Palatine woman follows her dream after losing job
After losing her job due to COVID-19, a Palatine woman is taking a leap of faith and following her longtime dream by opening a print shop in Rolling Meadows.
Shannon Thomas, 47, said she signed a lease to open Knockout Prints on Nov. 1 at 4007 W. Algonquin Road, next to The Stadium Sports Club and Pizza. She is starting with a focus on apparel and plans to gradually add other items, she said.
"My whole life my passion has been in graphic arts. I have always wanted to be my own boss and kind of do my thing," she said. "This forced me pretty much into making decisions to follow my dream."
Thomas already has started running her business out of her house and just filled her first order of nearly 100 shirts that a school plans to give to its staff members, she said. The shirts say, "In a world where you can be anything, be kind."
Thomas said she started working for American Express in 1999 and, most recently, worked for a smaller travel company based in Texas. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she was let go due to the sharp economic decline in the hotel industry, she said.
"I applied for 40 jobs, but because of my age, as you can imagine, it was hard to find anything," she said. "So I took my opportunity to chase my dream."
Her plan is to offer a "hands-on" experience where customers can walk into her shop, touch and feel the different products, and select from a catalog of thousands of stock images.
"The main reason I wanted the brick-and-mortar (shop) is because everything is online these days, especially with apparel, so you don't really get to touch and feel the quality of the product," she said.
She also plans to host events such as birthday parties that will include customized printing.
"I thought that was unique," she said.
Customer service is the most important aspect of any business, and she looks forward to being fully in control of that, she said.
"Basically, everything I worked for in 20 years I am putting into this and crossing my fingers - and hoping for the best."