What an honor to be featured in SBM - The Small Business Monthly! I have truly been an entrepreneur since i pulled a wagon of vegetables door to door when i was in Kindergarten. That taste of sales and success led to venture after venture while in grade school till current day. I walked away from corporate America and all of my corporate training upon graduation from college to live the dream that so many crave, yet fail to achieve. Choose action over regret.. live your dream! I AM!

1. Reprinted by permission of the St. Louis Small Business Monthly
TIME WITH THE BOSS JANUArY 2017
Jeff Snell
SNELLER CREATIVE PROMOTIONS
Website: www.snellercreative.com
Industry: advertising and marketing,
custom promotional packaging,
custom marketing materials
Education: MBA, marketing concentration
Family: three kids, Emily (19), Jackson (17), Olivia (10)
What is your mission?
Self-employment is my dream. Marketing is my passion.
I’ve been an entrepreneur since I could walk and talk and
started more businesses than I can count. I’ve been produc-
ing supercool custom promo packaging since 1991
What was your first job?
First real job was as a co-op student at Kettering University
as an assistant product manager for The Atapco Office
Products Group. First job as a kid? Marco’s Pizza in Toledo,
Ohio.
What was your worst job?
Any job where I had a boss. Each job and each boss got bet-
ter, but self-employment was and always will be the goal for
me. I love my boss! Me!
What led you to your industry?
My co-op job in college working in marketing at Atapco Of-
fice Products. I started selling promotional products while
in college, and after graduation I moved from marketing to
sales at a sister company that manufactured custom packag-
ing. That was in 1991, and I have been doing it ever since.
What was the smartest thing your company did in the
past year?
Expanding sales nationwide.
Who is your industry role model?
None. I am it, and I work to reinvent myself and my com-
pany every day. My business follows the money and adapts
as needed.
How do you try to differentiate your business from others in
your industry?
It’s all me! Tireless work ethic. Twenty-four-hour availability.
Amazing ideas. Never say no and never fail. Ever. One point
of contact from start to finish, and my customers know I will
spare no expense to make sure they are thrilled!
What’s the hardest part of your job?
Doing it all. From customer service to sales to marketing to
accounting. All small businesses get it. It’s a thrill and all-
encompassing. And I would never, ever, ever go back.
What’s the best part?
Thrilling customers and the complete and total freedom of
schedule. My boss – me!
What best advice would you share with new entrepreneurs?
Don’t hesitate. Just begin. Fail. Fail again. Don’t stop. Don’t
have regrets. Self-employment has an unlimited ceiling and
unlimited floor. I have seen both. It’s worth it!
What’s your favorite place in St. Louis?
Old St. Charles at Christmas.
What book is on your nightstand?
SBM, of course.
What has made you successful in your industry and in St.
Louis?
My work ethic has been the same since high school. I never
stop thinking and working in my mind. I am the same day
to day and year to year. I always say, “The only thing you can
control is your work ethic.”
What do you like to do in your free time?
I lift weights and walk every day. My kids. Ohio State football.
Glen Lake, Michigan.n