Isa and Ken Mishuku of PrintCafe: Pros of Personalized Prints

When you present a challenge to a mom, she’ll take on it with fervor - be it a simple event, such as her child's party celebration, or a big venture, such as a new business. When it comes to planning joyous occasions in their children’s lives, a mom's attention to detail is unmatched.

So says Isa Mishuku, 28, who runs Printcafe, a stationery supplies store, together with her husband, Ken, 32. “Moms are into it (party planning); all out [talaga],” she says. “We do stationery, cards, table numbers, banderitas, etc.”

In fact, for a little over a year now since they started their business, they’ve been steadily growing its clientele, largely comprised of parents who enjoy organizing family-related gatherings, and soon-to-be-wed couples.

Finding inspiration
How did their venture come to be? With a strong background in printing and determination, shares Isa. Having grown up helping in her family’s printing press in Laguna, she was armed with a thorough knowledge of the production and financial know-how when she and Ken went into business.

But what really triggered the idea was a void that they felt needed to be filled. During preparations for their wedding in 2010, Isa and Ken found themselves limited by the invitations available in the market, since these were quite hard on the pocket. “[Owing to my background], I know the costs [involved] and how to make the invites so I thought, “Why don’t we just do our own na lang?”

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Spurred by the need to cut down on costs, Isa and Ken decided to produce their own invites, causing a buzz among friends. “A lot of people started to inquire about designing for them,” recalls Isa. The sheer popularity brought about by word of mouth got this husband-and-wife tandem thinking about putting up a new business. Ken, who at that time has been working in a real estate company for a decade, wanted to transition into a different industry, which proved fateful for their plans. One of the reasons why Ken wanted to leave real estate was the amount of time he spent on it and the stress it came with.

While it was only a hobby, Isa’s fondness of stationery in blogsites sort of sealed the deal. “I had a far-off dream that one day [Ken and I] could have something like [the products in the blogs]. For our honeymoon, we were in Japan, and there we saw really, really big stationery stores; three floors full of wrapping paper [and] different greeting cards,” Isa remarks. “But they were so expensive! But really nice.”

The birth of a dream
Thus did Printcafe come to fruition in 2011. What was intended to be merely a “project” of Isa - a kiosk in Festival Mall, Alabang - became a full-fledged entrepreneurial undertaking. With the “ber” months came a spike in sales, and just a few months after, the opportunity to expand with a full store in SM Southmall landed on their laps.

Unlike other stationery stores, though, Printcafe offers a touch of personalization, further boosting their brand’s image as not just merely a product. “Someone walked in and said ‘I’ll get 15 notebooks’, but she had a request, and that was to put the names of her friends in them,” remembers Isa. “It was something we didn’t think of before. We accommodated her because [she bought so many, and] that’s where it took off.”

What initially was just a hobby, bolstered by just notebooks, cards, wedding invites and gift wrappers now became a contender in the personalized products retail category. “We offer you something you don’t see in others,” says Ken.

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Their current bestsellers, based on the two-pronged structure of retail and services, are personalized cards and notebooks. Soon, Printcafe will also be producing personalized planners as well. As for services, wedding and birthday invitations brought in the money. All of their suppliers are local.

Contrary to the upscale look and feel of their products, Printcafe’s pricing is actually very competitive, ranging from as low as 40 pesos to 100 pesos per set of cards, depending on the design.

Partners for life
What’s great about Ken and Isa is that their partnership as husband and wife extends well into their role as entrepreneurs. While Ken is in charge of store operations, hiring and construction, Isa manages the printing and manufacturing aspect of the business, coordinating with the graphic artists and approving designs.

“We have our portfolio of designs, but the good thing is we can [also come up with specific] designs for clients,” explains Isa. “What’s important is that they’re happy.”

As with any business, though, Printcafe is not without setbacks. After their first year of operation, Ken and Isa share with us the challenges they were beset with:

1. Manpower
Ken was used to handling a lot of people but realized how different matters are when your own business is concerned. They hired two employees who soon left, despite having been given a good salary. “We decided to push it forward [by getting] a store manager,” says Ken. “That was the time when we weren’t really making enough. But we said, ‘No. Let’s get a graduate, and we’ll pay her well. So that’s what we did.’”

2. Managing expectations
“People were saying ang ganda, but the business wasn’t doing well initially,” Ken recalls.

3. Balancing
“We developed all the products ourselves, and it’s a challenge to give it that look and differentiate ourselves from the typical print shop,” Isa explains. “We really wanted to differentiate ourselves and to find sellers that could sell Printcafe as a brand, as a product, and not just printed paper.”

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With experience and determination, the couple pulled it through with these gems of insight:
1.    Before you start, get in it wholeheartedly. “When you put your heart into something, someone will notice it,” stresses Ken.
2.    Package your product the best way you can.
3.    Know your brand, know what you’re doing. Your store is the extension of yourself.
4.    Find a good partner who can bounce ideas with, or push you, challenge you

It’s amazing how Ken and Isa still manage to find time to take time off from work, but it’s something they make a point to do. Nothing spectacular; they just enjoy spending time in simple leisure activities, like going out of town or walking their dogs around the village. “If we’re able to spend afternoons at home that’s great,” says Isa. The couple is expecting their first child. “[Ken] dreams [of being the one to] bring our child to school and do [some] gardening.”

A future for the family
In the end, just like any parents-to-be, their foray into the business scene is a testament to their desire for a good family life.

“The main purpose of getting into the business is not really to get rich, but to maintain the kind of life that we have right now,” said Ken. “The objective was to build the brand, not so much to make profit. If getting there too fast will make our lives a little more difficult, then it’s not worth it. Our goal really is to have a family life. Family life is so important. Business is [just] a means to support that kind of life.”

With such a commitment to their goal, Ken and Isa are planning on growing their business even further, with branches soon to open in SM Center in Las Pinas, and in SM Bonifacio Global City in 2013.

“We just want our customers to be happy,” says Isa. “To provide a service that nobody else provides. To provide a vehicle for people to get creative. To bring their projects here. They don’t know where to go, [so] we want to be known as the go-to place for all print requirements.”

Printcafe is located at the 2nd floor of SM Southmall, Alabang-Zapote Road, Las Pinas. Visit their website at http://printcafe.com.ph for more information.

Photos by Majoy Siason