Blue Cotton is excited to launch our Dream Manager program. Directed by owners Mike Coffey and Julie Denton-Price, this is just the most recent investment into our team and adds to our growing list of innovative employee benefits.
Everybody has a dream! Some people may have lost sight of them over the years, and some people may think they’re out of reach or not worth chasing. But at Blue Cotton, we want to encourage all of our employees to chase their dreams, resurrect dreams lost, and imagine what their lives can look like if their dreams come true.
Like so many good ideas, the Dream Manager program was not our invention. It came from a book called The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly. The story presented in the book was fascinating and surreal, and we made it our mission to implement it as an employee benefit at Blue Cotton.
So, in November 2025, we hired various Dream Managers from our local community in Bowling Green, KY — people who have good life experience, wisdom, financial sense, and a heart for helping others. These Dream Managers meet with and coach willing Blue Cotton employees every month for one hour, helping them identify and pursue their dreams.
“I’m thoroughly enjoying getting to work with your people. I’m not surprised, but really blown away at how remarkable each of them are. It feels good there.” – Marissa, Dream Manager
So why is Blue Cotton, a custom screenprinting and embroidery company, helping our employees reach their dreams? A few years ago, we realized that offering a fantastic customer experience is only half the journey — we wanted to be fanatical about the employee experience as well.
We believe that this isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s the human thing to do. If we help our people reach their dreams, they’ll be happier, content, and more fulfilled. They’ll be more ambitious and creative. So the real question is, why isn’t every company striving to do this?
Too often, the employer-employee relationship is transactional. Companies expect employees to come to work, do the job, and get paid. Employees expect companies to provide good jobs, security, and opportunity. But humans were not created to be transactional; they were created to be relational. And it is only through relationships that the highest pursuits can be attained.
“I had a really good first meeting with Travis on Thursday. We got to know each other and started talking through some dream ideas for the goals and ideas I mentioned to him. I’ve worked for a lot of companies, and not many would offer something like this to their employees. I really appreciate it. I’m looking forward to working more with Travis and making progress on these long-term goals. Thanks again for the opportunity.” – Lewis, Dreamer
We want Blue Cotton to be the best custom T-shirt business in America. We want to offer the highest-quality products, whether that be embroidered hats, polos, jackets, tote bags, etc. We want to offer the fastest turnaround times, delivering shirts in as little as a day. We strive for world-class customer service. But we can only achieve these pursuits if our people are engaged, ambitious, creative, and happy.
It’s our dream to do just that for our people.