WEBVTT 00:00:08.929 --> 00:00:11.289 Hey everybody, I'm Matt major from growth mode 00:00:11.289 --> 00:00:14.970 content. Welcome to another edition of good news 00:00:14.970 --> 00:00:18.410 York I'm joined here by my buddy Danny behind 00:00:18.410 --> 00:00:21.769 the board and You might know him our friend Mike 00:00:21.769 --> 00:00:23.670 is missing and I'm on the wrong side if you're 00:00:23.670 --> 00:00:26.989 watching the video Mike's got the day off. We 00:00:26.989 --> 00:00:28.789 let people do that around here once in a while. 00:00:28.809 --> 00:00:30.609 He's home with the kids The kids are home as 00:00:30.609 --> 00:00:33.890 well. So we thought we'd let him You know, just 00:00:33.890 --> 00:00:37.939 enjoy the day. So uh joining me We do have a 00:00:37.939 --> 00:00:39.939 nice other handsome gentleman here. I don't know, 00:00:40.060 --> 00:00:41.679 Mike's got some competition, I'm thinking. Well, 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:44.520 thank you. But happens to be our neighbor from 00:00:44.520 --> 00:00:46.420 Ward's Printing. Go ahead and introduce yourself, 00:00:46.520 --> 00:00:49.179 my friend. Thank you. Good morning. My name is 00:00:49.179 --> 00:00:52.119 Arthur Williams. I'm owner of Ward's Printing. 00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:55.880 We are a minority -owned, certified screen printing 00:00:55.880 --> 00:00:58.280 business, and we focus on our local community, 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:03.179 construction, schools, health care, and our local 00:01:03.179 --> 00:01:05.870 school district. as well as growing our current 00:01:05.870 --> 00:01:09.950 customer base. That's awesome. Now, you, as I 00:01:09.950 --> 00:01:12.049 mentioned, you're our next door neighbor here. 00:01:12.269 --> 00:01:15.250 Yeah. Moved in not too long ago, I feel like. 00:01:15.950 --> 00:01:18.310 How did your business get started, or what were 00:01:18.310 --> 00:01:20.310 you doing before you came over here? Sure, sure. 00:01:20.549 --> 00:01:24.569 Before getting into the apparel side, I was a 00:01:24.569 --> 00:01:28.189 pharmaceutical rep of over 20 years. Wow. So... 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:30.680 Prior to that, it was kind of hybrid. I did a 00:01:30.680 --> 00:01:32.400 little bit of a little bit of screen printing 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:35.579 on the side, but I also did my main focus was 00:01:35.579 --> 00:01:38.180 on pharmaceutical sales. So that was over 20 00:01:38.180 --> 00:01:42.659 years of selling new, launching new products 00:01:42.659 --> 00:01:46.280 to our health care community and as well as building 00:01:46.280 --> 00:01:49.780 great community connections within there. So 00:01:49.780 --> 00:01:53.280 when this opportunity came along to start Wards, 00:01:53.939 --> 00:01:58.379 I wanted to bring all the experience that I have 00:01:58.379 --> 00:02:02.739 cultivated over the years towards printing and 00:02:02.739 --> 00:02:05.120 looking to grow that customer base and as well 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:08.560 as extending to new customers. That's so neat. 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:11.680 And I'll tell you what, I can give you a little 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:15.060 real life testimonial because you helped us out 00:02:15.060 --> 00:02:17.000 right before the state fair. If anybody saw our 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:19.580 videos and Danny's actually got the shirt on 00:02:19.580 --> 00:02:21.139 there, even though you can't see it on. Awesome. 00:02:22.689 --> 00:02:24.689 But I'm, of course, the king of the last minute. 00:02:24.789 --> 00:02:27.689 I'm like, oh, we need some new shirts. Ran next 00:02:27.689 --> 00:02:29.069 door. Yeah, we can do them for you. I think you 00:02:29.069 --> 00:02:30.810 did them the next day. We did them the next day. 00:02:31.569 --> 00:02:34.689 Beautiful shirts. Same price that I would pay 00:02:34.689 --> 00:02:36.669 anywhere else for a decent shirt. You certainly 00:02:36.669 --> 00:02:38.889 didn't gouge me on the urgency, which I appreciate. 00:02:38.930 --> 00:02:42.629 It was pretty cool. But we love them. And it's 00:02:42.629 --> 00:02:45.370 so cool to have a resource like that. Branding, 00:02:45.370 --> 00:02:49.250 to me, is one of the biggest things. And I've 00:02:49.250 --> 00:02:52.719 always been a big fan of walking around with 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:54.979 a logo shirt on, at least during the work day, 00:02:55.039 --> 00:02:57.840 you know what I mean? So I love to see that. 00:02:58.520 --> 00:03:01.139 You mentioned construction and things like that 00:03:01.139 --> 00:03:04.120 is kind of some of your core clients. What what 00:03:04.120 --> 00:03:05.860 type of things are you making for construction 00:03:05.860 --> 00:03:09.379 folks? So for construction folks, for what we 00:03:09.379 --> 00:03:11.740 can provide for them, we can provide privacy 00:03:11.740 --> 00:03:14.259 fencing signage. Oh, wow. So for example, one 00:03:14.259 --> 00:03:17.520 of our customers is looking to do a phase one 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:20.819 of their product project. So we were able to 00:03:20.819 --> 00:03:23.719 custom brand their banners, which will go around 00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:26.800 the custom fence. And then we did a signage, 00:03:27.099 --> 00:03:29.979 a signage that is required by New York State 00:03:29.979 --> 00:03:32.659 for doing that project. So we were able to supply 00:03:32.659 --> 00:03:35.680 that. Oh, wow. So even beyond the apparel and 00:03:35.680 --> 00:03:37.900 screen printing and things, you could do signs. 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:40.520 We could do signage. So apparel, promotional 00:03:40.520 --> 00:03:42.740 products, and embroidery are kind of like our 00:03:42.740 --> 00:03:44.680 core products. But we're also finding another 00:03:44.680 --> 00:03:47.319 niche, which is the construction side. So we're 00:03:47.319 --> 00:03:50.099 focusing on. you know, the safety vest and PPE 00:03:50.099 --> 00:03:52.900 equipment for. And there's a lot of construction 00:03:52.900 --> 00:03:56.659 going on around Syracuse. Yeah. I feel like you're 00:03:56.659 --> 00:03:59.479 in the right market here. I love this. I love 00:03:59.479 --> 00:04:03.099 it. So if you wouldn't mind, I know Amanda's 00:04:03.099 --> 00:04:04.520 talked with you and been over there and seen 00:04:04.520 --> 00:04:06.099 kind of some of your samples and things like 00:04:06.099 --> 00:04:09.039 this. But we've mentioned screen printing and 00:04:09.039 --> 00:04:11.419 clothing and we've mentioned some signage. But 00:04:11.419 --> 00:04:13.240 what are some other things that that you can 00:04:13.240 --> 00:04:15.860 do at your print shop? So some of the other things 00:04:15.860 --> 00:04:18.939 we do are within partnership with our other partner 00:04:18.939 --> 00:04:23.959 over there, so 3D printing. So there are a number 00:04:23.959 --> 00:04:27.319 of 3D printers that we have that customers are 00:04:27.319 --> 00:04:29.379 looking for. Actually, we did a light box for 00:04:29.379 --> 00:04:32.899 wards for our signage, so we have our logo and 00:04:32.899 --> 00:04:35.339 it's plugged in. You could plug that into the 00:04:35.339 --> 00:04:39.379 wall and our logo is illuminated. So there's 00:04:39.379 --> 00:04:43.019 graphic design, signage, banners. We also do 00:04:43.019 --> 00:04:48.149 business cards. posters, menus, things like that. 00:04:48.689 --> 00:04:52.170 We have a wide range. That's awesome. I love 00:04:52.170 --> 00:04:56.009 that. Again, just branded materials, promotional 00:04:56.009 --> 00:04:58.810 materials, things like that are just, I think, 00:04:58.810 --> 00:05:00.589 the right way to go. You're gonna have these 00:05:00.589 --> 00:05:02.649 things and in many cases you buy, you know, I'm 00:05:02.649 --> 00:05:04.670 a big fan of, you know, the mugs and things. 00:05:04.889 --> 00:05:06.610 If I go to buy a mug for our kitchen, I'm gonna 00:05:06.610 --> 00:05:09.189 spend as much as I would with one with our logo 00:05:09.189 --> 00:05:12.050 on it, so why wouldn't I do that? Why not? Branding 00:05:12.050 --> 00:05:14.449 is everything. You are your... You're walking 00:05:14.449 --> 00:05:16.649 advertisement for yourself. That's it. You like 00:05:16.649 --> 00:05:19.430 to have quality products. Yeah. And it stands 00:05:19.430 --> 00:05:21.910 out. And when people see it on the street, you 00:05:21.910 --> 00:05:24.029 know, they may ask you, you know, where did you 00:05:24.029 --> 00:05:28.709 get that? Or I love that logo. Yeah. You mentioned 00:05:28.709 --> 00:05:32.990 the kind of got me thinking now about the signage 00:05:32.990 --> 00:05:35.339 for the temporary fencing. Now, is that? Am I 00:05:35.339 --> 00:05:37.339 thinking right? That's like a kind of a continuous 00:05:37.339 --> 00:05:39.899 length, 20 foot long banner? Or is it different 00:05:39.899 --> 00:05:41.939 pieces? How does that typically go? There's different 00:05:41.939 --> 00:05:47.699 pieces. Some may just want a aluminum board with 00:05:47.699 --> 00:05:50.839 grommets in it with just their logo on it. Gotcha. 00:05:50.939 --> 00:05:54.139 And then you could attach that to the fence itself. 00:05:54.139 --> 00:05:57.480 I see. Some want banners. So it could be a seven, 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:01.120 eight foot banner. Oh, wow. And then get that 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:04.420 customized. and put the grommets in it so they 00:06:04.420 --> 00:06:07.720 can attach it to the fence. That's pretty cool. 00:06:07.920 --> 00:06:12.899 That's pretty cool. So let's go back to this 00:06:12.899 --> 00:06:18.379 business certification. Sure. I always jumble 00:06:18.379 --> 00:06:21.959 the acronym. Remind me again, what is it? Minority 00:06:21.959 --> 00:06:25.240 Business Enterprise, or MBE. And then there's 00:06:25.240 --> 00:06:28.720 the WNBE for minority women. So the W is in the 00:06:28.720 --> 00:06:30.860 front. OK. See, that's where I get all the letters. 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:35.579 What does it take to get that? Because you can't 00:06:35.579 --> 00:06:37.899 necessarily just go, hey, I'm a minority, and 00:06:37.899 --> 00:06:39.939 suddenly you're certified, right? There's some 00:06:39.939 --> 00:06:43.079 steps you got to go through to sort of prove 00:06:43.079 --> 00:06:45.660 your credentials, right? Yes. There are many 00:06:45.660 --> 00:06:48.959 steps behind it. Quite honestly, I think when 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:51.939 I did it, there was about 66 steps to complete. 00:06:52.500 --> 00:06:54.879 So it basically goes from your financial history, 00:06:55.680 --> 00:06:57.959 your personal financial history, your personal 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:01.560 business history. how many employees you have. 00:07:02.360 --> 00:07:05.199 What codes do you use? So if you're using screen 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:06.860 printing, what's the code for screen printing, 00:07:07.120 --> 00:07:09.939 signage. So you have to put all those codes down 00:07:09.939 --> 00:07:13.639 that you're looking to get certified for. So 00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:17.459 each step, you have to complete on the application. 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:20.740 Part of it, you have to be in business for at 00:07:20.740 --> 00:07:25.839 least a year. And then show support of that. 00:07:26.399 --> 00:07:30.699 So I just show support of my statements. So that 00:07:30.699 --> 00:07:34.139 would be my bank statements. So you're not just 00:07:34.139 --> 00:07:36.579 making up numbers. Not making up numbers. It's 00:07:36.579 --> 00:07:39.699 highly scrutinized. So it was a little back and 00:07:39.699 --> 00:07:43.480 forth. But once everything was submitted and 00:07:43.480 --> 00:07:47.980 I got approval within, I'd say, 35 days or so, 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:52.560 which is awesome. Yeah. And then one of the reasons 00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:55.000 that's important to your business is because, 00:07:55.100 --> 00:07:56.620 as we were talking about before we went on the 00:07:56.620 --> 00:07:59.040 air, A number of these projects and things like 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:01.100 this, they have sort of a set -aside, right, 00:08:01.100 --> 00:08:04.079 where they want X percent of the job to go to 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:06.759 these type of certified businesses. Am I describing 00:08:06.759 --> 00:08:09.160 that the right way? Yes, that's correct. So it's 00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:12.120 giving us minority -owned businesses an opportunity 00:08:12.120 --> 00:08:15.920 to participate in some of the growth that's occurring 00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:19.339 here in Syracuse and the surrounding area, especially 00:08:19.339 --> 00:08:21.459 with Micron, especially with the construction 00:08:21.459 --> 00:08:24.180 that's going on in the highway, and a lot of 00:08:24.180 --> 00:08:27.199 our general contractors here. still have looked 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:30.180 for that requirement to do business with, you 00:08:30.180 --> 00:08:35.879 know, WNBEs, MBEs, veterans, and I think Native, 00:08:36.039 --> 00:08:38.120 you know, Native American owned businesses also. 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:41.340 Yeah, that's great. And then the other thing 00:08:41.340 --> 00:08:42.899 that I think is kind of interesting for folks 00:08:42.899 --> 00:08:45.659 who don't know a lot about this process is, so 00:08:45.659 --> 00:08:48.539 we hear that and what we think is, is your sign 00:08:48.539 --> 00:08:50.539 of going to the state and bidding to them on 00:08:50.539 --> 00:08:53.399 these projects, but in many cases it's Bigger 00:08:53.399 --> 00:08:55.419 private contractor that gets kind of the main 00:08:55.419 --> 00:08:57.600 contract and then you work directly with them, 00:08:57.740 --> 00:09:00.080 right? Is that correct? Correct and for our scope 00:09:00.080 --> 00:09:03.799 of business for apparel. We're not That type 00:09:03.799 --> 00:09:06.360 of a general contractor. So for example, you 00:09:06.360 --> 00:09:08.679 were you know a general contractor Let's just 00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:11.340 say the large ones are like till Turner and Gilbain 00:09:11.340 --> 00:09:13.240 or Pike construction some of those construction 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:15.980 companies and you are the prime contractor and 00:09:15.980 --> 00:09:19.240 you're looking for a subcontractor I'm a partner 00:09:19.240 --> 00:09:23.490 with that subcontractor that needs our services. 00:09:23.509 --> 00:09:25.289 Helps them fulfill that requirement. And it helps 00:09:25.289 --> 00:09:27.990 them fulfill that requirement and and they get 00:09:27.990 --> 00:09:30.190 what they need as far as could be PPE equipment, 00:09:30.350 --> 00:09:31.710 could be signage that they're putting around 00:09:31.710 --> 00:09:34.590 the fence. Gotcha. Or graphic or graphic work 00:09:34.590 --> 00:09:37.330 that they may need. That's awesome. And then, 00:09:37.330 --> 00:09:38.710 you know, of course, we're talking about some 00:09:38.710 --> 00:09:40.789 of these bigger projects in these bigger industries. 00:09:41.029 --> 00:09:43.690 But as we mentioned already for us, you serve 00:09:43.690 --> 00:09:46.509 small businesses and organizations of all sizes, 00:09:46.649 --> 00:09:48.950 right? Organizations of all sizes. One of the 00:09:48.950 --> 00:09:51.509 things that attracted me to purchase this business. 00:09:51.769 --> 00:09:56.610 is that it was a strong community tie. So Ward's 00:09:56.610 --> 00:09:59.009 sales was the original company. It was around 00:09:59.009 --> 00:10:03.289 for over 60 years. And then another family bought 00:10:03.289 --> 00:10:06.610 that business. And I actually consulted with 00:10:06.610 --> 00:10:09.950 them for about a year on helping them grow the 00:10:09.950 --> 00:10:12.809 business. And then they decided that they wanted 00:10:12.809 --> 00:10:15.389 to exit the business and gave me an opportunity 00:10:15.389 --> 00:10:18.110 to purchase. And now we have Ward's printing. 00:10:18.330 --> 00:10:21.539 That's awesome. That's awesome. I'm guessing 00:10:21.539 --> 00:10:23.559 that's where you learned kind of the screen printing 00:10:23.559 --> 00:10:25.600 process and all the stuff that goes into this 00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:27.559 specifically. Was it from working with those 00:10:27.559 --> 00:10:30.899 folks? Well, dial back. I already had the experience. 00:10:30.899 --> 00:10:33.019 Oh, OK. So you had background in it already. 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:37.679 Cool. My background was in I loved drawing comics 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:40.759 when I was a kid. Oh, wow. So some of that artistic 00:10:40.759 --> 00:10:44.379 creativeness was in me. In college, I would design 00:10:44.379 --> 00:10:47.309 shirts for friends. My first one was through 00:10:47.309 --> 00:10:50.330 ROTC program. One of my roommates needed a shirt 00:10:50.330 --> 00:10:54.870 design, so I drew, I think, F -16s for him. That's 00:10:54.870 --> 00:10:58.669 awesome. So it started back in college, all the 00:10:58.669 --> 00:11:01.950 way on the side, as well as working corporately. 00:11:01.990 --> 00:11:05.549 Sure. So I did have some experience in learning 00:11:05.549 --> 00:11:08.830 by trial and error. I make screens and everything. 00:11:09.090 --> 00:11:11.889 I love when creative people can turn that into 00:11:11.889 --> 00:11:14.169 their business. and really use that, because 00:11:14.169 --> 00:11:16.370 that's when you get the best stuff, too. Correct. 00:11:16.789 --> 00:11:19.350 The best end product comes from folks that really 00:11:19.350 --> 00:11:22.269 have sort of a passion for it. So also to answer 00:11:22.269 --> 00:11:25.529 your question, do you serve the local community, 00:11:26.330 --> 00:11:29.730 local events? We do sponsor some events. We sponsor 00:11:29.730 --> 00:11:31.970 some golf events with signage this year, this 00:11:31.970 --> 00:11:36.230 past year. Also, we have our collegiate license. 00:11:36.490 --> 00:11:39.509 with Syracuse University. Really? So we're able 00:11:39.509 --> 00:11:42.529 to work with, be a local vendor for Syracuse 00:11:42.529 --> 00:11:45.970 University. Wow. Which we're growing with that. 00:11:46.549 --> 00:11:49.330 So you go through that process through the licensing 00:11:49.330 --> 00:11:53.409 committee out of Atlanta. I see. So what does 00:11:53.409 --> 00:11:56.830 that mean? You can make Syracuse shirts and sell 00:11:56.830 --> 00:11:59.600 them or how does that work? called internal. 00:12:00.220 --> 00:12:02.700 So if there's a department there, let's just 00:12:02.700 --> 00:12:05.519 say Whitman School, or within that department, 00:12:05.740 --> 00:12:08.539 they're getting shirts to hand out to students. 00:12:08.980 --> 00:12:12.059 So to sell directly to the university? Yes. Either 00:12:12.059 --> 00:12:15.519 to hand out to their students or whatever they 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:17.899 want to do. But it's not retail, like bookstore. 00:12:18.419 --> 00:12:22.100 Bookstore is different. That would require royalties 00:12:22.100 --> 00:12:25.100 and licensing for that. I got you. That's awesome. 00:12:25.720 --> 00:12:30.620 What an incredible. contract to get the biggest 00:12:30.620 --> 00:12:33.980 organization in town, man. That's so cool. Thank 00:12:33.980 --> 00:12:37.620 you. That's so cool. Let me ask you, it sounds 00:12:37.620 --> 00:12:39.960 like, you know, is working as a pharmaceutical 00:12:39.960 --> 00:12:42.980 rep and things like that. It's, you know, basically 00:12:42.980 --> 00:12:45.899 a sales job. Is that sort of a fair assessment? 00:12:47.159 --> 00:12:49.039 Is a lot of the skills that you learned in that 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:51.340 what helps you kind of make these relationships 00:12:51.340 --> 00:12:53.620 and build this business? Or where does some of 00:12:53.620 --> 00:12:57.490 that background come from? It does. Because you're 00:12:57.490 --> 00:13:00.129 not just sales. You're more like a consultant. 00:13:00.809 --> 00:13:03.509 You're looking as your advocate for the patient. 00:13:03.529 --> 00:13:06.250 I see. So for example, if you have a patient 00:13:06.250 --> 00:13:09.610 that has type 2 diabetes and you have a product 00:13:09.610 --> 00:13:13.350 that will help treat type 2 diabetes, you would 00:13:13.350 --> 00:13:16.730 talk to the physician and staff about the benefits 00:13:16.730 --> 00:13:19.269 of using this product for your patient and what 00:13:19.269 --> 00:13:23.230 that medical outcome can be as a result of using 00:13:23.230 --> 00:13:26.169 this product. So it's building that relationship 00:13:26.169 --> 00:13:29.649 with the office. It's building that trust Being 00:13:29.649 --> 00:13:32.590 transparent showing benefits as well as side 00:13:32.590 --> 00:13:34.870 effects and say for example the customer has 00:13:34.870 --> 00:13:37.830 a question or the you know for the patient they 00:13:37.830 --> 00:13:42.370 can call and Just ask what can I'm experiencing 00:13:42.370 --> 00:13:44.889 this? You know, what should I do? I see so whether 00:13:44.889 --> 00:13:46.889 it's a side effect, you know, I can report that 00:13:46.889 --> 00:13:50.029 on their behalf If there's any questions as far 00:13:50.029 --> 00:13:52.850 as dosing we can answer questions like that. 00:13:52.850 --> 00:13:55.649 So we're kind of like a partner with the office. 00:13:56.610 --> 00:13:58.710 And that way you're growing relationship because 00:13:58.710 --> 00:14:02.090 they trust you. And it's hard to get into offices 00:14:02.090 --> 00:14:06.769 as it is right now with the way that everything 00:14:06.769 --> 00:14:11.129 is. It gives us an opportunity just to build 00:14:11.129 --> 00:14:14.009 a better relationship. And so I wanted to transfer 00:14:14.009 --> 00:14:16.549 those skills into what I do today. That's great. 00:14:17.990 --> 00:14:22.830 Let me ask you this. Your biggest challenge today 00:14:22.830 --> 00:14:25.429 in business. What's what's the thing you work 00:14:25.429 --> 00:14:28.990 the hardest to overcome right now or to obtain 00:14:28.990 --> 00:14:32.610 maybe it's you know, finding new leads or You 00:14:32.610 --> 00:14:35.470 know inventory. I don't know. I sure I love to 00:14:35.470 --> 00:14:36.669 hear about these different types of businesses 00:14:36.669 --> 00:14:38.889 Yeah, there's challenges a long way the challenge 00:14:38.889 --> 00:14:42.870 is the industry sometimes has not caught up with 00:14:42.870 --> 00:14:47.230 inflation I see so as inflation goes a lot of 00:14:48.349 --> 00:14:51.389 Industry has remained static and it should be 00:14:51.389 --> 00:14:54.610 increasing prices to try to match the inflation 00:14:54.610 --> 00:14:56.629 and sometimes that's tough because you're dealing 00:14:56.629 --> 00:14:58.529 with a non -profit or you're dealing with a small 00:14:58.529 --> 00:15:02.490 business that can only afford, you know, a certain, 00:15:02.789 --> 00:15:05.490 have a certain budget. You try to fit that budget 00:15:05.490 --> 00:15:08.110 the best you can and sometimes that's a challenge. 00:15:08.970 --> 00:15:12.210 And you just have to, you want the customer but 00:15:12.210 --> 00:15:15.610 sometimes you try to work with them and get them 00:15:15.610 --> 00:15:17.629 the best price and the best product possible. 00:15:17.850 --> 00:15:20.429 So that's a challenge one of the challenges that 00:15:20.429 --> 00:15:23.629 we're working on is I call multi -line Multi 00:15:23.629 --> 00:15:25.789 -line is for example, you know, you ordered shirts 00:15:25.789 --> 00:15:29.269 from us now What else do you do? So we like to 00:15:29.269 --> 00:15:31.629 talk with you and understand what other what 00:15:31.629 --> 00:15:34.129 are your goals? So it's not just about us. It's 00:15:34.129 --> 00:15:35.710 like, what are your goals? What are you doing 00:15:35.710 --> 00:15:37.889 down the road? Do you have another event coming 00:15:37.889 --> 00:15:41.570 up? Are you doing a display? So if that's those 00:15:41.570 --> 00:15:43.490 are your goals, we may be able to partner with 00:15:43.490 --> 00:15:45.809 you whether it's promotional products whether 00:15:45.809 --> 00:15:49.299 it's Banner or retractable banner if you want 00:15:49.299 --> 00:15:52.360 business cards or some type of product to hand 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:55.139 out to customers Yeah, so that's what I consider 00:15:55.139 --> 00:15:57.559 multi -lining So it's not just one and that's 00:15:57.559 --> 00:15:59.480 what we're doing right now is our challenge is 00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:02.700 looking through our customer base Yeah, and seeing 00:16:02.700 --> 00:16:05.779 who just is doing one thing and maybe we can 00:16:05.779 --> 00:16:09.379 help them Come our way so they don't have to 00:16:09.379 --> 00:16:11.440 go anywhere else. So it's a great approach Yeah, 00:16:11.639 --> 00:16:14.460 so that's what how we're looking to grow and 00:16:14.460 --> 00:16:17.320 scale in the immediate It makes a lot of sense. 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:21.279 They always say that it's always easier to do 00:16:21.279 --> 00:16:23.340 more business with an existing client than to 00:16:23.340 --> 00:16:26.259 find a brand new client. Any way you can maximize 00:16:26.259 --> 00:16:29.360 that relationship is good for all parties. People 00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:30.940 like doing business with people they already 00:16:30.940 --> 00:16:33.419 like doing business with. That's true. Make it 00:16:33.419 --> 00:16:36.320 easy for them and you got a winner. At least 00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:40.220 that's my idea. Exactly. That's what we're doing. 00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:44.419 Also, while we're doing that, I'm out meeting 00:16:44.419 --> 00:16:47.460 new customers. One of the things I've learned 00:16:47.460 --> 00:16:50.940 from pharmaceuticals and just being in sales 00:16:50.940 --> 00:16:54.100 in general is face -to -face interaction. As 00:16:54.100 --> 00:16:57.039 I'm going to go up to Syracuse University, I'm 00:16:57.039 --> 00:17:01.159 meeting with people that are in charge of purchasing. 00:17:02.519 --> 00:17:04.900 And also within construction, I'm going to the 00:17:04.900 --> 00:17:08.240 construction site or going to the prime meetings 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:11.619 so I can introduce myself to the subcontractors 00:17:11.619 --> 00:17:15.839 so they get to see who I am. And exchange information 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:19.319 and follow up. Yeah. No, that's a I think that's 00:17:19.319 --> 00:17:21.660 great You don't get that from a random website, 00:17:21.660 --> 00:17:24.299 you know, that's correct when something goes 00:17:24.299 --> 00:17:26.339 wrong or something is you know, you need something 00:17:26.339 --> 00:17:28.240 in a pinch you want to be able to call a person 00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:30.920 and I think that's absolutely the right approach. 00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:34.480 I love to see that. That's that's so neat What 00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:38.220 else should we know about this awesome and very 00:17:38.220 --> 00:17:39.980 versatile business? I love that you have kind 00:17:39.980 --> 00:17:42.250 of so many different options here, but What else 00:17:42.250 --> 00:17:44.250 should folks know about it? Or in particular, 00:17:44.390 --> 00:17:47.410 where can they find websites, information, stuff 00:17:47.410 --> 00:17:51.849 like that? Sure. Well, we're growing. We're expanding. 00:17:52.309 --> 00:17:55.269 We would love to expand the Ward's brand. Gotcha. 00:17:55.650 --> 00:17:59.109 So we're also launching an online store. And 00:17:59.109 --> 00:18:01.470 we help other businesses launch online stores 00:18:01.470 --> 00:18:04.589 that want to promote their brand. Cool. So that's 00:18:04.589 --> 00:18:06.309 one thing that we're looking at. So if customers 00:18:06.309 --> 00:18:09.049 are interested in that. They can reach out to 00:18:09.049 --> 00:18:11.750 us and we can help. We're doing a couple of stores 00:18:11.750 --> 00:18:15.529 right now. We're also looking to, again, in the 00:18:15.529 --> 00:18:18.869 long run, we're also looking to expand regionally 00:18:18.869 --> 00:18:21.450 across the state because there's still a lot 00:18:21.450 --> 00:18:24.470 of growth going on. Improving our economy of 00:18:24.470 --> 00:18:28.930 scale through digital, or there's a lot of AI 00:18:28.930 --> 00:18:33.250 going on right now. So that's helping us improve 00:18:33.250 --> 00:18:37.970 our customer relationships. communication. That's 00:18:37.970 --> 00:18:40.950 great. So we can reach us at our website, you 00:18:40.950 --> 00:18:45.210 know, that's wardsprintingsyr .com. That's one 00:18:45.210 --> 00:18:46.950 thing that they can look and get in touch with 00:18:46.950 --> 00:18:53.690 us or email us. So it's either at admin at wardsprintingsyr 00:18:53.690 --> 00:18:57.170 .com or we want to submit a logo, it's design 00:18:57.170 --> 00:19:01.349 at wardsprintingsyr .com. That's great. That's 00:19:01.349 --> 00:19:04.089 great. And you do, let's see, screen printing, 00:19:04.289 --> 00:19:08.710 embroidery. signage, what am I forgetting? Graphic 00:19:08.710 --> 00:19:11.049 design. Graphic design. Promotional products. 00:19:11.230 --> 00:19:13.609 To make all those things look good. We want your 00:19:13.609 --> 00:19:16.410 customers to look good. One of the things we 00:19:16.410 --> 00:19:20.369 learned with having a customer base already is 00:19:20.369 --> 00:19:23.430 create it like a tribe of customers. Yeah. You 00:19:23.430 --> 00:19:26.170 know, they're called back every year. Sure. So, 00:19:27.029 --> 00:19:29.829 and we actually have a big order that we have 00:19:29.829 --> 00:19:33.119 to finish today. where we've consulted with them 00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:36.180 throughout the last couple of weeks about best 00:19:36.180 --> 00:19:38.420 way of the logo should look on the shirt and 00:19:38.420 --> 00:19:40.519 what colors work best with the shirt. That's 00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:42.960 great. So we like to be a lot of business partner 00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:45.299 and that part of our value proposition is just 00:19:45.299 --> 00:19:46.960 being a great business partner. Some people don't 00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:49.039 understand that. They want to put the weirdest 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:52.240 thing on, oh, that looks great. And it's like, 00:19:52.259 --> 00:19:54.099 doesn't. Somebody needs to be able to tell you 00:19:54.099 --> 00:19:56.240 that. And I appreciate that you can do that for 00:19:56.240 --> 00:19:59.700 folks. We love to help them because at the end 00:19:59.700 --> 00:20:02.859 of the day, it's It's their product, and we want 00:20:02.859 --> 00:20:04.339 them to look like the hero at the end of the 00:20:04.339 --> 00:20:07.220 day. That's our goal. How much do you find that 00:20:07.220 --> 00:20:09.700 you're doing a lot of design work versus somebody 00:20:09.700 --> 00:20:12.220 submits you their completely finished design? 00:20:13.359 --> 00:20:15.920 Sometimes there's a little manipulation through 00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:20.579 Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, because to go 00:20:20.579 --> 00:20:25.180 to print, it has to be a certain way. So if it's 00:20:25.180 --> 00:20:29.789 a SVG file or an AI file, That kind of helps 00:20:29.789 --> 00:20:33.029 us manipulate it a little bit easier. Sometimes 00:20:33.029 --> 00:20:36.470 we get layers, no disrespect to some of them. 00:20:36.509 --> 00:20:38.230 Some of them could be like Canva or something 00:20:38.230 --> 00:20:40.589 like that, where some are great, but then we 00:20:40.589 --> 00:20:42.690 have to go in and undo the layers and then redo 00:20:42.690 --> 00:20:46.130 it. So that does take some time for a graphic 00:20:46.130 --> 00:20:51.349 designer to redo the logo. So I'm sending just 00:20:51.349 --> 00:20:56.750 directly from the website Google. It looks great. 00:20:57.210 --> 00:20:59.230 An inch high, but when you pull it up. Pixelated. 00:20:59.789 --> 00:21:04.730 So we have to correct that and reach out to the 00:21:04.730 --> 00:21:07.269 customer and see if they have any other logos 00:21:07.269 --> 00:21:09.670 that we can work with. Otherwise, we will do 00:21:09.670 --> 00:21:15.369 it. That's got to be fun. Oh, man. Well, this 00:21:15.369 --> 00:21:18.990 is great. I'm so excited to have you in. And 00:21:18.990 --> 00:21:23.200 what a great neighbor to have next door. Because 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:25.839 like I said, it's already come in handy. So I 00:21:25.839 --> 00:21:28.519 appreciate it. Love it. And like I said, a fantastic 00:21:28.519 --> 00:21:32.980 job on top of it. It's good quality stuff, man. 00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:34.859 I love to see it. I love to see your growth. 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:38.599 And anything that we can do to help you further 00:21:38.599 --> 00:21:41.180 promote anything special going on, new products, 00:21:41.259 --> 00:21:42.920 things like that, we'd love to have you pop in 00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:46.099 any time. Makes it real easy. All right. Yeah. 00:21:46.380 --> 00:21:48.660 Thank you so much. Appreciate your time. And 00:21:48.660 --> 00:21:51.200 I appreciate it. coming in and everyone learning 00:21:51.200 --> 00:21:54.000 more about words printing. Yeah. It's a great 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:56.079 business right here on East Malloy Road, right 00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:58.619 next to us at Growth Mode Tech. If you're not 00:21:58.619 --> 00:21:59.960 familiar where we're at. I don't know if we ever 00:21:59.960 --> 00:22:01.880 really talk about where we're at. It's almost 00:22:01.880 --> 00:22:04.460 like we're not like hidden in a bunker or anything 00:22:04.460 --> 00:22:08.619 like that. East Malloy Road. Yeah. We don't have 00:22:08.619 --> 00:22:10.420 suite numbers, so you just got to read the name 00:22:10.420 --> 00:22:12.839 of the business over the door. That's right. 00:22:13.059 --> 00:22:15.079 Not every UPS guy can figure that out. But you 00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:17.980 just, that's what you got to, no shade to the 00:22:17.980 --> 00:22:23.450 UPS. Guys, this has been another fantastic episode 00:22:23.450 --> 00:22:25.589 of Good News York. I want to give you a little 00:22:25.589 --> 00:22:29.049 programming notes. So next week, next weekend 00:22:29.049 --> 00:22:32.150 is actually the retro game con. Danny and his 00:22:32.150 --> 00:22:35.410 team are, uh, working like it's going out of 00:22:35.410 --> 00:22:37.829 style to get ready for the biggest event that 00:22:37.829 --> 00:22:41.670 the Syracuse, uh, uh, on center was on center 00:22:41.670 --> 00:22:43.349 convention center. Is that what we technically 00:22:43.349 --> 00:22:45.970 call that building? Uh, biggest thing that happens 00:22:45.970 --> 00:22:48.990 there all year round biggest game convention. 00:22:49.399 --> 00:22:52.960 this half of the country. It's such a cool, awesome 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:55.039 event, and we are going to be there. We are going 00:22:55.039 --> 00:22:56.559 to be covering it. We're going to be doing all 00:22:56.559 --> 00:22:58.240 kinds of things, but that means our schedule 00:22:58.240 --> 00:23:00.440 next week is going to get a little hairy. We're 00:23:00.440 --> 00:23:02.400 going to take a couple days off during the week, 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:03.980 and you're going to see some new content over 00:23:03.980 --> 00:23:05.640 the weekend, because we're going to put that 00:23:05.640 --> 00:23:09.299 out as we're recording at GameCon. So stick around 00:23:09.299 --> 00:23:11.039 for that. That is going to be something that's 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:13.859 really cool. And also, last but not least, I 00:23:13.859 --> 00:23:16.519 got to shout out our man Zach at ads on the go, 00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:20.089 the official sponsor of Good News York. Get ads 00:23:20.089 --> 00:23:23.369 on the go dot com is the website. If you are 00:23:23.369 --> 00:23:25.490 around central New York, you have seen Zach and 00:23:25.490 --> 00:23:29.990 his guys driving that truck around mobile video 00:23:29.990 --> 00:23:33.369 billboards. It's the coolest thing around. Um, 00:23:33.369 --> 00:23:37.390 really neat way to advertise. And we just can't 00:23:37.390 --> 00:23:39.789 thank Zach and the whole team over there enough 00:23:39.789 --> 00:23:43.970 for sponsoring the show. So with that, like subscribe, 00:23:43.970 --> 00:23:46.930 share, do all that fun stuff. Uh, I'm Matt Michael 00:23:46.930 --> 00:23:49.890 be back next time. Peace out.