company?

- Well, it was because we were in the printing business and we needed something, so we thought we'd print a catalog.

We printed a 16-page black and white, and we really worked as a team at the beginning.

Larry used to buy the products and do a lot of the merchandising.

And we had three teenagers, so one day I said, "You have to go to Chicago without me.

I can't do this.

We can't leave the kids alone."

And he came back with a banana bag.

I mean a banana stand.

- Right.

- It was about this high.

It was this plastic thing you were supposed to hang bananas on.

And in usual way that we react, I said, "What is this stupid thing?

What did you buy?"

(laughing) And he said, "No, this is gonna be great."

And as always, it was great.

And the business took off.

And we started selling things for the home.

And-- - Actually what started is we named it Tarzan and Jane's Banana Stand.

- Yes, that's right.

- Right.

And that's what got it going.

- Okay, it kind of developed from there though, didn't it?

You have how many customers across the whole country, around the world?

- Oh, well, we've served millions of customers, and we do about a million customers a year now.

- And what inspired you to build that business from the stand?

- I got very, as my husband says, stubborn as can be, I would use the other word.

But anyway, and I just, I couldn't believe I was that stupid that I couldn't make it work, so I just kept working it and working it.

- Now, you're being pretty humble.

How many catalog companies are there today, catalogs?

- [Jane] Oh, we have two catalogs, and then we have three websites.

- [Norm] Okay.

- And so the company's gotten much more complex than it was when we first started.

- Well, you have an interesting business philosophy.

What do you call it?

- [Jane] Sure, no problem.

- Where did that come from?

- Okay, well I read one of Jim Collins' first books, which was called," Built to Last."

And it said, "If you want your company to really be something, you have to have a philosophy."

And at that time I couldn't think of anything that was simple enough that we could all understand.

So I came up with, "Sure, no problem."

And it's just served us well all these years.

Every employee, and I have 110 of them, understand that, sure, no problem, whatever the job is, we all pitch in and do it.

Whether it's taking care of the customer or taking care of each other, and so on and so forth.

- Customers and employees are very important to you.

Don't you say that you package every thing that goes out of the company as though your grandmother would be opening it?

- Right.

That's what I have to say to the people that are packing.

I say, "Pretend this is going to your grandmother.

What would you like it to look like?

You're the most important person in the company because you're the last person to touch my customer."

- Tell us how your company functions.

What's your first contact with a potential customer, and then how do they actually make a purchase?

- Well, our customers get catalogs from us in the mail, or they find us on the internet, or on Amazon.

Like anything else today, it's coming from all sorts of places, and we spend a lot of time saying, "Where did this customer come from?"

We don't even know anymore because there's so many different things hitting and switching.

But that's business.

- You're both Western New York natives.

Well, Larry, you were born in Mount Vernon but grew up in Buffalo, is that correct?

- [Larry] Correct.

Absolutely.

- And Jane, you're a Rochester native and you've spent your entire life here.

And you both give a lot back to the community.

You know, when you talk about your businesses, Larry, Buckingham Property has a mission statement.

We just heard how Jane feels about her employees.

What makes you a little different than just going out, and it's about making a buck or just being successful?

- Well, from a business perspective, I believe that money is how you keep score.

But that's not really the business we're in.

We're in the business of satisfying customers' needs.

We sell what I call "our square feet."

Okay?

If you need square feet, we've got it for you.

And over the years we have done basically the same thing that Jane believes in.

We've just taken care of our customers, our tenants, servicing them well, being responsive to their needs, just like any other business.

It's just that our product is a little bit different.

- But you've taken on some very tough projects.

It's not just the easy redevelopments.

You started out doing, I believe some projects on the west side that people didn't think could be developed, am I correct?

- Yes.

Well, when we started we really had no money.

So the only way you could, the only product that we could buy was inexpensive product, which was old industrial warehouse.

Now I grew up in Buffalo in an old industrial neighborhood, so old buildings didn't scare me at all.

So in the process of doing this, we developed a niche and a marketplace expertise for people that needed value property.

Not high prices, but good reasonable dry space.

And over the years, as companies went out of business in Rochester or changed, we were able to buy these factories up, clean 'em up, chop 'em up, reposition them, and rent them to multiple tenants.

And then as the tenants started growing, we would buy more property to move them into that.

So we've been able to service our growing customers over the years.

- He's being very humble.

You know, the truth is he's a visionary because he'll look at an old building and he'll go, "Look at the potential."

And I'll go, "What?"

(chuckling) He sees things that other people don't.

He takes an old property and he knows exactly what he can do to it.

- Thanks.

- It's great.

I'm very impressed.

- I think we're all pretty impressed.

Tell us about Buckingham Commons.

Now, that was an old building next to Frontier Field, next to the railroad tracks that certainly had been vacant for a long time.

What did you see in that building?

- Well, Buckingham Commons was really an easy project to look at.

It was in an area of the city that was next to Frontier Field.

It had great location and it had something very unique.

If you stood on the roof of the building, you could see buses, trains, and cars.

And I always remember living in New York being able to do that.

I said, "Well, there's a great opportunity here for somebody who likes watching trains go by."

So we bought this abandoned building for a modest sum of money.

We repositioned it by completely redoing it, make it a combination of office and residential.

And the first thing we did is we put bleachers on the roof so you could go out and watch the ball games.

And it's been a terrific success.

- Has it been your most successful project or is there one that really stands out in your mind?

- It's been successful, but I don't know if you would call it most successful.

That depends how you wanna measure success.

If you wanna call it in terms of, is it vacant at all?

No, it's a very successful building.

It's got a waiting list for residential tenants, and the office spaces are full.

So it's been successful.

- What about your favorite project?

What would that be?

- I actually believe my favorite project was the conversion of the Michaels-Sterns factory at 87 North Clinton, because this was a building that was so far beyond saving that if I had thought about it twice, I should have just tossed a hand grenade in it and started over.

But I got stubborn, we got lucky.

We got a lead tenant.

We got creative in what we did over there.

And now the neighborhood has sufficiently turned around that it's okay to be there.

So it's worked out.

- Does he ever ask you about your thoughts before he takes on a project like that?

- Well, he's the visionary, as I said, but what he does is he comes home and he says, "You know, I saw this building and I'm not sure, and it's gonna be, you know, a big project, and what do you think?"

And I go, "Sure, go for it."

- So the real answer is that I asked Jane for about everything and we discuss it and I've now named Jane, "What-the-Heck Glazer," because everything I talk about doing, she says, "Sure, why not?"

She says, "What the heck?

Go for it."

- [Norm] Oh, that's great.

- So-- - What about you?

Do you ever get asked about adding new products or marketing?

- Well, I used to get asked a lot because I used to write the copy, do the production, do the layout, handle the photography, help with the merchandising.

But as Jane's company has grown, she has real people doing the work, people that are way better than I ever was.

So now I'm relegated to going to trade shows and good at giving my two cents on a particular product.

- Oh, come on.

He must have come up with some great idea that you're still doing.

- Oh yeah.

I mean we're pretty-- Our dinner time is composed of, "Okay, what do you think of this?

What do you think of that?"

And we just banter back and forth.

We've always been like that about sharing what we're doing and looking at each other's opinions.

- I'm always looking for product.

I love going to old hardware stores in different cities and poking around and finding those little nuggets and gems that people have forgotten about.

- You know, you talk about liking to do things together.

You're both pilots.

How did that happen?

- How did that happen?

Well, it's part of our whole relationship that's always been, "Well, what you can do, I can do."

So he learned to fly and I was scared to death and thought, "What is going on here?"

And then I thought, "Well, if he can fly, I guess I can fly."

And so we both became instrument pilots.

He's a commercial pilot.

And it's been a wonderful experience 'cause we've gone all over.

We've been to Europe and Alaska and, you know, it's just a fun thing that we share.

- Well, that's great.

Probably one of the most recognizable developments you're involved in now is the redevelopment of the Genesee Hospital, I guess the entire area there.

You've moved your headquarters over to Alexander Street.

What do you envision when that project is finished?

- Well, Alexander Park, as we now call it, which is a 16-acre tract of land, that was the old Genesee Hospital, plus now we've acquired about 25 buildings in the immediate area is, if we are successful, is going to be a designated recognized area of the city that will be known for its vibrancy and for its commercial activities.

So we are working hard to be the link between East Avenue and South Wedge.

We are developing residential, office, and commercial opportunities over there now, and we think it's another five years before we're finished.

- Is this the biggest project that you've ever been involved in?

- It is, yes.

But we've got several other very large projects on the drawing boards, notably Midtown, Redevelopment, Midtown Tower, and we're working on a very large project, believe it or not, for the last 13 years in Brighton, which is 146-acre mixed use development, which is working its way through the process now.

- [Norm] And where would that be in Brighton?

- That would be on the, basically on Brighton Henrietta Town Line Road between Winton and Clinton.

- But somehow you find time to give back to the community.

You're both involved with boards and different things that obviously matter to you.

Well, why is that important?

And I'll start with you, Jane.

- I'll tell you an interesting story that when we were in our 30s, the Camp Seneca Lake where we first met, called us and said they wanted us to make a donation.

They wanted us to buy a canoe and donate it to the camp.

And that was our very first thing we ever gave back to the community.

Cost us $1,000, and it was the Jane and Larry Canoe.

And at the time we really, we had never been involved in that way.

And it sort of was the starting point for us to get involved in all the different areas.

As a matter of fact, we were one of the first people on the phones for the WXXI Auction.

- Oh, that's right.

- Did you know that?

Yeah.

- Well, you're still involved with the station.

- Right.

- Which we very much appreciate, and I know there's many other things.

- But the very first auction, we were there answering the phones.

- And did you give product from your company?

Was it actually up and running at that time?

- No, it's before.

- [Larry] Before the company.

- Okay, so you've been a long time supporter of the station.

- [Jane] Right.

- [Larry] Yes.

- Right.

And we've always felt it's important to give back.

We've never been on the same board though together.

We pick different boards.

- [Norm] And is that by design?

Yes, it is.

(laughing) - A little bit too much togetherness.

- Well, Larry, you're also involved.

The Jewish Home, I believe, is one of the things you've given a lot back to.

- Yes.

Actually Rochester's been terrific to us.

So it's important to give back to the community, both for ourselves and for the future generations to keep Rochester as vibrant as possible.

- Speaking of Rochester, you've said that Rochester is ready for its third wave.

Could you tell us what you were thinking about that?

- Well, before I came over here today, I started thinking a bit more about it and I realized that what's going on in Rochester, people talk about Kodak and the demise of Kodak, is just an ongoing evolutionary process in city's history.

Rochester used to be the flour city, F-L-O-U-R, and then it was the flower, F-L-O-W-E-R, city.

Then it was the men's garment industry.

Then it was the shoe industry.

I mean it goes on.

And then we were optics and photography and now we're evolving into something new.

So it's just an ongoing process.

- And it sounds like there's going to be an ongoing family business in Buckingham.

- Well, I certainly hope so.

We've got our two sons, Rick and Ken, are both involved in the business and working very hard, and important roles in the company as we are growing.

And we've got outside partners now coming in and we're just busy.

And Rochester's a good place to do business.

- Well, you've just used the key word, busy, and somehow both of you find time to do all these outside activities.

Jane, you ran in the New York marathon.

Are you still a runner?

- [Jane] Yes, but not training for any marathons at this point.

- And Larry, how do you keep in shape?

- Well, I used to play a lot of tennis and squash, and these days I just work out.

- [Norm] But you also have grandchildren now, too?

- Yes, we have six grandchildren, seven, six, five, four and twins, three.

And I wanted to mention that both our-- We have three children and both our boys are working in Buckingham, but our daughter has also become an entrepreneur and she has her own internet site with aromatherapy products.

So obviously we've had some influence over the years.

- It sure sounds like it.

So let me ask you both a question.

If you could change one thing about this community, what would it be?

We'll start with you, Larry.

- That's a tough question.

I think that we tend not to look at ourselves as winners.

We sometimes look at ourselves as half empty when it really should be half full.

There's so many good things going on in Rochester.

We don't wanna let the negative things outweigh the positives.

- [Norm] How about you Jane?

- I think Rochester is unique because it's a very quiet community.

You know, it's the kind of place where people don't show off what they're doing.

So we don't see all the businesses that are really growing and dynamic here because people lead very quiet lives.

You know, sometimes we'll go to Florida and we'll see how these people live in fancy homes.

We don't do that in Rochester.

And I say that as Rochesterian, I grew up here.

You know, people in Rochester build businesses and give back to the community, but they're not show offs.

Is that the right word for it, I guess.

- Is that what you love most about Rochester or is there something else that stands out in your mind?

- I like that about Rochester.

- I do too.

- Yeah.

- But I also like the people.

I actually like the variety of weather, too.

It's like tight shoes.

When a sunny day comes along, it feels great.

- What do you think is Rochester's best kept secret?

- Rochester's best kept secret?

I really think that Rochester's best kept secret is the fact that we're really a vibrant, healthy community that is doing terrific.

- [Norm] How about you?

- I have to agree with him.

I think Rochester has so much to offer, and people from other parts of the country, they don't even know about us.

When we go somewhere, we say, "You know, we're close to Buffalo."

- [Norm] Close to Buffalo.

- You know, people know Buffalo because-- - [Larry] It's nothing to brag about.

- Buffalo brags about the terrible weather and stuff.

But the truth is Rochester is, I think, pretty special,.

- But we don't have a George Eastman anymore.

Is that going to change the face of the community?

That there's no one who is going to be able to give back as much and shape things?

- I believe that that's one of the real tough points that we're going to have to overcome.

The days of having a product like Eastman Kodak manufactured and controlled and George Eastman are probably beyond us right now.

I think we have to, as a community, get over the fact that we don't have George Eastman.

What we have though, I think is a void in what I would call lay leadership, business people who are willing to step up and make things happen.

I mean, this happens to be one of my favorite topics in life.

And I can tell you, if I think back when they were building Midtown and you had the Formans, and you had the people from Bausch & Lomb, and Kodak and Xerox were all very successful, locally owned business people.

It made it easier to get things accomplished.

I think that is one of the weaknesses of Rochester that we need to strive to overcome.

- Have you seen the same thing in terms of the changes?

- Yeah, but see ,I'm the optimist in this twosome here, and I always think that something's going to, someone's gonna rise for the occasion.

The city will survive.

- The city will survive.

But will it thrive?

- [Jane] It'll thrive, too.

- [Larry] I think so, too.

- Okay, well thank you both for sharing your thoughts and telling us about your businesses, and really for the way you give back to so many organizations, including WXXI, which we will say by full disclosure, you both have been active here, but in so many other organizations in the community, perhaps you're being a little, as Jane says, you were a little humble, but I think people think of you as the kind of people who are giving back now and really helping to shape the future of the community.

- Well, I have to say, it feels good to give back to the community.

The community has been great to us and I personally have been blessed with the Tinker Bell theory.

I have this Tinker Bell dust, it's sprinkled over me and it's been terrific.

So gotta give back.

- Anything that you'd like to add that we didn't talk about today?

- I think I'm good.

- No.

We're-- - Well, thank you both for being with us, Norm & Company.

You've been great guests and you know, we look forward to your continued success because it really has meant success for the Greater Rochester community and for that, we all appreciate your giving back.

- Thank you, and I-- - Thank you for having us today.

- And by the way, WXXI is one of those gems that we really have to work hard to make sure it's survives and thrives because that's what local radio and TV is about.

I mean, it's-- - [Norm] And the Little Theater now, too.

- And the Little Theater.

Absolutely.

- Well, thank you so much.

We appreciate it.

- [Larry] Our pleasure.

- And thank you for watching.

If you missed any part of Norm Company, you can find the show on wxxi.org, and on WXXI's YouTube channel.

We'll see you next time on Norm & Company.

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