Greek Corner Acquires Bigfish Screenprinting

Springfield, MO— As of January 1, 2018 Greek Corner Screen Printing and Embroidery are the owners of Bigfish Screenprinting, an acquisition that more than doubled the size of their company.

Greek Corner and Bigfish both offer custom screen printing and embroidery services to the Springfield region. Both locally owned and operated, Greek Corner has been in business since 1983 and Bigfish opened its doors in 2001.

The plan to sell has been in the works for some time once Bigfish owner, Vicki Simpson knew she wanted to retire to pursue other endeavors. “About a year ago I began giving some initial thought to selling my business and looking toward the future of working on some other things which are extremely important to me personally,” said Simpson. “As part of the decision to sell, it was of utmost importance to me that the future owner of my business share in my personal values and the integrity on how my business is managed. After a few meetings with Greek Corner, I was convinced that Jason would share my same values in treating my staff with respect and managing my business with integrity.”

“We know that Bigfish does some things better than Greek Corner and we also know that we do a few things better than Bigfish,” says Jason Parke, owner of Greek Corner Screen Printing and Embroidery. “We are going to step back and observe what works best. After a period of time, we will take the best of both worlds and integrate those ideas and processes into a system that will create an even greater company than either of us ever dreamed.”

Greek Corner has grown over 600% since Parke purchased the company over eight years ago. Previously called Corner Graphics, Parke not only restored the company to its original name, but he also assembled a team who he could trust to be dedicated to delivering the highest quality service and product, every time. Parke and his team are taking this opportunity to objectively look at both companies to see what truly works the best for everyone, including the customers.

This acquisition will double Greek Corner’s annual earnings and increase their staff size by 12 employees.

Greek Corner will keep the Bigfish location on Glenstone for the foreseeable future. All orders can be placed through Greek Corner by calling 417-865-8011 or visiting www.greekcornerprinting.com.

Biz 417 Feature – September/October 2017

 The Problem
When Jason Parke bought The Greek Corner Screen Printing and Embroidery in 2009, his first big order was printing 1,300 shirts for Springfield Public School’s graduation. “Everything that could go wrong went wrong,” Parke says. One of the machines broke, a printer was out sick, a storm knocked out power and a dryer caught fire. Amazingly, Parke met the deadline, and things calmed down, with one exception: Business always slowed to a trickle during the winter.
The Big Idea
“My granddad always said you have to work twice as hard to do half as good during the winter,” Parke says. To fill the winter lull, Parke increased Greek Corner’s pool of contract orders—clients who place large orders throughout the year. Last year, contract orders made up about 20 percent of Greek Corner’s sales. This year, that number is up to 25 percent.
The Learning Curve
It was a somewhat unnatural move for this reserved introvert. “Networking has always been a little harder for me,” he says. Along with cold-calling potential clients, Parke used existing relationships and connections to win over new customers who could benefit from contract orders. “Persistence is key,” he says. “When a potential client turns you down, you just refocus that energy on someone else and try to win that business. You have to move on and not take it personal.”
The Takeaway
“I’m not going to say having contract customers fills the winter, but it really helps,” Parke says. “A big part of success is building relationships with our clients.” For Parke, that means not stealing customers, meeting order deadlines and accommodating clients who come in with special requests. “Customers will never know we printed those shirts,” Parke says. “But our job is to make our clients looks good.”

2017 Small Business of the Year – Finalist

The staff of Greek Corner Screen Printing and Embroidery is pleased to again be selected as a Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce 2017 Small Business of the Year Award Finalist. Even though we did not win, we are humbled to have been recognized for our commitment to provide the best custom screen printing and embroidery service in our market. We owe our success to our team of experienced customer service representatives, artists, screen printing technicians, and support staff. All of them work together to ensure we create great looking t-shirts and embroidered apparel that are completed on time, every time.

 

Employment Opportunities

The Greek Corner is growing. We are looking for new team members to fill the following positions.

In-house Customer Service Representative.

We are seeking a Customer Service Professional to join our team! You will be responsible for answering phones and assisting our customers when they walk into our lobby for placing or picking up orders.

Responsibilities:

  • Handle customer inquiries and complaints
  • Provide information about the products and services
  • Document and update customer records based on interactions
  • Develop and maintain a knowledge base of the evolving products and services

Qualifications:

  • Excellent phone skills a must
  • Previous experience in customer service, sales, or other related fields
  • Ability to build rapport with clients
  • Ability to prioritize and multitask
  • Positive and professional demeanor
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Screen Printing Technician

Requirements:

  • Be detail oriented, follow processes and systems
  • Set up and tear down jobs
  • Have experience in working with automated press
  • Knowledge and experience in t-shirt screen printing process

Shop Tours Reveal Commitment to Quality

 

Greek Corner Screen Printing and Embroidery shop

You’ve decided to order screen printed t-shirts for your group, church, school or team. You Google custom screen printed t-shirts and are amazed to find 12 -15 local companies that print t-shirts. So, how do you pick the best one? It may be easy to compare price and delivery time, but how do you judge quality? Here’s a great way to separate the men from the boys . . . ask to take a tour of their shop.

Taking a shop tour is a great way to learn how a company really feels about quality. Here are few things to look for while they are showing you around.

Floor. Is it clean? Do your shoes stick to the floor? Are there globs of ink tracked all over the shop? Is it difficult to navigate through the shop?

Equipment. The equipment doesn’t have to be the latest and greatest. However, is it clean? Is ink smeared all over the machine? Does it appear to be well maintained? Does it look like the equipment actually works? Does it look like it’s held together with baling wire?

Efficient. Does the shop look efficient and orderly. Is it neat and uncluttered or does it look like an episode from the TV show “Hoarders”? Are there pieces of old, unused equipment sitting around covered with stacks of boxes and other pieces of equipment?

Lint. Is every flat surface covered with lint? Are dust bunnies multiplying in every nook and cranny? Does the top of the dryer look like a shag carpet due to a thick layer of lint?

Screen printing shops are notorious for being less than neat and clean. Sure, a dirty, cluttered shop might be able to produce a nice printed t-shirt. Anything is possible. However, you can be assured that if a shop cares enough about keeping their shop neat, clean and well organized they will be sticklers about the quality of your t-shirt order. You are always welcome to visit our shop. Call to set up your tour today.

Kick the Crack Habit

Say-No-to-Crack

Help your employees kick their crack habit by ordering our long tail t-shirts. Long tail tees are available in several colors including safety green. We’ll also custom screen print your t-shirts with your company logo. You’ll get the benefit of promoting your trade services while presenting a more professional image to your customers. Contact us today and get a quote so you can help your staff overcome the evils of crack.

 

New Screen Printing Press in Service

Shop 1.5.16_2We are pleased to announce the installation of a brand new, state-of-the-art Roq You12 automatic screen printing press. Our new screen printing press (shown in the foreground to the left) features 12 stations and can print up to 8 ink colors. The Roq You12 also has an automated flash unit which cures the ink as the printed shirts rotate through the process. It can sense the exact moment the ink has cured and automatically advance the pallet to the next printing station. Just like our existing You 16, the new You12 is rated to print 1,000 shirts an hour. Yes, that’s one thousand custom printed t-shirts in one hour. Is that really possible? It IS possible, but we are limited by how fast our operator can load the shirts. Having said that, last year, Production Manager Travis Christiansen printed 938 shirts in one hour.

While getting new equipment is always cool, the real question is,  “How does it benefit you the customer?” You’ll benefit in two ways. First, for a great screen printing job, it’s important that the base coat ink is properly cured before applying the second color. Since this new automated flash unit senses that the ink is properly cured before printing the next color on the tee shirt, you’ll get a better printed image. Second, this new machine increases our capacity to produce more t-shirts in a shorter amount of time. Therefore, you’ll get faster delivery for your next t-shirt order.

 

Tattoos to T-shirts

Niangua High School

 

Do you need help coming up with a design for your new t-shirts? Perhaps all you have is a sketch, a photo of something you like, or just an idea floating around in your head.

Let our screen printing wizards take your vision and bring it to life! We’ll take a look at your art, listen to your ideas, and work with you until we create the perfect t-shirt. As an example, take a look at the photos to the left. The first one is a photo of a tatoo a customer sent along with a description of what they wanted. The second photo is the finished screen printed t-shirt. Amazing! If we can transform a photo of a tattoo into a printed shirt, just imagine what we can do for you! Call us today with your ideas for a t-shirt design for your church group, business, school, or fundraiser.

MoneyTees Fundraising Program

Selling custom t-shirts is a great way to raise funds for your school, club, or group. It’s fun and we make it easy. To date, we have helped our MoneyTees customers raise over $70,000 for their special group or interest. Our Internet Sales Specialist will work with you to create a design that will create fun, excitement, and sales! 

  • You’ll get a proof that illustrates exactly how your fundraising shirt will look. 
  • We will create a great looking, custom designed online store just for you.
  • We’ll take your orders in advance online. 
  • We collect the money.
  • We will ship the orders to your customers.
  • You won’t have any upfront costs
  • You will not be stuck with leftover inventory. 
  • You’ll get a check at the end of the campaign with your profits
It’s easy, it’s fun, and you’ll make money. Email our MoneyTees expert at MoneyTees@GreekCornerPrinting.com and get started on your fundraising campaign today.
 
The following is a small sample of the dozens of successful MoneyTees stores we’ve created for our customers.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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