Angela Chryplewicz WINS by Merging Family, Creativity, and Business

Carrie Richardson, partner at Richardson & Richardson Consulting and founder of the content collaboration company, Croocial, hosts today's episode of WIN!

Angela Chryplewicz, the co-owner of Lasting Impressions in Canton Michigan is the second entrepreneur from this business to appear on WIN!

Listen to Carla Ejaz's WIN recording about Lasting Impressions and the challenges they have experienced - including a major Covid pivot, and a total loss fire!

Step into the world of promotional marketing, where branding comes alive in the most creative and unexpected ways. Our guest, Angela Chryplewicz, is one of the owners of Lasting Impressions.

Angela has mastered the art of making brands memorable, from stamping logos on socks to crafting custom hot sauces. She shares the story of her transition, from being an employee in her father's business to becoming a co- owner, an experience that comes with its fair share of challenges and lessons.

Family and business might seem like oil and water, but Angela's story tells us otherwise. With her firsthand experience in a family-owned business, she brings us the reality of keeping family ties intact while running a thriving business. Angela frankly discusses the complexities involved in purchasing a family business, the value of professional evaluations, and the significance of establishing clear boundaries when mixing family and business. She talks about the roles and responsibilities each family member assumes and how they support each other through this journey.

This episode isn't just about the highs and lows of a family-run business. 

Angela also gives us an insider's view into the promotional marketing industry.  Tune in to hear about Angela's journey, the lessons she's learned, and the creative ways in which she's helping businesses make lasting impressions.
 
Don't miss this insightful episode, where family, creativity, and business come together in an extraordinary way.

Carrie Richardson and Ian Richardson host the WIN Podcast - What's Important Now?

Carrie helps businesses improve their sales and marketing teams.

Ian is certified in Eagle Center For Leadership Making A Difference, Paterson StratOp, and LifePlan.

Learn more at www.foxcrowgroup.com

Book time with them here: https://randr.consulting/connect

Be a guest on WIN! We host successful entrepreneurs who share advice with other entrepreneurs on how to build, grow or sell a business using examples from their own experience.

Transcript

Carrie Richardson: 0:53

Good afternoon everybody. My name is Carrie Richardson and I am one half of the consulting partnership in Richardson. Today on WIN, we are featuring Angela from Lasting Impressions in Kent, michigan. Thanks for joining us today, angela. How are you doing? I'm good. Thank you for having me, and I know before we talked about I didn't want to fumble your last name, so could you introduce yourself by your full name please?

Angela Chryplewicz: 1:20

Yes, my name is Angela Kerplevich.

Carrie Richardson: 1:23

We had the opportunity to interview Carla after you were nominated for an EY Entrepreneur of the Year award. After you've listened to Angela, you can go back and hear how her sister described some of the same thing I wanted to focus on. What's it like working with so many members of your family in a legacy family business? You purchased the business from your father. Tell me about the transition from working for your father to owning what was your father's business.

Angela Chryplewicz: 1:53

Yes, to start, you wanted me to say a little bit about Lasting Impressions and what we are. So we are a promotional marketing company and, as you said, we're located in Canton, michigan, and in layman's terms, the easy way to say it is basically, we can take your logo and put it on any type of product. So everyone has some sort of swag at their house or in their closet, whether it's a branded t-shirt or coffee mugs or pens. Those are the types of things that we provide to our clients. Yep, right there, I know right, we don't go far without. We don't have to buy a cup ever again.

Carrie Richardson: 2:27

No Cups, coffee cups, water bottles, yeti mugs, backpacks.

Angela Chryplewicz: 2:31

Yes, exactly so that's what we do and it's an exciting industry. It's fun. The products are constantly changing your client it's not like you have one client. That's the only market you work in. Basically anybody from a restaurant to a school to a Fortune 500 company is using promotional swag in some way, so we provide those items to our clients.

Carrie Richardson: 2:55

Thanks. And then on to what was it like growing up in the family business and then acquiring the family business.

Angela Chryplewicz: 3:04

So, growing up in the family business, probably much like other kids of entrepreneurs, we are used to seeing our parents work hard and have many struggles throughout building a business what is typical of someone who is starting a business from scratch. And there's those days when you're home from school and you don't get to hang out at home and lay on the couch. You're down at the office or the shop and helping out with whether it's filing or in production or whatever needs done. That today that's our typical vacations off or summer vacation and that's really where we learned all the different pieces of the business and where we fell in love with it.

Carrie Richardson: 3:45

Were you resentful as a child that you had to spend your holidays working in the business, not really knowing that one day you would own it.

Angela Chryplewicz: 3:52

I'm not going to say every day was perfect, because that would be a lie, but there was something always magical about it and you always got to make your own fun. As you grow up in the business, you learn to love it and you love the people and the employees and the customers. It was always so much fun being a part of it, being a part of the events that were thrown. So, yes, there were days, of course, where you're like, oh my gosh, another day I have to go down there. But our parents really did instill in us a work ethic of if you want something, you have to work hard for it. Even at a young age, we never had allowances or if we wanted to buy something, we had to earn money to do it. So this was a way that we could do that. Every day wasn't perfect, but it certainly was an interesting childhood.

Carrie Richardson: 4:43

How did you come to the realization that you wanted to acquire this business?

Angela Chryplewicz: 4:48

So after college, I always knew I would work in the business. I truly do love it. I love branding, I love promotional items. I love that every day is different, every project is different. It's not like we're selling just one type of product. You can sell something as small as, like I mentioned, a pen, all the way up to a barbecue grill or larger custom items, and I truly enjoy that the creativity. So I always knew I wanted to be in the business After graduating from school. I think it just slowly evolved to okay, this is what I want to do and I do want to purchase it, and it was just a goal to work towards that from my young career until, I would say, present day.

Angela Chryplewicz: 5:33

We purchased the business in 2017. Once I decided personally that I wanted to purchase it, that was a conversation that I obviously had with my father. He was the sole owner and that was a plan that we put in place and a lot of people always ask like how was purchasing it within that particular year? And, for us, the way we did it? We knew, probably five years prior to that at least that was the direction we were heading and we were working towards that as his career slowed down as he wanted to take more time away. I would pick up on those tasks and those routine items for him. By the time I actually purchased the business, I had already been doing that job and I had been in the role as president for quite some time. But when that transition actually happened, it wasn't like this big, huge shakeup where all these things had to change. We were working towards that for a while.

Carrie Richardson: 6:30

We had an interesting conversation before we started today about how somebody had to run their partner's business after their partner had passed away and they'd had no experience in the business at all. So it must have been at least a manageable transition into owning a business that you were already essentially managing or leading.

Angela Chryplewicz: 6:52

Yes, 100 percent. There was once. You're already managing it. You're already, you're deep in all the different areas. I had learned a lot about all the different departments and things well before taking that over. So it wasn't like one day we woke up, signed the papers and, okay, now you're in charge. This was, yeah, I'm out of here.

Angela Chryplewicz: 7:13

This is something that we had been working towards, so a lot of our, because there are going to be struggles. Number one when you change hands whether it's family or not, when a business is purchased, there are struggles along the way through that transaction and we, of course, had those. But we had a clear path of where we were headed. And one of the things I think that business owners probably do struggle with is releasing some of that control. They have a baby and my father built this business from 1976. And then he's going to hand it over to one of his kids and I'm sure that had to be hard watching and letting go some of the reins of.

Angela Chryplewicz: 7:55

Okay, this isn't what I would do, but this is the direction that they're headed. And he was really good about stepping away and maybe he would say this isn't the way that I would do it. He was no longer the owner and we're going to do it the way that we're comfortable with now. I guess, when I'm speaking of those things, a lot of it has to do in regards to maybe some newer technologies that we implemented at that time. Going paperless was a big deal Just things along those lines of transitioning things to be more current and away from just the way we've always done it. Those are the struggles that we went through and we had to work through as not only a family because you are a family but also within your roles in the business.

Carrie Richardson: 8:43

You and your siblings purchased the business. Tell me a little bit about how you work with people that you've grown up with. For your entire life, I ran a business with my mother and my sister before I started Crucial. The challenges that I experienced a lot of the time was trying to be like work carry and then, sister carry, you're negotiating with your father for the purchase of the business and there is more than one of you involved. Everyone has to have a say. How did you determine, for example, what percentage each person would own and how did you determine who was going to do what within the business?

Angela Chryplewicz: 9:23

There was never any heated debate over that. That was a natural progression and that just was what it was at the time. So, no, there wasn't a heated debate and I know that might not be it for every family, but I knew for me wanting to get involved, I wanted a certain thing out of it. I think all the parties involved wanted the same and so that just was what it was and it was known. We didn't have to struggle over that.

Angela Chryplewicz: 9:53

Now, and I understand, like you said, you're negotiating with your father over a business and to some people maybe who aren't in family businesses, that the concept of that you're like what in the world that had to be so awkward and one of the things that for us in a family business, we just say it went into its business and I have to do what I need to do to protect myself and my family and my father has to do what he needs to protect himself.

Angela Chryplewicz: 10:20

And when I say protect, you cross your eyes and dot your T's and I always tell people if anyone asked me for advice during this time I think the more that you discuss before you sign paperwork, the better. The more you have on paperwork, the better that way down the road as things pop up, it's already clear the path that you're going, whether it's season tickets that have the previous owner has always had, and what are we going to do after the fact. Discuss that before you sign the papers. Don't discuss that after. Like all those little things and it's funny because those are the little things that can be the more awkward conversations so, like all those little things, visit a company car now, who's paying for insurance? Those I would discuss each piece of the puzzle that way as they come up down the road. It's down, it's written in stone, you know what you're going to do and there's nothing to make it awkward at that next family dinner.

Carrie Richardson: 11:21

It's like a prenup Really.

Carrie Richardson: 11:23

It is like a comfortable conversation once, instead of having a hundred uncomfortable conversations at weird junctures where Making you're upset about something and you really do need a document to go back and say, no, we agreed to this, and we agreed to this when everybody was calm and we weren't having issues about A, b or C. Yep, I know I run a business with my husband now and we had to do the same thing. Not only do we have a prenup, we have an operating agreement, we have all kinds of paperwork.

Angela Chryplewicz: 11:54

Yes, it shouldn't be that difficult that hopefully you never need. But if you do, it's there. And in the end, everybody's goal is to have a successful business. It's not like someone goes into that with wanting the business to fail. So that is the end goal and as long as everybody keeps that in mind, it's there. Really, we did not have many awkward conversations. Yes, there are some things you're like oh, this is a little uncomfortable. I'm talking about my father's retirement and how much I want to pay for that directly correlates with each other. Of course, that's going to be a little bit awkward. My goal is for the business to succeed. His goal is for the business to succeed but also have a nice retirement. And we keep each other's goals in mind and it's as long as you're open with these conversations, it all works out.

Carrie Richardson: 12:44

And did you need to use a professional evaluation, or were you able to come to those terms without any external help?

Angela Chryplewicz: 12:52

Oh, no, 100 percent professional evaluation. He did his own, I did my own, we spoke with accountants and lawyers, and that also to when you're leaving it up to someone's opinion who's in the business. I think that makes it way more emotional and that would make things a lot harder where, if you have it evaluated, it is it's in writing, there. It is what it is, and so I think that also was a lot of the reason that we did not have any major disagreements about anything, because it's it's not something you can argue about trying to imagine some of my family members buying my business and the ad-back discussion that we'd have to have afterwards.

Carrie Richardson: 13:34

We talked a little bit about managing conflict between your family members when you're all invested in the same business. But not all businesses have to go through the enormous points of stress that lasting impressions has gone through in the last five years alone. So tell us a little bit about that major incident and how you manage that internally.

Angela Chryplewicz: 14:07

Yeah, obviously, over the past five years. So we've had a couple major incidents, like you said, that have really been a struggle for us, the first one being COVID, which we don't have to dive too deep into, but I think it's important to mention because it's set the tone for what was to come later for us. That helped us. A lot of businesses were under major stress and nobody knew what was going to happen Are we even going to make it? And we chose to operate our business a certain way and it almost gave us a roadmap for issues we would have down the road and we learned a lot. We learned things that we would do again and things we wouldn't do again when under that sort of pressure.

Angela Chryplewicz: 14:49

So the incident we're talking about unfortunately, about a year and a half ago, our warehouse, our operating facility and headquarters it burned to the ground, so it caught fire and it was a complete loss. There was nothing left to it. And we're talking our servers, our phone systems, every production equipment, all of our inventory, literally in the middle of the night, nothing left. So we were faced again with that pressure of what are we going to do, probably the uncertainty of it, but waking up one day to messages from the fire department of the building being gone Are the way that we handle things and as a team and when I say we, it's not just the three owners we have obviously lots of employees, we have 50 employees and our executive team, who really is? We all met at my sister's house because it's a central location and we just got to work and that's much like what we did with COVID.

Angela Chryplewicz: 15:58

At that point, like you said, do you just stay in your lane? There are no lanes. Things need done. They need done at a rapid rate. You can't wait for anything. In our instance, we have orders being fulfilled. We have daily shipments coming in. If we aren't rerouting those, where are they going? Are they getting shipped back to manufacturers? We could be missing event dates and to us that's just not an option.

Angela Chryplewicz: 16:29

So the way, much like we did during COVID, during our post-fire, we just all got together and, as things pop up, someone's, I got that one, I got that Everyone just took their job and did it. And then, as say, a week post-fire, when things start to calm down a little bit, that's when you do get back into your lane and that's important. And you need to do that because if people have their hands in the pot in other areas that maybe they're not used to, they don't know the most effective way to do it. They're wasting time, and during situations like that you just don't have a lot of time to mess around. So the way we handle those things, the way we handle the stress of not only COVID and post-fire, is everyone has a job to do. You do your job and then, when you're done with your job, if someone else needs help, you jump in there and assist when you can, and you just don't leave any stone unturned.

Carrie Richardson: 17:29

And did you already have everything, all your processes, documented, so somebody could pop into assist you without a lot of a? I find it frustrating to teach someone something in a time of high stress. Oh no, I'll just do it myself. I don't have time to teach you right now. Yeah, when you're able to hand people a playbook and just say hey, here, help.

Angela Chryplewicz: 17:51

Yes and no. So we have Some of it is. Yes, it's documented, but all of us have been in the business for so long. We've all worked in every single role. No, we're not doing it daily, but we all know how to do each of these things. So it might be like, hey, this is what needs to happen. All right, I got it, give me the phone and I'm making phone calls and we'll make that happen. A lot that happened during that time is setting up. It's not even the day-to-day in the business, because at that point you don't have equipment, you don't have employees, you don't have goods. It's more rerouting UPS, getting warehousing set up, getting our communications and our IT put back together, getting a virtual server set up somewhere, like getting our backup. So those are things that you're not doing on the day-to-day. That people you figure it out and with us we have a lot, our team, we're like all right, you jump in and do it and figure it out and just make it work.

Carrie Richardson: 18:58

I remember talking to Carla about that as well, and that my stress level went up while she was sharing about the experience. But it was when you think about 2020, first this enormous event that could have ended your business, and it turned out to be one of your best years ever Yep Followed immediately by having to go through something that stressed her again. Yeah, congratulations on your EY of the year nomination. You guys definitely deserved that. The story is fantastic, thank you.

Angela Chryplewicz: 19:32

We appreciate it.

Carrie Richardson: 19:34

I wanted to learn a little bit more about how you operate within a family business. So we talked a little bit about high stress events and how everyone pitches in. How do you communicate with each other at work? You mentioned when work is over, but how does that work? In theory? That's how everyone's going to do it. Has that been your experience?

Angela Chryplewicz: 20:00

Yes and no when work is over. But also, we are in an event-based business and things have to happen after hours and we have a text message that's going between the executive team. That never stops. You get 24 hours a day. There's text rolling in on there because in today's world, people want things. They want it now, they want answers, and if we're not giving them answers, someone else will. We constantly are communicating Now, being in a family business, nobody's spouses and kids want to be sitting at the Christmas dinner table and discussing an order that's about to go out. So when you're in those types of situations, we really aren't discussing business. That's not the time, it's not the place. Yes, we are family, we're also coworkers and there's a time and place for all of it, but it's difficult because there's a lot of things that may pop up after hours and you just need to talk about it and that's just what it is.

Carrie Richardson: 21:07

Who is the peacemaker in the group?

Angela Chryplewicz: 21:11

Probably me.

Carrie Richardson: 21:13

Are you the middle child? I feel like I understand the middle child. It's usually the peacekeeper.

Angela Chryplewicz: 21:17

My brother's the old, so there's four of us, so I'm one of the middle, I'm the second oldest, but yes, I am. I'm more of the peacekeeper in the group. I would say yes.

Carrie Richardson: 21:31

Yeah, I know that we had that on a regular basis as well. And I am not the peacekeeper, I am the big problem solver. I want what I want and just do it my way please. So that was a huge learning curve for me to go from a business where I was by myself when I started the business, then my sister joined me. After I'd gotten to what I would describe as a critical math. She was like no, I'm not taking that risk with you. But when it became a viable business, she's like all right, I'll come help you. And then my mother left her job to come help as well.

Carrie Richardson: 22:06

So it had been just me figuring everything out for a while. And now I had two big cheerleaders but also two big, powerful personalities where there was a constant no, it needs to be done this way. I'm like no, we've done it this way. I was probably like your father in that this is how we've always done it. Thank you for joining me, but we're doing it this way. And I had to really get off of my high horse and recognize the contributions that my family was bringing along with them. I had to learn how to appreciate them and collaborate with them, whereas before it was me and employees, and now it was me and a leadership team and employees. We all just had the ready-made leadership team through the acquisition.

Angela Chryplewicz: 22:50

Yeah, that's interesting.

Angela Chryplewicz: 22:52

You say that learning to appreciate what they bring, because each of us I do believe in birth order when you read those things about birth order and how personalities run and everyone's qualities, and so we have that and so we're all a little bit different in our own way in learning to appreciate what other people are bringing to the table.

Angela Chryplewicz: 23:12

And it might not necessarily be the way that I would do it, but I find that it pushes me. It's that drive and that wanting to win. It pushes me to do more, do better, do faster, and my personality I need that a little bit and so it's nice to have that and just appreciating those qualities. They're all a little bit different in every person and we can call each other out when needed, but we also understand the struggles that each of us are going through because we've been in this business for so long and we know what all the roles entail. So it's an interesting career, it's an interesting way to do things and I know people are always like how do you do it? How do you guys run a family business but still actually like each other?

Carrie Richardson: 24:02

It's hard sometimes.

Angela Chryplewicz: 24:05

It can be.

Carrie Richardson: 24:07

There were moments where I wondered if we were going to be able to resolve a specific conflict, but it all worked out for everyone.

Angela Chryplewicz: 24:15

Yeah, everyone has the same goal. In keeping that in mind, in the end, where this business supports over 50 families and it's not an option to fail, and we all feel the same exact way. So it's whenever you know that everyone has the best intentions, it's going to be all right. The conflict, it's no fun. Nobody likes it. It's part of the world.

Carrie Richardson: 24:38

I imagine if you can get through a pandemic and a total lost fire, there isn't much that your family can't get through. Yeah, that must feel great, just to know that someone always has your back.

Angela Chryplewicz: 24:50

It does. We're a team, we're coworkers, but more importantly, we're family, and I think we always keep that in mind, and part of being a family is having each other's back, so it is a good feeling.

Carrie Richardson: 25:02

I don't think that we could end at a better spot than that. Do you want to leave us with any parting advice for people who are considering starting a business with someone that they're related to a partner, a parent, a sibling? What would you say was the most important thing to keep in mind when you're beginning that journey together?

Angela Chryplewicz: 25:23

I would just say what we just said of you both you love each other as family members, and being family is more important over anything else, and if anything starts to cloud that or get in the way, it's time to reset, step back. That, to me, over anything, is the most important thing, because without your family, without friends, what do you really have? So it's keeping that relationship as number one. That's always. That would be my advice.

Carrie Richardson: 25:55

Oh, and one more question what's your favorite swag in 2023? If you're having a trade show, for example, and you need a small giveaway, what are the? Most popular things right now. What do people want the most?

Angela Chryplewicz: 26:09

Okay. So this is what we started to see a little bit last year and you're seeing more and more of it. I love custom socks. I think they're super fun. People are wearing even guys now they're wearing the wild socks with different patterns and stripes and polka dots, and so we take those a lot of times and you can make them totally custom. And I've seen people do really cute things with trade shows where maybe they'll mail one sock to their client and say come visit our booth and you'll get the other sock or things like that. And that's fun. It's, they're unique. You know we all wear socks, so we all need them and it's it's even more fun when they're totally custom.

Carrie Richardson: 26:48

Hard to get. Some of the larger. I love a nice water bottle, but I don't need any more water bottles. I know I don't want to bring them home. Yeah, I don't want to check a bag, even for that yeti mug. Please. The little portable things, I think for me it's, and my kids use them. I was thinking about what can I bring home for my kids, so I'll look for something like a little cute stuffed animal or something that my 11 year old would like, and then my 23 old loves really nicely bound books.

Angela Chryplewicz: 27:17

There's something for everybody and it's a fun industry. We love being part of it. I love the sock idea. That's the socks are super cool. We've done some really neat things, some cool concepts with those.

Carrie Richardson: 27:29

What is the weirdest thing you've ever put a logo on?

Angela Chryplewicz: 27:32

The weirdest thing I don't know that this is weird, but this is one of it was one of the more creative projects I worked on was hot sauce. I had a client that was going to a trade show and I the theme had something to do with like what's hot or what's happening, and so we took some hot sauces and made a custom like hot sauce line and that was super cool and everyone loved it because most people like hot sauce. So that was neat, all right. So socks and hot sauce. That had socks and hot sauce to totally different things.

Carrie Richardson: 28:03

Thank you so much for being with us today, Angela, and for everybody else. I hope you're winning. Take care.

Angela Chryplewicz: 28:10

Thank you.

Carrie Richardson: 28:11

Bye, bye.