Every so often, I like to go through the drawers of my tool chest in the barn and take an inventory of things. I’m not talking about an extensive certified public accounting inventory, but just a look around to see what I already have that I might have forgotten existed. I’ll usually find multiples of things that I forgot I had or that I have never used but bought anyway because of my “I might need that someday” syndrome. A tool review accomplishes a couple of things: First, it keeps me on track when I wander into retail la-la land at the home improvement store. Secondly, it reminds me of things I know needed fixing or mending that have been waiting around until I found the perfect tool for finally getting a “round tuit.” A Tool Review of Your Print Business I apply this tool review concept in my print business as well. From digital tools to hardware to equipment, I like to run everything through a series of questions: What do I have that I am not using? What can I use it for? Am I ever going to use it? What was I going to use it for
Getting your print business found online can be a struggle. Fortunately, some tools and solutions can make it easier than ever. One such tool is Google My Business. What is Google My Business? Google My Business (GMB) gives your print business a free business profile on Google’s search page. To find your Business Profile, search for “my business” on Google. GMB allows you to list your business location on Google Maps and local search results. You can display important information about your business, including the opening/closing times, contact details, or a link to your website. And you can also manage multiple profiles. Google My Business provides your print business with a wealth of benefits, including: Local SEO Collecting reviews Business info directly from the search engine Marketing and communication tool Google My Business Insights and its benefits for analytics Free of cost Ease of Use The Many Benefits of Google My Busines For Your Print Business Let’s dive into some benefits of Google My Business a little further. 1. Better Visibility Simply verifying your business with Google will increase your chances of visibility, but you’ll want to make sure your info is accurate and engaging. Update all the print products
When I was younger, I coined the phrase: “If you ain’t living on the edge, you’ve got too much room!” Now that I have matured a bit, I prefer a little more cushion or “wiggle room,” if you will. But that being said, if I don’t stretch myself from time to time, I become inelastic… if that’s a word (my spellcheck didn’t put any wavy lines under it, so I am going with it being an actual word). When I’m inelastic, I become set in my ways, and rigor-mortis takes hold over the different aspects of my life. The other day I was talking with an occupational therapist and inquiring about what they do exactly. The best I could gather, they help people stretch an injured (and then repaired) part of their body to build up strength in it again and make it more usable — the way it was created to be. You can apply this simple wisdom of remaining stretchable in your personal and business life, as well as your physical life, in a lot of different ways, including: Do something you haven’t done in a while or something new. Purchase a little something for your significant other,
In my last contributor blog, I wrote about my battle with Trigeminal Neuralgia and the 3 Lessons I Learned from Brain Surgery that Could Benefit Your Print Business. Now, you’d think I’d only get to share a story like that once in my lifetime. But, at the time of this writing, I’ve been home for three days after a 13-day stint in the hospital battling COVID pneumonia. Nine of those thirteen days were spent in the COVID isolation unit. I couldn’t see anyone except for the medical staff that looked like they walked off the set of Contagion or The Martian in their clean suits. While in the hospital, four more of the MI4P staff were also battling COVID, and although they didn’t get hit as hard, they’re still facing the lingering effects head-on. As I walked into the emergency room that Sunday afternoon, I had no idea my world would be turned upside down over the next two weeks. And, therein, lies my point. Have you ever considered how you’ll handle the unexpected at your business? Are you ready for it? While it’s impossible to lay out a contingency plan for every possible scenario, there is one thing I’m
Have you ever had a phrase or cliché that just grated on you? You know, sayings like, “It is what it is,” “Only time will tell,” or “Every cloud has a silver lining”? For me, it’s the infamous “Enjoy the journey.” For some reason, whenever I hear that little nugget of so-called wisdom, my inner self just seems to roll its eyes. I don’t want to enjoy the journey. I just want to get there! As a natural planner and implementer, I see the start of a project, the finish, and for the most part, am pretty good at mapping out all of the in-between stepping stones to get there. But, here’s the rub. At some point, I began to equate success with “getting there,” wherever “there” may be. I thought that when a project was completed, a goal was met, or a new product was launched, then I could put a big ol’ checkmark in the box of success. You see, many of us tend to think that success is some sort of arrival point and, as such, constantly measure things by how finished they are. But how many things in life or in your print business actually stay
Has your world recently been filled with clichés like these: “Tough times don’t last, tough people do.” “This, too, shall pass.” “Every cloud has a silver lining.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t need clichés right now. I need some real breakthroughs. As Harry Truman once said, “The only thing new in the world is the history we don’t know.” Tough times have been happening from the beginning of time, and you know what? They all come to an end eventually and a new season begins. Instead of tossing around clichés, how about anticipating, dreaming, and planning for that new season that is coming? How about inspiring your print buyers to do the same? Now is the time that you can be a leader for them and help guide them to success through your messaging. Below are three examples of recent email messages I’ve sent to my clients during this time of COVID-19 that I hope you can use and personalize for your clients as well. I want all print buyers to be ready for the next season, waiting in anticipation for the word GO! Email: A New (Better) “V” Word Isn’t it interesting the language that is
Next week, you might be one of the many printers passing through the Houston airport as you arrive for the 8th Annual Spring Conference for the National Print Owners Association (NPOA). I thought you might find it interesting to know that as you head over to claim your luggage at the baggage claim, you’re experiencing the result of some creative problem-solving. The Problem With Waiting Several years ago, passengers passing through the Houston airport often complained about how much time they had to wait to claim their bags. Airport management was concerned that the number of complaints was excessive, and as any good customer-focused business would do, executives at the Houston airport addressed the issue head-on. The Conventional Solution Additional baggage handlers were added, and the average time to wait for passengers to claim their luggage fell to eight minutes, which was a wait time well within accepted airport benchmarks. Problem solved! Or was it? Even with the reduced wait time, the complaints kept coming. The airport executives found they needed to explore the problem from a completely different angle. So, they zoomed out their perspective on the wait-time issue and learned that while the baggage typically arrived at the
A long time ago (back when my dad and I were the only “employees” of our family printshop), it wasn’t hard to figure out that if we wanted to make the money, we had to do the work. However, as any successful business grows, there is only so much you can do with your own two hands and feet, and soon, it became necessary to begin to add team members. As I started “recruiting” talent, I realized that I didn’t have much to offer in the way of benefits compared to the bigger, more established companies. I found myself hiring the folks that couldn’t keep a job because of whatever personal baggage that kept them from performing well at any company. Because I only had a paycheck to offer them, we became a revolving door for that type of talent. But then, I remembered an entrepreneurship class I took in high school that taught that benefits that matter most aren’t always limited to the usual health insurance, 401k, or other programs. I did some deep thinking about what would make me perform better if I were in their shoes and began offering some different benefits than my competition. Here are
Recently, I met a lady at a Chamber of Commerce event, and we hit it off. A while later, I saw her again, and she mentioned that she saw my banner on a fence at a local high school near her house. I asked her if she drives by the school often, and she let me know that she passes it every day, multiple times. She was shocked when I told her that the banner she mentioned had been there for almost a year before she had seen it. You may think that the lady lacked observation skills, and while that may be true, I bet we’ve all had similar experiences in our life if we really think about it. Recognizing Your Brand Think back to a time your printing company sponsored an event of some kind. When you went to look at the list of sponsors, it probably went something like this: You immediately saw your company first. Then, you glanced at all of the other companies you recognized. Lastly, there were the logos you didn’t recognize and didn’t even give them a second glance. Shallow? Not Likely. Does that order of brand recognition happen because we’re all shallow
Have you ever heard of “Bacon’s Law” or “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”? This popular trivia game is based on the idea of six degrees of separation, or in other words, that “any two people on Earth are six or fewer acquaintance links apart.” After 30+ years in business, six degrees of separation for me has become more like two degrees of separation, where friends (or contacts of friends) have become clients, and customers have become friends. This two-degree network has never been as noticeable to me as it is now in my local area of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Even though the population of Pittsburgh and the surrounding metro area reaches over 2.3 million people, every day I get to foster the connections that earn me the label “local printer.” The Mixing of Business and Personal After many years of building these relationships, I’ve begun to notice personal and business getting closer together and harder to differentiate. But, in my opinion, that is a good thing! It makes our professional lives as printers more enjoyable when our customers become our friends, and the people from our lives outside of work begin to ask us to help with their printing needs. Here’s