Jakprints was recently featured on the local Cleveland NBC affiliate, WKYC.
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CLEVELAND -- Jakprints is a company rife with entrepreneurial spirit.
Ten years ago, friends Jacob Edwards and Dameon Guess started the full-service marketing and promotion company, which now specializes in custom color printing, apparel printing and sticker production.
The Cleveland natives base their business on a shared passion for what they produce.
"My partner and I started out doing this initially as a labor of love, enjoyment of music, enjoyment of art, skateboarding and the culture around those activities," Dameon says.
In fact, Jakprints took shape in that culture. Dameon and Jacob met while playing in bands, and at shows, they would sell merchandise they had made themselves. Other bands took notice and started asking them to make merchandise for them.
"They look at what you've done to promote and have things on the road and they say, 'Wow. I want those things, too,'" Dameon says. "As you do things for people, they ask you for more things."
Dameon and Jacob listened to their customers' needs and the business grew from there. Interestingly enough, both founders of Jakprints are high school drop outs, but that hasn't stopped them from building their business to now employ nearly 140 people with clients nationwide.
"I think not having some of that business background really gave us the feeling you could accomplish anything," Dameon says.
When asked what he's most proud of when it comes to Jakprints, Jacob replied: "The ability to build something out of nothing and build something good. I just think if you're honest and have passion and produce a good, quality product with the right price, no one can stop you."
© 2009 wkyc-tv
