 After graduation, Zaner worked as a penman at two different business colleges before deciding to open his own school in 1888—the Zanerian College of Penmanship.In 1889, fellow Master Penman Lloyd Kelchner became a partner with Zaner, and two years later, Elmer Ward Bloser—another skilled penman—joined the partnership.That same year, Kelchner left the business arrangement, leading Zaner and Bloser to become equal partners in what had then become the Zaner-Bloser Company.