Friday, October 17, 2014

The Copy Center Opens for Business

By Geraldine Mitagyow
Business Advisor
Yap SBDC


The Copy Center, newest tenant of the Yap Small Business Development Center (SBDC) which houses the Business Incubator, opened its doors for the first day of business on Wednesday, June 25, 2014.  The Copy Center is a new start-up sole proprietorship owned by Anthony C. Tareg, Jr., which specializes in copying, printing and multi-media services.

Storefront view of The Copy Center
Anthony (Tony) was born and raised on Yap Island.  After finishing high school on Yap, he attended Palau Community College for two years and transferred to the University of Guam where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management in 2000.  He returned to Yap and started working at the Yap Media Division in various capacities including Yap State protocol officer and radio announcer.  After 10 years with the Media Division, he was hired in 2009 as the general manager of The Office Place, a branch of Copy Masters International headquartered in Hawaii.  The Office Place provides office furniture and equipment as well as small-scale copying and printing services.

 In his years managing The Office Place, Tony came to see a real need for copying/printing & multi-media services in Yap.  While there currently exists a couple of small businesses providing multi-media services on island, there is none that can do large scale printing & multi-media services.  Tony saw this as a business opportunity that can fulfill the needs of government agencies, private organizations and individuals that often have to place orders off-island for large posters and banners.   While there are many options for ordering off-island, these often require lead time and orders may take up to several weeks or months.   As Tony stated, “Providing these same services on island will meet the demand and need for faster “NOW” service.”  
Tony began discussions and negotiations with the parent company in Hawaii to privatize the copying and printing services of The Office Place.  The parent company was supportive of the idea with the agreement that The Copy Center would buy all its supplies from The Office Place.  It’s a win-win situation for both parties.
The process that led to the opening of The Copy Center is a lengthy and challenging one.  Just like any start-up, it required careful planning, negotiations, some trial and error, and just plain hard work and complete dedication.  Sometimes, however, fate brings in great timing, as happened in this case.  About the time that Tony had begun to put together his business idea, the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) opened a Request for Proposal (RFP) to the public for the space and equipment at the center formerly occupied by an older Print Shop.  He submitted his proposal and was selected as the winner among several other bidders.  
According to Tony, the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is a great resource in the development of his business plan.  Business counselor Michael Gaan assisted him in “crunching” numbers to determine the feasibility of the project and to put together the final business plan.  But the biggest benefit, he says, is the incubator space which he is leasing for only $300.00 per month.  To put that in perspective, leases for most places around Colonia town range anywhere from $800 to $2400 per month.
 
Owner Tony Jr. left snap a quick photo with two of his employees.
While most business start-ups seek financing from lending institutions, The Copy Center is one exception.  Through careful planning and frugal savings, Tony was able to start his business without additional funding from outside lenders.  He personally invested his own funds as equity for the business.  As part of his proposal he negotiated a deal with the Yap State Government to take over the space which included copying and printing equipment formerly used by the old government-operated Print Shop.  The old Print Shop had been out of service for many years; consequently, the machines/equipment had been lying dormant as well and needed a fair amount of repair work. 
One of the biggest challenges in the start-up process for Tony is cleaning the space and bringing the equipment up to service functionality.   Countless hours after work and weekends were spent cleaning out the space and repairing the old equipment in preparation for the opening day.  But all the hard work is worth the triumphant opening day for the Copy Center.  As Tony put it, “Opening day is a significant accomplishment, but is just the first step in a series of stepping stones in the life of the business.”  The owner envisions the next steps to entail purchasing more machines to accommodate the demand for on-island printing for big-sized posters and banners within the next year.  After that, the Copy Center will start producing custom-made coffee mugs, T-shirts and other items with specialized printing. 
While the Copy Center expects the government agencies to be its biggest customer, Tony is confident that his services will fill an unmet need from private organizations and individuals.   One of the most frequently requested services that the Copy Center is already performing are customizing pictures of loved ones who have passed away.  Customers often bring in photos of loved ones and request the backgrounds of the pictures to be changed and ask for different blown-up sizes of the photos.  In addition to other services, frequent requests for oversized posters and banners give Tony assurance that he will have sufficient demand for his services to ensure steady business growth for the time to come. 

Asked what advice Tony would give to others who want to start a business, without hesitation Tony answered, “You have to give 110% to the business! While you may have a great business idea, if you don’t invest a great deal of your time and energy to it, you won’t be successful.”

If you are interested in knowing more about our services, programs, projects, and activities of the Yap SBDC, please contact (691)-350-4801/2 or visit our webpage at www.pacificsbdc.com.