Six years ago, I was working as software test engineer for the Hubble Space Telescope. I had a great career there, with a promising future. However, being there for almost ten years, I was starting to feel restless, and my desire to do something more creative was growing. We also wanted to start a family and I wanted work that was flexible, and freedom from going into an office. AND, I had to be able to use my computer skills (didn’t make sense to throw away all that training for a new career). I did some research and found a local learning center that gave you a bona-fide certificate in Graphic and Web Design in two years. That was perfect. I signed up, and quickly soaked up all the new skills I was learning. Meanwhile, my husband, Brahm, had been laid off from his computer technician job (it was around the time when the dot com bubble was bursting, and the demand for computer professionals shrinking). We had some equity in our house and thought maybe we could purchase a packaging and shipping franchise (like a UPS Store), and Brahm could run the business. He’s a hard worker, and a shipping/packaging store was just the kind of work he could really get into. (Little did we realize we were just buying him a job, and really had no clue about how to run a business. More on that later).
	In October of 2003, we were invited to a Halloween party. We did not know anyone there except for the host, and one other couple. The other couple was in the same boat (only knew the host, and us). So, while we were hanging out with them pretty much the whole time, we talked about our interest in buying a packaging and shipping franchise. Well, they happen to be very good friends with a gentleman who, for more than 25 years, had been running a combination printing, packaging, shipping store in Fairfax. In fact, he had been looking to sell it! Our couple-friend spoke very highly of him, and suggested we go talk to him and get some advice. Had it not been for this party, and especially for the fact that we only socialized with this one couple, we would never have ever known about this opportunity.
	Hoss Chamlou, the owner of the printing/packaging/shipping store called Speedy Printing & Pak’n Ship in Fairfax, was quite generous with advice and free offers to help us get a business started. He suggested that Brahm come work there for six months so he can get a feel for the business. He could then open up a similar business in Maryland, or perhaps buy this one. I was finishing up my Graphic & Web Design training and thought it very, very interesting to own a printing business. What better way for me to start a new career. Brahm really liked the idea of being a business owner and running a printing/packaging/shipping store. We started the process of purchasing the business. I was excited to do graphic design, Brahm was excited to have a great job. And neither of us had any clue what a difficult road we were about to get on as business owners. We were planning our retirement and looking at new BMWs for Brahm, while the small-business-owner-gods were just laughing at our ignorance to what lay ahead. But, we were seeing a lot of prayers answered; and our God was bigger. We got all of paperwork together, got the loan we needed, got a good chunk of capital, and in August of 2004, signed the purchase agreement and acquired the business. That same month, I also found out I was pregnant. Another answered prayer.
	After my daughter was born, I quit my job with the Hubble. We moved to Fairfax and put all our efforts in the business. After 3 years, the reality of being a business owner finally set in as sales were gradually decreasing every month, and our debt was increasing. We didn’t know what to do. We tried doing some mailings, offering new services, running some ads. But that merely gave us a temporary boost, only to fall back into declining sales. Finally, when the recession hit in August of 2008, we hit bottom. We had no more credit to draw on, our job jackets were empty, and our phones were silent. The shopping center where we were was in decline and most of the stores had closed. Our future was uncertain as we had a lousy lease that gave the landlord the right to kick us out anytime for any reason. So I reluctantly put out my resume and started looking for a job. The SINGLE interview I went on made me realize I’m not ready to go back to the 9-5 drudge. I liked, no, I LOVED the freedom of having my own business, and I equally loved the work I was doing.
	One of our feeble attempts to generate new business consisted of a postcard mailing. We searched for names and addresses of local attorneys and accountants on Google (we couldn’t afford to buy a list). We sent about 100 postcards, and about 40 of them came back as bad addresses. However, I did get one call from a local attorney, Ben Glass, who happened to be a marketing consultant helping other attorneys acheive success in their law practices. He was interested in getting postcards designed and printed. When I went to visit him, we talked about how business was so slow. Ben took pity on me (and also he can’t stand all the whining business owners do about how their business is suffering, waa, waa, waa) and basically said to me “You CAN turn your business around, here’s how.” He gave me several books and DVD’s on successful marketing. I tore through them and realized how pitifully we really were managing our business, and what a miracle it was we didn’t go under sooner.
	Our whole attitude changed. We became determined to turn the business around, and started implementing some major changes to how we were doing things. One of them was taking our future into our own hands and getting the h-e-l-l out of that shopping center to a brand new shopping center 1/2 mile up the road. We were too scared before, but by God’s grace, we got the money and mustered up the courage to sign a lease agreement for the new location. In February of 2009, we moved to the new location, and the outcome has far exceeded our expectations. We’ve learned how to effectively market our business, and have repositioned the business as a print marketer, teaching our small business clients how to effectively market their businesses. We love what we’re doing, we love this community, and we’re working harder than we’ve ever worked or imagined. But we’re extremely thankful, first to our God who is the author and giver of life in ALL forms to ALL things, including a dying business; and second to the generosity, support, and kindness of people, including our family, friends, customers, vendors, and suppliers.
			We hope you can join us for our grand opening, as we honor those who have been instrumental in our success, and help out other small businesses through promotion of our charity raffle event.