6 minute read
ENTREPRENEURS
A PERFECT MATCH FOR SUCCESS
Vince Lombardi once said, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” The legendary football coach’s words exemplify the business philosophy of Ty and Crystal Gipson, owners of two superlative Georgetown businesses—Minuteman Press and Waterboy Graphics.
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Minuteman Press is an international print and sign franchise. The Gipsons’ Georgetown location is one of the largest branches in Texas and among those with the highest grossing volume in the nation. With one successful enterprise under their belts, and after creating some large-format graphics for Coach Rhonda Farney, Coach Phil Blue, and Athletic Director Jason Dean at Georgetown High School, Ty turned his love of sports into a business. Now a national company, Waterboy Sports has had partnerships with Under Armour, an apparel manufacturer, Lifetouch Photography, America’s largest school photography company, and BSN Sports, the largest sports distributor in the United States with 1,100 national sales reps. Waterboy’s large-format graphics, which can be applied to everything from sandwich boards to 30-foot stadium walls, have allowed the company to establish a presence in all 50 states, including Alaska and Hawaii.
BEING MARRIED TO YOUR BUSINESS PARTNER
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are about 5 million family-owned businesses in the United States. A 2019 survey reported 22 percent were jointly owned and operated by spouses. Rather uniquely, going into business with a spouse requires balancing two partnerships—the marriage and the business. Working and living together can be exciting and depleting, and there’s the added anxiety that the family’s financial stakes are completely connected to the business’ success.
Like many small business owners, the Gipsons realized taking the leap together to open Minuteman Press in 2006 was as personal as it was strategic. Ty says, “In our case, we both wanted to run our own business so we left the corporate world together and embarked on a year long, cross-country search for the right opportunity.” Crystal adds, “Even in the research phase we thought everything through together because taking that leap together meant neither of us would have a stable income. But we recognized that his strengths were a good complement to my weaknesses and vice versa so we decided there was no point wasting time with him doing things on his own until there was a ‘right’ time for me to join him. From a business standpoint, it made the most sense to do it together.”
Ty recalled their visits to various franchise operations and too often saw the single owner buried in the back trying to produce or manage a team and not up front promoting the products or services. “There is a great need for trust when delegating,” he says. “But there is a sense of certainty when you have a spouse who is naturally vested in the company’s success.” On top of that, Crystal says, “It’s never constructive when the working spouse comes home from a job at 5pm and wonders why the business owner spouse can’t just turn off the lights and come home before midnight. It’s a challenge to understand each other unless you’re both in it.”
BURNING THEIR SHIPS
Top priorities when giving up the corporate salaries were to have a solid financial plan and stay vigilant about reading the market. Crystal explains, “As a couple we learned to communicate early and nurture the necessary level of trust. Generally, both spouses should understand what’s at stake financially and how each defines success. We planned and were able to be nimble as executives, and pivot as necessary. We are a community driven sign shop but when the opportunity for a national branding company presented itself, we were able to work out a separation of the two and grow both. It was the same with COVID. We shifted our focus, put in the time, and made it work.”
Ty says, “Building a business as a couple comes with a dynamic that enables you to look at things from different perspectives and have honest discussions. For instance, if I choose a new piece of equipment, Crystal can discern what effect that will have on 35 other people. The trust we have in each other translates to the assurance between ourselves and our team. Having that kind of flow means we don’t have to be the ones to ‘stay late and make sure’ with regard to work or projects every night.” Crystal adds, “Being married gives us a unique opportunity to evaluate decisions as equals and manage a team that believes in us because we’ve fought long and hard to keep them.”
Ty says, “I’ve also learned to just say ‘Yes ma’am.’ “
Even as they made big decisions as partners, Ty says they had a simple agreement that when they drove through the entrance to their neighborhood, there was no more work talk. “It was 2am in some cases, and there were nights that we didn’t make it as far as the driveway before we were talking work again. Still, some of your best discoveries and ideas come in the middle of the night and you would never call up your co-workers and wake them up to discuss it. It’s a blessing and a curse, really, but you get used to the rhythm over time.” Crystal agrees, “We learned to communicate early and not let things fester in our relationship. It is the same with the business. If something is going on, you have to talk about it, particularly when you’re together 24/7 and really sharing the workload at home and at the office.”
Crystal says they both make every effort to maintain a life balance for their daughter Reese. “Parents just need to plan and be aware of who will go to the soccer game and who will close up the shop. And our business is a family affair—we don’t hesitate to invite parents and siblings to engage with the business or the family or both.”
MADE FOR EACH OTHER
Another strikingly unique thing about the Gipsons is that they are a literal perfect match. In 2018, Ty found himself in need of an organ transplant for the second time in his life. Having received a kidney and pancreas as a younger man, his health began failing when the kidney stopped functioning. His sister Gia agreed to donate but at the last minute doctors determined hers would not work for him. The Gipsons soon found out about paired sharing, which allows a patient’s friend or relative to be a donor to the program, and Ty would be granted another kidney immediately upon availability. Crystal agreed to be a donor and doctors were astounded when they found she was a match for Ty.
There were additional steps to determine total viability and while unlikely, Crystal was a perfect match. Ty’s doctors said it was a result rarely seen, if ever. Ty says, “Talk about a partner and a match, not just in business but getting a kidney from her was a miracle.”
The Gipsons don’t plan to slow down anytime soon and are always on the lookout for the next opportunity—the mark of good entrepreneurs. “We are never standing around, and we will always be looking for the next great idea,” Ty says.
Both Gipsons invite other business owner-couples to call or stop by the shop to talk about similar challenges and share solutions for the good of everyone’s businesses and the communities they support.
