A Conversation With: Mustafa Jaffer of Express Business Center

Express Business Center Inc. is located in Trexlertown.  The company aims to offer a one stop solution for everyone’s business services needs from its three divisions.

The Commercial Printing and Signs Division offers all aspects of commercial printing services including design, print, finish/bindery and mailing services.

The Promotional Products Division offers a wide array of ad specialty products with numerous amounts of products including promo items, apparel, tradeshow displays and much more.

The Business Services Division is a walk-in storefront service offering services including copy/print, pack & ship, notary services, large format printing and mailbox services.

LVB: Mustafa, you and your brother are both first generation Americans. Tell me a little about that journey and how it helped shape your lives and career.

Jaffer: As first generation Americans, we have been blessed with a wonderful journey in our lives especially through our small business.  Having graduated with accounting and marketing degrees, both of us chose to go into business together as a way to be together all the time  and also to make a positive impact in not only the lives of our families and employees but also to the lives of the community members at large.  We strongly believe in helping others as best as possible through our small business and we sponsor and support many events in the Lehigh Valley and in Carbon and Monroe counties.

LVB: You are a certified Minority Owned Business. What are the benefits to that?

Jaffer: Being a minority owned business has its benefits which include opening up market opportunities, getting access to government contracts, placing your small business in front of large corporations, and making yourself stand out against other companies. Today, many businesses want to support diversity so it can help attract new customers as well.

LVB: Have you ever faced challenges because you were a minority owned business?

Jaffer: To be honest, yes.  I strongly feel that as a small business our minority owned business certification is not considered very seriously.  I feel that many times potential customers are adamant about continuing to work with their current vendors and may be finding it inconvenient to consider other vendors like EBC or giving them a chance to perform for them.  We may receive the opportunity to bid on projects but most of the time we know the result before even placing the bid.  If appropriate, it would be my humble request to the business community in the Lehigh Valley and beyond to give small businesses like EBC a chance to perform some of their work through the services we provide and not base their decision on factors such as sole comfortability, relationships and price. Everyone deserves a chance and it is this encouragement strategy that can help our business community prosper.

LVB: What has been your secret to growing your business and creating loyal customers over the years?

Jaffer: First and foremost, I am blessed to have Murtaza with me and it is our unity and synergy that has allowed us to grow our business through faith and trust in each other.  I have strong faith in the Almighty, that Murtaza and I will continue to work hard in bringing a positive impact in the lives of the people and businesses that work with us and continue to give us the opportunity to serve them.  It’s no secret that EBC strives to provide exceptional customer service to its customers and clients. We show honesty and commitment to every client who walks through our door! In fact, we don’t just want to print one project – we hope to gain a long-term relationship to help business leaders achieve their marketing goals. In addition, we spend a great amount of time supporting the community through events and attend networking events to connect with other business leaders in the area as we believe in partnership. Our team members help to support our mission by remaining knowledgeable in their areas and providing our customers with the best customer service possible.

LVB: What’s next for EBC?

Jaffer:   We are currently working on moving our location to a larger facility.  Our new address is going to be 6034 Hamilton Boulevard in Trexlertown.  This is just a few minutes away from our current location.  The new facility is much larger than our current location, allowing us increase our capabilities in all three divisions of our business.  The feedback and support from our clients from all three divisions has led us to make this decision.  We are looking forward to finessing our small business and continue to grow the services that make a positive difference for all our clients, supporters and the community at large.