Cutman Graphix.(New Businesses: A Listing of Business Start-Ups in Arkansas)

Cutman Graphix

Owner: Chris Cutler

Address: 309 Allan Brick Ave., Little Rock

Phone: (501) 951-4089

Hours: By appointment

Startup: August 2008

Web site: www.cutmangraphix.com

After losing his job as the director of corporate communications during the Verizon buyout of Alltel, Chris Cutler seized the chance to strike out on his own.

"I had been thinking about it for the last three or four years," Cutler said. "Verizon came in and forced my hand. I am glad it happened, though." Because he knew the buyout was imminent and his job was on the line, Cutler started planning his own business before he was laid off.

Cutman Graphix is a visual communications company specializing in presentation design, multimedia and graphic design. Cutler has the expertise to create Web sites, interactive CDs and DVDs, logos, brochures, magazine layouts, annual reports, banners and any other project requiring graphic design.

Cutler said that he is targeting the small business market but hopes to expand to larger businesses as his staff grows.

Most of Cutler's clients have asked him to built Web sites for them, and he specializes in flash animation.

Cutler did freelance jobs to save the $15,000 needed to start his business.

Cutler said that his biggest competition comes from freelancers in the area, but that they don't provide the full package that Cutman Graphix does.

"From what I understand from my clients is that they all seem to have bits and pieces of what I provide, but none of them have the whole package unless you go to bigger agencies," Cutler said. "Having that experience at Alltel where they basically needed me to do everything trained me to take on challenges and do really whatever is asked and to get it done."

Cutler said that another quality that sets him apart from his competitors is his quick response to queries from clients and potential clients.

"That is one thing that Alltel taught me," he said. "Don't let things sit in your yard too long. Get them over the fence as fast as possible. I respond as quickly as possible. I usually answer e-mails very quickly. Very rarely does anything go beyond 24 hours."

In the next five years, Cutler said, he hopes to add more employees to his staff and see the business grow.

"I would like to be a very self-sufficient agency that provides services with the unique perspective that I gained through corporate experience," he said.

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