We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Megan Withey. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Megan below.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have been interested in many different aspects of the arts since I was really young. I remember when I was about 5, my parents signed me up for a painting class. We would sit and paint and listen to opera. My teacher would explain the stories to us while we were painting. That pretty much set the tone for my whole vibe in life. I thought life was going to automatically be a fairytale and when it wasn’t heading that way- I had to make it happen myself.

When I was in my early 20’s I was a single parent with two young boys. I had no career and no income so the future looked a little scary and overwhelming. I remember I barely had enough money to feed my kids, let alone decorate their room, so I started drawing them pictures to hang on their walls. That eventually turned into my boys asking me to draw their favorite characters from movies. I started posting them on Instagram just for fun, and it took off. I started winning contests, taking commissions, and before I knew it I had started my own little business.
When I met my husband in 2015, we really started building our business together as a team and taking it to the next level. Fast forward to 10 years later and we now own two companies in the industry, hired multiple employees and participate in over 100 events a year showcasing my work. I also have a 2nd book I’m currently working on.

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

I think this is such an important topic because I wish I knew now what I knew 10 years ago when I was first getting started. First of all, I mentioned that years ago I was an extremely poor single parent, so my credit was shot, nobody was gifting me funds or helping me out whatsoever to get a business started. I remember doing commissions to cover my supplies costs, I moved in with my parents for a while to save money. I didn’t track my numbers back then but I think it took about a year to turn a profit. I do remember working and learning new skills every chance I got. I had been painting my whole life, but watercolor was still new to me so it’s something I had to learn.

Eventually with funding, we made it a goal to increase our profits by X amount every year. Now, we take a percentage from every event and put it toward capital for the next year. We also alternate our years for growth and years to cut costs. I’ve seen a few businesses lately try to get too big too fast and are barely staying afloat. We like the slow climb better. It allows us to also enjoy our life!

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

As an artist, I spent years basically being bullied by printing companies. I had never worked with one that seemed fair- they would send me damaged prints and tell me to sell them anyway. If the colors were off they would challenge me every time. In 2023 and my husband had enough and started our own printing company, Premier Event Printing. We know what it’s like on the other end of the business so we tried to create a company that a actually values and cares about customers. We want everyone to love and be completely confident their purchase. Damage can happen in the printing industry, and our rule is that immediately reship an order- no questions asked. We also offer affordable 2 day shipping so we can send products directly to your hotel or event.

Contact Info:

• Website: Premiereventprinting.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/meganewithey

Image Credits
Premier Event Printing
The Art of Megan Withey
Tezuka Productions