Les Olson Company

History

Established in 1956.

One night, while sitting around the dinner table, Les Olson announced that he had resigned from his position at ZCMI and with his wife Reva’s support, had resolved to start a family business. All 12 of their children were invited to break open their piggy banks to «buy in» to the new venture. As they dumped their coins onto the table, Reva carefully wrote down each child’s investment for a grand total of $ 63. Les was determined to succeed and Reva never doubted his ability to build a business that would last long after they were around to see it grow.

The company had humble beginnings as Les sold Comptometer Dictation Machines from the trunk of his car. Les would work hard making sales during the day, sometimes taking his young sons along to teach them the business. Reva would manage the company’s books and the kids would help out by doing maintenance work on the equipment. Through the years, Les Olson Company has gained a reputation being Utah’s premier office equipment dealer.