Michelle McCall, owner and vice president of Reston-based Prestige Graphics Inc., is happy to stand back and let her business partner get all the glory. An unlikely scenario in the business world; but McCall’s partner also happens to be her little brother.
“What our clients really want is Mark,” said McCall of her partner, Mark McCall, 45.
The pair launched Prestige Graphics — a visual arts consulting firm that specializes in nature photography reproductions — in August. With a background in business management, Michelle focuses on the day-to-day administrative, legal and financial aspects of the company, while Mark handles the artistic side of the business.
Prestige Graphics works with a handful of clients, including Nature’s Best magazine in Reston, to reproduce photos for publication. For the last several years, Mark has also worked with the Smithsonian to reproduce the magazine photos for Nature’s Best Photography International Awards, an annual exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History, which is on display through March.
Mark’s technical expertise lies in reproducing the photos at the same quality regardless of size or format, whether it’s a magazine page or blown up for display in the Smithsonian.
“It’s basically controlling [the quality of the photo] across multiple mediums,” said Mark. “If you took the magazine into the exhibit, you would see that the [photos] are almost alike.”
The brother and sister duo were both self-employed when they decided to launch the company. And despite the fact that Mark lives in Arlington and Michelle lives in Pennsylvania, the transition from siblings to business partners has been an easy one, they both said.
“It’s a good fit,” said Mark. “Her background is financial and my background is technical. She takes care of what she needs to take care of and I take care of my end.”
“What’s great about it is you understand each other pretty well,” said Michelle. “Mark and I have a similar drive … and because we have similar personalities we can say things bluntly and not leave too many scars, so it’s easier than working with a true business partner.”
Mark McCall
BUSINESS
» Current job: President, Prestige Graphics Inc.
» Last job: Self-employed
» Best perk: Having my sister as a partner
» First job: Graphics
» Original aspiration: To be self-employed
» Compensation: Comfortable
» Career objective: Enjoy what I do
PERSONAL
» Date of Birth: 05/14/1961
» Hometown: Altoona, Pa.
» Transportation: Subaru Forrester
» Favorite restaurant: Faccia Luna
» Computer: Mac OSX
» Vacation spot: Tuscany
» Role model: Charles A. Veatch
» Quote: “If a+b+c = success, where a is work and b is play and c is keeping your mouth shut.” Einstein
» Worst fear: Global Warming
Michelle McCall
BUSINESS
» Current job: Co-owner of Prestige Graphics Inc.; management consultant
» Last job: Management consultant
» Best perk: Balance
» First job: Production analyst
» Original aspiration: Financial independence
» Compensation: Comfortable
» Career objective: To blend in more community projects
PERSONAL
» Date of Birth: 11/20/1958
» Hometown: Altoona, Pa.
» Transportation: Acura RL
» Favorite restaurant: Log Cabin
» Computer: Dell laptop
» Vacation spot: St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
» Role model: Friend, Jodie Kornman
» Quote: “If you love what you do and you do a good job, the money will follow,” Eleanor McMillen Brown
» Worst fear: Religious fanatics
