Littie Brown has been the president and co-owner of a printing studio, SpeedPro Marietta, for 11 years.
Brown’s number one goal during that time is to provide customers with exceptional service. Her motto is simple yet powerful: “If you can imagine it, we can print it.”
Brown, who is very active in her community, says she knows what it takes to succeed and outlast the challenges she has faced as a Black woman in business and wants to share her story so she can inspire others, especially young women, to start their own businesses.
From Corporate to Entrepreneur
Brown said she didn’t have any intentions of opening a business 11 years ago. She worked in corporate America for 35 years prior to opening a SpeedPro franchise. She spent 26 years with Xerox Corporation, then a couple of years each with Dunn & Bradstreet, and then with W.W. Grainger, Inc.
When Brown left, she was looking for something new.
“I received a call from a franchise consultant saying I really ought to think about owning my own business. With being in executive management, they thought I would be perfect owning a franchise,” she said.
Her current business partner, Karen Brown (no relation) became best friends after meeting at church when Littie moved to Georgia in 2005.
“I was showing her all the information about the franchise because she’s always wanted to own a business, and I told her, ‘Here’s an opportunity you might want to look at,’” Littie said. “One day, we started talking about what it looks like to own a business.”
Littie said she and Karen have “very opposite skill sets,” where her background is in sales and sales management, and Karen is more operational in architecture and project management.
Karen added that their friendship blends well.
“It’s interesting because you think we would get tired of each other because we see each other a lot,” Karen joked. “We go to the same church, we work together every day, and then we do a whole lot of stuff together because we’re best friends.”
“The Lord just kind of opened up the doors for us, and we decided to step out of faith and take a shot at owning a franchise,” Littie said.
Brown said the reason the Marietta location was a good place to start was because both partners live in the area. After being open for 11 years, Brown said it feels “accomplishing.”
“I was in the era that you worked for a company, you retired, and then you went away into the sunset, so to step out and particularly at this point in time in my life, where I couldn’t be retired to own a business,” she said.
The most rewarding thing about the entire process, she said, is the ability to be involved in the community.
“We are able to help a lot of customers, support businesses, and the community in their efforts that you wouldn’t be able to do if you didn’t own it,” she said. “To make those decisions and those adjustments, I love the fact that as tight as revenue gets, we’ve been able to survive and sustain.”
Life Outside SpeedPro Marietta
Growing up as a military brat (her father was in the United States Air Force), Brown says she’s not from anywhere but claims Texas as her home. Her mom is originally from Belleville, Texas, and now resides in San Antonio, while her dad is from Sealy, Texas.
“I was born in California, but I’m not from anywhere,” Brown said. “I tell people I was born in Texas, and we moved to Japan, Las Vegas, and then we moved to Texas. All my family, for the most part, is in Texas.”
Also, Brown is heavily involved within her community as she has experience as Chair of the Board of the Printing & Imaging Association of Georgia (PIAG), a member of the Cobb County Chamber, and works closely with her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc.
Brown says she loves sports and is a season ticket holder for the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks, and the Atlanta Dream, which is her favorite. Brown says her number one hobby is playing golf.
She’s also an author. In 2016, Brown published her first book, “Leadership Lessons from the HART: Keys, Tips, and Insights on Successfully Leading in Business and in Life.” In 2022, she had her second book published, “An Issue of the HART: Learning to Be a Great Giver in Business and in Life.”
For family life, Brown said she loves being around friends and family. Although she doesn’t have kids, Brown said she spoils her nieces and nephews like they are her own. She also has a blended family of five sisters who all go on a sister trip every year since 2010.
2024 and Beyond
Brown said her advice to future business owners is to make sure they’re passionate about who you are and what you can do.
“I think a lot of times people want to step out, but they are afraid,” she said. “You must remove fear and replace it with love, love for yourself, and love for what you’re going to do. “We’ve not been given the spirit of fear but of love, power, and a sound mind.”
Brown also said she believes for small businesses; you must be in a position financially where you’re not looking for paycheck to paycheck. Another piece of advice she wants to give is “You’ve got to work every day”.
She says no one is going to be as committed to your business as you are.
“Your employees work because you pay them. You get good employees, they do a good job, but their motivation is to be able to take what you pay them and be able to take care of their families and their needs/desires.
As far as next steps and goals for SpeedPro Marietta in 2024, Brown said she wants to get the business more financially sound after buying new equipment last year.
“We have to drive up revenue and get more activity going,” she said. “Our goal is to get over a million dollars in revenue, we’re almost at eight, we hit seven and we’re almost close to eight.”
All in all, Brown says 2024 is the year to push. SpeedPro Marietta, she said, has been pushing for the last couple of years and survived the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I want to make sure my staff is committed and they’re getting what they need. We’ve got our goal of $1.2 million in revenue, which will allow me to pay some bonuses at the end of the year,” she said.
For more information about Brown and SpeedPro Marietta, visit https://www.speedpro.com/marietta/.