Press release from the issuing company
De Bortoli Wines is the number one wine-producer in Australia and they entrust Sam Porter and his team at Minuteman Press in Croydon with their branding.
Croyden, VIC., Australia – It is with professionalism, good humour and refreshing honesty that Minuteman Press franchise owner Sam Porter engages his work life. As a CPA for twenty years, he not only worked to further the success of companies in both Australia and England, he had the trust of big-name organisations in the UK such as The Chelsea Football Club in England and The Western Bulldogs in Melbourne.
Sam didn’t envision himself as a business owner, but all of that changed when he visited a franchise expo. “I never even thought about running a printing business until I met George Holzmacher (Vice President) at a franchise expo in Melbourne.” Being a CPA strengthened his grasp of the “business side of business”, so it was encouraging when met with the possibility of having an ally like Minuteman Press International in the ways George described that day. “The reason I chose to buy a Minuteman Press franchise, in the end, was that we weren’t tied to any particular supplier and were free to make our own choices, but still benefit from the brand name when dealing with those suppliers.”
Sam was impressed enough to leave the workforce behind and begin his new life as his own boss and he did that through buying a brand-new Minuteman Press franchise in Croydon. He has not looked back and the community he serves is pleased. “We just celebrated our 4th anniversary and we have no limits when it comes to what we will do to get the job done for our customers. With our major customers, to meet tight deadlines, I will choose to bring work home and work in an office area we have set up to help with these jobs.” The keyword is “choose” as it is the freedom to choose the direction of his business with support that gives him advantages that made Sam decide to buy his digital print, design and marketing centre in Croydon in the first place.
He has a designer, Laura Carpinteri, who has been with him for almost two years and his wife, Kerryn, who lends a hand in the bindery area when things get really busy. All of them help surpass expectations with the dedication to every project. “My dad was a successful businessman and he taught me a very important lesson once: "The customer is always right, and when they aren't, they still are." We pride ourselves on our level of service to stand out from other printers in our area. We greatly appreciate the feedback from customers that we regularly receive saying that they can't believe they get their printing back so promptly.”
“I love the look of satisfied customers when they receive their printed material and they say it is so much better than what their last printer provided.” – Sam Porter
Service to his fellow professionals extends beyond his bottom line and into matters of the heart. “We choose 2-3 charities a year to help with donations or free printing and we help out family and friends where we can. Recently my wife's best friend lost her dad and it was with great pleasure that we were able to help them out by printing the funeral books at no charge. If being able to design and print those booklets for them was somehow a comfort during such a difficult time, I am happy we were able to help them out.” It is a position he would not trade for a high-paying job as a CPA, though he says it was an adjustment learning to employ and manage staff in the beginning.
Fortunately, all that was new to him he did not encounter alone as he had support from his local and corporate representatives.
“Minuteman Press International’s brand has been fantastic and I learnt a lot of my knowledge from both Pete Taglino and Dave Scadin at the New York Training School. Also, I thankfully am able to pick the brain of my Field Representative, Errol Luchian, when we were starting the store from scratch and I had no previous printing experience. These three men were fantastic in giving me the knowledge and training to get my store started.”
The core of any strong franchise is the fortitude of the system upon which it is built and Minuteman Press International not only maintains greater than four decades of proven success for entrepreneurs, they also maintain the lead when it comes to innovations in print technology. Representatives from World Headquarters make certain to share this knowledge with all their franchise owners through regular regional meetings and conventions.
“I also benefit greatly from the annual visits from CEO Bob Titus, Executive Vice President and Director of Training Mike Jutt and Vice Presidents Nick Titus and Joe Durand. They give us new ideas and refresh our thoughts on how to build our business. My wife and I are also very excited about attending our first Minuteman World Expo later in this month (in Las Vegas) and can't wait to learn more about the printing world and what awaits us.”
De Bortoli Wines is one of the number one wine producers in Australia and they appreciate the fine partnership they maintain with Minuteman Press in Croydon.
“I met them by knocking on their door and dropping off some marketing material,” Sam explains. They began producing striking results and this sparked new orders. We continued to turn around their printing materials promptly and have had them as a customer for about 3.5 years now. We print menus for restaurants, in-store promotions, competition materials, booklets, order pads and basically anything else they ask me to print.”
Angelique Whittingham, VIC/TAS Sales Coordinator knows her industry demands the highest standards be met in all areas. It is for this reason she values her relationship with Minuteman Press in Croydon.
In her words, “The products we receive from Sam are always of a very high standard, being in the wine industry we need quality printed material, which are of a high standard, they need to be durable because of the environment they are exposed to. As we deal with both on premise and off-premise businesses, we have varying requirements for each industry. On-premise businesses (pubs, restaurants & cafes) require menus, posters, wine lists, drink cards, table stand inserts and table tent cards. Off-premise businesses (supermarkets & bottle shops) require posters, entry pads, corflutes, wobblers and shelf talkers.”
Angelique adds a few words of appreciation for Sam’s personalised service. “Sam is a great communicator, if there are any issues with files, i.e. incorrect artwork size he lets me know, so he cross checks all emails with artwork. He also helps me with printing jobs which are not standard requests, so he is a great resource.”
Sam enjoys the freedom franchise ownership provides as well as the community engagement that comes along with being a marketing services provider and the community is responding with loyalty. As his client Angelique concludes, “We have worked with Minuteman Press for a few years now and look forward to continuing the great working relationship.”
For more information on Minuteman Press in Croydon, visit their website: https://croydon.minutemanpress.com.au.
Minuteman Press printing franchise, Croydon, VIC, Australia – Left to Right: Kerryn Porter, Sam Porter, and Laura Carpinteri.
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