Behind the counter at W&T Graphix, owners Wes and Tonya Beyer work tirelessly, and what appears to be effortlessly, at their long-time Truckee print shop. The two constantly move from desk to station, from dark room to sewing machine, from screen press to file cabinets. Wes, with phone to ear, one hand on his computer mouse, and the other making notes, still greets costumers with a smile. Tonya tends to the accounting at her computer while simultaneously running two computer-operated embroidery machines.
W&T Graphix, specializing in screen-printing, embroidery and trophies, has been in operation for 21 years, and until the recent recession, experienced enviable business growth every year. The couple’s winning business strategy incorporates constant and consistent managerial presence, treating customers as friends and acquaintances, offering a large variety of services, and significant participation in local nonprofits. The two feel that W&T’s prices (comparable to those of Reno and the Internet), a strong website, and their accountability have landed them a solid reputation in the Truckee area. If that’s not enough, the business also donates goods, time and money to churches, schools and many other nonprofit organizations.
Despite the success, W&T Graphix was hit hard in fall 2008 and spring 2009. They found they had to ‘re-think the process from the ground up. It’s like a do-over,’ Wes says. Tonya nods, and adds, ‘We had to really think about what we were doing to waste money.’ With one key employee recently moving away, and one part-time employee soon to do the same, Wes and Tonya have had to ‘put their shoulders to it,’ and do a lot of the work themselves.
They have done so with grace, as they still maintain the friendliness and accountability for which they are known. Never missing the opportunity to greet and inform a new or returning client, the cheerful yet astute Wes is involved in almost every aspect of the business.
More specifically Wes is the artist of the business, specializing in graphic design and screen-printing. Along with strong interpersonal skills, Wes shines as the W&T Graphix ‘PR director’ of sorts. The spotlight is not reserved for Wes, however. Even as she works, Tonya glows, moving with meticulous ease from conversation to responsibility, from one task to another, and usually with a genuine smile.
The couple’s ambitions did not begin in the printing industry – indeed far from it. After Wes graduated from Truckee High, he worked odd jobs, including a short run at veterinary school. At one point he landed a job with a Tahoe wholesale company first as a delivery truck driver, then as manager to the company’s 25 employees. The company started printing t-shirts, and there, Wes printed his first shirt.
Further on, he worked for an established printing company, again becoming manager. When the company folded, Wes and several others lost their jobs. Yet Wes did not walk away empty-handed; he purchased a press, a few screens and other integral pieces from the dismantled business at bargain prices. He moved the equipment into a small, poorly ventilated, 900-foot building in Reno. With a $3,000 loan, W&T Graphix was born in 1988.
Wes met Tonya, a Truckee High School sophomore at the time, just three years before. The same summer the business was launched, Wes and Tonya married.
Throughout high school, Tonya had focused her ambitions on becoming a legal assistant, inspired by her grandmother who worked as court clerk. Tonya had little involvement in the printing business for the first 10 years, instead working in local law offices.
The company did well in Reno, but when their daughter Allie was born in 1991, the couple decided to move the business to its second location on West River Street.
To make ends meet, Tonya continued to work full time in the legal world, and Wes worked a second job, operating the only taxi in town on Friday and Saturday nights. Tonya’s involvement grew when the shop introduced embroidery in 1998, and she slowly transitioned from part to full time at the shop, leaving behind the law offices and taking over accounting, much to Wes’ delight. In 1999, W&T moved to their current location on River Park Place.
While the technology has evolved from drafting tables and X-ACTO knives to the latest graphic design software and high-tech embroidery machines, the business has stayed the same at the core. Now, working together like two strings on a guitar, the couple balances one another in perfect harmony, rarely questioning the other’s expertise. ‘We are a complete 180 of each other,’ Wes says, as they look at each other, smiling. Since the day they met, they’ve been, as he cheerfully admits, ‘smitten.’
It’s not all business though. Outside of work, when time permits, Tonya maintains their home, built in the 1870s, and a beautiful garden. Wes maintains a passion for music, participating in weekly jam sessions held in W&T’s warehouse throughout the winter. The couple is also active in the community; Wes in the Rotary Club and Tonya a member of Soroptimist on top of her serving on the Chamber board.
Behind the counter, amid the humming of machines in the bright, sunlit warehouse, Wes and Tonya continue to march forward. They are determined to trudge through this economic pothole, rethinking business strategies, and working long hours. This is the attitude that has carried them all of these years: never missing a day, being true to their word, staying focused on the community, and never turning in their cards.
~ W&T Graphix is located on 10434 River Park Place, Suite 1, in Truckee. 530-587-0118, wt-graphix.com.
~ Discuss this article with the author, email erademacher@moonshineink.com.
