Former Corporate Executive Finds Fulfilling Second Career as EmbroidMe Owner

      Bob Packard was tired of the corporate grind. He wanted more independence in his work life and to do something together with his wife, KC. They opened their EmbroidMe business at 311 Spring St. in Herndon on Jan. 6, 2005 and embarked together to build a fulfilling second career. Now, nine years later, he has learned many lessons and is still proudly overseeing a growing business.

      “EmbroidMe made entering into business ownership easy,” he said. “It’s maintaining and growing your business that is hard work, but it has all been worth it.”

      EmbroidMe is the world’s largest diversified promotional products franchise, helping organizations brand themselves and make an impression by customizing marketing products that feature a name, image, logo or message. The company specializes in embroidery, garment printing, custom apparel, promotional products, screenprinting and personalized gifts.

      Before opening his EmbroidMe, Packard, 58, spent 10 years in business development for a software engineering and staffing company. At the same time, Packard’s wife had become familiar with promotional products and logo wear through the volunteer work she did with their children’s schools. When they came across EmbroidMe in their search for the right business to open together, it seemed to just make sense. “We both recognized the huge market in promotional products and company logo wear,” said Packard. “And as a bonus, the idea of ‘casual wear’ was better than the suit and tie I was used to wearing!”

      Packard said the transition from corporate world to business ownership was made particularly easy by EmbroidMe, whose systems and support allowed him and his wife to jump right in as if they were already experienced in that industry. They immediately began building their business connections and client base, and began outreach into their community to let businesses know they were open and ready to meet their customizing needs. But when the recession hit in 2008, they felt it acutely.

      “We work with many small and medium size businesses that were hit hard by the recession and that rippled back to us as well,” he said. “While there has definitely been a recovery, we’re not yet back to the levels of 2008. It’s slowed our growth plan, but not stopped it entirely, which took a lot of hard work and planning on our part.”

      To combat the effects of the recession, Packard and his wife made sure to nurture the clients with whom they already had relationships and continued to build their presence in their community. They have been active in the local Rotary club, and often do volunteer work and donate products for local causes and events. Through those charitable efforts they have helped to keep their EmbroidMe top of mind for businesses looking for customized products.

      Approaching a decade of business ownership, Packard has no regrets about his decision to leave the corporate world for entrepreneurship with EmbroidMe.

       “Operating a small business is hard work,” he said. “Expect to work long hours with little pay in the beginning, and be prepared for things not go as expected. But know that when you get over those hurdles, the benefits and independence are worth it. We have never regretted our decision to open our EmbroidMe, and we’ve never looked back.”

      EmbroidMe currently has four resource centers open in Northern Virginia and plan to open eight by the end of 2014. Across the state of Virginia they plan to open 20 new resource centers in the next three to five years. Globally, EmbroidMe plans to open 120 new resource centers with 80 of those located in the United States through the remainder of the 2014, reaching 500 locations worldwide by the end of 2016.  For more information, please visit www.embroidme.com