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A W A R D S & C U S T O M I Z AT I O N 6 0 G R A P H I C S P R O S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 1 G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M M A K I N G S U B L I M A T I O N M O V E S | H O W A R D P O T T E R MAKING SUBLIMATION MOVES WITH SOFTWARE REAL-LIFE EXAMPLES OF WHY SOFTWARE IS CRUCIAL TO EFFICIENT BUSINESS PRACTICES M any people over the past 15-plus years have discovered the sublimation process and started a business focused on it. I personally started 18 years ago — the first pro- cess we offered in-house was sublimation when most had no clue what it was. As you learn the process of sublimation, you also learn the process of running and growing a business. This is where hav- ing software can really be a game changer for any size business. FROM THE BEGINNING Back when we first started our company from our home, we had no clue what the plan was or the true potential for growth in our line of work. It was a hobby that quickly turned into a legitimate business being taken seriously within two years as word caught on in our area to what we produced. It all started from a 14' X 14' spare room in our home, which is not much space. Between my wife Amanda and I, along with my father-in-law Clayton helping, we all worked full-time jobs and kept the sublimation orders going. Back then the only software I used was Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and QuickBooks. I did all of the artwork in my graphic design soft- ware along with writing up how-to packets. We used QuickBooks to pay bills, invoice customers, and it allowed me to track our sales and overall numbers for our business. After the first three years, we purchased more equipment and took on a 12' X 12' office space we had out back of our house. We realized we were running out of room, but the equipment was not the main reason we knew this. It was using the QuickBooks software that allowed us to track our monthly and yearly sales trends, and allowed us to create our projection of what next year's sales could be. Thanks to the software and our customers, we knew it was time to get our company out of our home, and that is just what we did. THE CHECKLIST We went from our home to an actual business plaza with 700 square feet with potential to expand. We kept the same format using our graphics software and QuickBooks. The only thing I did differently was make production lineups by hand for the next three years, which wasn't bad until the seventh year in business and we had five to six staff members, product coming in daily, as well as rush orders. By the time my wife left her full-time job to come on board, I was going in at 3 a.m. to handle lineups and quoting customers before the crew came in. My wife was not happy with that and did some Our old paper form we filled out to set up orders for bulk school jobs, etc. (All images courtesy How- ard Potter) is not much space. Between my wife Amanda and I, along with my father-in-law Clayton helping, we all worked full-time jobs and kept the sublimation orders going. Back then the only software I used was Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and QuickBooks. I did all of the artwork in my graphic design soft ware along with writing up how-to packets. We used QuickBooks to pay bills, invoice customers, and it allowed me to track our sales and overall numbers for our business. equipment and took on a 12' X 12' office space we had out back of our house. We realized we were running out of room, but the equipment was not the main reason we knew this. It was using the QuickBooks software that allowed us to track our monthly and yearly sales trends, and allowed us to create our projection of what next year's sales could be. Thanks to the software and our customers, we knew it was time to get our company out of our home, and that is just what we did. We went from our home to an actual business plaza with 700 square feet with potential to expand. We kept the same format using our graphics software and QuickBooks. The only thing I did differently was make production lineups by hand for the next three years, which wasn't bad until the seventh year in business and we had five to six staff members, product coming in daily, as well as rush orders. on board, I was going in at 3 a.m. to handle lineups and quoting customers before the crew came in. Our old paper form we filled out to set up orders for bulk school jobs, etc. (All images courtesy How-