Family Owned and Oriented
Jon and Tina started the business (then called Lake Area Promotional Specialties) in 2007 as a way to take control of their working hours and spend more time at home with their family. As the years progressed, they were able to expand and start to include some of the family in the business so that they would also be able to spend more time with their growing families with out having to rely on a typical 9-5 job. When Jon and Tina decided to retire in 2019, their daughter, Gail, took over and moved the business home for more flexibility as her family was growing.
Same Business, New (or Old) Model
When the business was started, the main focus was customer convenience (as well as affordability). Jon and Tina always met with the clients at a time of their choosing and a place of their convenience. When they had the opportunity to move into a downtown store-front, the thought was that it could only be more convenient for clients to find them. As it turns out, having strict store hours (usually during client working hours) didn't allow time for those potential clients to stop in before closing time. Not to mention the overhead involved in renting a store which forced an increase in pricing (sometimes right out of the clients spending reach).
Because of these issues, when Gail became owner, she decided to rediscover the roots! The store-front was closed and continuing the long-held value of convenience, once again, became the focus. Instead of the customer carving out time to come see her, she goes to the customer! After initial contact through email or phone call, if necessary, a time and place that works best for the customer is decided and then a meeting is set to work out all the details.