A Pittsburgh entrepreneur has expanded his locally founded shipping and printing business into South Carolina, bringing the company’s first location outside Pennsylvania to the Columbia area through a partnership that began as a workplace mentorship.<\/p>\n
iShip&Pack Columbia opened in May, marking the first out-of-state expansion of the business founded by Pittsburgh native Aaron Gibson Jr., who launched the original iShip&Pack on Forward Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
The new Columbia location is owned and operated by Cole Barefoot, Gibson’s first employee at the original Pittsburgh store. Barefoot worked at iShip&Pack while earning both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Point Park University, where he learned the shipping, printing and small-business operations that would later prepare him to open his own location.<\/p>\n
“What started as a mentorship has become a partnership,” Barefoot said. “Our vision is to keep growing without ever losing the personal service that made people trust us in the first place.”<\/p>\n
After graduating, Barefoot pursued his own professional career before relocating to South Carolina. He remained in contact with Gibson, and the two eventually decided to expand the business into the Midlands.<\/p>\n
Today, Barefoot operates iShip&Pack Columbia alongside his wife, Aliyah, and their daughter, Stevie.<\/p>\n
“Our goal isn’t simply to ship packages,” Barefoot said. “We want to become a true resource for local businesses. Whether someone needs printing, marketing materials, direct mail, notary services, fingerprinting, promotional products or shipping, we want them to know they have a local partner they can rely on.”<\/p>\n
The Columbia location provides domestic and international shipping, commercial printing, banners, signs, promotional products, direct mail services, fingerprinting, notary services and business marketing materials for individuals, entrepreneurs, nonprofits and businesses throughout the Midlands.<\/p>\n
Barefoot said the customer-first approach was shaped by Gibson’s leadership during his years working at the Pittsburgh store.<\/p>\n
“Aaron taught me that success comes from treating every customer like they’re your most important customer,” Barefoot said. “That’s the culture we’re building here in Columbia.”<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Gibson has continued growing the Pittsburgh operation. In addition to shipping and mailing services, the company expanded its capabilities through the acquisition of Challenge Printing Services in Wilkinsburg, adding commercial printing, wide-format printing, embroidery, apparel decoration and promotional products.<\/p>\n
Barefoot said the Columbia store is intended to be the first of several South Carolina locations. The long-term plan is to establish additional iShip&Pack locations throughout the Columbia region while maintaining the locally focused customer service model that helped build the original Pittsburgh business.<\/p>\n
For Gibson, the expansion represents the next chapter of a company that began as a neighborhood business in Pittsburgh. For Barefoot, it marks the continuation of a mentorship that evolved into a business partnership and the opportunity to bring that model to a new community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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