Branding Together: Finding Opportunities Within Failures

Failure doesn’t have to be the end of the story. Sometimes it’s where the best lessons begin. In this episode of Branding Together, co-hosts Theresa Hegel of ASI and Cassie Green of Apparelist talk with print industry veteran Colin Sinclair McDermott, the Online Print Coach, about the mistakes that shaped his career, the growth pitfalls he sees print businesses make most often and why understanding your numbers, delegating effectively and embracing new technology are critical.

Mentioned in this episode:

Podcast Chapters

10:06: Reframing failure as a growth strategy
17:16: Why businesses need to embrace imperfection
20:38: Meet Colin Sinclair McDermott, the Online Print Coach
25:08: The biggest growth mistakes print businesses make
28:22: Why business owners resist change
30:10: Delegation, time management and letting go of control
34:10: Comparing print businesses in the U.S. and U.K.
39:03: Convergence creates new opportunities for printers
41:06: Vibe coding, AI and the future of print operations
44:01: Colin’s go-to party trick
47:58: Cassie takes on a U.K. slang quiz

Key Takeaways

• Print business owners need to understand their financials and track key KPIs before they can make sound growth decisions, according to Colin Sinclair McDermott, the Online Print Coach.

• Generic marketing falls flat. Printers should tailor messaging to specific customer segments, pain points and needs.

• Owners who refuse to delegate often create their own time-management problems and limit their companies’ ability to grow.

• Focusing on high-impact work, setting tighter deadlines and eliminating low-value tasks can free up significant time.

• Effective coaching requires accountability, honest conversations and a willingness from both coach and client to adapt.

• Colin sees U.S. print businesses as generally more willing than U.K. firms to invest in themselves and take entrepreneurial risks.

• Convergence, accessible software and AI-powered tools are giving smaller print businesses new ways to automate, diversify and compete.

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