Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Megan Pester. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Megan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

For 17 years, I built my career in higher education. It was stable, predictable, and aligned with the Master’s degree I had invested so much time and money into earning. I genuinely loved serving students, building programs, and being part of an academic community. With a husband working full-time as a Readiness NCO for the Army National Guard and two children at home, my career and income was important to our family. My job provided a reliable paycheck, benefits, and a clear professional path.

But over those years, something else surfaced: a desire to pursue a more self-directed and creative career. I always found myself pulled toward creative work—design, branding, helping small businesses show the world who they are. I started doing small design projects after hours, and I found that the work didn’t drain me. Instead, it energized me. I began to see how much potential there was, not only for myself but for my community.

In 2022, I recognized that my community needed someone to manage the social media account for the Convention and Visitors Bureau, a board of which I have served on since 2020. This inspired me to start Amplify Creative, a social media management and digital design company. I worked with clients through Amplify Creative as a side business for three years.

Then, in 2024, I learned that the only commercial print shop in Trenton, Missouri—one that had been in operation for nearly a century—was planning to close its doors. It was one of those businesses that quietly held the town together. They printed church newsletters, event flyers, raffle tickets, business cards, and promotional materials for nearly every school and community event. Losing it felt like more than losing a business, it felt like losing a piece of Trenton’s identity.

That news was exciting to me. I’d had my eye on the print shop for a few years while the owner was slowly backing out of the profession to pursue another career. The shop’s closure felt symbolic of a larger challenge rural communities like ours face: when foundational businesses disappear, so does momentum, and so do opportunities. I kept thinking, “Maybe it’s time to jump.”

That moment began a months-long internal battle. Leaving a secure 17-year career—one I was good at and respected in—to buy a closing business with no guarantees felt almost reckless. I had a family depending on me. I was walking away from the very thing I had prepared for academically and professionally. And financially, the risk was real: I would be solely responsible for generating my own income.

But when I looked at my kids, I realized something important. I didn’t want them growing up seeing me choose comfort over courage. I wanted them to see what it looks like to take a leap when you believe in something—especially something that strengthens your community. And through many discussions with my husband, he did nothing but support my decision, once I got him on board of course!

So I made the decision.
I resigned from the career I had held for nearly two decades.
I purchased the print shop.
And I stepped into entrepreneurship.

It wasn’t a graceful transition. The shop came with no digital processes, no existing marketing, and almost no documented systems. I had to modernize everything—from production workflows to customer communication to branding—while learning the business from the inside out. I worked nights, weekends, and early mornings, sometimes with my kids near my desk while I finished orders.

But slowly, the business came alive again. I expanded services. I built a modern brand. I incorporated social media management, digital marketing, design services, and web design. Today, Grand River Print & Design is not only stable, it’s thriving. My business serves customers across the North Central Missouri area, and helps other small businesses build their own foundations. And perhaps what I am most proud of is this: the shop is still part of the town’s story, not part of its history.

Looking back, leaving higher education was one of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken. But it also became one of the most rewarding decisions of my life. It taught me that risk isn’t just about what you might lose—it’s about what you stand to build. And sometimes, the biggest risks open doors you couldn’t have imagined if you stayed where it was comfortable.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Megan Pester, and I’m the owner of Grand River Print & Design—a small-format print shop and creative studio located in Trenton, Missouri. My path into this industry wasn’t traditional. I spent 17 years working in higher education, supporting students and developing community partnerships. During that time, I earned my Master’s degree and found a deep love for the community in which my family lives.

But alongside that career, I quietly cultivated another passion for social media management, branding, and visual communication. I often found myself volunteering to create flyers, event materials, logos, and marketing pieces because that work was what I liked, I really loved being a creative. In 2022, I launched Amplify Creative, a social media management and digital design business, and I worked with clients in my spare time outside of my higher ed job.

In 2024, the owner of Trenton’s nearly 100-year-old print shop contacted me. I had expressed interest in the industry years prior. I understood what that loss would mean to our community—small towns rely on foundational businesses to keep local commerce, events, and identity thriving. Instead of watching it happen, I made the leap from higher education to full-time entrepreneurship and purchased the shop.

That decision changed the course of my life. Today, I have the privilege of combining my background in community development with my love for creativity to support hundreds of local businesses, nonprofits, and schools in a way that is both meaningful and deeply personal.

I’ve rebuilt the business into a modern, full-service print and digital creative studio. My services include:

Small format printing: business cards, brochures, flyers, invitations, labels, notepads, copies, and more
Large format printing: banners, signage, posters, decals
Graphic design and branding: logos, brand kits, visual identity development
Digital marketing services: social media management, content creation, website design, and digital strategy
Community storytelling: feature videos, tourism-focused content, business spotlights
Custom creative solutions: when a business has an idea and doesn’t know where to start, I help them bring it to life

By combining traditional print with modern digital strategy, I’m able to provide a comprehensive approach that most small, rural businesses wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

Most small-business owners are stretched thin. They don’t have time to design professional marketing materials, manage their social media, create consistent branding, build a website or navigate print and promo material production.

My job is to take all of that off their plate and deliver high-quality, consistent, affordable solutions that help their business grow. I also serve as a guide for businesses who aren’t sure where to start, helping them understand what tools will actually move the needle—not just what’s trendy.

In a rural region with limited marketing resources, I fill a gap that’s often overlooked: giving small businesses a level of professional support normally found only in bigger cities.

A few things truly differentiate my work:

1. Community Focus
I’m not just a vendor—I live here, invest here, and care about the success of every business and individual I serve.
2. Personalized collaboration:
Every client gets direct communication, creative brainstorming, and solutions tailored to their needs —no cookie-cutter designs.
4. End-to-end service:
From concept → design → printing → digital strategy, I provide everything under one roof. That’s rare in a small community and incredibly convenient for my clients.

I’m proud that I took the risk to save and transform a nearly century-old business into something modern and thriving. I’m proud that I’ve created a space where creativity, community, and commerce intersect. And I’m proud that I’m helping local businesses grow because when they succeed, our entire community wins.

I’m also proud of the reputation my brand has built: approachable, collaborative, fast, reliable, and always willing to go the extra mile.

I’m not just in the business of printing or design, I’m in the business of empowering ideas. Whether you’re launching a new venture, refreshing your brand, promoting an event, or growing your online presence, I’m here to help you show up professionally and confidently.

My work is rooted in creativity, community, and a genuine desire to see local businesses thrive. If you’re looking for a partner who understands both marketing and rural small business realities, who cares deeply about quality and storytelling, and who will advocate for your success, then we’ll be a great fit.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

What began as a small side hustle eventually became a major part of my full-time career. My journey into entrepreneurship didn’t start with buying the print shop; it actually began a few years earlier when I started managing social media for the Trenton Convention & Visitors Bureau (Visit Trenton, MO).

At the time, I was still working full-time in higher education. I had always been the “creative one” in many groups or jobs I’d been in. I was and still continue to be a member of the CVB board. As an organization, we were going to hire someone from Kansas City to manage our social media, which made no sense to me. Why would we hire someone to promote local tourism if they aren’t even from or living in the area? I put together a proposal and submitted it, with the idea that someone local to Trenton should be showcasing the town. At the time, I didn’t realize that decision would plant the seeds for a future business.

I researched tourism marketing trends, studied how rural communities successfully used social media, and began shaping a brand voice that highlighted Trenton’s personality—its hidden gems, its events, its local businesses, and its friendly small-town charm.

As the CVB’s online presence became more consistent and more polished, local businesses began reaching out and some of my local champions were spreading the word of my side business; there wasn’t any other company in the area that offered what I was offering through Amplify Creative.

At first, I helped people on evenings and weekends purely because I enjoyed it. But very quickly, it became more than a hobby. It became proof that my skills had real value to the community.

Businesses saw what I had done with Visit Trenton MO and trusted me to bring that same consistency and creativity to their brands. The CVB became my unexpected portfolio. Each business I helped frequently referred another. Soon I had client folders, content calendars, brand kits, and more projects than hours outside my day job. Many small towns lack accessible digital marketing support. I realized I could fill that gap, not just locally but across the region.

When the nearly 100-year-old print shop announced it was closing, I already had a growing client base, a creative identity, and a strong understanding of the local business ecosystem through the CVB work. Plus, the last 5 years of my higher education career had been the Director of Marketing and Admissions, so I was familiar with a lot of processes within businesses and could see that the print shop was essential to the success of not only the college, but other businesses and organization. That confidence helped me make the leap into full-time entrepreneurship.

Once I purchased the print shop and rebranded as Grand River Print & Design, social media management naturally became one of my core offerings—right alongside printing, design, and digital marketing.

Today, I manage social media for multiple organizations, nonprofits, and businesses—still including the CVB. That first side hustle didn’t just turn into a service, it helped shape the entire direction of my business.

It taught me how to highlight the strengths of a rural community, and nhow to turn creativity into strategy. And most importantly, it gave me the confidence and credibility to step fully into entrepreneurship.

What started as a few social media posts for our local tourism office has now grown into a full creative studio that supports businesses across the area. And that small side hustle remains one of the most important milestones in my entrepreneurial story.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Without question, the best source of new clients for me has been word of mouth and the reputation I’ve built in the community. In a small town, trust is everything, and people pay close attention to who consistently shows up, delivers quality work, and treats their customers well. I’ve never relied heavily on traditional advertising; instead, my business has grown because satisfied clients talk, and their recommendations carry real weight.

When I first started managing social media for the Convention & Visitors Bureau and taking on small design projects, people began noticing the results. They saw the consistency, the creativity, and the impact on engagement, and they asked, “Who’s behind this?” Those early successes turned into referrals, and those referrals turned into more projects. By the time I purchased the print shop, I already had a solid reputation for being dependable, fast, and easy to work with.

Today, most of my new business comes from clients telling other businesses about their experience, local organizations recommending me when someone needs design or printingm people seeing my work out in the community at events, in storefronts, or online, and seeking me out.

Word of mouth is the foundation of my business and also serves as my primary source of growth. Reputation spreads quickly in smaller communities, and I’ve built mine by being approachable, responsive, and truly invested in the success of the people I serve. It’s incredibly meaningful to know that the majority of my clients come to me because someone they trust said, “Megan does that!”

That kind of growth is not only organic—it’s the most rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: grandriverprint.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/grandriverprint
• Facebook: facebook.com/grandriverprint
• Other: Google Business: https://share.google/l5C388hUBvDXD7OrJ

Image Credits
Megan Pester