Each
month,
nohoartsdistrict.com
will
highlight
a North
Hollywood
business
that has
played a
role in
making
our
community
better.
This
month
the
spotlight
is on
Jennifer
Freund,
President
and CEO
of
Corporate
Impressions
LA.
 Jennifer,
what was
your
childhood
like?
I grew
up with
one foot
in the
traditional
values
of the
fifties
and the
other
foot in
the
feminist
movement.
I was
born
into a
middle
class
family
with a
stay at
home
Mom. My
mom was
a big
influence
on me. I
watched
my
mother
go from
housewife
to
professional
in the
days
before
something
as
simple
as a
credit
card was
out of
reach
for
single
women,
she
sorted
out her
fifties
upbringing
and mesh
it with
the
feminist
movement.
My Mom
and Dad
divorced
when I
was 14
and Mom
trained
for and
began a
successful
career
as a
Marriage
and
Family
Therapist.
Her
experiences
and
perceptions
greatly
influenced
my life.
Both my
parents
believed
in me
and
raised
me to
believe
that I
could
reach my
dreams,
whatever
they
might
be.
How
did you
first
begin
your
career?
In the
early
seventies,
I
graduated
from UC
Berkley
in
Political
Science.
I was
going to
go to
law
school
but I
was too
anxious
to get
out and
take on
the
world! I
was
hired by
the US
General
Accounting
Office (GAO)
a branch
of
congress
that
audits
executive
branch
programs
which
was, in
the
early
70’s,
evaluating
the
effectiveness
of many
of
President
Johnson’s
Great
Society
social
programs.
The
problem
came
when I
wanted
to see
my
recommendations
put into
action.
I was
young
and
impatient
and
wanted
socio-economical
changes
to be
made
quickly.
So, I
left the
GAO to
adventure
to New
York
City. It
was
always
my dream
to live
and work
in New
York
City. My
mom who
was
always
my loyal
supporter
decided
we could
do a
“Girls
Road
Trip”
together
to the
“Big
Apple.”
She
returned
home and
after
several
months
of
sharing
my
apartment
with
cockroaches
and
looking
for my
life in
NY, I
ran out
of money
and
began to
doubt
what I
could
accomplish
in NYC.
However
before I
left New
York, I
experienced
an event
the will
stay
with me
always.
John
Lennon
was
murdered
and the
entire
city
mourned
together.
I will
always
remember
walking
with
tens of
thousands
of folks
thru the
streets
of NYC
to the
memorial
services
at
Central
Park. I
can
still
feel the
power of
the
silent
prayer
that
ended
with the
playing
of
“Imagine.”
As I
stood
with the
crowd I
could
feel the
dreams
and
hopes of
“my
generation”,
how much
the
paradigm
of the
world
had
changed
from a
generation
before
and how
uncertain
the
future
seemed
at that
moment.
How
did you
get into
the
printing
business?
When I
got back
from New
York, I
visited
a small
printer
I knew
from my
GAO
days,
who was
running
his
business
out of
his
garage,
and
accepted
his
offer of
a
business
partnership.
I always
had an
abundance
of
energy
and
drive. I
wrote a
partnership
agreement,
my
father
co-signed
a $ 5000
bank
loan for
me, and
I became
a
co-owner
of a
printing
company.
After a
few
years,
the
business
had
grown
substantially
and we
were out
of debt
so my
partner
bought
me out
by the
terms of
our
agreement.
In June
of 1982
I
started
Corporate
Impressions
LA out
of the
2nd
bedroom
of my
apartment
in Van
Nuys. I
had
learned
something
of the
business
side and
the
production
side of
the
printing
business.
My
grandmother
volunteered
to do
the
bookkeeping
and
collections.
She kept
perfect
books
with
pencil
and
paper
and
people
had
trouble
saying
“No”
when my
sweet
grandma
called
for
collections.
The
company
continued
to grow
and we
moved
our
offices
5 times
to allow
for
expansion.
In 1999,
we moved
to our
present
office
at 10742
Burbank
Boulevard
in North
Hollywood.
What
advice
would
you give
a new
entrepreneur?
· Be
passionate
about
your
business.
· If you
are a
woman,
you
don’t
have to
act like
a man to
succeed.
· Create
and
nurture
a strong
and
growing
network.
· Truly
care
about
people…it
will
show.
· Keep
learning.
· Expect
change,
nothing
stays
the same
whether
you want
it to or
not…flow
with
technology.
· Strive
to
achieve
balance
in your
life
between
work,
family
and self
.
· Be
open to
others
helping
you….you
will
grow
faster.
· You
must
pull all
the
pieces
together
(finance/sales/production)
to make
the
business
work.
·
Remember
you are
going
hit many
walls
and some
battles
you are
not
going to
win….accept
it and
keep
going
ahead.
· Have
patience
to wait
for the
right
idea.
· Don’t
be
afraid
to Cold
Call...Get
our
there
and
sell,
sell,
sell.
Running
a
business
is hard
work but
worth
it. My
business
is a
huge
piece of
my life,
that can
be very
frustrating
and very
satisfying
at the
same
time.
One
frustrating
day, I
wanted
to call
it
quits.
My
daughter,
Rebecca
said
Mom, you
can’t
stop
…this is
who you
are. The
business
allows
me to be
creative
and to
nurture.
It
spotlights
both my
strengths
and
weaknesses
and
gives me
continuous
personal
opportunities
to
improve.
In
business
as in
life you
make
many
mistakes,
but you
also
have
great
successes
…for me
it is
worth
it.
Are
you
married?
Do you
have
children?
I have 2
children
Matthew,
19 and
Rebecca,
22 from
my first
marriage
and in
my
second
marriage
in my
mid
forties,
I
decided
to have
another
child
which
turned
out to
be twins
- Sarina
and A.J.
I had
always
dreamed
of
having 5
kids, I
guess my
fifth
child is
Corporate
ImpressionsLA.
How
do you
fit
everything
into
your
schedule
and
still
have
time for
your
children?
Time
is my
biggest
challenge.
I do my
best,
but it
is often
a sheer
force of
will. I
am very
proud of
my kids,
there is
nothing
better,
and
sometimes
equally
frustration,
than
raising
children
and
being
part of
a loving
family,
but to
really
know
whether
I have
done a
good job
raising
them….you
will
have to
ask
them.
I
understand
you are
very
active
in your
community
All of
my life
I have
found
time to
work for
social
change
and
community
improvement.
It is
important
that
people
feel
connected
to their
community.
I
believe
that all
individuals
should
have a
voice
and
collectively,
it is
very
powerful.
I became
more
active
in the
North
Hollywood
community
when I
first
moved
Corporate
Impressions
to
Burbank
Blvd and
I
noticed
how
badly
Burbank
Blvd.
needed
repair
and
repaving.
I
canvassed
my
neighborhood
and the
other
businesses
were
livid
about
the
condition
of the
street.
I
invited
City
Councilmember
Tom
LaBonge
to a
meeting
with my
neighbor
businesses
at my
office
to help
us get
through
the maze
of
bureaucracy
and get
the
street
repaired.
We won
that
battle
but are
still
waiting
for our
1.25
mile
stretch
of
Burbank
Blvd. to
be
widened,
as
promised.
During
this
time, I
got to
know
many
community
groups
and
decided
I wanted
to get
involved
on a
more
regular
basis. I
now am
on the
board of
directors
and
chair of
the
communications
committee
for
North
Hollywood
Neighborhood
Council.
I truly
hope
that
other
businesses
join in
to
support
their
community
in the
way they
feel is
right.
NoHo has
the
beginnings
of
something
very
exciting
but for
it to
succeed
it will
need
economic,
as well
as
community,
development.
Lend
your
expertise,
donate
product,
make
cash
contribution,
support
the
businesses
in your
neighborhood
and
encourage
others
to
relocate.
This
helps to
build a
strong
community
and
healthy
growth.
For our
part we
are
donating
the
printing
of all
promotional
materials
and
signs
for the
new NoHo
Scene
Festival.
It is
important
that
people
feel
proud of
their
community
and are
happy to
live and
work
there….
this is
more
challenging
at the
beginning
of
change
than
after it
is
achieved.
Last
but not
least,
can you
tell me
a little
about
your
company?
Corporate
Impressions
is a
full
service
modern
printing
facility,
whose
focus is
on the
success
of each
of its
customers.
We
encourage
people
who are
curious
about
print to
come and
visit
us. Our
slogan
is your
product
is our
passion.
Corporate
Impressions
LA
offers
Print
solutions
to
generate
sales
and
clear
communications
thru
unique
techniques
and
services
like;
full
color
computer
to plate
technology;
lithography;
stochastic
screening;
wide
format
printing
and
digital
output.
Our
services
also
include
short
run
color,
web
portals,
fulfillment,
mailing
and
banner
installation.
Our
clients
are
comprised
of
Entertainment
Industry
including,
Academy
of
Television
Arts and
Sciences
here in
NoHo,
also
Dreamworks,
Sony,
Pasadena
Playhouse,
Elizabeth
Taylor
and
Kathy
Ireland,
Non
Profits
including
KCET,
Point
Foundation,
Sova
Food
Bank,
NAWBO,
American
Liver
Foundation;
Zimmer
Museum,
Health
Care
Organizations
including
Kaiser
Permanente,
Food
Service
including;
Original
Tommy’s,
Chocolates
A La
Carte,
Pollo
Campero,
Governmental
Entities;
City of
Beverly
Hills,
US Army
and
many,
many,
growing
businesses
. We
also
enjoy
working
with
local
community
and arts
groups.
We are
very
passionate
about
environmental
responsibility
and are
FSC and
SCAQMD
certified.
We use
recycled
paper
and soy
based
inks and
are
developing
methods
to lower
our
carbon
footprint
through
the use
of
alternative
energy
of solar
and
wind.
And of
course
we are a
woman
owned
company.
Anything
else you
would
like to
say?
There
are lots
of ways
to live
your
life…Choose
one and
go after
it.
Corporate
Impressions
LA
www.impressionsla.com
info@impressionsla.com
10742
Burbank
Blvd.
North
Hollywood
91601
818
761-9295
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