Spanning the Globe

WHAT’S THE KEY TO STOPKA’S AND THE COMPANY’S SUCCESS: Working 24/7, understanding your niche. “My analytical and system skills helped in this industry,” he notes. Design Toscano serves a niche audience, and he believes staying true to its core audience and brand has served the company well.

“Many companies veer too far from their niche; they lose what they’re good at,” Stopka says. “Some say, ‘Why not grow to $100 million in sales?’ I say, ‘You can’t. This is the size niche that we’re at.’ You can define the niche differently. If it weren’t a niche business, it would be a brick-and-mortar retail chain. But it’s not. You’re looking for niches in cataloging — and now the Internet.”