Wow! What an amazing weekend we had in Chicago for PrintHustlers Conf 2018. It was great to see our community come together for a weekend of collaboration and fun. All the talks were action packed with tangibles and great takeaways. In case you missed it, or want to build off the energy from the weekend here is a quick recap! Videos will follow:
Day 1
Talk 1: Matt Williams – Martin Agency
We learned from a marketing expert and former CEO outside our industry about building your brand from within. Matt had extensive experience working on large marketing campaigns that developed the Geico Brand. Matt challenged us to evaluate our brand by using ruthless exclusion.
He really dove into making sure you think about every experience as apart of your brand. How people answer the phones, write back to emails, deal with customers, your website, business cards, etc. Each interaction is a function of your brand and creates the full experience.
You can connect with Matt on Linkedin or on his Twitter!
Talk 2: Jeff Meilander – Redwall Prints
Bruce hosted Jeff for a Q&A to discuss growth from his Wisconsin based garage shop to a 100,000 sq foot contract printing facility. Jeff gave the group best practices for scaling a business and taught us about some of the challenges you face from taking a small business to a large business. We learned about employee management, buying equipment, and how to handle quality control when contract printing for others. Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn
Talk 3: Bruce Ackerman: Printavo, Founder – Technology In Your Shop
Bruce chimed in with a great presentation on technology must-haves in your shop. Specifically, Bruce touched on tools like
Talk 4: George Wojciechowski: ShipBob, Co-Founder – Fulfillment
ShipBob, a fast-growing startup, came to us to discuss fulfillment for growing business like ours. George discussed why moving to a fulfillment service like Shipbob and using their powerful technology might be the right move for screen printers, eliminating the logistical hassle of shipping and packaging. Want to learn more? Connect with George on Linkedin
Talk 5: Shelby Craig: Rocket Shirts, Owner – Online Advertising
LET’S MAKE MONEY! Shelby hit us with energy, passion, and takeaways for online advertising. Shelby gave the group tangible takeaways for running different Facebook campaigns. Shelby gave us real advice on the do’s and don’ts for creating ads, generating engagement, and most importantly clicks that turn into $$. Want real marketing help for your business, Email Shelby and he can help.
Talk 6: Kevin Baumghart : Hireology, VP of Business Development – Sales & Training
Another out of industry talk sparked much interest in hiring the right way. Often times us printers don’t look at the hiring process the correct way and Kevin went through the strategic process necessary to hire successful employees. Kevin gave his best practices for the types of interviews to conduct, and how to promote employee success early in the hiring process. Read more best practices at Kevin’s website or connect with him via Linkedin.
Talk 7: The Becker Family: Jersey Ink – Culture & Your Shop
The family duo, Sue, Christina and Dan Becker from Jersey Ink In PA talked about the dynamic they strive for in their shop. From bbq’s to employee events, culture in your shop is everything. The group shared other best practices they do like taking employees away from the shop to develop a sense of family in the business. Connect with Christina to learn more.
Talk 8: Adam Cook: Printavo – Getting The Most Out Of New Hires
Adam Cook, Onboarding Lead at Printavo has been an integral part of the growth at Printavo. More importantly, he specializes in onboarding employees and has touched thousands of shops working with Printavo. Adam taught us his best practices for training new employees and the detailed process necessary to retain staff. We learned about the first week of training and 30/60/90 day follow up necessary to create success in your business with new employees. Connect with Adam through email!
Talk 9: Matt Marcotte: T & J Printing Supply – Cross Training & Industry Trends
Matt
Day 2
Talk 1: Steven Farag, Campus Ink – Automation In My Shop
I led day 2 off with a talk on automation. We covered automation off the presses, meaning ways to automate the customer experience, order input, art approvals, and post job action. The talk was mainly focused on creating a strong workflow, and creating a system that can work autonomously, liberating you, the owner from the day
Talk 2: Ryan Moor, Ryonet Founder – Dreams, Goals & Habits
Ryan gave us a fantastic presentation on personal goalkeeping, and how to create a goal board that constantly reminds your short and long-term goals. Ryan gave us an entertaining musical performance that supported his points on habit building and creating keystone cues that build habit into our daily lives. Ryan concluded with a real-life story that came full circle in his career as a father, founder of one of the largest supply companies of screenprinting and creator of
Talk 3: Bruce Ackerman: Printavo Founder – Printavo Roadmap
Bruce gave the group a detailed roadmap of the initiatives that Printavo will be focusing on in the next year. He opened up the floor to questions from the group and new ideas were sprung from the healthy conversation. The new year will be exciting with a growing team of engineers that will release features ready to take us to the next level.
Talk 4: Justin Moore: Barrel Maker Printing Owner – Managing Time While Growing Your Shop
From making baby apparel in his kitchen to growing one of the largest shops in the Chicagoland area, Justin went through hurdles that he faced while growing his business. Justin focused on developing a strategy as an owner to spend time on things he wanted to spend time on and pushing other tasks to staff while still holding his standards of quality in his company. Justin brought back his slide from 2017 that read, “What if we train them and they quit? What if we don’t and they stay?” This powerful message reminds shop owners that pushing your staff to succeed is the key to being happy in your business. Justin also mentioned that as an owner, it is important to stay close to the finances and recommended the book Profit First to the group. Email Justin to learn more.
Talk 5: Justin Lawrence: Oklahoma Shirt Company – Shirts as a Subscription
Justin gave us a very powerful message and story from one day deciding to be a doctor, to the next day growing a multimillion-dollar shirt subscription company in Oklahoma. He went through the very basics and logistics required to run a successful subscription company, and the growing pains he faces expanding it to other states. Justin reminded the group of the power we have as artists to influence our communities and deliver amazing products. Email Justin to learn more.
Talk 6: Piotr Biegaj: Printavo, Engineering Lead – Tech At Printavo
The talk we were all waiting for, the formal announcement and demo of Printavo Merch! While Piotr discussed how he has expanded his engineering team at Printavo to make the site faster and stronger for us, he also spent the majority of his time passionately demonstrating how Printavo Merch will work. We were all more than excited, to say the least, and can’t wait for its official launch!
While these talks were incredible and the learning from the conference made leaps and bounds from 2017, the connections that were made are special. All of us left the conference energized and ready for a new year with new ideas, and new friends. We can’t wait for 2019
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