Postcards from the Edge

Postcards from the Edge

By Francis X. Gilpin | Associate Editor

Here's another reason not to tick off customers. They could become competitors.

In 1997, Joy Gendusa was a Pinellas County graphic designer who ordered a batch of postcards to send out to drum up new business. "I had the worst customer service," says Gendusa.

The New York postcard supplier, which she won't identify for this story, printed its toll-free number on the back of the cards. To Gendusa's mind, the vendor put its own marketing needs ahead of those of customers.

When she protested, Gendusa says the company agreed to remove the telephone number from the cards – for $50. "You know what?" she recalls thinking to herself. "I'm going to start my own postcard company."

PostcardMania Inc. was born. "It was that simple," Gendusa says, "getting frustrated with another company."

Eight years later, PostcardMania squeaked onto Inc. magazine's 2005 list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in America. The Clearwater direct-mail marketing company came in at No. 498, having grown revenue 290% in three years.

For 2005, PostcardMania had sales of more than $12 million with a payroll of 110 employees.

What's her secret? Well, she still uses postcards to attract new customers. "What I noticed was the more mail that I sent out, the more income I generated," she says. "It was a math formula."

Today, PostcardMania solicits new business with a weekly mailing of 85,000 postcards. During one week in February, Gendusa says the company sold $320,000 worth of postcards and mailing services, the highest weekly gross in PostcardMania history. At that pace, the company would make about a 33% sales increase for 2006.

Gendusa believes in direct mail, even though some suspect that e-mail blasts are rendering that form of marketing obsolete. Gendusa's retort: Pay attention the next time you visit your postal mailbox.

"If it didn't work, you wouldn't be getting so much mail," she says. "Postage is expensive. It works. So we practice what we preach."

Down on office politics

Addressing an audience of business majors at the University of Tampa, Gendusa, 41, at first gave the standard line of most entrepreneurs: "I started my own business because I didn't like working for other people."

Then, she amended that. "Actually, that's not totally true. I didn't mind working for other people," she says. "Shoveling manure, I'll make it fun."

What truly motivated her was a desire to create a work environment where backbiting was an absolute no-no. "I didn't like office politics," she says. "I didn't like it when someone was a good producer, but maybe they had a quirky personality and everybody kind of treated them like they were dirt or something.

"When I started my company, my purpose was really to have a fun, productive place to work, where people could enjoy themselves."

Gendusa is quite serious about her zero tolerance for office politicians. "It's disgusting," she says. "It's petty and it's childish and I don't want it near me. And, if I ever get wind of it, I don't care how good a producer you are, I don't care. You're out."

A single employee disparaging colleagues over their peccadilloes can quickly poison an entire workplace and reduce productivity, according to Gendusa. "That kind of thing is contagious," she says. "It's insidious and I will not have it."

Gendusa integrated the graphic design component of Joy Rockwell Enterprises Inc. - she got married in 2004 - into PostcardMania's postcard production operation.

PostcardMania generally financed its own growth from four employees and $600,000 in sales in 1998. "I don't agree that you should go out and look for money to start a business, Gendusa says. "Make it your own. Don't go into debt the minute you start a company."

Rewarding employees

When she was starting out, Gendusa says she took 15 cents from every dollar of revenue and put it back into marketing. Still, about 18 months into it, PostcardMania was stuck at around $20,000 in weekly sales.

Although the company eventually broke through the ceiling after six months, Gendusa says "it felt like an eternity."

During the sales plateau, Gendusa says she and Melissa Bradshaw, now senior vice president of product and quality control, would console themselves by escaping the office and heading to the mall for a modest shopping spree. "It changed our whole attitude," she says.

As PostcardMania took off, Gendusa says she rewarded good performance with praise and perquisites.

PostcardMania's employee of the year is going to New York City this spring on the company dime with her boyfriend. The four-day, three-night stay at a luxury hotel includes $500 of spending money.

Gendusa is high on her employees, who include her 76-year-old father. "That's really the best thing about PostcardMania," she says. "They're amazing. They just blow my mind every day."

Not that there isn't accountability at PostcardMania. "We manage by statistics," she says. Employees track their own progress.

The numbers, of course, are most appropriate for the sales force of 13. But anybody is eligible for a weekly "highest ever" award, based on his or her performance statistics, that comes with a $100 bonus.

PostcardMania didn't take on any significant debt until a couple of years ago. The company used low-interest government bonds to finance the construction of its own printing plant, about four miles from the Clearwater executive offices.

Gendusa says PostcardMania is doing so well that she predicts it will outgrow its current offices by 2008. At that time, she says the company will probably construct new offices on vacant land next to the production building.

The new offices might include a gymnasium and cafe with a chef, she says, so employees don't mind coming in early or working late.

A mother of two adolescent sons, Gendusa says she might be willing to sell the company within the next 10 years. She'd sell it right now if somebody met her asking price: currently $30 million, or roughly two-and-one-half times 2005 sales.

One route she won't explore is taking PostcardMania public. "First of all, I'm a total control freak. I love not having a partner," she says. "If somebody presents a good idea to me, I can have it implemented like that, because it's up to me."

MARKETING

Free advice

Many companies do a poor job of letting the world know what they have to offer. Joy Gendusa and her cadre of young, high-energy marketers at PostcardMania specialize in helping those types of clients.

"These are people who are in business and they are timid about promoting," she says. "It's not enough to have a good idea."

Gendusa says her company does something that few other direct mailers do. PostcardMania doesn't just design, print and ship marketing materials. It offers advice on which types of campaigns are most effective. And it doesn't pad client bills for the extra service.

"We give away what other companies charge dearly for," she says, "and that's marketing advice."

Clients may insist they know best. If their idea bombs, Gendusa doesn't let the bruised egos of her staffers get in the way of reworking a flawed marketing campaign. "Usually, when somebody doesn't get results, they walk off in a huff," she says. "We won't let anybody walk off in a huff."

Occasionally, it's PostcardMania's fault. Gendusa says all entrepreneurs should own up to their mistakes.

"Never try to pass the buck," she says. "If you can just say, 'yeah, I made that decision and it was a lousy decision. And I'm going to rectify it by doing this and I'm going to make up the damage by doing such-and-such for you,' then you can't lose."