Allied Business focuses on core values while location expansion becomes a necessity

They’ve been a true ally to the state’s business community for more than two decades.

Allied Business Solutions (ABS) has transformed what began in 2003 as a simple startup in Garden City with only three employees into a roster now comprised of 69 team members spread throughout Idaho, Oregon and Utah who continue to provide specialized IT management services to an array of businesses.

And by mid-summer 2027, ABS will be making its biggest transformation when it transitions into a multimillion dollar expanded central location in Meridian.

A strategic move that will consolidate its current, three-location Boise workforce under one roof.

“I would be absolutely lying if I say I ever envisioned doing what we are doing after starting out in Garden City more than 20 years ago,” said president and CEO Tom Beeles, who founded ABS after making a career decision to launch a new business venture in the Gem State 23 years prior.

“We’ve slowly moved in this direction, and now we’re looking ahead to the next 10 to 20 years and the infrastructure we’ll then need to grow.”

Personally and professionally, Beeles knows a little about transforming and transitioning, having arrived in Idaho with zero family or friends on the local scene to rely on for support.

“We knew no one, so we didn’t have a babysitter for a long, long time,” he said with a laugh. “It was quite the experience.”

Originally from upstate New York, and a graduate of the State University of New York at Potsdam, where he studied business and economics, Beeles made his first big move in life to the West Coast where he spent about eight years in Southern California.

Unbeknownst to him at the time, selling office equipment in San Diego would eventually one day lead him to Idaho.

“It was my first post-graduate job, and from there I wound up starting a company in San Diego,” he said.

Always looking ahead and thinking about what’s next, he considered moves to both Denver and Austin. But somehow Boise had his number.

And for the past two-plus decades, his undeterred, get-it-done spirit has helped ABS develop into a highly respected and heavily relied upon local business leader. In addition to its main local site currently located on Emerald Street in Boise, ABS houses operations in eastern Idaho, as well as Utah and Oregon.

However, this next big move into Meridian, just off the Interstate 84 near Locust Grove, will provide ABS the one spot with the size it now requires. Situated on 3.5 acres, and to be built from the ground up, the two-story, 45,000-square-foot facility will be divided equally, with half of the new building designated for office space and the other side a warehouse.

Beeles humbly calls this future ABS home “a long-term investment,” one he estimates comes attached with a price tag in the ballpark of $13 million.

“Going back to 2003 when it was just the three of us, this was not part of my long-term vision at that point,” Beeles said.

But a move of this magnitude did make its way into the plans five years ago when he purchased the property for the new site. And the time has arrived to start building on what he and his team have built since ABS got its start in Garden City.

“Strategically this move puts us right off the freeway and gives us easy access to it from Meridian and Eagle roads,” said Lisa Mesenko, senior vice president of HR, Marketing and Strategic Growth.

Prior to joining ABS, she, too, spent considerable time on the east coast, working for Fortune 500 companies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Originally from Montanna, Mesenko has been a key player working alongside Beeles the past seven years.

“It puts us in the middle of the valley for those employees coming from Canyon County and for those coming from downtown Boise or the east side,” she said. “It’s a well-placed hub.”

When ABS bought the new site property five years ago, post-COVID, the firm had grown to about 50 employees overall. Despite the difficulties of the pandemic, Beeles and his team remained committed to providing “world-class technology services with a local touch.”

That same level of commitment and communication is fostered internally as well, a huge contributing factor Beeles stressed, for the move to the new location.

“Being able to grow where we want to, and getting everybody under one roof makes it easier for communication and just being able to expand,” he said. “Right now, we don’t have the space to add more people.”

And communication, as any successful businessperson knows, is key.

“Part of our culture is being together. Communicating easier will make collaboration easier at the new facility,” Beeles said. “This overall move is more about the collaborative factor and making it a really good place to be for our employees.”

“We really have good people, and they truly want to help the community and our clients,” Mesenko said. “Everyone we have who walks through our doors is customer service focused. That is our culture. We want to partner, not just be a vendor.”

And with the Treasure Valley rapidly expanding, opportunities for partnering and providing managed IT services continue to grow quickly as well. In fact, a recent report ranked Idaho the No. 3 state for new moves for a third straight year.

A far different landscape from when Beeles arrived 23 years earlier. Meridian at that time registered nowhere near the 100,000-population mark.

And with growth comes change.

“Most business owners know AI is going to be a part of their business,” Beeles said. “They believe in it but don’t always know where to start.”

That is where ABS comes into the picture, focused on a philosophy of partnership and building relationships throughout the community. A concept fostered by a key phrase featured on the company website: “Designed around the parts of the business you invest in most.”

“The way Tom started this company and his idea of embracing change is at the core of what we are doing,” Mesenko said. “There is a saying that ‘if you are standing still, you are really going backwards.’ You need to change and progress as you move forward into something better.”

Such forward movement is now paving the path to that future home in Meridian.

“I don’t think of it so much as leaving Boise for Meridian as our valley’s central corridor moves to the west,” Beeles said. “We thought it would be good to be somewhere in the middle, but still not too far from Boise. Meridian just seemed like a good fit. A great central location with great exposure for us.”

Plus, the new venture coincides perfectly with one of the outfit’s key employee values: “Enjoy the journey.”

“You’ve got to embrace change and enjoy it,” he said. “You want to be around people who can embrace change, especially with AI. Cultivating honesty and being accountable. People who own what they are doing and are lifelong learners.”

“As we’ve grown, Tom keeps the core at hand all the time,” Mesenko said. “He truly knows what it was like when there were only three people here.”

It was a time long ago when a large conference room or collaborative workspaces were of no consideration for ABS.

“Having fun in the workplace is a big concept of the design of this new building,” Beeles said. “It’s being designed to include a big showroom with a lot of conference rooms and other smaller team rooms.

“For us, it’s highly important to bring people together. It goes beyond our growth.”

And with a collective staff now 20 times larger than what the company started with two decades earlier, excitement to bring all area employees and departments under one roof is growing, too.

“When everyone is remote, it is more difficult to maintain the core culture we value,” he said.

“A couple of weeks ago we released renderings for the first time to the majority of the staff, and that helped turn up the heat a little bit with the excitement level,” Mesenko said.

When it comes to change, timing can be everything.

“We’re in a real unique spot right now because most of our competitors have been acquired,” Beeles said. “From HVAC and plumbers, to contractor, office and IT services, so many mid-size and small businesses are being gobbled up and acquired across the board.”

But not this stellar ally to the Idaho business community.

“In this technological age, it is really a good time to be in Boise or Meridian,” he said. “Growth is exciting, it’s fun, and it’s a huge plus being a part of the community. You still have that small-town feel.”