Crains Cleveland Business:
"40 Under 40 "

October 26, 1992

Robert J. Minchak Jr., - President
Joan A. Minchak, - Vice President
JB Dollar Stretcher Magazine

Robert "JB Bob" and Joan Minchak are publishing moguls of the direct mail variety.

Their bimonthly JB Dollar Stretcher, which is filled with nothing but ads and coupons for local businesses, is a mailer that is directed to more than 650,000 homes in the seven county Cleveland area.  National companies such as Advo-Systems of Pittsburgh ship coupons by mail, too, but only the Minchaks have so thoroughly executed the idea on a local basis.  Mr. Minchak and his wife started the business with nothing but $1,000 to invest in the company.

"I had worked as a sales representative with a headhunter firm and my wife was a graphic artist for a bingo magazine," Mr. Minchak said, "We decided we'd be better off combining our talents in this type of business."

The first issue of J.B. Dollar Stretcher appeared in July 1985 with a mere 16 pages, but it was the seed for bigger things.  Seven years later, the Richfield company produces 22 zoned issues twice a month.  Each issue averages more than 40 pages, Mr. Nfinchak said.

While Mr. Minchak runs sales and the financial end of the business, Mrs. Minchak is responsible for the production of the publication.

?I always wanted to be an artist," she said.  "This more than fills the bill." The nine employee company ranked 303rd in 1991 Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies in the United States .  Mr. and Mrs. Minchak are busy planning an addition to their building to accommodate expected growth.

  -------- Barbara Mooney