Issue link: https://nbm.uberflip.com/i/1488543
G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3 • G R A P H I C S P R O 4 1 steal anyone's artwork! It is perfectly okay to find designs on the internet and use them for inspiration, but please do not steal other people's work, as it will end up hurting your reputation and business. Be involved locally Another recommendation I have is to work closely with local schools. In these uncertain times, businesses may cut back, but schools will always have sports sea- sons. We have grown our business expo- nentially by providing uniforms and fan- wear. We build our own online stores and offer the products to all the fans. We even mark them up a little so we can give some of the profits to the team. Coaches love that, trust me! It also makes it easier to sell. We do all of the work, but the coaches get to put some of the money into their fund-raising accounts. Take care of your clients Lastly, I would like to talk about cus- tomer service. is is the most important part of my business. My staff and I take great pride in the service we provide. If you can out-service your competition, the rest is pretty easy. I get to charge a little more than my competitors because we work so hard for our customers. Here are some of my rules for good customer service: • Never go home until you have returned all phone messages and emails, even if it's just to let someone know you received their message and will get back to them very soon. Quite often, I get a message back thanking me for the prompt reply. People really appreciate that! • Never miss a deadline. We sometimes have to work all night to keep our word, but it makes a difference. Always under- promise and over-deliver. e other way around will ruin your business. With today's shipping situation, this is harder than ever. So, we are asking our customers for more time to complete jobs. • A lways make your customers feel important. Let them know you appreci- ate them. Always get the last "thank you" and never follow it with "you're welcome." I take great pride in the fact that my cus- tomers become my friends. It's just the way I run my business. If you are in my store more than once, I will remember your name and make it a point to bring you into our world. We love the relation- ships we have made over the years. Loyalty is the key to success — it means more than money to me. With loyalty, you will always have a great customer base. So take care of your customers, and don't be afraid to befriend them! • Always strive for the best product pos- sible. We take great pride in the quality of our work. It doesn't take a lot of extra work to be perfect. For example, make sure your registration is perfect. One of my pet peeves is pin holes. Every employee I have ever had over the last 28 years has come back to visit, and they all say the same thing: "You have ruined it for me; I cannot buy a T-shirt without checking it for pin holes. And if it has them, I will not buy it." It's funny, but it makes me proud that we have instilled quality control into our operation. We all know finding good help is a struggle these days. Invest in the ones that you have, and make sure they share the same passion that you do for quality. It will make you money. GP One of the biggest challenges I had start- ing out was figuring out how to do all the different things needed to run a success- ful business. Screen printing, embroidery, stickers, banners, awards, etc. Choose from 18-, 30-, 54- and 78-inch wide models. Quickly add one or multiple heating chambers and extend the conveyor belt to multiply capacity in direct proportion to each module added. Vastex LittleRed XD-Series dryers rocket ink temps up to 320°F in the first several inches of conveyor travel and hold at-cure temps longer for the highest possible rates. Cure 185+ garments/hr DTG printed with white ink, 555+ with pretreatment or screen printed water-based ink or discharge, or 1080+ screen printed with plastisols. ALL DTG INKS & PRETREATMENT & ALL SCREEN PRINTED INKS & DISCHARGE —WAY FASTER, USING LESS ENERGY +1-610-625-2702 SALES@VASTEX.COM VASTEX.COM KK-0301 Lo-E uses 20% less energy! NEW! NEW!