

Printavo PrintHustlers Podcast
Printavo
Discover amazing stories & lessons from fellow shop owners and industry leaders. Hosted by Bruce Ackerman and Steven Farag
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 23, 2020 • 10min
Screen Printing Never Expected This: Interviewing Noreast Apparel Before & After The Crisis
We talk to Dave Quigley from Noreast Apparel in Lowell, MA about screen printing in 2020. The bulk of this interview was filmed in January 2020 at Impressions Expo Long Beach – but it features an intro from April 2020 looking back after the crisis. We ask Dave about his business, his strategy for getting customers, and much more – and his candid answers will surprise you and make you think.
What was Dave most excited in the screen printing industry heading into 2020? "The events, the industry, meeting people, learning. I got stuck behind a screen or a press. [...] I'm excited to lean in to the industry a little bit." Instead of events, Dave managed to raise more than $20,000 for local businesses in Massachusetts using Printavo Merch's simple online stores.
Noreast Apparel prints simple, vivid designs on great shirts at the right price, then splits the proceeds with restaurants, breweries, gyms, cafes and other local businesses. Even wilder...his Printavo account is number 80! He's one of the very first Printavo users.
Here's Dave's amazing Instagram post about his ideal Saturday in Lowell, MA: https://www.instagram.com/p/B-AxJVpn_nL/
Try Printavo: https://www.printavo.com
Check out Printavo Merch: https://www.printavo.com/merch
Follow us on Instagram for all of the latest updates: https://www.instagram.com/printavo

Apr 22, 2020 • 39min
A Conversation About Mental Health With Jonny Boucher & Rowboat Creative 1
Leadership during a crisis is the difference between a permanent catastrophe and a temporary speed bump. But what do leaders do if their mental health is suffering? Hope For The Day’s Johnny Boucher has elevated the conversation around mental health to a new level through outreach, education, and action. In this wide-ranging conversation, Printavo’s Bruce Ackerman hosts Rowboat Creative (Lucas Guariglia and Joe Zangrilli) alongside Campus Ink (Steven Farag) to talk with Johnny Boucher about mental health for screen print shops.
Hope For The Day: https://www.hftd.org
They discuss why small business owners are suffering so much right now. Steven Farag says, “Small business owners are lonely, stubborn, unemployable...that’s why we work for ourselves!” But since there’s so little structure, small business owners have to take on so many responsibilities. Johnny Boucher’s idea is simple: “Whether you have 10 people or 350,000 people, you have to lead. That means setting yourself up for success right now.”
Johnny’s path to success originates in a well-define routine. “Getting up at 5 AM each morning isn’t easy [...] but by 7 AM, I’ve done yoga, meditated, and gone on a walk with the dog and my wife.” With everyone’s routines disrupted, it’s hard to find a way to soldier on under new circumstances. Rowboat Creative’s Lucas Guariglia has weathered the storm in Charlotte, NC – 1,500 miles from his Chicago-based print shop. He adds: “The most productive routine is hard to find. Even when you detach, you’ll still think: Shouldn’t I be formulating a better plan? Shouldn’t I be doing something else?”
Even then, what is productivity under these circumstances? Events are canceled, and the majority of traditional screen print orders have come to a halt. Johnny urges business owners to take a realistic approach: “Understand you’re probably only really operating at 50 to 60% capacity...and that’s ok.”
Lucas noted the irony of this situation: “There’s less work that can actually happen, but we’re working more than we ever have before.” The things that caused distractions during normal circumstances are gone. There’s just the core functions left: work on your business.
“Control what you can, confirm what you can’t,” Johnny urges screen print shop owners. “Stay out of conversations you can’t control...they’re a waste of your time,” he adds. And definitely stay away from what Johnny calls the “24 hour news death cycle.”
Screen printing is a difficult path – there’s no question. Joe Zangrilli from Rowboat Creative recounted when he met Johnny Boucher: “He pulled me aside and got me to admit that things really weren’t ok. I’d spent 14 years with my head down, just working as hard as I could. I mean, I’m my own boss, and I wouldn’t even let myself go outside and take a walk around the block during the day.”
We’re all familiar with the unhealthy routine: drink coffee until 1 PM, then notice you haven’t had a single thing to eat and your eyes hurt from staring at a screen. “You’ve got to create an environment where you can thrive,” Johnny says. “We need to figure out out our own individual processes for ourselves in order to be productive right now.”
The conversation about mental health is a hard one. But now – more than ever – it’s one of the most important conversations we can have. Keep pushing, Print Hustlers.
Rowboat Creative: https://www.rowboatcreative.com
Campus Ink: https://www.campus.ink
Hope For The Day: https://www.hftd.org
Printavo: https://www.printavo.com
Check out Printavo Merch: https://www.printavo.com/merch
Follow us on Instagram for all of the latest updates: https://www.instagram.com/printavo

Apr 17, 2020 • 40min
This Screen Print Shop Raised More Than $15K To Help Chicago's Small Businesses: Lucky Prints
Lucky Prints in Chicago, IL has raised thousands of dollars for breweries, coffee roasters, gyms, hospitality, cafes and more. When this crisis hit, they immediately saw an 80% drop in custom orders. The industries Lucky Prints serves have been hit very hard by prolonged closures.
Lucky Prints already relied on deep partnerships with their customers. They're not interested in making a sale so much as making a relationship. "We looked at the tools in our toolkit and realized Printavo Merch was right there. It was like a lightbulb went off," Lucky Prints owner Adam Smith told us. Lucky Prints has been able to easily pitch stores to customers, with nearly 500 orders coming in during just a few weeks of sales.
Since online ordering and fulfillment is new for Lucky Prints, they've had to learn new skills and adapt. "It usually takes longer to fold, bag, tag and label a shirt than to print it," Adam pointed out, "So if you've never done that, it's time consuming. Budget that time accordingly and set expectations for the customers accordingly...we tell them it will take 2-3 weeks."
Not only has Lucky Prints emerged as a lifesaver to small businesses across Chicago, they've even had old clients and missed opportunities circle back during this time.
This interview is chock full of tips for running online stores in your screen print shop. You can maximize the impact you make right now by reaching out and providing a simple service – and keep your doors open in the process.
Check out Printavo Merch – it's the platform Lucky Prints is using right now: https://www.printavo.com/merch
Follow us on Instagram for all of the latest updates: https://www.instagram.com/printavo

Apr 10, 2020 • 6min
7 Tips for Screen Printers Doing Online Stores & Fundraisers
The only real sales outlet for screen printers right now? Online stores. Bulk custom orders – the traditional backbone of the industry – have dropped by more than 50% for thousands of print shops. That's why we wanted to share 7 tips we've learned from helping print shops across the US run thousands of online stores and collection millions of dollars in sales.
See example stores and get great marketing ideas here (must read): https://www.printavo.com/blog/7-tips-for-screen-printing-online-stores
1. Use great artwork to drive sales
Strong artwork is great marketing. Do you already know some artists? Get their help. Maybe raise money for them, if they're out of work!
2. Set up your stores to be profitable and easy to fulfill
Since you're in the driver's seat with Merch, you can control the choices customers have and the way you actually get them their order.
Note: we've got tons of tips and tricks for running successful online stores in our online stores guide. It's awesome: https://www.printavo.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-online-stores
3. Make your value proposition simple
They key here? Keep your value proposition simple. Something like: $10 per shirt sold! And we've already mocked up your shirts here: (include link to a quick logo mockup here).
4. Fewer choices equals more sales
Here's an amazing statistic: 85% of Merch stores that made more than $10,000 in sales had fewer than 9 items for sale.
5. Help your customers promote the store themselves
Lean on their existing goodwill to help market the stores. Tell them that it won't be successful without their active participation. People miss their local businesses and want to help!
6. Set realistic goals for your stores
As you work through your online store workflow, you'll want to give yourself room to grow.
7. Every new online store customer is an opportunity in the future
During checkout, customers need to enter their email address. You can collect this information and, when the time is right, do targeted advertising with it!
See example stores and get great marketing ideas here (must read): https://www.printavo.com/blog/7-tips-for-screen-printing-online-stores
Try Printavo Merch: https://www.printavo.com/merch
Follow us on Instagram for all of the latest updates: https://www.instagram.com/printavo

Apr 6, 2020 • 29min
Resetting Your Screen Printing Shop With Redding Company
Jodi Redding from Redding Company in New Braunfels, TX has turned screen printing and embroidery into his life’s second act. A husband-and-wife shop in the heart of Texas, Jodi says point-blank: “There’s a world before March 1st, 2020 – and a world after that.”
Yes, this is a scary and difficult time. But it’s also an opportunity. Jodi’s relentless positivity and constructive mindset is a model for how to maintain your well being despite an onslaught of daily challenges. “Customers are not going away. We’ve touched thousands of people in our community. They’re going to be here in 3 or 4 months. Schools are going to open again. And when they do, I want to be a better, and more organized, and more efficient company.”
What if this is a huge chance to dial in your printing business and spend time on things you always meant to do? “A lot of this is out of our control,” Jodi points out. “But I’ll probably never have this much time to stop my business and dive in from a financial, organizational, and profitability standpoint.” From identifying core customers to developing a laser-targeted marketing strategy, Jodi has plenty of projects to tackle while production has come to a halt.
Jodi uses the example of his production expenses as an improvement area: “If you spent $12,000 a month on supplies before this crisis, what if you get it down to $7,000 with the work you do right now? That money goes straight to your bottom line.” By hiring a bookkeeper (“That’s not something I’m good at!”), Jodi has super clear expense statements, profit/loss statements, and a great handle on what's happening financially with his business. Jodi's ability to self-improve and take an honest inventory of his strengths and weaknesses has allowed Redding Company to grow quickly. "We were about 40% above last year before March!"
Diving deeper, this slow period is also a chance to re-examine two majorly important areas of your business: your workflow and your core values. “This is how we’ll do things going forward. We’ve talked about our core values, but we haven’t really put together something for our employees. Do you have an actual workflow chart in place? Does everyone in your organization understand how a sale becomes a t-shirt?”
A huge thanks to Jodi for taking the time to chat with us. A side note: we’re thrilled to see how Jodi has used Printavo Merch’s online stores to raise several thousand dollars for local businesses in New Braunfels, TX that have been impacted by mandatory closures and stay-at-home orders.
Redding Company on the web: https://www.reddingcompany.com/
Redding Company on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redding_company/

Apr 4, 2020 • 8min
What Was Your Biggest Win in 2019?
We interviewed more than 15 different screen print shops from across the US at Impressions Expo 2020 in January. Now, the world is totally different. But there's still a lot of value in hearing what successful print shops were thinking about before this crisis. Listen in as we talk through the biggest victories shops had throughout 2019:
- Printing for the Oklahoma Thunder, turning around 20,000 shirts in less than 2 days at Oklahoma Shirt Company.
- Everlane at The New York Times through Barrel Maker Printing.
- Joining 1% For The Planet at Rockfort Art Deli in Rockford, IL.
- Watching employees step up and realize how invested the team has become at Rowboat Creative in Chicago, IL (and building incredible systems to train people!)
- Being able to leave the shop and travel at In-House Prints from NJ.
- Being profitable, getting three new presses, and running a truly happy shop at New Era Apparel in NY.
- Fully automating the screen room at Campus Ink (the correct answer for Steven was getting engaged at Rowboat Creative!).
- Getting the team in place at Let's Print LA.
- Leveraging technology to provide genuine services and add more value at Stoked On Printing in Las Vegas, NV.
- Participating in the industry and making new friends at trade shows with Noreast Apparel in Lowell, MA.
- Hiring a videographer to document their shop at Golden Press Studio.
More to come from our interviews at Impressions Expo 2020 – in a totally new context.
Try Printavo: https://www.printavo.com
Join us at PrintHustlers Conf: https://www.printhustlers.com
Check out Printavo Merch: https://www.printavo.com/merch
Follow us on Instagram for all of the latest updates: https://www.instagram.com/printavo
Subscribe to the Printavo channel for more amazing interviews, shop tours, and tips for your screen printing business.Try Printavo: https://www.printavo.com
Join us at PrintHustlers Conf: https://www.printhustlers.com
Check out Printavo Merch: https://www.printavo.com/merch
Follow us on Instagram for all of the latest updates: https://www.instagram.com/printavo

Mar 31, 2020 • 38min
Getting The Right Mindset During The COVID-19 Crisis (For Screen Print Shop Owners)
Your mindset is everything right now. Justin Lawrence from Oklahoma Shirt Company and Steven Farag from Campus Ink join Bruce from Printavo to talk about how screen print shops are adjusting to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. This is heartfelt, practical, and occasionally hilarious – and a reminder that everyone in this industry is having a tough time right now.
They discuss:
- How online stores are or aren’t helping the industry right now
- Data showing custom orders are down 50% for screen print shops
- Why our grandparents are a model for how to behave right now-
- What’s up with Printavo
- What’s up with PrintHustlers Conf 2020
- Why sleep is so important right now
- What the economic future really looks like
- Why asking your customers for help is a great move right now
Justin doesn’t shy away from the candid truth: “I’m excited to figure out what it means to run a business that’s sustainable. It’s one thing to talk about that when things are good. But when things dry up...how do you pivot? How do you secure the future?”
From looking at your fixed costs to shotgunning a beer at 9:45 AM, Justin, Steven, and Bruce have a great conversation about how hard it is to own a business right now. “We all know the feeling of waking up at 3 AM terrified about the people you’re responsible for,” Justin opines.
He continues: “But now is the time to swallow your pride and ask for help. If you don’t need a handout, don’t take it - pay your bills if you can. But if you can’t, don’t panic. Everyone has provisions. All of these people will defer loans. They will defer the payments. If they can’t do that, maybe you can pay interest only. Just don’t bury your head in the sand. You’re not alone in this. You will survive this!”
Once this passes (and it will pass!) your team will feel like they’ve fought a war together. The camaraderie will be incredible. The loyalty will be unparalleled. Screen printing is not going away. But the only way out of this mess is to keep pushing through it. Keep pushing, #printhustlers!
Try Printavo: https://www.printavo.com
Join us at PrintHustlers Conf: https://www.printhustlers.com
Check out Printavo Merch: https://www.printavo.com/merch
Follow us on Instagram for all of the latest updates: https://www.instagram.com/printavo

Mar 30, 2020 • 4min
What Should New Screen Printers Know Before They Start?
Need a laugh? We ask the screen printing pros at Impressions Expo 2020 a simple question. What do you wish you'd known before you started screen printing? The answers are hilarious, honest, and true to the industry.
"I would have done a lot of work up front," Joe Zangrilli from Rowboat reflects. Alexa Cary from In-House Prints told us: "Make sure you're ready to dedicate your life to it!"
"Be able to say no!" said Jarrod Hennis from Rockford Art Deli. "It's ok to be learning all of the time. You're not rushing toward some end goal or trophy. It's a process and we're all learning and growing," Erin Moore from Barrel Maker told us. "Know deeply that the process is really what it's all about."
Also appearing: Dave Quigley from Noreast Apparel, Jonathon from Golden Press Studio, Steven Farag from Campus Ink, Erin Moore from Barrel Maker Printing, and Rene Perez from Let's Print LA.
Keep pushing, #printhustlers. Erin's right – it's a process! We know we'll come through this stronger than ever.
Try Printavo: https://www.printavo.com
Join us at PrintHustlers Conf: https://www.printhustlers.com
Check out Printavo Merch: https://www.printavo.com/merch
Follow us on Instagram for all of the latest updates: https://www.instagram.com/printavo

Mar 28, 2020 • 44min
How Print Shops Are Using Online Stores During The COVID-19 Crisis
WEBINAR: If you thought print shops are just "non-essential businesses," think again. Print shops across the US are using online stores as a lifeline for their community. The t-shirt is an ideal e-commerce product: it's light, easy to ship, can't be broken, doesn't go bad, and it doesn't cost a lot. But it's also become a way to serve local businesses and organizations in a time of need.
Read our detailed guide with tips and tricks here: https://www.printavo.com/blog/online-stores-for-print-shops-during-covid
Join Dave Quigley from Noreast Apparel in Lowell, MA and Steven Farag from Campus Ink in Champaign, IL as they discuss how to use online stores to help your community during this crisis. Dave's raised more than $9,000 for local businesses in Lowell with his web stores, a vital lifeline for service and hospitality businesses that have been slammed by this crisis.
Printavo's Luke Gardner and Nick Martin drop in to show you some amazing examples of community-oriented stores that Printavo Merch users have created. Additionally, Steven arms us with a ton of awesome tricks and tips gleaned from running thousands of online stores.
As a team, we've been floored by the creativity and persistence of the screen printing community. Together, we'll get through this. Keep pushing!
See examples and interesting ideas here: https://www.printavo.com/blog/online-stores-for-print-shops-during-covid
Note: the first few minutes were cut off, but you just miss some introductions!
Try Printavo: https://www.printavo.com
Join us at PrintHustlers Conf: https://www.printhustlers.com
Check out Printavo Merch: https://www.printavo.com/merch
Follow us on Instagram for all of the latest updates: https://www.instagram.com/printavo

Mar 21, 2020 • 24min
How Print Shops Are Coping With This Crisis- California, Illinois, And Oklahoma
More than 500 print shops from around the world joined us for our emergency webinar about the COVID-19 crisis. We asked Max Hellmann from Family Industries, Justin Lawrence from Oklahoma Shirt Company, and Steven Farag from Campus Ink to join us to discuss what's going on. This is no easy discussion, but we have some laughs and tackle how everyone is moving forward.
Join us for the next webinar at 2:30 PM CST Thursday, March 26th - we'll talk online stores, how to pivot, and what to do next: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/surviving-covid-19-for-2
Check out Printavo Merch's online stores: https://www.printavo.com/merch
Follow us on Instagram for all of the latest updates: https://www.instagram.com/printavo