What it takes to grow
Running and growing a business is an ever developing and a learning process. After thirteen years of learning how to start and grow a business without any formal training or education I have come to understand that development and learning costs a business leader two things: time and money. The key is to first understand that this is a fact, not a recommendation, and to second learn how to make smarter investments of each.
How it typically goes
The typical entrepreneur’s journey goes like this (I know because I was one and this is how mine went). You find a need, developed a market, and start rolling in the business, but all of a sudden you find out it’s not that easy. As your business and team starts to grow, mistakes start to happen, mistakes that cost money. Smart business leaders learn from these mistakes and make incremental changes to their business model to avoid them in the future. This is a proven and viable way to grow a business and develop as a leader, as long as you continue to learn, modify, and grow – but it is time consuming and costly. A mistake not only costs money – it costs time, it costs opportunity, and it costs your future. If your business cannot deliver on a promise because of an amateur mistake, the client relationship is damaged and possibly ruined. But as a business matures its processes that have been developed over time, these mistakes will be minimized and the business’s potential will be maximized.
How it could go
In order for entrepreneurs and business leaders to circumvent large portions of this learning curve, they must invest their time in learning from others, from their own mistakes, and from the changes they have already made. Being proactive about learning, investing time and money upfront, and making those incremental changes to your business, before a mistake forces your hand, allows you to grow faster, have better customer retention, and gain more profits along the way. The trick is finding the forums and the methods to gain this knowledge. Going to school for four years plus a 2 year MBA program isn’t for everyone – I know it’s not for me – but even if you do there is still actual business experience to be learned in the field. The more forums and opportunities you can find related your type of business, the better your path for success. Let the companies that have gone before you enable your growth.
Power the press smarter!
The screen printing industry is full of info on how to screen print but drastically lacking information and resources on how to start, grow, market, and develop the business side of the business. 8 years ago when Ross Hunter and his partner David from Reviation Industries became our first Screen Print Experience partner, teaching classes for Ryonet in southern California, they offered a one day optional business course following the class. It was always Ross’s dream to expand this to an entire weekend on a large scale. The Power The Press Seminar is that dream come to fruition, and to my knowledge, the first of it’s kind in the industry. A power packed weekend full of great knowledge on business development, marketing, and scaling as well as ton of fun and connections with industry experts and fellow screen printers.
Find out more info and sign up for the Power The Press event on the event site www.powerthepress.com.
No matter what, keep Powering The Print!
The post Power The Press! Growing A Smart Screen Printing Business appeared first on Ryonet Blog.