It’s tempting to cast Lester Mesner as a character in a rags–to–riches Horatio Alger story. Tempting, but not entirely accurate.
Although Mesner knows what it means to be poor, he’s not ready to describe himself as rich. Lucky, maybe. Blessed, certainly. But Mesner has too much work to do—and too many people relying on him—to start counting money anytime soon.
Mesner, president of newly formed Colorado Mattress Co., joined the bedding industry in 1984 when he took a job as sales manager at Spring Air Mattress of Colorado. He was 33 years old and had been supporting himself since he was 16.
By the time he was 18, Mesner was working as the night shift manager in a convenience store and going to school during the day.
“It was hard, but I was making more money than my father at the time and my only desire from that point on was to make enough money to support myself and a family,” he says.
A few years later, through sheer persistence, Mesner parlayed a sales clerk position at Macy’s into a job as bedding buyer.
“It wasn’t the mode to hire someone without a college degree for the job,” he says. “I got it because I didn’t give up and a guy stuck his neck out for me.” Eventually he landed the sales job at Spring Air.
Given Mesner’s own assessment of his abilities, his career path may seem counterintuitive.
“I don’t consider myself to be a good salesperson and I’m an absolutely terrible public speaker,” he says.
What Mesner says he can do is pay attention and work hard. Taking his cues from a retiring Spring Air sales manager, he determined that the best way to be successful was to “give customers what they wanted, not what you wanted to sell them.”
He says he tackled his fear of public speaking by “swallowing hard and speaking from my heart.” Gaps in his education were closed by “never being afraid to work and by putting in the time.”
His efforts paid off. In 1995, Mesner, who had risen to vice president of sales, purchased Spring Air Mattress of Colorado from Dallas Yeargain, who founded the company in 1949.
“When I bought the company, we were doing about $9 million in sales,” Mesner says.
Mesner ran the company until 2007, when he and other licensees accepted a buyout offer from corporate Spring Air. At the time of the purchase, the manufacturer’s annual sales approached $17 million.
In August 2008, Spring Air closed the Colorado facility, putting all of Mesner’s former employees out of work. In May 2009, corporate Spring Air collapsed, shuttering other plants and laying off thousands. (It later re–emerged as the licensing group Spring Air International.)
Mesner wasted little time. By July, he and three partners had reopened the 50,000–square–foot Denver facility. After upgrading manufacturing equipment and hiring back most former employees, Mesner began producing mattresses in October.
This time, however, he has decided to bypass licensing agreements.
“When my oldest and best customer said that he would like to buy from me again, I figured we could grow from there without locking ourselves into paying fees and royalties,” he says.
And grow is exactly what Mesner intends to do.
“I want to be a bigger and better mattress company than when I was with Spring Air,” he says. “I don’t want to be just a supplier; I want to be a partner.”
Holiday spirit — Mesner loves dressing up and playing Santa Claus. He has fond memories of huge Christmas parties he has hosted for the families of his staff. Shopping for gifts for his employees’ children and then presenting them with a jolly “ho–ho–ho” brings him great satisfaction.
The nurturing type — Mesner describes himself as a provider. “I love to take care of my kids and grandkids in the way my own parents couldn’t take care of me while I was growing up,” he says. “I also like to take care of my employees, who work very hard and should be rewarded for their work.”
The joys of travel — “I’ll go anywhere,” Mesner says, ticking off the places he’s been and listing countries he wants to visit. He is planning a 14–day river cruise through China in July but his real dream is a leisurely trip around the world. “The world has a lot to offer and travel gives me perspective on the way people live, which challenges my assumptions,” he says.
Strengths and weaknesses “If I tell someone I’m going to do something, I do it,” Mesner says. Groups, however, make him nervous and he would rather spend time with people one–on–one.
Live and let live — Mesner bases his relationships on two simple premises: “We’re all created equal and we all have different ways of doing things.” He adds, “I think I get along with most people because I try to listen to them and don’t push my beliefs on other people or judge them.”
| Bio in brief | |
| Name | Lester Mesner |
| Company | Colorado Mattress Co. |
| Title | President |
| Location | Denver | Age | 59 |
| Family | Mesner and his wife, Arlene, have been married for 20 years. Their blended family includes five grown children and seven grandchildren. |
