A lot of people might not have the fondest memories of 2020. But for Joe Simmons, the year was a good one.
Not only did he welcome his first child, a son, that February, but the downtime that ensued thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic gave Simmons some time to figure out his next steps in life. For him, that path involved acquiring Superior Imprints, a screen printing, embroidery and custom apparel company that had been in business in Seattle since 1990.
“For a lot of people 2020 wasn’t great, but it was a super exciting year for me for all that happened,” said Simmons, who before 2020 had served in the military for six years. “I’ve always loved business and hands-on experiences more than the classroom, so things just kind of worked out great.”
Now located in Kent, Superior Imprints today essentially specializes in helping businesses promote their brands by way of logos on apparel, drinkware and other products, from pens and can koozies to tote bags, notebooks, hockey pucks and stuffed animals. The company, which does all its work locally, has done licensed apparel for NFL and college football teams, and it works with both large national corporations and small mom-and-pop shops.
“We have so many departments and so many different capabilities under our roof,” said Simmons, who serves as CEO of Superior. “I think the best way to describe us is that we are in the business of promoting and helping other people promote their businesses.”
Scrolling the web one day looking for resources to help small businesses, Simmons came across the Comcast RISE program and thought, why not?
“Everybody thinks that there should be a lot of money and tools out there for small businesses, but there’s actually not,” he said. “I was excited when I found Comcast RISE. I know it’s kind of a long shot, but I applied for it. It’s super exciting to have been picked for it.”
Businesses selected for the Comcast RISE program receive $5,000, a technology makeover from Comcast Business, creative production and a media schedule from Comcast Advertising and business consultation services. The various components of the package aim to help small businesses with everything from technology and advertising to business coaching and funds for operations or growth initiatives.
Simmons said Superior Imprints will use the financial component of the grant package to help update and digitize some of its internal systems and to set up an e-commerce platform. Many of its current processes are still paper-based – but not for long.
“Some of the processes we want to improve may not be evident to the customer up-front,” he said, “but it’ll speed things up and smooth out our office work.”
Simmons said he also plans to take advantage of the business coaching and make the free LinkedIn courses that come through the RISE package available to the roughly 40 employees who work at Superior Imprints.
Superior is one of 100 small businesses in King County recently selected to receive grant packages through the Comcast RISE program. Over the past five years, the program has provided a total of $160 million in monetary, marketing and technology resources to 14,500 small businesses nationwide.
Joe Simmons served in the military for six years before purchasing Superior Imprints, which received a $5,000 technology makeover through the Comcast RISE program to help grow the business. Courtesy Comcast
