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| Percy J. Marchand and the staff of NOLA Copy & Print, LLC. |
Trumpeters
played rhythmic music and a tuba player added the low-pitched baritone sound
that announced the May 29, 2010 grand opening of NOLA Copy & Print, LLC, at
2051 Caton St., Suite B, in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans. The
musical entrée reverberated from the instruments of The Troy Sawyer Group,
known for its soulful, innovative Nu-Jazz sound, and likewise from the Grammy-Award
winning Rebirth Brass Band, which played sweet, New Orleans-style brass band
music, the kind that a drum major could proudly step to.
Two
years later, the sweet, flavorful sound of New Orleans music that Percy J.
Marchand and his staff relished that wondrous day helped to usher in grand
openings for two more NOLA Copy & Print locations – one at 3401 South Broad
St. in the Uptown section of New Orleans and the other at 9301 Lake Forest
Blvd. in New Orleans East – both taking place on Saturday, June 9, 2012.
“The
building that we’re in is a beautiful, historic building,” said Marchand,
referring to the 1,300 sq. ft. Uptown location. The Gentilly location, he said,
is about 1,800 sq. ft. of office/retail space and the New Orleans East location
is 2,500 sq. ft., which he calls the “Print Super Center.”
“It has
a wide variety of machinery, photography studio and 6 Internet rental stations,”
he said.
The
expansion of NOLA Copy & Print is not a surprising or awkward move for a
young entrepreneur who has a special kind of zeal and business acumen to match
his winning personality. With an acute sense for business development, Marchand
was bound to reach yet another milestone in his pursuit of excellence, which
can be traced back to a family that spawned talented entrepreneurs.
Marchand’s
father, George Marchand Sr., is an independent contractor. His mother, Janice
Marchand, is a retired public school teacher who taught English for 40-plus
years. And each one of Marchand’s siblings has been pretty successful at his or
her own endeavor.
Marchand
has two brothers and two sisters. One brother has his own company and the other
one is employed at their father’s construction company. The younger of two sisters
is a beautician and the oldest one is a production assistant at NOLA Copy &
Print. A niece also works for the company.
“Growing
up in our household, my parents would always encourage us to be creative…to
think outside the box,” says Marchand, 31, recalling his parents’ wisdom. So it
stands to reason or perhaps it was a foregone conclusion in the household that Percy
Marchand, the youngest member of the clan, would become an entrepreneur and one
day take New Orleans by storm and literally blow the competition away in the
copy and printing business.
“We have
a real strong presence in New Orleans and we interact with many people and
organizations -- whether it’s giving back to the community or providing our
business services,” says Marchand, working thrice as hard, including 20-hour
days, to achieve more than a modicum of success. “We also have a reputation for
getting large jobs out with a quick turn-around time.”
The
business world is not for the timid or for those without purpose or direction.
From the onset, Marchand knew what his life’s work would be and what he wanted
to do with it. In retrospect, it was the tinkering and exploration of computer
programs that a then-14-year-old lad would use to launch a business that would
grow exponentially and inevitably shape his future and those he would
eventually employ.
“When I
was in the 8th grade, my mom purchased a computer, and I think I
stayed on it for about 36 hours exploring all the different programs. I had to
pay for all the ink and I started charging to print,” says Marchand, recalling
the experience that triggered his entrepreneurial pursuit and thus unleashed a
floodgate of ideas.
So while
boys of the carefree age of 14 generally occupy their time with playthings,
Marchand was busy laying a rock-solid foundation upon which he would build a
business enterprise that would eventually catapult him to the top in the copying
and printing industry and secure a place for him as one of New Orleans’ most esteemed
businessmen.
Moving
the business forward…
It all
started in the Marchand household in Uptown New Orleans when young Percy was a
freshman at St. Augustine High School.
He was filling print orders for small clients then while juggling the
rigors of school and his new business, Marchand Printing. With savvy to match,
even at this young age, the up-and-coming businessman was producing and
photocopying documents for local businesses, schools, organizations and other
clients.
Although
his newfound business was relatively small at the time and yet growing,
Marchand would graduate with honors from St. Augustine in 1999. He was active, smart, astute, athletic and gifted
musically, playing with relative ease the saxophone and piano. The
school's first band director, Edwin H. Hampton, selected him as a drum major in
his senior year for the world-famous “Marching 100.” He also was named as a
National Merit Semi-Finalist.
Then it was off to Loyola
University New Orleans, a Jesuit-Catholic institution. Business of
course was still foremost in his mind, and he would pursue it with just as much
determination as his course work. Two years later he moved his business out of
his parents’ home. “It was my first experience outside the house,” says
Marchand. Then he moved the business two more times.
Though not surprising to some, Marchand was
named the North American Collegiate
Entrepreneur of the Year for Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas in
2001. He even served as vice-president of the Student Government Association at
Loyola, president of The Black Student Union, and was initiated in 2000 into
the Rho Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Marchand graduated as a “Top Ten Senior” in 2003
from Loyola with a Bachelor degree in Business Administration.
On August 23, 2005, Marchand moved Marchand Ink into
a larger suite from a smaller office at 3869 Gentilly Blvd., which he’d
occupied since 2001. But then the unexpected happened – the finale to what had
been a successful journey for an enterprising entrepreneur. Just a few days
after the move, a ferocious Category 4 hurricane named Katrina cut a swath of
devastation along the Gulf Coast and left in its wake a heap of rubble, twisted
steel and topsy-turvy lives. The city of New Orleans lay in ruin and so were
the people who found themselves displaced with no choice but to leave behind
their beloved city until they could return to piece together their fragmented
lives.
Marchand and his family fled to Houston. At that
time, Marchand Ink had been preparing to make headway in the copy and printing
business. But the company was submerged in 3 feet of murky water that caused $50,000
in flood damage to the uninsured property and equipment. Depression would
overtake the businessman, leaving him dispirited while he searched for the
inner-strength to rebuild his life and business – for Katrina had plowed a
gaping hole that took Marchand’s faith to plug.
Renewed vigor…
There was nothing left for Marchand to do but retool
and essentially start anew. Six months after Katrina, he did just that. He was
back in business by May of 2006. “Basically I started over from
scratch with no insurance,” said the life-long resident of New Orleans.
Marchand
was back with renewed vigor, with a sense of purpose. Aside from his business
interest, he found himself drawn to public service. In 2007, he campaigned for
the 95th District seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives during the October 20, 2007
election. The following year, he stumped for a seat on the Orleans Parish
School Board from the 6th District. He lost both races, but gained invaluable
experience nonetheless.
While retooling,
rebuilding and reestablishing a foothold in the copy and printing business, the
unexpected happened again. This time Marchand Ink went up in smoke on November
1, 2009, along with Renaissance Hall, another business of Marchand’s that opened
at the same location in June of 2009. The fire ravaged both businesses. A
fallen power line had caused the fire, said Marchand, who was just 28 years old
then and completely dejected and devastated.
Marchand
was also beset by personal challenges as well, including the deaths of close
friends and relatives. But the fire, he said matter-of-fact, was the toughest
he had to face. However, not everything that happened to the Teflon businessman
between Katrina and the fire would stick. He refused to give up. For example, he
won a $1,000 Idea Café’s Pilot Grant in 2006, beating 1,700 applicants in the
national competition. He also won $20,000 in the
2008 Miller Urban Entrepreneurs Series Business Plan Competition.
Marchand is not the kind
of businessman who would give up or wallow in self-pity. His accomplishments,
awards and accolades started pouring in at the onset of his career: Loyola
University College of Business's Young Alumnus of the Year; Collegiate
Entrepreneur of the Year for Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas; Neighborhood
Development Foundation's Small Business of the Year; and one of New Orleans Magazine's People to Watch. He
has served as executive director of CareCorp, LLC, chairman of the board of the
Gert Town Revitalization Initiative, and a member of the St. Augustine High
School Alumni Advisory Board as well as the school’s Young Alumni Association.
Because of his string of
successes, Marchand has been featured in the London Times Magazine, Black Enterprise Magazine, City Business
Magazine, The Louisiana Weekly, The
Clarion Herald, BIZ New Orleans Magazine, and appeared on the covers of the
Times Picayune Money and Living Sections.
He was also featured on PBS's Nightly Business Report and on WWL-TV4, WDSU-TV6,
WGNO-TV26, and WVUE-TV8 television stations.
‘It’s
just work and dedication…’
Marchand
has weathered several storms of the worst kind, perhaps because he was always willing
to work harder than the competition to build his business enterprise. With the
expansion of NOLA Copy & Print, LLC, he has earned the moniker “King of
Copy.”
The three copy and printing centers offer full-service black
and white and color copies, large format and blue print copies, laminating,
binding, faxing and scanning, in addition to computer/Internet rental stations,
office supplies, and much more.
Commercial
clients include businesses, schools, organizations and many others across the
metro area and throughout the United States. The company produces business
cards, flyers, letterheads, envelopes, newsletters, brochures, notecards, labels,
multi-part forms, logo design, publication layout, wedding accessories, funeral
and special event printing publications, and digital photography.
“The
areas where we expanded to - I think the services are needed there,” says Marchand.
“We’re definitely still recovering after the storm. I’ve been blessed and I’m
doing my best to bless the areas where I’m going to do business.”
Now
that Marchand is back in full swing, he ultimately wants to open two more
locations and afterward offer franchising opportunities. He also wants to
create more jobs. Sixteen people are currently working at NOLA Copy &
Print, LLC.
“I want
to move outside of New Orleans - Lafayette and Baton Rouge,” says Marchand, who
took time to start and direct a program called YouthStartUp.com, a six-week
business internship. The program provides educational, entrepreneurial, and
life-skills development courses for at-risk youth ages 14 to 21. He also
founded the African-American Leadership Conference, a three-day conference
aimed at retaining college-educated African-Americans in the City of New
Orleans.
“When
you’re young and trying to do something, nobody takes you serious,” he added.
Does
Marchand consider himself a role model? “In my mind, there’s nothing I’ve done
that anybody else can’t do. I didn’t have a golden spoon. It’s just work and
dedication. Anybody is capable of that,” he says.
But not many people have the wherewithal to be the kind
of drum major that Percy Marchand has been.
NOLA Copy & Print locations:
• Gentilly: 2051-B Caton St. (next to the
Caton Street Post Office). Office hours: Monday-Friday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m., and
Saturday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Telephone: (504) 304-9140. Website: www.NolaCopy.com.
• Uptown: 3401 South Broad St.;
Telephone: (504) 821-4001
• New Orleans East: 9301 Lake Forrest
Blvd.; Telephone: (504) 241-2740.
