By Pat Crowley
Special to NKyTribune
“One entrepreneur’s story . . . can be another’s inspiration.”
That describes the 50-year history of MAC Productions, a Northern Kentucky events support company, as told by founder and driving force Mike Claypool in his new book The Trip of a Lifetime – Step by Step to Las Vegas and Beyond.
MAC Productions began as MAC Decorating in 1971, the idea of a young man just seven years past his high school graduation.
With the unconditional support of his father during the precarious early years, the unrelenting commitment and involvement of his wife for four decades, and contributions from numerous “Great People,” as Claypool calls them, he built a leader in its field, one that has served (and continues to serve) the likes of RE/MAX, Proctor & Gamble, Disabled American Veterans, National Parent Teachers Association and numerous other major corporations and associations.
From a struggling startup whose first-year gross earnings barely exceeded $12,000, MAC Productions has grown into a multimillion-dollar national leader in the convention and event industry.
From a fledgling operation with three part-time helpers, that stored its meager collection of tables, chairs, and booth materials in a truck that would no longer run, it has grown into a business with dozens of employees and a 68,000-square-foot plant that combines warehouse, workshop, high-tech production spaces and business offices.
In The Trip of a Lifetime Claypool shares the foundational principles on which he built his dynamic organization:
• employees chosen well and customers treated well, many of whom became long-time friends;
• courageous and imaginative response to opportunity;
• creative risk-taking and nimble resilience in the face of setbacks and adversity; and
• loyalty, integrity and an unwavering commitment to quality performance.
MAC Productions’ first five decades, as related by Claypool, a graduate of Northern Kentucky University, are dotted with entertaining Side Notes — often funny pranks and misadventures — that capture the human side of starting and growing a successful business.
Every entrepreneur — and wannabe — should find The Trip of a Lifetime instructive, inspirational, engaging and entertaining.
The Trip of a Lifetime is available here on Amazon. Or order copies at www.mac-av.com.
A portion of the proceeds from sales of the book will benefit the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. Retailers should contact Claypool at MAC@mac-av.com for information concerning books for resale and to place orders.