Meet John Pinnington of AA Printing Service

Author: John Pinnington
Posted: 24 May of 2013

The Living Pages Interview: John Pinnington of AA Printing Services

Tell us a bit about your personal background.

I was born in Belize City and grew up in England, graduating from Catholic College. When I was 17 I joined Her Majesty's British Army, serving for 10 years and finishing at the rank of Sergeant. After the military I became an executive protection agent, working for several members of the royal family until I moved to L.A. and worked guarding Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.

When did you decide to move to Vegas?

I came to the United States in 1995 and moved to Los Angeles. I moved to Las Vegas in 2001.

How did you start the printing business; was it a passion you always had or something that came out of nowhere?

In 2010, I needed some cards printed for another business venture I had. The owner of Copy King recruited me as a sales rep. I quickly became a print broker, and opened AA Printing Service one month later. In 2011, I opened my shop which is located at 4800 S. Maryland Parkway, Suite C, in the UNLV corridor. The company has more than 1,000 satisfied clients and my staff has grown from one to five employees.

You have received several awards and accolades here in Vegas, tell us about them.

Well, I'm not big on boasting, but this time, I don't mind talking about it. My company AA Printing Service has won numerous awards as the 2011 LVBNM New Business of the Year, Women's Chamber of Commerce of Nevada New Business of the Year, Urban Chamber of Commerce New Business of the Year, SBA Nominated Business Person of the Year, and was most recently nominated New Minority Business of the Year.

What are some of the best moments since starting your business?

Of course, the awards are great. Who doesn't want to be recognized for their work? That's human nature. However, I really love when people are referred to the company by others and are enthusiastic about working with us. Also, we have a delivery van which is instantly recognizable that I drive around town. I can't tell you how much business we've picked up by people calling and saying, "I got your number from the van. I was driving behind it today." We've been able to form a lot of great relationships here!

What are the challenges to your growing business?

There have been several obstacles to overcome in regard to the company's inception and survival. First, I started the business with $4,500 out of my own pocket, without a small business loan from any sort of banking entity. It's difficult for a small business owner to try to expand without establishing ties to a lending authority. Sometimes banks demand too much from a small business owner – proof of capital, proof of sales, and proof of a long term record – and only then perhaps they will agree to a financing plan. It's a Catch 22 situation for many small business owners that is sometimes difficult to overcome. Fortunately, because of AA Printing Service reputation and commitment to quality service, we are beginning to overcome that. Second, as a printing company that promises to go the extra yard, it was difficult to overcome the reputation that some other printing companies have in Las Vegas as far as overpromising and under delivering. Being involved in the community through outreach, networking, and speaking publicly about small business leadership, we have been able to overcome any stigmas placed before us.

Tell us about a very unique project you've worked on in the past.

Wow, that's a hard question to answer. I feel each project is as important as the last one we completed. I think sometimes the most daunting projects we work on are last minute requests for awards and event programs with the reason being that the client sends us advertisements, photos, text, etc. that needs to be placed in a certain way – and if they are new to dealing with printers we almost have to hold their hands during the process and walk them through it. However, after everything is finished the client feels a great sense of relief, and we're proud that we helped them. We love all our clients and value each of their projects!

We heard you have some plans in the works to expand your business. Would you mind sharing it with our readers?

Well I don't want to go too much in depth because I like to keep things close to the vest until the big reveal, but there is definite expansion on the horizon for AA Printing Service in terms of location and services.

We see that you are very involved with local charities, please share your experiences with us.

Both personally and professionally, I have been involved with The Wounded Warrior Project. Each year, AA Printing Service holds its annual Red, White and Blue Celebration and Fundraiser in April. I do this because we need to support our service men and women any way possible. They do so much for us to make this country a wonderful one. I am in awe of what our military personnel do. Whatever I can do to spread the word about the organization, I will gladly do! I also enjoy speaking to students at local elementary and middle schools and helping young entrepreneurs navigate the sometimes rocky waters of business ownership through mentoring.

Tell us something that most people would not know about you.

I'm an adventurous kind of guy. If something seems interesting, I'll do it. I recently took my staff to Vegas Indoor Skydiving. I hadn't done it before, but it was a blast! Now I'm working on obtaining my pilot's license. It's very challenging and rewarding and very exhilarating to be in the skies, controlling an aircraft. I'm always thinking of some new kind of hobby to engage in, next will probably be golf.

John's passion for his work and dedication to his customers is why his business continues to thrive in quality satisfaction. Visit AA Printing Service listing on The Living Pages for more information. We thank John for allowing us the time to get to know him better.

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