Feature Story

Let's Make a Deal

By Chary Southmayd

If Colorgraphx owner George Stulpin were to star in a game show, “Let’s Make a Deal” would be a natural. In fact, Stulpin could probably teach a course in the art of successful deal making.

Armed with a strong survival instinct as he consummated one deal after another, Stulpin borrowed $300 in 1971 to start a printing business, about which he knew zilch. Now, as owner of Colorgraphx, he expects his company to earn $4-million this year and as much as $6 million in 2008. Along the way, Stulpin’s business life has been characterized by a series of ups and downs, bouncing around, and twists and turns of fate. Through it all, he had a “never give up” attitude that sustained him and carried him to the successful life he now enjoys.

How to succeed without knowing anything

It all began in Chicago during summer break from college in 1971 when one of Stulpin’s friends suggested they start a printing company. Stulpin recalls telling him, “You don’t know anything about printing and that’s more than I know.” Oh, by the way, he had no money to go with that lack of know-how. Driven by the naiveté of youth, they scraped together $600, bought a small, used printing press, a camera system and an instructional book. They were on their way. The two set up a 600-square-foot storefront operation called Community Instant Printing. Next thing Stulpin knew, he was hooked on the business. He never did go back to college. “Things started growing,” he said. They sure did.

A few years later with a niftier name, Questar, they expanded to a 4,000-square-foot building, which happened to be a former funeral parlor. OK, so the dark room in which Stulpin worked alone many nights previously had been an embalming room, but that was hardly the kiss of death. There was plenty of life left in Stulpin’s ambition.
Another few years later when the company had outgrown the funeral parlor, they expanded to 14,000-square-feet elsewhere. The printing technology also had advanced from single color to multi-color equipment. They had 40 employees and were earning $4 million a year in sales. They had come a long way in a relatively short time.
That would eventually take its toll.

By 1988, Stulpin was becoming burned out on the printing business he had grown to love. He sold his share in the company to his partners, and divested other business interests as well. He and his wife, Joanne, decided to start a new life in Florida. Though he might have thought so at the time, the printing business was not done with him.

Boats sounded glamorous

Semi-retired and living a comfortable life in South St. Petersburg, Stulpin decided to take a gander in a company that builds small fiberglass boats. He thought boat-making sounded like a glamorous business. “It wasn’t,” he said. “I didn’t like the smell of fiberglass. The work wasn’t close to my heart. I just didn’t like it.” He got out of the boat business within a year.

So now what?

Here was a 40-year-old guy who had never worked for anyone else in his life and had never put together a resume. What now? Managing to put together that first resume, Stulpin got a technical sales job with Fuji Film. He was back in the game. His sales territory covered nearly the entire state. During his years with Fuji, Stulpin made valuable contacts with printers all around Florida.

After leaving Fuji, he sold design and photography services for a graphic arts studio with his buddy, Jay Vessey, who is now president of Evolution Studios and Media in Oldsmar. Before long, another friend recruited him to sell printing in Sarasota. Though he was making a lot of friends and business contacts along the way, bouncing around from here to there was starting to get very old.
“I was tired of going from mismanaged company to mismanaged company,” he said.

As fate would have it, Stulpin was working for a company whose owners one day announced they were insolvent. They packed up and took off, leaving Stulpin with owed commission he would never receive and printing jobs in progress. He refused to abandon the uncompleted work, so Stulpin made some calls to key people and offered to pay them on a daily basis to get the jobs done. They made it happen. Meantime, Stulpin was contacted by a leasing company about the equipment the owners had abandoned. He told them, “Let’s make a deal.” Stulpin bought the equipment from the leasing firm on Oct. 7, 2004. The next month the company incorporated. Colorgraphx was born.

Peace of mind

Through an unlucky twist of fate for which he bore no responsibility, the Clearwater building that Colorgraphx was leasing went into foreclosure. It was yet another pesky roadblock. No problem. Stulpin devised a plan to refinance his house, buy the balance of the mortgage on the building from the bank, and then foreclose.
“I foreclosed. I was the bank,” he said. Stulpin now owned the building where his company continued to grow from October of 2004 through the end of 2006. Sales reached $2 million in just two years.

Along with that building purchase came the piece of mind of ownership.

Still in growth mode and looking for a second press, a business acquaintance one day called Stulpin, saying, “I have a deal for you. I own a building that has a printer in it.” Stulpin negotiated yet another deal; the two swapped buildings. Colorgraphx moved to its current location, a 16,000-square-foot warehouse at 4721 110th Avenue N. in Clearwater where the company has grown to 25 employees. Though he has done it all, Stulpin describes his role nowadays as the one who orchestrates.

For this sharp 58-year-old dealmaker, the time is approaching to slow down a bit. He has brought on board his two nephews, Peter and Greg Geier. He intends for Colorgraphx to remain a family business. “I’m grooming them to make sure I retire in the style I’m accustomed to,” the affable Stulpin says with a smile. That retirement, which is several years down the road, will include playing plenty of golf at Pasadena Golf and Country Club, where he is a member. He wants to lower his 22 handicap, which has fallen victim to business growth and the recent move.

Stulpin, who describes himself as “usually” laid back and easygoing, surprisingly advises young entrepreneurs not to follow his example when getting started. “I did things the hard way,” he said. “Get an education in what you want to do. It cuts down a lot of time. It took me almost 20 years to build the business … the first time.” What he would not change is his will to succeed no matter what obstacles were thrown in his path. Tenaciousness can take you a very long way. “I don’t give up. If there’s a problem, give it enough time and you’ll solve it,” he advises. He also believes in leaving work problems behind at day’s end. “When I get home, I don’t think about it. If you do, it’ll kill you. You won’t rest. Whatever problem there is will still be there in the morning,” he said.

Colorgraphx’s success in the printing business, where failure is commonplace, is due in large part to considerable national business – 60 percent of their clients are from out of state. The Colorgraphx Web site touts “Printing in Paradise” and is resplendent with colorful, tropical images. To help reduce shipping costs, Colorgraphx also offers mailing service directly from the warehouse. Like other driven business owners who’ve survived the rough and tumble climb, Stulpin admits he is still never totally comfortable in thinking its all for keeps.
“I went from zero to Mach 10 just like that,” he said, snapping his fingers. “I felt like I was in a dragster. Our business is very strong,” he said, quickly adding, “Knock on wood.”

back to top