When Paula Inniss started Ohio Full Court Press just four years ago, the company consisted of only her and one employee. Since then, it has blossomed into a full service digital print shop employing 32 full-time and four part-time employees. Revenues stand at approximately $3.6 million, showing a growth rate of almost 100 percent each year since the business began.
Today, Ohio Full Court Press provides services ranging from digital and full color printing to bindery, document management and fulfillment. Says Inniss, “If a job involves being able to provide all services, I can do it.”
Inniss credits her company’s tremendous growth to several factors, the most important of which is a strong foundation.
“I went into a business that I knew a lot about,” she says, mentioning that her 15 years working with high-volume sales at Xerox Corp. taught her plenty about digital printing — and quite a bit about big businesses. Still, it required more than her expertise to make the company soar.
“It became clear that if we were going to do business with major businesses, we had to be more than a quick copy shop,” Inniss says. That’s why Ohio Full Court Press is now positioned to provide a complete line-up of services.
Inniss learned early on to take advantage of some powerful mentoring relationships. One of these was Craig Taylor, owner of Marketing Services by Vectra Inc., who teamed up with Inniss to provide traditional printing services. Another mentor, Stampp Corbin, president and CEO of Retro Box Inc. and Resource One Computer Systems, taught her about the challenges of running her own business. In the beginning, Inniss says she sought out mentors such as Corbin, using a straightforward introduction like, “I need you to mentor me.” He — and others — did.
Last year, Inniss put all her experience and knowledge from mentors to work when the company signed a contract with the State of Ohio Department of Education, raising revenues dramatically.
“My plans for next year are to have Ohio Full Court Press II at another location,” Inniss says.
The current office will mostly likely become the hub or main office, with a smaller office at another location.
Written by Lori Murray, a Columbus-based free-lance writer.
