Texas Border Business –
By Roberto Hugo Gonzalez,
David Armstrong, owner of Core Business Solutions has proven to be a business leader who has created a source of employment for many. He was born and raised in the Caribbean Island of Barbados to Ian and Denise Armstrong. His father instilled in him the love of hard work; that is why he emulates his father as a businessman.
“My dad was in the sugar cane industry, he worked very hard and was successful through that.” He said, “He ended his career as CEO of Barbados Sugar Farms and received the top CEO award for the entire Caribbean, that is all the islands of the Caribbean towards the end of his career.”
It is important to note that this award is one of the most prestigious recognitions in that business due to the number of islands in the region. His dad, Ian Armstrong was indeed a true and unique businessman in his industry at the time.
The Caribbean islands are those islands that border or are surrounded by the Caribbean Sea as well as the islands in the nearby Lucayan Archipelago, organized by the political entity to which each island belongs. There are thousands of islands that are part of the island countries of the broadly defined Caribbean region: Anguilla has 21; Antigua-and-Barbuda has 37; Aruba (4); Bahamas (501 approximately); Barbados used to have 3 (but Pelican Island is now absorbed into Barbados through land reclamation, 1956–1961); Belize (plenty); British Virgin Islands (43); Cayman Islands (12); Cuba (23); Dominica (7); Dominican Republic (2); Grenada (39); Guadeloupe (38); Haiti (12); Honduras (6); Jamaica (26); Martinique (50); Montserrat (3); Netherlands Antilles (25, this includes half of Saint Martin); Puerto Rico (142); Saint Barthélemy (13); Saint Kitts-and-Nevis (20); Saint Lucia (17); Saint Martin (8); Saint Vincent-and-the-Grenadines (39); Trinidad-and-Tobago (21); Turks-and-Caicos Islands (58); and United States Virgin Islands (81).
Some continental countries also have islands in the Caribbean, including Colombia (which has 10 islands in the Caribbean Sea, known as San Andrés-and-Providencia), Mexico (4 islands), Nicaragua (4), Venezuela (15), Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama. The United States also claims several small Caribbean islands (including Alto Velo).
In 1988 David came for the first time to the United States, specifically to the Rio Grande Valley on a tennis scholarship. He was a top tennis player; his dedication and his ability to focus made him one of the best tennis players at the university level.
He said, “UT Pan-Am had a very good divisional lawn tennis team, still does and we were fortunate enough to play most of the big name schools across the state and in Oklahoma. Then we’d also take trips into Mexico and this was individually and not as part of the school and professional tournaments in Mexico. That was a very fun time in my life.”
David distinguished himself as a good student and a great tennis player, he completed his university assignments as he had scheduled. “I graduated from the University of Texas Pan-American with a Bachelors in Accounting in 1992 and my Masters of Business Administration in 1994,” he said.
Before going into business, he was with the Small Business Development Center at Pan-Am University and from there he was hired by one of his clients. He said, “That was South Texas Freightliner and I became the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the company. Later, I became the General Sales Manager; I was also preparing tax returns part-time taking advantage of my CPA license.”
As he was doing tax returns for one of his clients, while in the copy machine business, the client approached David with an invitation to become an investor.
Well, the rest is history, he said, “I came onboard probably within a couple of months. The company started in July of 2003, since then Core Business Solutions has been serving the South Texas business community.” The company has grown to a service base of several thousand machines, and serves many high and low profile customers on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border.
David pointed out that Core Business Solutions offers a wide range of Technology Solutions for Businesses and Organizations. These “Solutions” combine products ranging from computer systems, peripherals, and networking components to software, professional development, and integration services.
He said, “With so many variables and “high-tech” systems available today, it is important not to look at the products or services separately, but examine the entire needs of our customers and make recommendations that accomplish their goals and objectives.”
The company has been in business for eleven years and grown to 42 employees. He said, “I spend most of my time with customers making sure that they are satisfied with the services we are providing, making sure that the company is meeting their expectations.”
The challenge that he has had is finding the right people to be part of his team and what worries him the most is not being able to provide a professional and complete service to his customers. In this regard, he is always on top of every transaction to ensure it will benefit his customer.
David’s plan is to grow the company and cover Texas. In addition he said, “Currently Core Business Solutions maintains locations in McAllen, Laredo, Rancho Viejo, and services the 17 southernmost counties of Texas as well as some areas of northern Mexico.
He said that the uniqueness of his company lays on the fact that they focus on efficiency as opposed to just selling someone a copier and walking away. “We provide a solution to the problem.” David is very proud to repeat his slogan “Solutions that Work”, and they live by it.
One of David’s passions is the technology of his industry, “I try to utilize the technology that we sell to help our customers to be more efficient. We sell hardware, software, and services but really it’s always targeted on providing efficiency.”
When David decided be part of Core Business Solutions he chose to not continue with his CPA career because of the time constraints. He said, “As a CPA I’ve had some opportunities that would have taken me to other parts of the world, and to have a business would have been impossible.”
Would you change anything in your life if you had the opportunity? “I think yes. I would change things that slowed me down.” He continued, “I would have really worked on my procrastination issues earlier, paid more attention in school, and worked on my networking a lot earlier.”
As far as civic activities, he has been a proud member of the McAllen South Rotary for 15 years. He said, “I was a member of the UTPA Alumni Association Board for a year and I’m currently on the board for the Make A Wish Foundation.”
David said that the most important people in his life are his kids. “My son, Mathew 14, who loves video games and my daughter, Taylor 17; she loves dancing and sports.”
How would you like to be remembered when you leave this earth? “As someone who is honest; someone you could trust.”
Texas Border Business chose David Armstrong as our Exclusive feature story for October 2014 for his dedication to his clients. He is passionate about technology and understands how important it is for his customers.
He said, “It’s a constant effort on my part and my staff to stay up-to-date with the current technologies so we can best serve our customers with the latest innovations of technology, and how it can be applied, and how to bring solutions for our customers.” TBB
Written by Roberto Hugo Gonzalez the 2009 SBA Journalist of the Year Award Winner & The 2009 and 2012 Paul Harris Award recipient.
