Meet Joy Gendusa of PostcardMania

I have personally used PostcardMania in my Real Estate and Mortgage businesses.  The representatives are always so helpful and make you feel like you are their only customer.  I love customer service like that!

So, when I got the chance to interview Joy, I jumped at it! Join me as we get to know Joy and her great company a little better.

Q: What is your name, the name of your company and when did you start it?

A:  Joy Gendusa, PostcardMania started in June 1998.

Q: What was the motivation behind your company?

A: At the time, I had two younger boys (who are now 16 & 18) and I wanted to give them the kind of upbringing my parents gave me. I wanted to build a company that would afford me the ability to send them to private school. I also wanted to do something I felt passionate about. I LOVE helping small business owners/entrepreneurs grow their businesses!

Q: How long did it take you to earn a profit from your business?

A:  I turned a profit almost immediately. But I put all the profit back into growing the business for about three years only taking a meager salary during that time.

Q: What significant obstacles (if any) have you faced & how did you overcome them?

A: The obstacle for me is always money! I’ve been approached so many times by investors and it would have been faster and easier to grow with some funding – we’ve always grown totally organically with money earned. But I never wanted to relinquish any control and I’m glad I stuck it out.

Q: Did you ever feel like just giving up at times? If so, what keeps you going?

A:  Of course! I just happen to be one of those people that persists on a given course and can keep my eye on the mountain. Thank goodness! My staff and my family keep me going. They rely on me and that means a lot to me.

Q: What qualities (i.e., family support, discipline, time management) do you think are necessary for a women entrepreneur?

A: Tenacity, family support for sure, a strong desire to succeed, hard work – same qualities a man needs!

Q: What is the one thing (book, website, coach, tool, blog, service, etc) that you value and can say has contributed to your success?

A:  I have no formal education. Without the Hubbard Management System I would be lost. This system has helped me with every area of business from hiring to management to marketing and finance.

Q:  What is your favorite quote, saying, Proverb, or scripture?

A:“Never regret yesterday, life is in you today and you make your tomorrow” L. Ron Hubbard

Q: What advice would you give to someone just starting out in business or thinking about taking the leap into entrepreneurship?

A:  Keep your overhead as low as possible and be frugal until you have the profits to spend. Don’t get into major debt. If you want to grow, understand that whatever amount of marketing you think you need to do – triple it, quadruple it! (yes, yes, yes!!)

Q: What are a few goals for you or your business this year?

A: Getting through this economy as unscathed as possible! Getting settled into our new building. We’ve been working on this project for two years!

BIO:  I am married to the man of my dreams! He is helping me raise my two teen boys – Zachary 18 and James 16. I am a very proud mom. My boys are so ethical, helpful and self reliant. We reside in Clearwater Florida and have two dogs – Lulu, a Maltese and Layla, a boxer.

About Joy & PostcardMania:

Using a powerful, simple, extremely cost effective way of communicating with customers has earned Joy Gendusa, Inc. Magazine’s recognition as the nation’s fastest growing direct mail postcard-marketing firm with year 2008 revenues close to $19,000,000.  Gendusa began in 1998 with zero investment capital.

Today, her Clearwater, FL firm called PostcardMania, employs over 160 people and prints 4 million and mails 2 million postcards representing 35,000-plus customers in over 350 industries each week.

Wow, what an inspiration! If you feel your business could benefit from postcards, definitely visit PostcardMania.

That’s it for now.  Until next time…wear your heels well!

Hey! Are you on Twitter? If so, give me a shout-out! My Twitter name is @krclaypool. Would love to keep in touch with you!

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