Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey  but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Parker Slavin, CEO of StationeryXpress, located in Los Angeles, CA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

The name of our company is StationeryXpress, and our amazing customers are anyone that enjoys writing or receiving hand-written correspondence from their friends and loved ones. We have many customers that order personalized stationery or custom gifts for themselves, and we have many, many customers who order custom stationery for friends and loved ones alike so they can have their own personalized stationery & gifts for years to come. All of these items can be found on our website at StationeryXpress.com.

Tell us about yourself

I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs where most owned their own small businesses, so I knew I wanted to follow a similar path. I studied business at San Diego State University, where I received my degree in Integrated Marketing Communications and a minor in Management Information Systems. This combination and love of marketing, business, and utilizing technology is where I got my start and passion for what I do every day.

StationeryXpress.com was owned and operated by my Uncle David. He started in 1993. At the beginning of 2016, he, unfortunately passed away, and I took over running the day-to-day operations of StationeryXpress to keep both the business and his legacy alive. We have made major improvements to StationeryXpress since then, upgrading and re-launching our new up-to-date website, improving our online presence, and hiring and bringing together an incredible group of amazing people that make it all happen. We're proud to say that we offer some of the fastest customer service response times in the industry and have helped over 100,000 happy customers order and receive beautiful personalized stationery and custom gifts from StationeryXpress.com.

What truly motivates me each day is knowing that our customers truly enjoy our products and our customer service. We love receiving happy/satisfied reviews and hearing how happy our customers or their gift recipients are from their personalized stationery or custom gifts, and it pushes us to keep going and improve each and every day.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment as a business owner was taking over this business that hadn't really been upgraded since 1993 and needed a major overhaul. This was done in conjunction with learning how the business operates and dealing with a death in the family, which is never fun or easy. I'm happy to say that we have nearly quadrupled the size of StationeryXpress since I have taken over, and we have thousands of very happy customers.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

One of the hardest things that come with being a business owner is learning how to delegate tasks and learning to trust others with your business. Many business owners, including myself, want to do everything themselves for a variety of reasons, but it's just not physically possible to continue to grow a business and do everything yourself. Help is 100% required. Amazing staff, procedures, rules to follow, etc., are all necessities.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

The first tip I would tell anyone looking to start, run and grow a business is to never stop thinking of ideas and then ask only those you TRUST if they think it's a good idea as well. If your friends and family can't rip the idea apart, or tell you why it would fail immediately, then you might have something! At the same time, many businesses were started with others looking in like, "That will never work!" they then end up being incredibly successful, so sometimes, you do have to just trust your gut!

Rome wasn't built in a day. Starting, running, and growing a business is hard work, and it doesn't happen overnight. Sometimes it can be overwhelming the number of tasks or things I have to do in a day, and not all of it gets done. Make a mental or physical checklist of what needs to get done, keep adding and taking tasks away as they are done, and keep chipping away at them. Before you know it, years go by, and all of your hard work has turned into something incredible. Just keep doing your best and keep working at it, day by day!

Just START! The biggest hurdle I constantly see in friends and others who want to start a business is starting the business. Often times people are overwhelmed over the legal tasks like filing an LLC or S-Corp, or creating an FBN (Fictitious Business Name) and opening a business bank account, but with a little reading or even a little help from someone who has done it before would tell you that these things are pretty easy to accomplish. Just start selling, start working on your website, start getting emails together, start something, offer a great product or service, be honest and helpful to your customers/clients/patients, and your business will eventually grow!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.stationeryxpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StationeryXpress
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stationeryxpress/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stationeryxpres
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stationeryxpress/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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