PPB August 2021

family comes first.” She adds, “Even when I openedOutstanding Branding, at 5 pm, the laptop closes, the phone gets put away, I go home, and I ama momandwife.” Before openingOutstanding Branding in 2016, Tarnopolski had hoped to create a partnership and build a companywith a colleague. But after five years of waiting, she had enough. “It almost felt like a carrot being dangled in front ofme,” she says. “I reallywanted to ownmy ownpromotional products company and be the decision-maker, so I and one other girl, Tanya, left to start Outstanding Branding.” The pair opened theWinnipeg, Manitoba-baseddistributor in 2016, and spent the first three days in Tarnopolski’s dining room. “I had a two-year-old at home. So, you can imagine us in the dining roomwith two desktops andmonitors plugged in, therewere cords everywhere, andmy kidswere tripping and tearing down themonitors,” she says, laughing. “Outstanding Branding had tomove tomy basement whilewe looked for office space.” While Tarnopolski’s vision for Outstanding Branding hasn’t changed, she is still working to define the company’s finer points. “I knew that I wanted it to be a fun, easy going and inviting place, but what has changed is I amlearningmore about us. I amlearning that Outstanding Brandingwants to focusmore on being environmentally-friendly and supporting local business and initiatives.Whenwe first started, I just thought wewere going to sell promotional products, but we also want to educate our customers about this industry.Whether it’s through our blog or our ownpromotions, we are just really trying to educate them.” For Tarnopolski, owning a business reminds her of just how important relationships are. “Whatmakes us different is us , each individual person. Obviously, our industry is very relationship-based, so a lot of customers are looking to buy from somebody they trust,” she says. “To me, the basis for any good relationship is trust, not onlywith our customers, but alsowith our suppliers and reps. Whenwe have a newemployee join our team, I always tell them, ‘Treat our customers good, but treat our suppliers and local reps evenbetter. They are the oneswho are going to helpus.’” Trust is also critical for the employee relationships at Outstanding Branding. “I wanted our culture to be fun and inviting sowhenpeople join our team, they are happyworking here,” she says. “I don’t even think ofmy employees as employees; I think of themas co-workers.We are all responsible adults, so nobody really needs to be a boss, maybe a leader, but not a boss.” Tarnopolski says coming into the office is an opportunity for themto hang out as friends, not co-workers. “I actually knowmy co-founder and business partner Tanya [Burdett] because her husbandhas beenbest friendswithmy husband since they were in fourth grade. Our kids think they are cousins,” she says. Although the pandemic has limited the number of office guests, Tarnopolski still gives her customers the option to come in for visits. “Our industry still wants to touch and feel that t-shirt or hold thatmug in their hands,” she says. Tarnopolski also shares that she’s grateful towork in such a fun industry. “You get to party with your co-workers, suppliers, customers and competitors.When a lot of our reps come in, they say always howmuch they love the vibe they get in the office.We always have beer in the fridge andwine in the cupboard. Always.” She also uses laughter to boost companymorale. “If I go into the office and I don’t laugh that whole day, I feel like I should focus on that tomorrowbecauseweneed to laugh,” she says. “Weprobably laughat least once almost every singleday. Iwent yearswithout having one of those laughing fits that hurt, but, in thepast fewyears, I’vehad like three of those at the office. And it feels so goodwhenyou have those.” Tarnopolski’s definition of success has changed several times. “Whenwe first startedOutstanding Branding, that was success.Whenwe had a great first year, that was success. I had a dreamof growing the teamto seven or eight andwe did that in five years—again, a success. But I’mnot done. I evenhave a goal of being on the board of PPPC [Promotional Product Professionals of Canada].” Before the pandemic, Tarnopolski helped create a PPPCManitoba chapter andbecame president. InMay, she served on a panel discussionduring PPPCWomen’s Empowerment Event. Always one to stay busy, she’s also an activemember of her community and involved inorganizations including WomenBusinessOwners ofManitoba andWinnipeg Executives Association. “But success, tome, ismore about just being happy in life. If you are happy in life, then you are successful,” she says. Looking back, she distinctly rememberswhen she first leasedher office space, and that puts things into perspective for her. “Whenwe first signed our lease on the rental space, it was 2,500 square feet and it was huge. It had only one boardroom, an office, two bathrooms and thismassive warehouse. I remembermy kids would ride their bikes around. Then we did the renovation and I remember thinking, ‘I can’t wait to fill it’ andnow it’s full. It’s such an amazing feeling, scary too, because nowwe have to move onto bigger things.” Kristina Valdez is associate editor of PPB. "Whatmakes us different is us , each individual person. Obviously, our industry is very relationship- based, so a lot of customers are looking to buy fromsomebody they trust." —Jennifer Tarnopolski | AUGUST 2021 | 63 THINK