Our Story & Future Vision
We started small, working back-to-back in cramped quarters in a glorified garage. But our commitment to excellence and our drive to be the best quickly put us on a trajectory toward something much bigger.
THE GOOD OL’ DAYS: 2008–2012
In 2008, I quit my job as a lumber salesman and decided to do something I always wanted to do: become an entrepreneur. So I followed my dreams and began Nelly’s Surplus. I was paying $400 per month for a small warehouse in Claremore, Oklahoma. As you can see in the pictures below, this was essentially a glorified garage with a small office.
Most of our location consisted of the warehouse. Ryan and I sat back-to-back from each other in what little office space we were alotted. The above snapshot of our office was taken with a 700 TVL Analog Camera, which was considered high end at the time!
Nelly’s Surplus was focused on buying liquidations, closeouts, customer returns, and used store equipment from places like Amazon, Walmart, Target, etc. It was actually through my contacts with Walmart’s liquidation team that my journey in security sales began. At the time, Walmart was remodeling stores like crazy, and every time they did, they would take every single security camera down and send them to auction. This is when I would buy them by the watermelon box.
At times, we had so much supply that we could barely keep up. We would clean the cameras, test them, and then sell them on eBay (back when eBay was still cool). We learned everything we know through Google and discussion forums. I jokingly tell people that I have a PhD in Google.
Right around 2010 was when our steady supply of used cameras began to dwindle. By this time, we had developed a very loyal customer base selling security equipment, and I found I enjoyed working with the technology and investing in the industry. I quickly began sourcing new equipment from various suppliers so I could continue selling security equipment. We realized our focus was shifting, so we zoned in even more on security sales. We dropped the “surplus” from our company name and Nelly’s Security was born.
First Store
First Office
First Warehouse
NELLY’S SECURITY GETS SERIOUS: 2012–2015
In 2012, I began renting out a warehouse in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We had so much more room to grow in this new location. There were individual offices, a large warehouse, and even a separate showroom. So much better than the previous garage. Here are a few pics of our second location.
I quickly learned that I had allocated way too much space for the showroom in our location design. We had plenty of room to grow, but we grew fast. And, needless to say, we soon ran out of warehouse space.
Our original plan was to serve the DIY customers both in the Tulsa area with this location and also around the world via our e-commerce efforts. While those plans did work out quite well, one thing we didn’t expect was that our services began to appeal more and more to professional security installer customers. While we were very small compared to other security distributors across the nation, our relentless pursuit for customer service propelled us forward. We gained a very loyal dealer customer base. So our focus began to shift once again. While we continued to provide the best support possible to our DIY customers, we also began to intentionally focus our efforts on developing programs and strategies to better serve our growing base of professional installer customers.
Second Showroom & Workspace
Second Warehouse
THE FOUNDATION YEARS AND THE SPARK OF A LARGE VISION: 2015–2019
We quickly ran out of space in the first Tulsa location and moved a few miles down the road to our next building, effectively tripling our space in size. We spent nearly five years growing in this new space. I call these "the foundation years" because this is when we began to settle down and figure out exactly who we were and where we wanted to take the company.
Toward the beginning of 2015, our growth skyrocketed. We almost tripled our revenue in one year. While the last three years have been more stable, our mindset and culture has grown and developed. We focused on boosting our Nelly’s Branding Program, a unique program in which we brand our products with our dealer customer’s logos and model numbers. The branding program has added great value to our professional installation customer base, as it allows them to tighten and boost their own brand.
We also completely redesigned our website, bringing our online presence up-to-date to match our growing understanding of our vision. We also introduced customer-centric value services, such as our 60 Day Hassle Free Return Policy and free shipping on all orders, big or small.
As a fun acknowledgment to our past, we brought back NellysSurplus.com. This site is focused on selling our used customer returns along with closeouts and overstock items at huge discounts.
Of course, our extreme focus on customer service continued during this time and continues still to this day. As a matter of fact, If you asked me what was our biggest factor in growth over the years, I would have to say it’s our customer service and high customer retention rate.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always had big plans for Nelly’s. But my plan and vision was always somewhat fuzzy. I never really implemented specific goals and action plans to reach new heights in our business. Starting at about mid-2018, I decided to make my opaque vision more solid. I began implementing small steps to reach our ultimate goal, which brings us to the present time.
Third Store
Third Warehouse
Third Showroom & Workspace
THE QUEST TO BE #1: 2020 AND BEYOND
Toward the end of our five year tenure at the third location, we became very focused on taking small steps to reach our ultimate goal. These steps caused us to grow so much that it was getting a bit cramped. We added more product lines to our security equipment catalog, such as the economical R-Series and feature-packed Uniview products. We were getting so much stock that we didn't know where to put it. Our team was growing, too. And with more and more employees coming aboard, we were starting to run out of offices.
So, at the beginning of 2020, we packed up and moved a few miles east to our current location, which we affectionately call Nelly's 4.0. Our warehouse is big enough for all of our stock, with even more room for future products. We ditched the single office setup and opted for an open space, making everything look much cleaner and more modern. Our new building really is a reflection of who we have become as a company. In the years to come, as we continue reaching for our goals, we expect this space to see us through much more growth, physically and professionally.
What goal is that, you ask? Well, Nelly’s ultimate goal is simple: “To be the Largest and Most well-known Security Distributor on Earth.” I know this sounds somewhat cheezy and generalized, but it’s the truth. This ultimate goal is what drives all of our decisions and micro goals here at Nelly’s. Needless to say, we have a long way to go. There are some mammoth companies that we have to surpass to get there. But by doing some things differently than what these mammoth companies (and most other companies) are doing, I believe we will get to that number one spot.
How do we get there? I’m glad you asked. Honestly, I don’t yet have all the answers. But I have identified a few areas in which I think most of the industry is lacking. To explain these, I would like to transition this incredibly long "About Us" page to the next section.
Current Office Space
A Fraction of our New Warehouse
