We all know that our most powerful lessons typically come from our mistakes, not our successes. Learning what not to do is painful. Sometimes that pain is public, sometimes that pain is in the form of loss in money, time, opportunity, or a killer combination of all three. Making mistakes is part of being human. Learning from them is a really good idea. Learning from other people’s mistakes is a super productivity hack. 

I’m going to tell you about the most common mistake I see when purchasing software for your print business because I hate seeing this mistake in the marketplace. It is one of those mistakes that combine the loss of time, money, and opportunity.

The mistake can be summarized as follows: shopping and investing in print software solutions in a vacuum, without taking into consideration the software you already have and processes that software already supports. All software investments must be considered in light of your existing technology “stack.” That’s the term I use for the assembly of software solutions you currently have deployed in your business. A technology stack is the holistic look at what software you’re using in your business currently and, just as important. what that software does for you. When I talk with printers, I start by asking them about their current technology stack. In a few minutes, I can assess the level of integration that is available to them, and I can then proceed with advice on how to best add, subtract, replace, or improve the integration of the individual solutions in the technology stack.