PPB October 2021

The CPS S t o r e Solution Experts Married business partners Dr. Darryl and LaDawne Jenkins have been solving complex issues with creative solutions for more than 25 years. After working to provide their community with much-needed equipment for youth sports, the Jenkinses watched their Chicago-based distributorship, The CPS Store, completely transform. by Kristina Valdez M eeting clients’ complex needs can be a lot like balancing “spinning plates on the proverbial pole,” says Dr. Darryl Jenkins. LaDawne Jenkins adds, “What we’ve learned is that our customers are calling us asking for custom-branded solutions. They are asking us how we can solve their problems. Our clients know what type of environment they hope to create with an event or campaign, but they always need help to create, develop and establish what the promotional side looks like and how those promotions will frame and shape the whole experience that they’re trying to achieve.” In 1992, the Jenkinses unknowingly laid the foundation for their business when they became involved with helping to meet the needs of members of their community. “In our community of faith, we recognized that they needed youth sports uniforms. They needed caps, jerseys and trophies, as well as the basic equipment to become a serious sports team,” says Darryl, who is also a certified mental health first‐aid trainer, consultant and speaker on organization leadership, diversity and race relations. “When the question was asked, ‘Where can we get these products?’ that was the humble beginning [of our company], then called Sports Enterprises Inc.” The business naturally evolved beyond sporting goods, transforming into The Creative Promotional Solutions Store, or The CPS Store. “We actually started to get requests for more promotions,” says LaDawne. “Customers would ask, ‘Can you do this as well?’ And once we served a customer in one area, they would refer others.” With the rush of new business, Darryl says it was an exciting time. “Not only did this open up opportunities with the elementary schools, high schools and universities, but also local municipalities and more corporations began to inquire about embroidery, screenprinting and custom-branded merchandise,” says Darryl. Working with promotional products led the company into a new direction for the business. “[We were] not just selling pencils and pens, but also helping to brand companies’ identities,” says LaDawne. While the business has evolved immensely over the past 25 years, the Jenkinses say some things are enduring. “The focus, the mission and the core values have remained the same,” says Darryl. “We take a great deal of pride in what we do, from the apparel and custom- branding side, and in giving back to the community, which has become one of our core values. The visions we give to others have inspired us to have this sustainability that we are seeing today.” More than a dozen employees now work at The CPS Store. “It takes decades to build a good reputation and it takes just a matter of minutes to ruin it,” he says. “So, one of the things we continuously try to do is maintain the integrity that we have and build on that.” When dealing with customers, the Jenkinses say bringing a sense of ease, comfort and peace is critical. “Clients are shopping around, jumping in and out of sites, and it can be daunting,” he explains. “A company like The CPS Store recognizes you have a complex issue and, in a calm way, presents a knowledgeable and creative solution to, one, help focus; two, create, and 70 | OCTOBER 2021 | CONNECT