Print & Promo Marketing’s ongoing feature series, Executive Perspectives, tells the personal entrepreneurial stories of
leading professionals in the print and promotional products industry. This month, Brian Swift, president of Swift Sourcing (asi/490042), traces his career in the industry back to his father’s business in the 1970s, and lays out how he uses careful analytics for setting attainable and ambitious goals.
PPM: How did you get started in this industry?
Brian Swift: I’m a proud second-generation business owner. My father discovered the promotional products industry in the 1970s while sourcing ways to produce merchandise for members of Historically Black Fraternities and Sororities. Originally my plan was to build a career on Wall Street and later join or invest in the family business.
However, after only a few years in New York, the events of 9/11 and my father’s illness – from which he thankfully recovered – brought me home to St. Louis sooner than expected. Together, we decided to create a spin-off company that allowed me to build my own path within the industry. Nearly 25 years later, I’ve had the honor of serving on industry boards and continuing our family’s legacy with a renewed vision for growth and innovation.
PPM: How do you set goals for yourself and for your business?
BS: I’ve been using a simple three-step approach to goal-setting
since high school:
- Evaluate: Check where things stand now for me and the business – what’s working, what’s not, what needs to change?
- Accept: Choose new goals to commit to, make sure they fit my resources, and align them with my long-term vision and values.
- Execute: Break each goal into specific quarterly, weekly and even daily actions with checkpoints so progress is visible.
PPM: How does the economy continue to affect the industry?
BS: Due to economic uncertainty, budgets are tighter and approvals are slower, so every project has to prove clear ROI. Buyers seem to be moving from buying lots of cheap products to fewer, higher-quality pieces that feel premium. Demand remains relatively steady because events, gifting and employee programs still need tangible branded touchpoints.
PPM: What do you expect to be some of the biggest changes or challenges the industry will face?
BS: Decreased profit as clients expect more value without bigger budgets; rising demand for more involved “program” business instead of simple one-off product orders; higher expectations around sustainability, ethics and product safety across the supply chain.
PPM: What do you think is the most exciting, cutting-edge thing your company is doing right now?
BS: Scaling our AI-enhanced www.outsourcingforgood.com team in the Philippines, which is now 30-plus strong and growing. By combining skilled Filipino talent with AI tools across service, support, operations and growth tasks, our promo clients get better service and our staffing clients get more done without adding local headcount. As the team and services expand, we’re not only helping businesses scale efficiently, we’re also creating stable, well-paying jobs and improving quality of life for our people and their communities.
PPM: What would people be surprised to learn about you?
BS: I used to take polo (on horseback), fencing and DJ lessons, and my 2026 goal is to get back to at least two of them.
