HARLOWTON – Behind a small storefront on Harlowton’s Central Avenue is a company that doesn’t quite fit in with the notion of “small town.”
TicketPrinting.Com was started in 2001 and has developed into one of the largest online ticket destinations in the country.
“I think we are the second or third biggest employer behind the hospital and the school in Wheatland County,” said Beth Perry, the company’s customer support supervisor.
The operation started with just one printer about the size of a large office copying machine.
In the beginning, they had only three employees but now the company employs about 30 people.
They print tickets for just about anything you can think of, from small events like a dance fundraiser to high profile events like a Super Bowl party.
“We actually printed tickets for Rolling Stone Magazine for a Super Bowl party in Minneapolis this year, which was really cool,” said Perry.
They’ve been able to expand, despite being in a remote location, thanks to the internet.
Perry said they have even been able to combat a small workforce in the Harlowton area by hiring remote programmers and customer support people.
They are all able to stay connected and in sync thanks to Skype and an internet-based phone system.
“The remoteness can be a little bit of a challenge as far as shipping,” said Perry. “We have one next-day shipment that goes out and if we have something that needs to go out after that, we have somebody that will drive it down to Billings and drop it off at the airport.”
It is that care and attention to detail that lets TicketPrinting.Com play in a global marketplace despite being in what many would consider to be the middle of nowhere.
"Anything big or small, we want to help them,” said Perry. “Our goal really is to make our part in their event the easiest, the one that they don’t have to stress about. That is our mission."
It isn’t just printing; TicketPrinting.Com also runs two other websites to cover the other side of their business. TicketRiver.Com serves as a platform for ticket sales, while RaffleRiver.Com helps different organizations run their various raffles.
"The community is very supportive and very helpful and very proud of having us here too,” said Perry. “It’s just nice in a small community, in what is one of the poorer counties in Montana, to be able to give people jobs."
