Promo Joe by Jessica: December Small Business of the Month
Promo Joe by Jessica, located at 136 E. Division Road, is the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Month for December 2021. The award is sponsored by Enrichment Federal Credit Union.
Walk through the door of Promo Joe by Jessica and you will find yourself greeted by two very enthusiastic albeit furry members of the welcoming team: Sammie and Toddie. Jessica Diveto, owner of Promo Joe, calls the two pups her official customer service representatives. Meeting the needs of their customers is what the store is all about, according to a Chamber news release. Promo Joe currently has five departments: a full print shop; apparel; trade show graphics and signage; graphics, creative art, video production; and website and IT work.
Promo Joe allows customers to have a one-stop shop for all their branding needs. Jessica said she realized many customers were frustrated with going to several different vendors for their branding needs and not always getting a consistent look.
“When we get to know our customers, we know exactly who they are, what they’re looking for, what their company is and who they’re trying to target and then we can figure out the right product or service they need. So, by coming to one place, you can save time and money," she said.
She is especially proud of the fact that she has done very little advertising.
“It’s all been word of mouth," she said.
Jessica purchased the business from the original Promo Joe, Joe Melia, in 2015. According to Jessica, “I was looking to go back to work from having kids and decided to start something on my own. I was just going to do something out of my house — promotional products and apparel.”
Jessica and Joe were in some networking groups together and she proposed joining forces. She covered Oak Ridge and he covered Knoxville.
“When he retired, I took over everything. I started doing just promotional apparel and it was going to be a slow kind of get into it," she said.
Then a local print shop closed. Jessica and her husband purchased the equipment and expanded their offerings. From there, the business began to grow into a full-service promotional product firm.
Her dreams for the future of the company include expansion. She would like expand more into the Knoxville market and possibly even into South Carolina.
The company supports local Chambers, including the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, where she recently sponsored breakfast for the inaugural Small Business Networking meeting. They also donate to the Free Medical Clinic and sponsor other events in the community like golf tournaments.
“We love helping the community and love working with small businesses around town. We do a lot in Knoxville and other states, we handle international accounts, but this is our home town. That’s important to us," Jessica said.
To nominate a business like Promo Joe by Jessica for the award, visit Small Business of the Month under the Members tab on the Chamber’s website: www.oakridgechamber.org. Businesses with 50 or fewer employees, are current members of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce in good standing and show active involvement in the community and/or the Chamber are eligible for the award.
This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Promo Joe by Jessica: December Small Business of the Month
