By: Dameon Okposio
Business can develop anywhere. In December in 2014, I was in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA for a week, watching fights and making connections meeting fighters. I came across a T shirt booth with boxing shirts that had amazing designs. I immediately struck up a conversation with the gentleman running the booth and inquired about how he got the shirts and who the designer was. He told me that the creator of the shirts was a relative of his and he ran the company called Boxart, out of Mexico. He was in Vegas helping his relative, but their company was not continually set up in the United States.
I purchased a couple of shirts and got the owners contact information. When I returned home to Canada, I called the owner. He was not just the owner; he was also a talented artist and graphic designer. We struck up a conversation, became friends and decided to do business together. I was already printing the customary cotton tee shirts for my business brand, but these shirts were high quality, and the designs were picture sharp and did not fade with washing because of the process of how they were made called sublimation. At that point “DO Boxart Custom Shirts” was formed. Boxart is the original company, but I would do the sales in Canada, focusing on Ontario.
We dealt with everything online and I ordered the shirts from Mexico. We did business together just shy of a decade, and I never met my business partner in person. It is the advantage of living in a technological age. It is amazing how a simple conversation can lead to years of business, if you are open to putting yourself out there and meeting people. – DO
