Starting a Printing Business
Interview with Jim Janosik, Founder of GoGreenPrinting.biz
Jim Janosik noticed that many of the clients at his media business were asking for "green" printing services. He founded GoGreenPrinting.biz in 2009 as a dba of Aladan Media Group.
Jim Janosik founded GoGreenPrinting to satisfy the growing demand for printing on recycled paper with organic inks.
Tell me about your current business. What are you doing exactly?
GoGreenPrinting.biz offers environmentally friendly printing for businesses that care about conservation and have eco-friendly practices in place. This is done through a print broker arrangement with a top notch trade only printing manufacturer in Los Angeles.
How did you come up with your business idea?
Often we would source printing for our clients and broker the transaction. More requests kept coming in for printing utilizing recycled content paper and organic inks. So expanding to offer a complete e-commerce platform for any business to access affordable and responsible printing was a natural progression.
What were you doing before this, and is this your first business?
For the five years previous and continuing now Aladan Media Group provides graphic design and marketing solutions for small businesses. This is my second business venture.
Green business is all the rage right now. Has it really been practical for you as an entrepreneur to incorporate green business practices?
Green is our specialty. We practice what we preach and use only CFL light bulbs in our office and recycle anything we possibly can from cardboard to paper.
With the current economy in a slump, what cost saving tips would you have for a new entrepreneur?
Analyze your expenses and purchases to find any waste. Do what you can in-house and outsource to others who have the abilities you seek without having to hire full-time staff. Be frugal where you can without compromising your standards of excellence.
Tell me about your experiencing outsourcing.
Since all the production of GoGreenPrinting.biz is provided by a trusted third party, we are better able to allocate our resources to marketing the website and growing our customer base.
Social marketing is consistently being written about in the small business space. Has it worked generating business for you?
It is starting to. We recently started a facebook page and are active in contributing to industry related blogs and forums.
What advice would you give to somebody else who wanted to start a similar business?
If you are contemplating a broker arrangement of any sort, pay careful attention to performing your due diligence and research on the vendor you will be using. Make sure they can provide you and in some cases your client directly with superior customer service and care. If possible, travel to their facility and get a first-hand look at the operation and the people behind the operation. Ask too many questions so that you are equipped to make an educated business decision.
Sound advice, Jim. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to share your story with us.
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