Five years ago, Lakshmi Bhamidipati became the owner of the Minuteman Press franchise in Windsor, Ontario, which has been operating since 1979. On November 9th, 2022, Lakshmi moved the location to 1276 Ottawa St. and held a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate.
Present at the opening event was the guest of honour Brian Masse, Member of Parliament, who presented a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of Lakshmi and Minuteman Press in Windsor. Also present were Windsor City Councillor Kieran McKenzie, Minuteman Press International Regional VP Kevin Wittal, and other colleagues and community members.
In recognition of the event, Minuteman Press Windsor provided attendees with a gift package including a 2023 calendar, polo shirt, their booklet, and promotional offers.
.
Journey from India to Minuteman Press in Windsor
As she reflects on her journey, Lakshmi shares her journey from India to Canada:
“My schooling was in many different cities of India. While I was born in the southern part of India, I spend my initial years in the Eastern part, high school in the northern part, and university in the western part. India is a very diverse country, and my upbringing gave me courage and a chance to really get to know myself while growing up.”
Lakshmi adds, “I finished my coursework in Applied Art, Advertising and Marketing from Ahmedabad, and then finished my Post Graduation in Public Relations. For the next 17 years, I worked for an advertising agency as Art Director. My key responsibilities were to plan the yearly budget for corporate offices for advertising and marketing, designing yearly campaigns, and getting approvals.”
After the years spent building her career, Lakshmi decided that it was time to “see the world.” She says, “I applied for immigration to New Zealand and was approved in three months. I resigned from my 17-year job and when I moved to New Zealand, I worked for a big printing press. While in New Zealand, I applied for immigration to Canada and came here in 2006.”
Lakshmi worked for various companies when she arrived in Canada, and one of these was Minuteman Press. She says, “I gained some local experience and knowledge and then started my own graphics company in 2014. Before starting my company, I worked for Minuteman Press for three months. I liked the setup and help provided by the franchise. In August of 2017, I decided to buy the business and become the proud owner of the franchise.”
.
“All my life I was on the other side of printing. Minuteman Press gave me the opportunity to do the printing and to see the results of my designs on paper. As I have the designing knowledge and an eye for details in print quality, I pride myself on keeping our customers happy.” -Lakshmi Bhamidipati, owner, Minuteman Press, Windsor, Ontario
.
Welcome to Minuteman Press in Windsor
Since she acquired the franchise, Lakshmi has grown the business to now include with four full-time and three part-time employees. Lakshmi says, “The Windsor business community is looking for a one-stop print shop. We are able to do all of the main jobs.”
In addition to traditional printing and marketing services, Lakshmi pinpoints four key areas that are especially helpful to local businesses:
- “Our specialization is PARS (Canadian cross-border requirements) & PAPS (U.S. cross-border requirements) Barcode sticker printing. All the trucking companies need these stickers for crossing the border.
- We also specialize in Lamination services. Due to the pandemic, all the local restaurants started laminating their menus, and they still are. Laminated menus can be wiped and cleaned easily. We can also laminate big posters for schools, offices, restaurants, and hotels.
- Another field we specialize in is the construction business. We can print the blueprints for construction to be submitted to the city, scan old drawings, and reprint them. We can also scan the old drawings and save them as electronic copies.
- We have more medical professionals who still need printing for their RX pads and other documents. The main businesses in Windsor are in the food industry or the medical Industry. Both industries need printing all of the time, so there is still high demand for print media, and we are happy to meet their needs.”
Advice for Others
As for advice she would offer to other potential business owners, Lakshmi says, “I was born in a middle-class family with big dreams. My dream was to be self-employed one day. Dreams don't become reality through magic. It takes determination and hard work. I focused on my dream and kept working hard towards my dreams. If you have a dream and work hard, I am proof you can accomplish it.”
.
.
