Finalist
Marketing, Media and Entertainment
There was a time, not that long ago, when Joy Gendusa dropped out of high school. There was a time when she worked as a waitress in New York, a time when she worked temp jobs in an effort to improve her earning potential. Today, Gendusa is the CEO of PostcardMania, one of the larger postcard design and production companies in the nation. She works with thousands of customers in hundreds of industries. She is a leader in her field. So how did Gendusa get from then to now? How in the world did she make good on a vision?
Start with the fact that Gendusa is the daughter of a successful entrepreneur. That certainly did not hurt her drive and determination and business intelligence. Then consider that shortly after she moved to Florida, Gendusa founded her first business. She used advertising postcards to promote herself and her business but was often disappointed with their quality. She saw a need, so she acted.
When Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998, there were only two other postcard businesses in the nation, and neither marketed to general businesses. Gendusa did. She also offered free marketing advice to her customers. She was the first to promote directly to end users. She offered direct mail service and still offers free marketing services.
After five years, in an effort to bring more of her business in-house, she purchased a cutter and a laminator. Two years after that, she purchased her first printing press and did one run each week. Today, she does more than 40 runs each week. She also writes a marketing blog that has more than 60,000 subscribers.
Gendusa has worked through her share of struggles, but with a thriving business and more than 160 employees, times are good. You can put that in ink.
How to reach: PostcardMania, (800) 628-1804 or www.postcardmania.com
