I came into the Print Industry expectedly but unexpectedly. I say this because I’d actually signed up to start a course in Mechanical Engineering but changed my mind last minute and opted for an HND in Print Management at Glasgow College of Building and Printing. With my Step Father being involved in the printing industry for many years, I guess I knew deep down I would follow a similar path albeit he was from a reprographics background and that area back in the ’90s was already seeing vast changes due to the introduction of new digital technology.
I started with my first print firm back in 1998 as an Estimator, then into production. It was a great opportunity to learn the basics of each department and how it operated but my eye was always drawn to sales and the awfully nice cars the reps had back in those days. I got my chance to look after some of the smaller company accounts and there was no going back from there.
By 2004 I’d created a taste for entrepreneurship and with the support of a few good clients, I decided to go it alone and set up my own Print Management company. The first few years went great, I’d replaced my salary, was back driving my nice car again and life was great, that was until the recession hit in 2008. I lost 2 of my biggest clients in a matter of 10 days, took on bad debt, and before I knew it, my 1st business was over. It obviously still leaves a bad taste in my mouth talking about it but I learned some extremely valuable lessons that will stick with me for the rest of my life. I’d love to say that I knew it all after that experience however I went on to make many other poor decisions and learned even bigger lessons. What I love about the position I am in now is that I can share these lessons with you and prevent you from doing the same.
As the years went on I created a new online brand, franchised the business, and eventually moved from being a broker to bringing production in-house. You guessed it! A tonne more lessons to be learned there too! Following the passing of my step-father in 2013, I scaled the business back and ultimately sold up to join forces with Tradeprint in 2016, part of one of the largest print groups in the world. This was a great opportunity to work within a corporate environment and learn the systems and processes to run a print organization at scale.
Following 3 years with Tradeprint, it was time to move on. I think it’s always difficult to work for someone else once you’ve been self-employed for so long however I didn’t want to just go back to running my own print company. I’d done this already and it was time for something new. As such, The Online Print Coach was born. I wanted to take all my learnings, my knowledge, and experience to help other print business owners and hopefully save them from going through some of the challenges I did. I have a huge passion for sales, marketing, and creating new systems and processes to help businesses run more effectively and ultimately support you, the business owner to achieve your goals. If you’d like to have a brief informal chat about how I can help you, please get in touch and we can arrange a call.
I’ve been in your shoes so I know how it feels!
I’ve worked with small and large print companies.
I know what works and what doesn’t!
I’ve learned the lessons so you don’t have to!