Discovering More About Your Local Store Retail Owners
Meet Jane and Brent Kostiw – the dynamic duo and co-owners of two The UPS Store locations in San Luis Obispo and Arroyo Grande. Together they have become a beloved pillar of the community through their business achievements and personal contributions. What makes this team successful? Plot twist -- they are a happily married couple of 39 years, and they share a love of providing great and meaningful service to their customers and community.
What makes them tick? Here's a peek...
Building Business Roots
The Kostiw's first brush with The UPS Store is rooted in their entrepreneurial spirit. As a devoted mom to her now fully-grown children, Jane cared for the kids and managed their home full-time. But she couldn't shake the drive to tap into her dream of starting her own business. She did just that by creating custom wine necklaces for wine glass stems. Her neighborhood The UPS Store was there for her small business printing needs.
Prior to acquiring their first The UPS Store retail location, Brent was a successful 22-year technology veteran, specializing in Human Resources. "The people side of business often got neglected," he says. His passion for Human Resources and servicing the business needs of the community combined with his business acumen and hustle helped him earn his graduate degree from Pepperdine while working full-time.
Jane and Brent's partnership brought the cornerstones of a successful local business together under one roof – entrepreneurial spirit, creativity, great customer service and logistics expertise. It was the perfect recipe for their vision of building a family-owned business. Jane and Brent were intrigued with owning an established The UPS Store location and went for it. They enjoyed it so much that they added a second store. With great in-store team support from their staff, Brent and Jane have made their stores Digital Printing Experts, a core offering for The UPS Store customers.
Giving Back to Their Community: Inside and Outside of The Store
Both Brent and Jane enjoy going to the store to work shoulder-to-shoulder with their hard-working team to help new and loyal customers with their The UPS Store service needs. Jane loves the feeling of being connected to her customers. "I want our customers to feel important when they walk in the door," she says. Brent adds that they also believe it's important to help other small businesses in their community. "We'll help in any way we can to give back – especially since these other small businesses are the backbone of the community," he says. In fact, Brent has served as a SCORE mentor in this local community – to help coach and mentor other local, budding entrepreneurs. Jane stays involved in the community through the San Luis Obispo's Women's Network and women's retreats for her church. The pair also "goes the extra mile" for the homeless in their community through a variety of support means, including financial contributions to help improve their lives.
"We'll help in any way we can to give back – especially since these other small businesses are the backbone of the community." — Brent Kostiw, Retail Owner
Pursuing Diverse Hobbies
While these two dedicated The UPS Store retail owners share a common business vision, they unwind with very different hobbies. Brent enjoys reading a good book, hitting the golf course and has been known to be found in his garage making a great craft beer. He's not your average craft beer enthusiast – he's an award-winning amateur home brewer whose ribbons include one for his 1st place Lager at the Del Mar Fair. Of course, Jane was his official taste tester!
When not sampling Brent's beer recipes, Jane leads a busy life gardening, crocheting, and designing tile work, including building mosaic fireplaces and porches with intricate mosaic designs.
Business aside, this wonderful couple remains committed to their community, their family and especially to their three grandbabies. Next time you see either one of them in the store, be sure to say hello!
