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Have you ever gone on a road trip without a plan? I’m talking no destination, no starting place, no clothes for any particular climate… really, no plan at all. The kind of road trip where you get in the car and start driving, figuring out which direction to head as you go. Unless you are a true “free spirit,” I imagine this would be pretty unusual. Yet more and more, I meet business owners with no idea where they’re heading with their business. Instead of having a plan, these business owners keep coming into the office and putting out fires, doing whatever they do every day, hoping for new orders and new customers to come in. Busy Vs. Productive: There’s a Difference If I’m being honest, and I am, this describes how my dad and I ran our business in the early days of Brandywine Printing. We were super busy all the time, but we weren’t always happy with the work we were doing. We didn’t realize that if we could just get organized, we would be able to accomplish more with less effort, and our “busyness” would be productive and, therefore, more profitable. But as the saying goes, “You

“Hey, you, look at me! Can’t you see how great I am? I am the best there is. You’d be a fool to work with anyone but me and my business, for we are THE BEST.” Ugh. Insert eye-roll here. Most people actively avoid those who exude an attitude like this. But, have you ever noticed that many business owners think it’s ok to market their business this way? They seem to miss the truth that messages like these, with their know-it-all attitudes, are cringe-worthy whether they come from the neighbor down the street or a business trying to market itself. Owning a business doesn’t give anyone an excuse to be an all-about-me marketer. No one likes a glory hog, and this includes your print buyers. Many companies fail to recognize that marketing actually works best as a supporting role. If you want your marketing to be effective, it needs to play the background, not take center stage. Every Story Has a Hero. Who’s Yours? In every story, there’s a hero and there’s a guide. Think about this: in The Lord of the Rings, Frodo had Gandalf. In The Hunger Games, Katniss had Haymitch. And, of course, in Star Wars,

I like talking to people to find out what makes them tick. Why? Because people are interesting. When you learn what motivates a person to get up in the morning, what brings them joy or makes them light up, you get to communicate on a whole different level than just simple conversation. This new level of communication is where connections are made, loyalties are formed, and relationships are built. And business is all about relationships. After all, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know, right? While it’s always good to know things, your wealth of knowledge shouldn’t come at the expense of getting to know people – especially the people you want to do business with. In his book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” Stephen Covey understood the heart behind business relationships when he said, “Seek first to understand and then to be understood.” When you connect with people at this level, they know you care about them more than just a transaction. Relationships Beat Transactions Every Time Transactions happen with institutions; relationships happen with people. There’s a misconception in the business world that the purpose of forming relationships is to sell something. This couldn’t be

Print owners are some of the toughest people on the planet. Get to know a few, and you’ll quickly find undaunted passion, unwavering integrity, time-tested grit, and a deep love for small business and their families. But as any entrepreneur knows, owning a business isn’t all sunshine and roses. There are times when the high highs are met with low lows, discontentment creeps in, and the motivation to keep going starts to dry up. Here are a handful of motivation killers you have most likely or will most likely face and what you can do to overcome them. 1. An Unhealthy Mindset First things first, your mindset is everything because your motivation battle begins and ends here. How you think about the world affects everything you do in it. Think about this: When your goal is to go on a diet, but you pass by that display case of donuts, your mind does two things. It sends you both a list of justifications as to why you deserve a donut and how one little donut won’t hurt you, and it reminds you of your diet goals. The fastest way to kill your motivation is to let that voice of justifications become

If you hop on social media for even a few minutes, chances are, you’ll see inspirational quotes and quips flying past your fingertips as fast as those chocolate candies Lucy and Ethel were trying so desperately to wrap. Consider this well-known quote by Maya Angelou: “If you’re going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can’t be erased.” But what if you read that quote, and instead of feeling inspired, you feel defeated or question if your mark on the world even makes a difference? If this is you, you’re not alone. Most entrepreneurs struggle with these types of feelings in one way or another, and it’s not all bad. These self-reflective feelings often lead business owners back to the drawing board to create better work or spur them on to pursue better goals. So how about you? Have you given any thought to the legacy your print business is leaving? Today is the day to remember that what you do matters and how you can make a difference with your print business. 4 Ways You Can Make an Impact as a Print Company Owner 1. Keep Money Circulating in Your Community With every sale made

Ah… What a beautiful time of year! It’s the season of counting our blessings and spreading thankfulness and gratitude. So why am I so tired of feeling invisible? The other day I checked out at Walmart with an actual human checker. Even though I stood at the checkout for a while, the checker didn’t look up at me once or say a single word to me — not even to tell me my order total. Then, there was my recent trip to McDonald’s. I stood at the front counter waiting for someone to take my order, only to be yelled at by an employee from behind a wall somewhere that I was supposed to use the order kiosk. I don’t understand service like this, during the holiday season or any time of the year. Shouldn’t I, as the customer, be the center of your attention at that moment, even if it’s just enough to look me in the eye, ask me how my day is, or even to say hello? Situations like these are why I truly believe that today’s business success stories will be from those companies that know how to love people in one or all of the ways

If you’ve been in an Adobe product as of late, you may have seen warnings flash on your screen telling you the end is near for Type 1 fonts. But what’s the deal? Should you be worried? While it’s not a fontpocalypse, it is worth paying attention to and may require action on your part before Type 1 fonts are completely removed in 2023. Here’s what you need to know. What are Type 1 Fonts? Type 1 fonts (also known as PostScript, PS1, T1, Adobe Type 1, Multiple Master, or MM) were developed in 1984 to encode vector-based design into a specific file format. Or, in other words, the purpose of these fonts was for professional typesetting. The vector technology of these fonts helped create and ensure the print quality that publications desired. At the time, Adobe only had two types of fonts, respectfully labeled after their internal specifications as Type 1 and Type 3 fonts. Type 1 originally contained 13 base fonts initially reserved as Adobe-only, while Type 3 was intended for more general use. In 1991, Apple was fed up with the hierarchy of Adobe-imposed limitations and decided to go their own way as Apple often does. They

As the world continues to feel the climate of change, it reminds me of a story that Zig Ziglar used to tell that I’m sure you’re all familiar with. A man’s wife sent him to the store to buy a ham. The man brings the ham home and his wife instantly notices and comments that he didn’t have the end of the ham cut off. “Why do we want the end of the ham cut off?” the man asks. To which, his wife replies, “I cut the end of the ham off because my mother cut the end of the ham off.” Still baffled, the man goes into the living room and asks his mother-in-law why she had the end of the ham cut off. “I cut the end of the ham off because my mother cut the end of the ham off,” says the mother-in-law. The man decides he must have an answer now and immediately gets on the phone. “Grandma, I just have to know,” he says. “Why did you always cut the end of the ham off?” Grandma pauses for a minute and then replies matter-of-factly, “I cut the end of the ham off because my roaster

I have kind of an odd question for you: Who’s the biggest jerk in your sphere of influence right now? Does your mind immediately picture a recent bad-tempered customer or an unrelenting vendor? Or maybe it’s an employee, neighbor, or that “blast from your past” on social media? As I pondered this question myself recently, I came to an eye-opening realization. The biggest jerk in my sphere of influence is ME! Surprised? Trust me. I was too. But, let me explain how I came to that conclusion and some valuable things I learned, particularly one word that is changing everything. Don’t You See What I See? I’ve had a series of marketing consult calls lately with some printing business owners. All of these conversations have included statements from incredible men and women that sounded similar to this: “I know this marketing stuff is important, but I’m just not good at marketing.” “I really see a need from my print buyers for _____, but we don’t sell _____.” “We just put up a new website, but no one is coming to it.” On each of these calls, I listened to these printers adamantly express what they weren’t good at, what they

If you were to ask small business owners what they want to be known for, most of them wouldn’t say what their business does. Well, at least not completely. Instead, there’s a good chance that you’d hear them say things like: “Integrity… and being the best dentist in town.” “Honesty… and the fastest free shipping company.” “Commitment… and one-to-one consulting services.” Have you ever wondered why that is? Because just about every human being on the planet (including small business and print owners) wants to leave their mark on the world and be known for more than what they “do.” Instead, most want to focus on the attributes that highlight the “who” of their company to build their legacy on. And that’s where Core Values come into play. Core values will help show the world that you’re bigger than what you do. Building the Heart of Your Print Company Your core values make up the foundation on which your business is built and represent the very heart of your company. Done right, your core values will be a handful of rules or principles that act as your compass, or better yet, your mirror, to show you exactly who your business

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