[ HAWAII AT WORK ]
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Edward Enterprises President Mark Ibara "sweats the small stuff."
Jack-of-all-printing-trades
As president of a local commercial printer, Edward Enterprises, I do a little bit of everything at our company: operations, PR, human resources and so on.
says details help to
retain customers
My dad also was in the printing industry, so I guess you could say I followed in his footsteps. I started out as a delivery boy 23 years ago at Honolulu Graphic Arts and seemed to always be at the right place at the right time for opportunities that came along. I seized them and worked my way up and learned every aspect of the printing industry.
Mark Ibara
Title: PresidentCompany: Edward Enterprises
Years in the industry: 23
Point of pride: Edward Enterprises was recently honored by the American Institute of Graphic Arts, Honolulu Chapter, as an outstanding local printer.
My background has primarily been on the production side of the business, in the pre-press arena. Because of this, one of my greatest challenges is changing my mind-set from the role of production manager to that of an administrator. In my former positions, it was my job to "sweat the small stuff" because of the detailed work involved. I still find myself trying to be the scheduler or production manager on projects when I have skilled staff perfectly capable of doing the job. Luckily, my employees put up with me when I get in their way, but they also know how to tactfully tell me to get back to my office. I'm gradually learning to let go and concentrate on the big picture, which is the growth and future of our company.
I believe that our company's success starts with taking care of the customer from start to finish. It is a priority for all of us here. I know that sounds cliché, but it's true. And when I refer to my "customer," I mean our printing clients as well as my employees. Our company is employee-owned. Having that employee-owner culture makes such a difference because everyone understands where our priorities are and works toward the same mission. Providing perfect service to all of our customers is what we strive for every single day. When we satisfy a customer -- whether it's delivering a job on time, coming up with a beautiful product or just helping someone by answering a simple question -- this provides us with the greatest reward and pride in what we do.
I get into the office early each morning and go through the whole shop to see what's going on. I try to keep current on all of our projects. I also still do some sales, so I spend a lot of time with my accounts. And there is that whole "big picture" thing that I can't neglect.
One of those "big picture" things is working with our community partners to keep Hawaii's economy -- and, thus, our business -- strong. For example, we work with our local graphic designers and artists on various projects. And they encourage their clients to print in Hawaii. Local business leaders need to support local designers and printers. It's unfortunate when print and design work is lost to our offshore competition. One of my ongoing projects is to promote the local printing and design community.
"Hawaii at Work" features tell what people do for a living in their own words. Send submissions to business@starbulletin.com
