OXFORD – Drive through downtown Oxford along Route 12 and you're likely to notice a new business along the way, bringing new life to a retail space that's been vacant for a number of years. Local entrepreneur Mitch Cluff is trying his fate at a brick and mortar expansion of his home-based graphic and advertising business, ES Graphix, and so far things are looking up.
“Working from out of my home just wasn't cutting it anymore. The company has grown to such that I needed to hire additional sales people and establish an expanded workspace to better sever our clients,” said Cluff.
According to Cluff, the move to the main drag has paid off. “Just having a location with this amount of visibility has brought about the added incentive of foot traffic and walk-in appointments,” said Cluff as he noted that there have been at least four new accounts in the past week.
“We offer pretty much any service that relates to marketing and advertising,” said Cluff. Banners and automotive graphic wraps are only the tip of the iceberg for ES Graphix – which adorn the facade of the new location – and the variety of services offered is extensive.
The formula to success for ES Graphix under the vision of Cluff has been his ability to identify his capabilities and keeping the business fluid. Cluff has – through nearly 15 years of graphics-related experience and education – figured out what works, what does not and how to stay aggressive in the business world by staying agile and reducing overhead.
“I do a lot ‘out-of-house’ printing, and that saves me both time and overhead,” said Cluff. “I considered investing in large scale printing equipment and machinery, but it would have required an impractical amount of space to house it, not to mention the cost of maintenance and down time if something goes awry. The relationships that I have in the industry allow me to be more cost-effective for my customers by outsourcing the physical printing and doing the design work myself here in-house.”
Cluff and ES Graphix already boast an impressive list of local satisfied clientele on the books. With an elaborate portfolio that includes completed work for the likes of NBT Bank, Scoville-Meno, Nina's Restaurant, The Stadium, Peggy Parker Real Estate and Sidney Federal Credit Union; it's not a stretch of the imagination to say that all the signs of success are in place.
A graduate of Collins College in Tempe, AZ; Cluff entered the industry by working for several firms, and worked on projects produced for Touch Stone Pictures and Disney. After becoming discouraged by the lack of creative control, coupled with the desire to claim his own stake in the industry and armed with the knowledge gained along the way, Cluff decided to go into business for himself.
With the helping hands and support of his wife, Erin – who performs a number of administrative duties while caring for the Oxford couple's two children, the two worked from thier village home for nearly three years.
“We give a high degree of customer service, and all of our customers usually end up being much more like friends to us since we're such a tight-knit family-run operation,” said Cluff. “We pride ourselves on our attention to detail and and quality products.”
Banners, signs, business cards, web site development, search engine optimization, screen printing and more are all available locally, under one roof at the most competitive prices at ES Graphix.
For more information, and to view the online portfolio; visit http://www.esgraphix.biz; or stop in to the shop and for a face-to-face consultation at 14 North Canal Street, Oxford.