Minuteman Press

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 Heart of Centerville, a networking group that brings business and clients together through local community events.

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.”

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.”

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.”