Omaha Promos is proudly 4th generation, family owned and operated since (this sounds impossible, but it's true) 1923! Obviously, the company today doesn't resemble anything of its humble roots in small town Iowa so many decades ago, but neither did our business look a lot like it does today even in 2011, ten short years ago, when Denise Baker took the reins from her mother Marion and became the company's second female owner.
Matter of fact, because Denise wanted to retool the entire operation from one that was centered around inexpensive trade show giveaways, custom pens, calendars, etc. to a full service branded merch and custom apparel vendor in the Midwest and beyond, she was bootstrapping the business for the first few years, investing EVERYTHING she made back into Omaha Promos, LLC, the promotional products, custom clothing, logo-everything powerhouse you know and trust today.
Going from tiny one-man shop to thriving business in the promotional items and corporate apparel industry (with offices in both Omaha and Kansas City no less!) didn't happen overnight. Growth that saw not only a 100-fold increase in local-ish sales but consistent, repeat customers and word-of-mouth new business in over 20 states across the country didn't happen without sacrifice and effort. The follow decisions and steps forward are the ones which put Omaha Promos on the map, and these ideas easily translate to your small business too!
Step One: Go BIG or go Home!
People in business, indeed in life in general, tend to gravitate toward self defeating talk. Omaha Promos didn't permit such restrictive thoughts and energy to invade in the growth process. If we wanted to become one of the most prominent promo products and custom clothing suppliers to big and small companies and non-profits alike, we couldn't afford NOT to dream big and we couldn't afford NOT to invest in our company as if we were destined to succeed! Omaha Promos went through two wholesale re-branding efforts in the last decade and today offer a beautifully retro themed logo with a modern website interface which is mobile friendly too. There have been many other investments in the company, but suffice it to say in business and in life you have to be willing to swing for the fences. Go big or go home!
Step Two: Know Your Role
There are scads of choices out there, e-commerce based companies that will sell you all sorts of cheap trinkets, gifts and promo products, but so many of our competition are faceless order takers. What happens if you want to buy QUALITY custom apparel, not just custom can coolers, pens or umbrellas? We at Omaha Promos pride ourselves on knowing the industry exceedingly well, what works and what doesn't; we are familiar with emergent trends and what's a dud, sure to be a waste of your marketing dollars, and we work tirelessly to create a custom curated array of logo items, promotional gear, branded merch and custom clothing that will suit any marketing budget. We don't view our clients as "customers" so much as we view them as partners and even friends. We love to collaborate, not just sell, and the relationships we forge are our real payoff!
Step Three: Provide a gamut of products
When Omaha Promos started our re-branding/relaunch journey a decade back, we knew we needed to break out of the traditional mold hampering promotional products vendors. You can only sell custom can coolers, custom pens, custom water bottles and custom golf balls for so long. Limiting your business in the array of products and services offered limits growth! Thus, Omaha Promos invested heavily in the corporate apparel and custom clothing industries, developing relationships with hundreds of manufacturers and factories alike, on our way to becoming suppliers for uniforms and corporate casual wear for nationwide franchises such as Signal 88 Security, to name but one example. We sell scrubs to companies in the home health care industry (e.g. nursing homes and the like) and we do business with Boystown National Research Hospital and Methodist Hospital in Omaha. We can literally provide you anything you need with your company name and logo on it. We have done wrapped snowblowers, wrapped kayaks, custom barware, custom t-shirts for lawn care businesses and roofing companies; Omaha Promos has designed custom embroidered polo shirts for real estate outfits and dental offices, and we have big clients in the liquor distribution network for bars and restaurants to boot! The list goes on and on.
There are more than a mere three steps to our success here at Omaha Promos, but we'll touch on other aspects of what's brought us our considerable growth and success in future posts. Just know if you're willing to develop an action plan, if you're willing to take a chance on yourself by investing in your own future, and if you put in the work, your chances of rising above the rest is far greater than your risk of failure.
Call Omaha Promos or Omaha Promos in Kansas City today for ALL your promo products and custom clothing or custom hats needs!
