Today we’d like to introduce you to Annette Lochrie, POPP.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Annette. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
After leaving a lucrative position in healthcare administration in order to stay at home with my young children, I was ultimately looking for a job close to home. A new store was opening, around the corner from where I live, that happened to sell promotional products.
Being an artistic, creative person, with a background in healthcare who therefore enjoys interacting with, and helping, people, this job was the perfect fit for me. I was interviewed for the job and immediately became the first and only employee, functioning as the manager, art & logo designer/consultant, window decorator, and billing department, all in my own neighborhood! I thrived in my position.
After five years there, I was ready to grow my dream job even more by branching out on my own and selling promotional products in a unique way. In this regard, for the past six years, since starting Purveyor of Promotional Products (POPP!), I work out of my home office, am open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and, in more ways than one, deliver to my clients!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Well, one of the obvious built-in advantages of having a storefront business is the visibility to passers-by! By working at my home office, I face the challenge of the lack that same kind of visibility. In reality, I am personally confronted by what promotional products are all about: making businesses visible and memorable.
The designer Oscar De La Renta once aptly said that “Being noticed isn’t as important as being remembered”! In my line of work though, I think both are crucial! While a number of clients from my old job choose to continue working with me in my new position, the challenge of being visible to and connecting with, new clients has become an ongoing part of my work.
Please tell us about Purveyor of Promotional Products.
I design logos, do screen printing and embroidering and sell anything that can be adorned with a logo, from something as small as a keychain to items as big as an 8-foot wide x 12-foot high sign and over-the-road banners.
My wares include both all kinds of wearables such as tee shirts, sweatshirts, hats and polo shirts, as well as tote bags, mugs, tumblers, business cards, signs, trophies, and banners. I work with thousands of manufacturers and love the challenge of finding just the right product, at just the right price, to fit my client’s budget, in order to best promote their business. My clients include a wonderful mix of contractors, schools, businesses, colleges, clubs, health care professionals and individuals.
Furthermore, since both of my daughters grew up riding, and are still actively involved with horses, I am thrilled to be able to work with several Equestrian Barns and the only tack shop in New York City, embroidering and/or screen printing everything from polo wraps to coolers and saddle pads and fly bonnets for the horses and IEA and other apparel for their riders! I think what sets me apart from other businesses is that I truly love what I am doing, so everything I do is personal. It really does matter to me that my clients are completely satisfied!
What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
That’s a tough question! Doing my job helping people every day makes me proud. So, narrowing down the moments that I felt best about myself, in terms of my business, is difficult: The Christmas Eve when I had someone come by at 9:00 pm to pick up a rush order I had handled for them, when no one else would; being chosen among a wide competitive field of companies to handle a 10,000 piece order; my design of a new logo for an existing company that has caused a major boost in their business, are examples.
But, probably the proudest, though, was the moment that I decided to leave the comfort of a regular paycheck guaranteed money no matter how many or few customers walked through the door, and go to a completely unknown future, where I was totally on my own, and had no way of knowing if I would succeed or fail…..
Contact Info:
- Website: POPPpromos.com
- Phone: 978-399-4444
- Email: popppromos@gmail.com
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
