Press-A-Print Settle

By Anne Bozievich

A self-proclaimed "t-shirt junkie," Dolores Settle always had an interest in promotional products. But, she never realized she could make a career of it until she learned about Press-a-Print at a local home show.

Press-a-Print is a company that shows people how to start up and run their own specialty custom printing business. "They're not your typical franchise," explains Dolores. "Instead, they're a company that provides small business opportunities. With their initial training and continued support, you can grow a small business into anything you want it to be."

When she first discovered Press-a-Print, Dolores was working as a medical transcriptionist-a job she was very unhappy with. "The morning before we went to the home show, I told my husband I didn't want to do my job anymore," she says. "It was fate that we saw and learned about this opportunity."

With some previous experience with running home businesses, Dolores was interested in a product that really did something for other people. In her Richmond, Virginia, suburb, she saw many small businesses that couldn't afford top-dollar advertising, and therefore didn't need to order hundreds of promotional products at one time.

With these businesses in mind, she utilized the Press-a-Print opportunity to start her own venture, dubbed Can Do Specialty Printing, to cater to both large organizations and small start-ups. Thanks to in-house printing, she prints on as large or small a scale as her customers need.

Between meeting with customers, discussing their promotional needs and ideas, recruiting new clients, and operating the printing equipment, Dolores' days are filled with variety. She believes this is one of the best parts of the job. "My days are never the same," she says. "Every day is new and exciting."

After four years in business, Dolores is at a point where her business is less dependent on her constant presence in the store. Today, she relies on her cell phone and laptop to check the pulse of business, saying, "I can do a lot remotely." This gives her the freedom to enjoy long weekends and more time with her husband and two children.
Dolores credits much of her success to Press-a-Print's family-focused attitude and belief that you are in business for yourself, but never by yourself. For as long as you are operating your business, the company is only a phone call away and there is no additional fee or annual cost for customer support. From answering questions on operating the printing equipment to putting you in touch with other entrepreneurs in the same geographical area, Press-a-Print makes sure you're never alone.

"I still call weekly, and sometimes daily," Dolores says. "They answer all my questions and they're just as helpful now as they were when I first started."

During tight economic times when many companies are struggling with soaring costs and plummeting employee morale, Dolores is enjoying record profits. "I'm busier now than I've ever been," she says. She credits her boost in business to the relatively inexpensive products-pens, coffee mugs, and t-shirts, to name a few-on which she prints. She explains that as companies are scaling back on big-budget advertising, they're instead turning to smaller, tangible items they can distribute less expensively.
"In today's economy, businesses are finding it's more important than ever to boost employee morale," she says. "T-shirts and polos can do that. They're a great motivational source and a great way to get your message out-like a walking billboard."