Minuteman Press Franchise Grows Printing Business in the ‘Heart’ of Centerville, OH

CENTERVILLE, Ohio, Jan. 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Jesse Gaither is the owner of Minuteman Press in Centerville, OH since September of 2016. For three consecutive years, Jesse has achieved double-digit year-over-year sales growth for his Minuteman Press franchise. In 2024, Jesse grew his business by approximately 18% over the previous year. He’s accomplished such consistent sales growth through referrals, acquisitions, consistency with products and service, and by being heavily involved in the promotion of local community events that bring businesses and clients together. Minuteman Press in Centerville is located at 957 Congress Park Drive, Centerville, OH 45459.

Early Love of Print Leads to Full Circle Moment

For Jesse Gaither, his love for print media and the printing industry has deep-rooted family ties. He reflects. “My grandparents owned community newspapers on the East Side of Cincinnati and my parents actually met at their newspaper shop. My dad was an artist and designer, and so I grew up with print.”

Fast forward to 2016, where Jesse found himself at a crossroads in his career that helped him rediscover his fondness for printing while also helping him become his own boss. More on that in a minute. First, let’s hear about Jesse’s impressive background.

Jesse shares, “I received my undergraduate degree in Analytical Chemistry and worked in the field for a number of years. I decided to take a break from the field and joined the Peace Corp. I taught science and math and traveled all over the world, to Africa, Europe, Asia, and Central America. When I came back from Costa Rica, I went to graduate school for Economics and then spend 8 years as a General Contractor when I married into a family of builders.”

He continues, “I became a Partner in the firm but after the 2008 crash, the business shut down. From 2008 to 2016, I went back into the chemistry field but I was tired of the corporate world and knew I needed to make a change.”

That is when a close mentor of Jesse’s helped lead Jesse back to printing. He explains, “Mike Geygan was a family friend and community leader who was my mentor for many years. Mike (who is now retired) owned Minuteman Press in Lebanon, Ohio, and that is when it hit me. One early morning, I woke up at 5 am and I realized that what Mike did is the life I wanted for myself. The printing industry scratches my itches for creative and technical processes and blends both artistic and scientific components.”

“I had a revelation in May of 2016. I went to my office and saw a business listing for Minuteman Press in Centerville. I put in the inquiry and Regional VP Gary Nowak reached out to me that morning. I knew I didn’t want to recreate the wheel and I wanted something with a strong system, ongoing support, and vendor relations. Having Mike Geygan as a mentor, I asked him about what it was like to own Minuteman Press. He was full of praise. I took over the Centerville location in September of 2016, and the rest is history. It was like coming home for me, being around print media. I had come full circle.” -Jesse Gaither, Owner, Minuteman Press, Centerville, OH

From New Business Owner to the ‘Heart’ of Centerville

Since buying the business, Jesse has worked hard to build strong community ties. He says, “We’ve had a steady growth trajectory since 2016, and a lot of that is because of the relationships we have built in Centerville. We’ve had double-digit growth the past three years and are up about 18% from last year.”

The Heart of Centerville Washington Township is a networking group that Jesse joined early in his tenure as owner of Minuteman Press. He has gone on to spearhead the group and help grow the membership from 20 members in 2016 to over 330 members today.

Jesse shares, “When I first bought the business, I joined The Heart of Centerville Washington Township. At the time, we had 20 members who focused on business mentorship and helping each other. We did not have a lot of horsepower behind the group but we knew there was huge potential.”

He continues, “We started doing local public events such as Food Truck Fridays that would help bring in local shoppers. We did this four months out of the year and would bring in a DJ or small band to attract people. We started growing and I joined the leadership team. We made a partnership with the City for a summer concert series that could be held at the local amphitheater, and these events became a huge success. We worked with local breweries to bring in craft beers and we invited members to show up and pop up a tent to promote their businesses.”

Today, The Heart of Centerville puts on six events per year, with a seventh event on the way this year. Jesse served as President of the group in 2023 and 2024, and is now going to be the Strategic Planner in 2025. He says, “The events are a huge hit and keep getting bigger. We now have 50 to 100 booth spaces, with 30% of the booth space reserved for service-based businesses. We also invite local non-profits and other vendors to promote themselves. We now have over 330 members and the events have drawn 135,000 attendees. What we’ve done is we flipped the formula from simply networking with each other to holding these mini-expos that really engage with the community. This year, we are partnering with the Centerville – Washington Township Americana Festival for their July 4^th event and adding a Home & Garden show.”

“For these events, local business owners need logo tents, banners, pop up displays, and promotional tools. I have a passion for business development and I knew nobody in the region when I first started. Leaning into the community in this way and being at the center of it all has really been rewarding and fulfilling. We are marketing, promoting, and reinforcing the idea to shop, eat, drink, and invest local.”
-Jesse Gaither

Keys to Growth

Thanks to his extensive work in the community, Jesse had built strong relationships that has been a tremendous help in generating awareness and referrals. He shares the following keys to growth:

• “Referrals: This is our #1 source of business. In addition to The Heart of Centerville, I have been a member of the local BNI group for 8 years, as was the previous owner for 10 years prior. Building relationships pays dividends.
• Acquisitions: I have completed two acquisitions since 2020 and I am closing in on third. These have helped me extend my footprint in the community. One of the acquisitions we made was a promotional products company. Promo and apparel have been a growth area for us.
• Direct Mail: Our direct mail services have grown in 2024; we have a great relationship with a local mailing house. During the pandemic, we did a lot of mailings as well. It showed that the industry is relatively recession-proof. When times are good, people market. When times aren’t good, people market even more.
• Graphic Design: 15% of our business is graphic design – logo redesign, rebranding, etc. Our branding and rebranding services help local businesses stand out when it comes to ‘hand-to-hand combat’ for local attention.
• Volunteer Work: I love being a part of the fabric of the community. Eight years ago, I joined a local Optimist Group that does volunteer work. Last year, another volunteer asked me what I did for work. It turned out she owned a large financial management company and needed new printing and signage for their rebranding.
• Doing Right By Customers: I want my team to be empowered to do a great job. One of the mantras in our shop is that ‘You’ll never get in trouble for doing what’s right for the customer.’ I’ve seen other businesses tripping over nickels. If there’s a business card with an incorrect phone number, we’ll do what’s right even if it was their mistake. Clients appreciate gestures like that and tend to come back to us as a result.”

Jesse further explains, “We are in the Midwest and people here see right through full-court press sales tactics. We are polite and treat people right. As a result, we have built our business organically, which is more sustainable. For example, I recently met with a client on a substantial job for 30K worth of business. We’ve been working together a couple of years and we no longer need to submit bids for their jobs. They told me that they trust us to do the job right at a fair price. It’s the Golden Triangle of Quality, Service, and Price that we strive for with all of our clients. The best testimonial we could get is their trust in us.”

Jesse also credits the support he’s received from Minuteman Press International for helping him along the way. He shares, “From the beginning, I saw growth potential. The support from Gary Nowak and my Field Reps has been very helpful over the years. The advice along with the wide network of owners and the products/vendor agreements are big boons to our business.”

Rewards & Advice for Others

Jesse reflects on his 8-plus years as a business owner. He says, “The main reason that I love being my own boss is I wanted to create a culture where I wanted to work and an environment where everyone feels valued. The most gratifying part is creating a culture that values my team members in a place where we all enjoy working together.”

He shares the following advice for others: “I have good relationships with fellow owners in my region and we get together to talk shop. Everyone has their own style and people run their businesses differently. The most important thing I’ve learned is to find your best rhythm, be true to yourself, and find what’s most comfortable for you. Recognize and leverage your strengths, and spend the money to invest in your team. Hire people to do a great job because owners can’t – and shouldn’t – do it all.”

Minuteman Press in Centerville is located at 957 Congress Park Drive, Centerville, OH 45459. For more information, visit https://minuteman.com/us/locations/oh/centerville/

Learn more about #1 rated Minuteman Press franchise opportunities and read Minuteman Press franchise reviews at https://minutemanpressfranchise.com

Media Contact:
Minuteman Press International
Chris Biscuiti, 631-249-1370
cbiscuiti@mpihq.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fb34fce4-f2c8-4f2c-8b0e-7e9c89ddec21