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After joining his father’s business a decade ago, Mejire Arijaje is leading a generational shift for the family’s printing company.
Arijaje grew up helping out at Minuteman Press, a local franchise that his father started almost 20 years ago. After choosing to leave his corporate job, Arijaje decided he wanted to take on marketing and sales and help grow the company. Now, he’s modernizing the business to keep up with the digital world.
“We can continue the legacy and continue to build some more into something long-lasting.”
Mejire Arijaje, Minuteman Press
“Being able to see how much we have built in the time that we’re here,” he told Technical.ly. “We can continue the legacy and continue to build some more into something long-lasting.”
Based in Northeast Philly, Minuteman Press makes marketing materials like business cards, flyers and brochures, along with merchandise like pens and apparel. The company serves a range of customers, from the city to local political candidates, he said.
Minuteman Press also works with local nonprofits and makes an effort to give back as volunteers, not just as vendors, he said. For example, Arijaje and his father both volunteer with mentorship nonprofit 100 Black Men of Philadelphia.
Arijaje’s dad, Jude Arijaje, originally started the business when, while working as a realtor, he saw the potential to make money printing materials for fellow agents. From there, the client base expanded.
Inside the Minuteman Press office (Courtesy Mejire Arijaje)
As a kid, Arijaje helped out by doing odd jobs and door-to-door outreach. After college, he landed a job at investment management firm Vanguard, but decided it wasn’t a good fit for him. Instead, he returned to his dad’s business to help out with marketing.
“Working in small business is more free-flowing,” he said. “Everybody obviously feels like family, and they all know each other.”
Keeping up with the digital world
Over the years, the company has had to keep up with changing industry trends to survive, Arijaje said.
There’s less need for printed materials than there was 20 years ago, he said. People and businesses tend to be more focused on digital marketing. To keep up, Minuteman has had to expand its offerings and become more of a one-stop shop for its clients.
“For us to diversify and make sure that we’re still going as a company,” he said. “We [had] to add customer apparel, because people are always going to need custom apparel. We need to add signage, because people always need signage.”
Minuteman Press makes everything from apparel to brochures. (Courtesy Mejire Arijaje)
Looking forward, Arijaje would like the company to expand its e-commerce footprint and work with clients nationwide, not just locally. He wants to be able to take online orders and ship products out.
“[It’s about] finding more products that we can always be selling online,” Arijaje said, “without us having to go out and continue to market, and just know that people know us.”