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"Hard Work. Flexibility. Fun."
Women in Business Feature, 2002.

These have become the formula of success for Debra Shafer, founder and owner of Dux D'Lux Advertising in Starkville, Mississippi. Hard work has produced consistent, healthy growth, and longtime customers. Flexibility has allowed Dux D'Lux to expand its services to meet the needs of clients and the industry's ever-changing technology. Fun is simply Shafer's favorite approach to work and play. Now in its 22nd year, the one-woman operation Shafer started in 1980 in a spare room has grown into a thriving local advertising agency with national and international affiliations.

Shafer, who holds a Bachelor's degree from Kent State University and a Master's degree from Louisiana State University in Fine Arts, moved to Starkville when her husband took a teaching job at Mississippi State University's School of Architecture. She found herself with limited opportunities to use her design skills. When a friend asked her to develop a t-shirt design, Dux D'Lux was born.

The business began by offering graphic design services and custom-designed screen printed t-shirts. One of Shafer's first clients was Ithaca College in New York. Dux D'Lux won the bid in 1980 to develop orientation t-shirts for the school. The project has never been re-bid, and 2002 marks Dux D'Lux's 22nd year of producing the shirts. "Building that kind of long-term relationship with a client makes this business very rewarding," Shafer says.

"One thing that makes Dux D'Lux unique," Shafer says, "is that most of my staff are women." In fact, of the 9 full time staff members employed at Dux D'Lux, 7 are female, including three management positions. "It's really happened by accident," Shafer says. "We joke that our office probably sees more "girl talk" than average." Shafer is quick to add that the well-rounded staff is one of the agency's greatest assets. "We really value teamwork," she says. "My staff at every level takes pride in producing a quality product and great service. We all share in one department's success. I think we have assembled a team of office staff, sales reps, designers, and printers that really cares about their work -- they just happen to be mostly women." Because Shafer has tried to maintain the "family" atmosphere of a small business, teamwork has become extremely important. So much so, that when new people are hired for key staff positions, Debra likes to involve other staff members in the interviewing process. "We have the same occasional hiccups that every office has, but my staff typically works remarkably well together. I want to make sure that any new employee can fit well into the mix," Shafer adds.

Over the last decade, Dux D'Lux has added promotional products, embroidery and website design to its array of services. By bridging the gap between good design, marketing and the screen printing/promotional product business, Shafer has established a reputation of producing thorough, well-rounded marketing schemes that get results. Her marketing programs range from unique image-building campaigns to industrial manufacturing "safety programs" and corporate wearable and logo product programs. This approach has netted Dux D'Lux a client list from all over the country, and even a few international projects. However, Debra adds, "The Golden Triangle area remains an important segment of our customer base. We take pride in helping local businesses establish and market themselves."

Shafer acknowledges that although the digital age has made working with national clients almost seamless, being able to work with a client face to face is a special treat. "Our staff takes great pleasure in seeing people wearing the t-shirts we've produced, or sitting in a restaurant and reading a menu someone in the office designed," Shafer says. "Everyone from the designers to the sales staff and printers gets excited about the culmination of an extended project. Being able to actually watch the growth and success of a business or restaurant with whom we've worked makes our sometimes stressful discipline worthwhile."

Shafer has remained the creative director and business strategist for Dux D'Lux over its entire history, and she readily admits that some of her success has come by the hit-and-miss method. She maintains a willingness to entertain almost any idea and weigh its merits against her goals for Dux D'Lux and it's employees. She has managed the company's steady growth by keeping a strong commitment to customer service, by expanding or updating services to keep up with the changing market, and by motivating her staff with a healthy element of fun. Because of Shafer's leadership, Dux D'Lux has been awarded over 90 advertising and design awards. She holds an American Advertising Federation Silver Medal Award, and in 1999, was named one of Mississippi's 50 Leading Business Women. However, Debra is quick to add that her greatest rewards in business come from client satisfaction and employee happiness.

Shafer sums up the story of Dux D'Lux by saying, "We take our work and our clients very seriously, but not ourselves." You only have to take one look at Shafer's business card to realize that she doesn't take herself very seriously. Her title is "Queen", and she boasts that the official Dux D'Lux articles of incorporation make her the only legally reigning Queen in the state of Mississippi. Incidentally, the articles of incorporation also give her the power to behead disloyal subjects. Wayward designers and thorny clients beware!