Hometown natives Samantha and Robin Hilliker are the new owners of the Minuteman Press franchise in Grand Blanc, MI. On October 16, 2024, Samantha and Robin held their grand opening sponsored by the Grand Blanc Chamber of Commerce. Minuteman Press in Grand Blanc is located at 4501 E. Hill Road, Grand Blanc, MI 48439.

Samantha shares, “Opening and owning a business in our hometown of Grand Blanc means the world to me! It’s wonderful to get all of the positive feedback about how excited everyone is that we are here. Word is starting to spread now that we are open and business is growing steadily. Getting out into the community to see how we can help other businesses promote themselves through print, direct mail campaigns and promotion is exciting.”

Meet Mompreneur Samantha Hilliker 

Prior to Minuteman Press in Grand Blanc, Samantha was a stay at home mom to help raise her 4 children. At the same time, she always wanted to own her own business. She says, “My college degree is in Business Administration and Robin’s degree is in Marketing. Before Starbucks was on every corner, I wrote a business plan to open a coffee shop and have never forgotten the feeling of letting a great opportunity go past me. I have dreamed of opening a business ever since.”

Samantha continues, “I also dreamed of raising a family and once our first child arrived we decided I would be the stay at home parent. It has been my job and my priority for the better part of 21 years now. It has been, and will always be, my greatest accomplishment ever to raise my children.”

At the same time, Samantha says, “While I was a stay at home mom, I used my seamstress skills (passed down from my mom and grandmother) to build a name for myself in our community offering alterations, making one-of-a-kind items and dance costumes. That’s why my social media channels were all SeeSamSew… and now they are SeeSamPrintandPromoteYOU!”

“Studying business; running a household of 6 (now 7 since my father-in-law moved in with us a few years back); managing kids sports, dance and personal schedules; running a sewing business; and homeschooling our children for the past 5 years have all been a great training ground for now opening this business. I guess you could say I’m good at balancing many things at once. Two of our children are adults now and our youngest children are old enough to do most of their studies on their own so we felt like the time to jump on this opportunity was finally right.” -Samantha Hilliker, Owner & Mompreneur, Minuteman Press, Grand Blanc, MI.

Timing Leads to Minuteman Press

Right at the time Samantha and Robin were looking for a sign to point them in the right direction, they received a fortuitous message. Samantha recalls, “Robin and I had been talking about opening a business for a couple of years. We had recently started to feel pulled towards opening a franchise but didn’t think we would ever be able to. One day out of the blue we were contacted by Rich DeRosa about a Minuteman Press franchise opportunity. No one knew except us that we were looking for a business and the timing of the message was perfect.”

She adds, “I think we waited a couple of weeks before reaching out to Rich. I hadn’t even considered a ‘print shop’ in my list of potential business opportunities. Life had other plans and we decided to do a Zoom call with Rich. Robin did the Zoom as I sat in the room off-screen and just listened while taking notes. As the call went on and I learned about Minuteman Press, I started to lean in closer to the screen. Learning the history of the franchise and the family-friendly appeal of the business really drew me in.”

From there, Samantha and Robin did their due diligence and decided to go with Minuteman Press. Samantha shares her top 4 reasons for making that decision:

“1. Joining a franchise that I would actually get to know and meet their President (Nick Titus) was appealing to me. 

2. I wanted a franchise that is open during normal business hours and offers nights and weekends to still be with family.

3. After meeting other Minuteman Press franchise owners and seeing how happy they were with their choice to own this franchise, we were ready to sign.

4. A printing and marketing business that offers a much-needed service to our community and not just the next trendy thing was also appealing to me.”

Training & Support

Following the decision to open Minuteman Press in Grand Blanc, Samantha completed the comprehensive two-week training program and then received on-site support during the setup of her franchise location. She says, “The training program is very thorough! After training, our local Field Rep Nick joined me in the actual setup of the shop and has been right here every step of the way. Nick helped me with everything from setting up computers to going on marketing calls with me and then stayed to help with the transition following the acquisition.”

Samantha adds, “When something does come up and I have a specific question, Nick and Rich are very quick to help find answers or make suggestions. The support from Minuteman Press International is incredible. When I reach out to anyone at MPIHQ, I am met with tons of support and encouragement.”

Minuteman Press in Grand Blanc is located at 4501 E. Hill Road, Grand Blanc, MI 48439. For more information, visit their website: https://minuteman.com/us/locations/mi/grand-blanc/

Learn more about #1 rated Minuteman Press franchise opportunities and read Minuteman Press franchise reviews at https://minutemanpressfranchise.com