Sophia Orosco
Sophia Orosco
By Ed Avis
SJ Digital Services in Greensboro, North Carolina, which joined APDSP just a couple of months ago, has grown its business from a bedroom to a 2,700-square-foot office by focusing on top quality service and one-call resolution of issues.
“The biggest thing I hear from our customers is that they appreciate our customer service, our quick response time,” says Sophia Orosco, who owns SJ with her husband, Jimmy Orosco. “We strive for one-call resolution.”
From Call Center to Her Own Boss
Sophia Orosco was working in a call center in 2009 when she decided she needed a career change. Jimmy was an experienced reprographics tech by then, and Sophia decided she wanted to learn that business, too.
“I wanted to get out of call center work, and be my own boss,” she remembers. “Jimmy had been in the field for 23 years and had maxed out his salary. So we decided it was time.”
Sophia attended workshops and seminars on running a business, building a web site, and becoming certified as a Minority and Women-owned Business. As she learned the basics of business operations, the Oroscos began reselling large-format imaging equipment from their master bedroom. Sophia remembers purchasing used printers on Craigslist and eBay, refurbishing them, and installing them in clients’ offices.
She prospected for new customers via the Yellow Pages, and sent flyers to architects and construction companies. But their best promotion was word-of-mouth: “Architects tend to talk to each other,” Sophia says.
Within eight months they had outgrown the bedroom and rented a small, windowless office. “It was just me with a desk and one of those huge books,” Sophia remembers. “That’s how I spent my days.”
Those long days behind the desk paid off, though. A year later they moved out of that little space into a regular office with a 1,000-square-foot warehouse. And last April they grew into their current space, which is almost triple the size.
“The new location is in a business center and we get a lot more walk-in traffic,” Sophia says.
The Oroscos have also moved into more new equipment sales, and they’re now a dealer for Rowe with rights for Virginia and South Carolina.
And they are expanding into color work. They have a Roland latex printer that they’ve used for banners, posters, and other such projects. For example, they recently printed some attorney exhibits that were mounted on foamboard and some posters for clubs.
Family Business
Sophia and Jimmy aren’t the only Oroscos working at SJ. Their daughter Kassandra
Jimmy Orosco, Jr.
Jimmy Orosco, Jr.
works in the warehouse, does bookkeeping, and helps with deliveries.
“She’ll be graduating from high school and taking business administration in college,” Sophia says. “She will stay with the business. She had wanted to be a vet, but once she started going to shows and demos with us, it turned on a light for her that this is what she wanted to do.”
And their son, Jimmy Jr., who is in high school, works in the shipping and receiving department during the summers.
“He’s our muscle,” Sophia says. “We’re training him early.”
The Orosco children are also learning about the key to the company’s success: top-notch customer service. Says Sophia: “When you call me and you need something, I get it to you.”