We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kimberly Boyd a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kimberly, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.
Hi, I’m Kimmy- the owner of KimprintZ Quality Print Shop. This business began in the dorm room of a Historically Black College/ University- The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff during my sophomore year of undergraduate studies in January 2017. Eager and engaged as a student on campus, I noticed that on-campus organizations needed: unique, custom-made tees at a quick turnaround time.
Inspired and equipped with a “refund check” from my Federal Financial Aid, I invested in my first t-shirt set up which included one plastic picnic table, a heat press from Amazon, and a Cricut Explore Air 2. Over the course of 6 years, I have used these tools to commemorate birthdays, funerals, small business openings, and induction into National Service Organizations such as honor societies, fraternities, and sororities.
In 2019, coincidentally, the year I graduated from UAPB- I was asked to customize a graduation stole. This polyester-satin blend sash that drapes the graduate as a “badge of all honors” would change my business and confirm my purpose as a business owner. The graduation stoles that I create are adorned with glitters, intricate clip art, and empowering quotes that tell the trials, triumphs, wins, and losses of the wearer. This is the birth of the “KimprintZ Story Stole”
Throughout 2019 and during the entire pandemic, black and brown graduates from all across the nation sought out my business, KimprintZ to “tell their stories”. True and beautiful stories of people who have not only defeated the statistics by enrolling in college but also defied the odds by graduating, most with High Honors in various fields of expertise- Architecture, Business, Healthcare, Engineering, and Social Work to name a few.
I never imagined that my campus crafting would empower and amplify the voices of so many clients. Specifically, for Southern Black Americans, there is an urgency embedded in passionate students to represent what Dr. W.E.B. Dubois describes as ” The Talented Tenth” of the Black race.
Graduation stoles are only one collector’s item that I offer to patrons. KimprintZ is a confidence and cozy clothing company that is most known for creating high quality t-shirts & custom Greek Apparel for members of The National Panhellenic Council whom are also known as “The Divine Nine” and other community, organizational, and private societies.
By providing durable and flattering tees ranging in size XS-6X , I have been able to provide thousands of my clients with their ” New Favorite T-Shirt” that allows them to be a walking billboard for the brands that they align with and are most proud of!
Kimberly, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Kimberly M. Boyd, B.S. I am a full-time entrepreneur and Southern Superstar with a passion for fashion. Consecutively, since the age of 7, now 25, I have owned some sort of small business. The first was Kim’s Candy Galore & More- a mobile candy lady service. From elementary school through high school, I provided my peers and classmates with sugary sweets that would give a much-needed energy boost during an 8-hour day of public school.
Selling snacks made me popular with my peers. Every year, for my birthday, (Leo Nation!) students would all look forward to my little sister & I’s birthday parties! My mom and aunts would plan grand soirees called “Diva Parties” that were pink, glittery, and feather boa ‘d from ceiling to floor- it was a Libby Lou Store’s Show Room. Watching these beautiful black women hand paint t-shirts, assemble treat bags, and decorate in such an elaborate manner sparked my curiosity with creativity.
Social media sites such as Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumbler went through puberty around the same time that I did. In middle school and high school, I was infatuated with putting my own unique spin on trends such as perler bead crafts, bandanna bows, and galaxy everything. Within reason, any trend that I wanted to explore, I was allowed. My favorite was having Pink Highlights hair glued into my ponytail when Nicki Minaj released Pink Friday. My mom’s least favorite trendy venture of mine was when I bleached about $400 worth of Levi Jeans that she bought from JC Penny for my sister & I’s school year apparel. Though disappointed in the action, my mom always supported my efforts. By allowing me to express myself through entrepreneurship, fashion, hair, and music. My mother is a true fly girl and is the epitome of womanhood in my eyes. She, my maternal grandmother, and aunts introduced me to the importance of femininity, accessorizing, and more importantly, making a statement with my personality and fashion.
Fashion and a big personality came naturally to me, but my passion was truly music. In high school, I burned mix tape CDs, and attempted DJ’ing, but was most notorious for being a… Battle Rapper. haha Using poetry and lyricism to express how I felt as a young girl with dreams of a life better than what rural life in West Tennessee had to offer, led me to fall in love with all that is Hip Hop and Hip Hop Culture, based in New York, Texas, Louisiana, and Atlanta. I loved female rappers. The confidence and stage presence they exuded was contagious.
I carried the demeanor of Lil Kim, Lauryn Hill, Mc Lyte, and Mia X with me as I grew into my own sense of self. This prowness distinguished me as a leader amongst my peers on every level of my education. In addition to being a notable “people-person”, I am a scholar, a community ambassador, a mentor, and most notably a Student Government aficionado. Beginning as a 6th-grade class treasurer at East Junior High and ending as The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s Student Body President 2018-2019, being an organizer and advocate for students became my life’s work as I grew into young adulthood.
Utilizing negotiating skills and business acumen instilled in me by my dad and paternal grandparents I was able to be a voice for the voiceless majority and articulate the needs of many various student bodies to adult leadership. I became an ambassador that dined with celebrities, traveled the country representing my HBCU at various conferences, and even becoming a nationally published photographer by The US Department of Agriculture. All the while, working beside many other bright students, now professionals, we were able to pass legislation, revise dated policies, and place systems into place that allowed students and their families to have fewer things to stress about: such as a campus-provided shuttle system that would provide UAPB students with a safe reliable means of transportation to transit statons such as the airport, bus station, and train station for school breaks and holidays. The culmination of my college days as SGA President, would have to be organizing the return of a Campus Concert on UAPB’s campus, at that time the first in 6 years! The student-organized concert titled ” UAPB Yard Jamz” featured Zae HD& CEO, Key Glock , and Megan Thee Stallion! One of their last local concerts before they all took the National Stage! It’s Available on Youtube! Students did that! That is the power of advocacy, the business brain, and the luxuries of networking!
Like a large percentage of graduates, Post-Grad depression hit me like a ton of bricks! Still buzzing from the literal decades of being successful, May 2019 began the beginning of a new forever for me and I did not know how to manage. I’d never given my t-shirt hobby much thought as a profession, until my then boyfriend, now fiancé Alan sat me down and emphasized the urgency of me taking myself seriously as a legitimate businesswoman, considering I had a Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing degree, with fresh ink.
Motivated and destined to succeed- I operated KimprintZ as a workhorse accepting many custom orders with no regard for work-life balance, profit-pricing, or logical turnaround times for myself or my team, Alan. Through months of trial and error- 0pening and closing the business every time we experienced burnout, it was clear that the issue was work systems. I had amazing product quality that became locally renowned, but I was often unable to handle to an influx of business.
When the pandemic stopped the world, I utilized that time to improve my product quality and emphasize advertisement tactics that allowed my least-sold product, Graduation Stoles, to be my Best Seller. Offering unique and one of one graduation memorabilia allowed me to have my first 5 figure month in sales!
Alan and I decided to take a leap of faith with his business OMFB Productions, a Music Production Company, and my business KimprintZ Quality Print Shop, and relocated to Huntington Beach, California to live with a family friend in search of more networks and opportunities!
Living and working in California gave us access to so many new experiences and business opportunities! We even had the opportunity to rent a small office space in Newport Beach, California! The richest city in America! There we were able to work with local vendors, and wholesale vendors, experience Fashion Island, and the Fashion District. As a southern girl, I am living the true American entrepreneurial dream. I am now back in the South, Little Rock, Arkansas but my life has been forever changed!
I have integrated the experiences that I’ve had with my Southern roots, North Eastern infatuation, and West Coast living to tell authentic stories through graphic design and digital art. My brand is authentic, raw, and a fusion of the best the United States has to offer. KimprintZ is stronger than ever and is making strides to be a licensed Greek Apparel e-commerce store with a special emphasis on all things Higher Education! Education and access to information are what make all the difference!
I plan to use my business to generate funds to donate to black and brown students struggling to finish his/her/their undergraduate degrees. Community and Confidence through Cozy Clothing is the motto of the KimprintZ brand. I would like everyone to know that resiliency is key to any level of success.
Through the support of family, grit, tenacity, and persistence through inevitable failure, my business and I are making a name in the world through every minuscule interaction. I prioritize my client’s happiness and one day I aspire to be a global phenomenon <3
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
The best source of new clients for me is “word-of-mouth” . Due to my work being custom for each client, each wearer beams with pride knowing that they own something that no one else in the world does. Be authentic in your approach and create a lane for yourself if there is none!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Fun fact. Taking a leap of faith and moving to California was one of the most audacious things that I’ve ever done alone or with my partner. When we made the decision to move with our family friend, we had no other place to go. California had to “WORK”. Trust me, it did! OMFB Productions and KimprintZ Quality Print Shop found success on the West Coast. However, living with this particular family friend was dangerous and detrimental to the longevity of both of our entities.
Destined to succeed, my partner Alan and I flipped a coin ” Heads to Newport or Tails to Laguna Beach”. At that exact moment we on a whim decided to pack up our belongings from “stability”, to be safe and homeless. I secured a co-working space on Craigslist for $800 a month in the most gorgeous building in the most wealthy city in America, but sleep at the beach at night in our car.
We ate one $7 Little Caesar’s pizza and a $1.00 doughnut daily to be able to afford rent, printing materials, and music equipment so we, “homeless” Black People in Orange County could hold on to our dream of one day driving a Tesla down PCH to a Beach House, like so many others that we saw. On the day that Vice President Kamala Harris was voted into office, our lease was terminated and we were forced to find another place of business. Simply because we spent a night inside the building during a January winter storm instead of sleeping at the beach or in the parking lot where we were often harassed by security guards as rent paying-key-owning patrons.
Refusing to accept defeat, we purchased $50 tickets on Spirit airlines, taking only the clothes on our backs, and relocated to Dallas, Texas where we worked at The Dallas Love Field Airport and lived in an extended-stay hotel for months while getting re-established. At this time Alan and I saved up enough money to replace all of his music equipment and my printing equipment that was burglarized from our “mobile home” while the car was awaiting shipment. @omfb818 the DJ and @kimprintz_ the designer were back at square one.
While in Dallas, Alan struggled to secure a quality paying job that wasn’t degrading as a black man without a Bachelor’s Degree. At that point, we decided to relocate back to Arkansas so he can pursue higher education on a Choir Scholarship. He is doing well and is set to graduate in a few years, with high honors!
I’m pursuing my Master’s in College Student Personnel while scaling my business to share our story and assist students to become future professionals in whatever their hearts desire. We have our own apartment now and are making strides every day to be the people that our families and future generations can be proud of.
Life has not been a crystal stair, but we survived and we did it together. I am optimistic and our futures collectively and individually are destined and bright!
Contact Info:
- Website: kimprintz.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/KIMPRINTZ_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimprintz.shop/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-boyd-118387177/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/aliveonpurrpose
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kimprintzTV/videos
- Other: https://soundcloud.com/grandmaster_ace