Print Mastermind

Yesterday, we had a really interesting conversation on a Print Mastermind Group Call around one of the hardest things a print business owner has to deal with. Managing People! We uncovered some uncomfortable topics that many of us face. What do you do when someone always looks busy but never seems productive? How long do you give an underperformer before you take action? Can you genuinely be friends with your employees? How do you respond when staff ask for a pay rise after the business has had a good year? My biggest takeaway from this session wasn't that everyone had the same answers. It was that almost everyone was or had made the same mistakes. Waiting too long to deal with performance issues. Hoping things would improve instead of having the difficult conversation. Letting friendships blur professional boundaries. Realising that one underperforming person can quietly affect the entire team. Managing people isn't about avoiding difficult conversations. It's about having them early, fairly and consistently. Many of our members also shared how introducing regular appraisal meetings transformed those conversations. Instead of only speaking when something went wrong, feedback became ongoing, expectations became clearer, career progression could be discussed and salary conversations became far less emotional.

The print industry is at its best when we're in the same room. That's why we're bringing it together. Print Mastermind Summit 📍 London | 🗓 4 June 2026 | ⏰ 9:30 - 16:00 followed by drinks reception One day. Real conversations. Just print business owners, MDs and senior leaders around the table, working through the stuff that actually moves the needle: If you run a print business and you're tired of figuring it out on your own, this is your day. Register here 👉 https://lnkd.in/enaqqids #PMS2026 #PrintIndustry #Print #UKPrint #PrintBusiness

I'm super excited about this one. It's been months in the making. On June 1st, I'll be launching a new tool within Print Mastermind for our members. The Content Studio. It's based on all the sales and marketing courses I've created. It follows the blueprint I teach around speaking to your clients in a way that positions you as a trusted advisor, moving away from a commodity print supplier and one that understands their print needs. Literally every print business I come across is not putting out enough content, never mind the right content. This tool completely changes that. You'll never be short of content ever again. It will help you talk to your clients in a way that resonates, about your business, your products and in your brand voice. You can create blog articles, social media posts and email campaigns that will blow your mind. Join me at our first-ever OPEN HOUSE on Tuesday, 26th May, where you'll get a live demo of this tool in action and also get a flavour of what goes on inside Print Mastermind. Grab your free place today. (link in 1st comment) ⬇️

Ever wondered what type of training we drop into Print Mastermind? Here's a little sneak peek from one of our latest sessions with Shelby Sapusek as she delves into the world of colour management. (Color for our friends across the pond 😁 ) Shelby is a color management consultant and one of our Print Mastermind Educators who provides an in-depth overview of color management settings in Adobe and other software. In this session, she focuses on RGB vs CMYK, embedded profiles, and rendering intents to optimise print and digital workflows. Want to know more about how you can get involved in Print Mastermind and expand your Industry knowhow alongside a number of people from the Industry, just like you? Check out https://lnkd.in/d2gDDpsu

Why Good Businesses Still Feel Stressful I see this pattern constantly in print businesses. Strong reputation. Loyal customers. Years of graft behind them. Yet the owner feels stretched, reactive, and permanently switched on. That usually tells me one thing: the business runs on memory, not structure. Pricing is flexible but unclear. Jobs are tracked in WhatsApp and Slack threads. Errors only show up when something goes wrong. And the owner becomes the system. That works - until it doesn’t. The aim isn’t to lose control. It’s to remove unnecessary pressure. Simple systems, basic data, and clearer roles don’t kill personality. They protect it. The less chaos you manage, the more energy you have to grow. You didn't start your print business to be tied to it 24/7. If you want to step back from day-to-day chaos and start running your business, not being run by it, 👉 book a discovery call, and I'll show you how to take back control.

The 10–4 Myth Can you really run a successful business and have a work-life balance? Or is it just a myth? This week I spoke to an owner who’s been chasing the same goal for years: working 10 till 4. Not because they want an easy life. Because they want a sustainable one. The hard truth is this: shorter days don’t come from motivation. They come from structure. If production collapses when you’re not there, you don’t have a time problem. You have a dependency problem. Fix that, and the hours take care of themselves. You didn't start your print business to be tied to it 24/7. If you want to step back from day-to-day chaos and start running your business, not being run by it, 👉 book a discovery call, and I'll show you how to take back control.

Predictable Income Changes Everything One of the biggest shifts a business can make is moving from hoping for sales to expecting them. Recurring revenue doesn’t just help cashflow. It changes behaviour. You make better decisions. You plan properly. You stop chasing every shiny idea. Subscriptions, retainers, memberships – they’re not just for big companies. Even small, simple products can create predictable income if they’re structured properly. The freedom most business owners want doesn’t come from more sales. It comes from certainty. That's the dream! If you're ready to grow your print business with more of the right clients, less chaos, and better margins, let's talk. 👉 Book a discovery call, and we'll map out the next steps together.

Why Waiting Feels Safe - and Costs the Most I see this pattern all the time. A business owner is waiting on a tender. Waiting on clarity. Waiting for the “right moment” to hire. Meanwhile, customers aren’t being called. Opportunities sit untouched. Frustration builds quietly. Here’s the uncomfortable reality: Waiting rarely reduces risk. It just delays progress. Momentum is created by decisions, not certainty. The businesses that grow aren’t always the ones with the best timing. They’re the ones willing to move while things are still unclear. Got a challenge you keep hitting in your business? Chances are, someone in the Mastermind has already cracked it. You'll get real answers from people who've been there. 👉 Book a discovery call today, and let's see how it can help you too.

Most printers don’t underprice because they don’t know their costs. They underprice because they don’t trust their own numbers. So they check. Then recheck. Then compare against old jobs and competitors. Five minutes becomes thirty. Speed disappears. Confidence erodes. One of the biggest breakthroughs I see is when a business draws a line in the sand: “This is our price today. Send it.” You can always adjust if the customer pushes back. But hesitation costs more than a slightly missed margin. Simple pricing creates confident teams. Confident teams win more work. You already have the skills. Now it's time to have the strategy and confidence to use them effectively. That's what one-to-one coaching gives you: clarity and control. 👉 Book your discovery call today, and let's get started.

The Problem With Being “Too Easy” as a Leader There’s a fine line between trusting your team and letting them rewrite the rules. I worked with someone this week who prides himself on not being a micromanager. The downside? His team started improvising processes, skipping steps, and deciding what mattered and what didn’t. Not out of malice, just out of habit. When you give people total freedom without clear boundaries, they build their own systems. And those systems usually aren’t designed for consistency, accountability or speed. Being “too easy” is great for culture, but terrible for operations. The fix isn’t becoming harsh. It’s becoming clear. Set the standard. Hold it. If a process matters, it’s non-negotiable. Culture thrives when clarity leads. Most owners know what they need to do. They just need structure, strategy, and accountability to make it happen. That's exactly what my one-to-one coaching delivers. 👉 Book your discovery call, and let's make sure your next 12 months are your best yet.