2 Gain & Give Intro
When I first met Mr. Hutson, I knew nothing about him except that he was a black entrepreneur and a friend of my brother’s. Since then, he has become someone who inspires and uplifts me. He often calls me out of the blue to check on me and encourage me to keep pushing forward, no matter what the world looks like around me.
I remember him telling me “You’re going to make it because your heart is in the right place. You’re always trying to help people.” At that moment, He had no idea how much I needed to hear those words.
I had tried so many things but felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere, and just when I was about to throw in the towel. His words propelled me. Not only has he been a calming inspiration, but he is also the only person I turn to for top-of-the-line quality in my graphic design T-shirts and hoodies. DLK Printing has designed shirts for every organization that I own or am a part of– from 2 Gain & Give, The 40 Strong, The Unchain My Brotha’s Movement and now Hear Her Voice.
Please welcome Keon Hutson CEO of DLK Printing
DLK PRINTING represents more than the name of my company, more than the title of owner or founder. It represents my ambitions, my purpose, a solid foundation, an empire, and a pyramid of love! DLK are the initials of children’s names.
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Keon Hutson. I manufacture clothing and specialize in custom prints. I started out in the basement of my home with basic ink transfer and vinyl. In little over a year, I grew to brick and mortar, silk screen printing and now embroidering.
Though, the transition happened rapidly the new challenges that I faced were bona fide. Passion and creativity have always been strong traits of mine however, they were irrelevant when it came to the upcoming task at hand.
I still needed to learn the ins and outs of the business, the technical side, the graphic design, and operation of the machines. The work was demanding, and it required for me to work diligently.
 My goal was to produce mass production therefore, I needed industrial machines. With dedication and God’s blessings my machines were paid for with my first two accounts. My crew consists of my kids and my niece. My niece is my biggest helper. We work hand in hand. While I teach her the business her youthful mind and fresh eyes enhances my creativity.  Â
One of the most important things about owning a company is knowing your network and working it. To me your network is the road to the growth of your company. Although, I utilize social media the majority of my accounts come from word of mouth.
I am a man of bartering. I do a lot of bartering with small businesses. I am also highly active in the community. For Thanksgiving we donated 25 turkeys to families that were in need, and to those that were financially suffering from the pandemic. We also donated to other events and causes.
Last year there was a lot of tragic deaths among young people which gave us the opportunity to show support by helping with funeral cost, we also helped with bails and bonds for the release of Black Live Matter protesters.
We take great honor in being a self-made, black owned, family business. We appreciate the people that has helped us grow and that are continuing to grow with us. Businesses like Top-of-the-Line Barber Studio, Resilient Hair Design, Toki Middle School, and Badger City Auto have been a major contribution to our growth.
Despite the fact that we are not currently where we visualized where we would be, we are grateful for where we are at this day and time.
 I see the potential and I want to maximize on it. My goal is to outgrow our current location within the next two years, and in five years to have purchased my own land where I can build a mini strip mall. I would like to have an after-school program, an indoor gym, and a lounge, so that the youth can have a positive and safe place to hang out.
One of the things I love most about being an entrepreneur is the flexibility of balancing home and work. I also love the sense of freedom that it gives me. It makes me appreciate ownership. Furthermore, it is something that I can teach my kids.
When I was growing up there was not a lot of black ownership, so I was not taught those things by my parents. My parents worked extremely hard, and they taught me that hard work pays off.Â
I want to teach my kids to work hard but more importantly to work smart, so they are not forced to work hard. I would like to end by thanking 2 Gain & Give for this opportunity.
2 Gain & Give Outro
2 Gain & Give would like to thank you for giving us the privilege to take a peek inside the world of DLK PRINTING. We also thank you for trusting us to present you to our readers and anyone else that may stumble across this newsletter.Â
We hope that this article will further promote your company and bring about new business for you.
Since this article was written, DLK Printing has outgrown its original space and moved to a larger location. We are excited about the opportunity to interview Mr. Keon Hutson again when he opens his dream mini strip mall in the near future.
