Last updated on December 5th, 2013 at 12:00 am

There is a correlation between people who love what they do and those who are the best at what they do. Bill Gates programmed as a hobby well before he founded Microsoft. J.K. Rowling quit her day job to focus on her hobby – writing. Look at Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, George St-Pierre, or [insert successful athlete name] and you will find an individual with a fire to be the best — that is what sets them apart. Those who love what they do don’t look at what they do as work; they just get paid to do what they love.

Entrepreneur and web designer G. Brad Hopkins explains, “I like to say that Firebrand Media is the result of having a wife in medical school. While my wife was busy with school, I was able to invest all of my time in developing my hobby — specifically web design.” Hopkins poured hours into developing as a web designer, amassing contacts and a future customer base. All that work resulted in Firebrand Media, a firm that specializes in multimedia solutions for its diverse clientele.

Graphic design and web development are just some areas where Firebrand Media is able to help people with their multimedia and marketing solutions. But what are these other areas specifically? Hopkins lightheartedly says, “We have a lot of itches that we like to scratch. Fortunately, one of the great things about our business is that customers challenge us with a variety of projects.”

If Hopkins thinks he can help a client get results, he’ll do it. “Our success is defined by the success of our customer,” he points out.

Solutions can be simple yet elegant. Hopkins recounts an experience designing coffee cards for a church in his hometown. “We decided on rounded-corner, square business cards with a unique design that announced free coffee on one side and had the church branding on the other side.” Hopkins realized that new teachers in his county are normally given “new teacher bags.” By simply including these coffee cards in the bags, Firebrand was able to target this specific group. “One teacher, that had a background in design, was impressed with the card and its design. [The teacher] visited the church and has since become an integral part [of the church].”

Firebrand Media primarily caters to the needs of small enterprises, marketing being their main area of expertise. “Our mission is to help small businesses brand and market themselves in a way that was previously exclusive to big businesses,” explains Hopkins. “We need to be affordable but we also need to help them get results. We want to be known for helping small businesses get results.”

Firebrand Media has utilized UPrinting’s services to make Hopkins’ ideas and designs a reality. “UPrinting helps me serve my customers by offering high quality products in quantities and prices that can’t be beat,” Hopkins proclaims.

“Custom products like the rounded corner square business cards and the round business cards have really helped my customers. Those form factors tend to stand out, especially when next to standard business cards.” Standing out and differentiating yourself from the competition is absolutely essential when graphic design and printing form is a huge part of your business. “UPrinting gives me a competitive advantage over local printers because I can offer products that they can’t offer and I can offer these products at a price that my customers can afford. It’s easier to pitch what might be considered a crazy idea when the investment is reasonable.”

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