the distributorship has been the angle that works best. “When you think about production of a certain T-shirt or anything in our space, it’s very concrete,” Bardsley says. “You start with a blank. You either embroider it, screen print it, DTF, whatever it is, and then you put in the box by size, by number, and it’s done. There’s a very clear beginning, middle and end, and it’s repetitive. You’re doing that over and over again. You can kind of get some rhythm. So, for someone on the spectrum who thrives on routine, structure and a concrete kind of activity, our industry is perfect.” That’s not to say Spectrum limits its autistic and neurodiverse employees to line work. It has welcomed them into the front office, too. I get to spend some time with Kelli Fisher, the company’s marketing and development specialist. She oversees social media and has created numerous viral hit posts, which landed Spectrum on the 2025 PPAI #Online18. Shy and quiet as a young girl, she was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at 14. Doctors told her parents she wouldn’t succeed at college or ever get a driver’s license. She overcame those doubts and earned a degree, but she struggled with stress and fulfillment at times in her career. A hiring manager once ended a job interview within five minutes because she couldn’t keep consistent eye contact. Things are different for her at Spectrum. She started in the laundry business, then moved to a production role at the distributorship. Two years ago, Bardsley formed a plan to elevate then-social media manager Dylan Valic – himself neurodiverse, with obsessivecompulsive disorder – to marketing director and to make Fisher his direct report. The company now has more than 110,000 followers on Instagram alone, and some Benchmarking PPAI 100 Distributors KPIs for promo’s leading companies. Average Median 2024 Revenue $104.1 M $31.7 M Revenue Change Since 2021 +53.9% +21.3% New Client Revenue 14.4% 12% Gross Profit Margin 35.9% 35.9 Revenue From Top 3 Clients 24.5% 22.5% Revenue From Top 10% Of Sales Reps 29 25% Full-time Sales Reps 58 14 Customer Service Reps 28 9 Finance Staff 13 5 Days To Payment 36.6 35 posts have achieved more than 25 million views. Fisher has since shared time onstage with Adam Sandler and been interviewed on The Kelly Clarkson Show. She calls herself “very loud” and “awkward” and says she sometimes has difficulties with time management. But the company rolls with its employees’ differences. “Spectrum is very understanding,” she says. “If I’m struggling with time management, they’ll help me. Like, ‘What do you need to do to organize your work better?’ Our chief of staff is a licensed social worker, so if I’m ever struggling and need to talk, I can just talk to her. There’s always support here. … Sometimes I’m not good with feedback, but “We’ll kind of advise them and counsel them, and visit once in a while and say you should do it this way, I think that is sustainable. I think once we get out there and do it, it will be transformational.” –COO TIM HOWE, MAS PPAI • JUNE 2025 • 59 Distributors | Must Read
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