Cartridge & Printer Maintenance (CPM) is a toner cartridge manufacturer and printer services center. Nancy Andrews started her business to change the lives of men and women with disabilities. Her business provides employees with high-tech skills and good jobs. CPM recruits, trains and employs Dayton-area adults with disabilities as imaging cartridge technicians and printer repair specialists. Proving itself competitive in the tight marketplace, the toner cartridges manufactured by CPM cost less and print more pages per cartridge than most cartridges on the market.
As a local job trainer, Nancy learned that good jobs were hard to find and even harder to keep if you are a disabled person. The majority of people with handicaps are unemployed and those that work through day programs often make far below minimum wage. The lucky ones move from one low paying service job to another with very little career progression.
When planning her next career step, Nancy knew that helping these workers would be a guiding principle. She wanted to start a business that would serve as a medium for the disabled workers to prove their ability to work in a specialized area.
As part of the planning process, Nancy visited the Dayton Chapter of the SCORE Association "Counselors to America's Small Business." SCORE counselor Gordon Callihan discussed the best business structure for CPM. Mr. Callihan directed her to the business workshops offered by the Dayton SCORE chapter to better prepare her to run a successful business. "SCORE provided me the tools and information that I needed to start my business. As we move forward, SCORE will be a resource that I intend to use again," Nancy Andrews said.
Nancy looks forward to growing the business and creating more opportunities for her non-traditional workforce. Word of mouth is spreading the news about CPM. "Over seventy job applications are on file from local people who are hoping for a chance to learn so that they can earn a decent wage," Nancy said. She has high expectations of her products and the men and women who make them. "They continue to exceed our highest expectations and they gain confidence in their skills and abilities," Nancy said.
This year, her focus is on growing the new business to create new opportunities. "In our first year, we learned a lot," she says. "September 11th caused us to lose a large order from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the general economic slowdown did not help." However, for the first quarter of 2002, sales were above last year's levels and are expected to climb through the year. As the business expands, Nancy plans to use the SCORE resources to strategically plan the expansion of products, services and office space.
Nancy Andrews continues to be actively involved in organizations that work to improve the lives of the handicapped. She serves on the external advisory board for Children's Hospital and on State of Ohio's Learning Disability Association. |
