Ginger Bowman of Synergetic Media
Synergetic Media
In October 2017, Ginger Bowman bought a industrial printing enterprise. Within the 5 years since, she has overcome three vital challenges by being versatile and pivoting.
- Excessive buyer focus.
- An trade that was set in its methods.
- The pandemic.
Some within the trade thought Bowman would fail. However, typically, it takes an trade outsider to assume outdoors the field to see the place alternatives are.
The printing trade is male-dominated. At first, nobody took Bowman severely. Many within the printing trade have had their companies handed to them by their fathers.
Her background was within the movie trade as a technical director. She had held management positions in Oscar-nominated and successful movies. When she had youngsters, she realized that the movie trade’s lengthy hours weren’t appropriate with the kind of mom she needed to be. She began educating at Savannah School of Artwork and Design (SCAD), which has applications in movie and tv.
When her youngsters had been older, “I felt like I had a number of abilities and skills that weren’t utilized as a professor,” mentioned Bowman. “I needed extra, and I needed to push myself, use all my strengths, and have extra management of my future.”
She supposed to modernize a industrial printing enterprise by mixing advertising and print companies. Bowman wasn’t a marketer, however she had confidence in her potential to be taught. In spite of everything, she hadn’t gone to high school for animation, however she realized on the job and rose to be a senior technical director for high films.
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“I needed extra management of my monetary future,” mentioned Bowman. “I needed to push myself and use all my strengths.” She selected to purchase a enterprise slightly than begin one from scratch.
Earlier than she purchased it, the enterprise had modified fingers a number of instances and its enterprise mannequin had modified, too. It began as a franchisee of Franklin Printer, based mostly in Atlanta. It was very similar to the print companies Staples and UPS now provide. “The enterprise catered to individuals who walked in and wanted one thing printed shortly,” mentioned Bowman. When the enterprise modified fingers once more, it modified its enterprise mannequin to industrial printing slightly than walk-in companies and adjusted its identify to Southprint.
Bowman now owns the company, which has been rebranded to Synergetic Media. Below her management, the enterprise mannequin has modified but once more.
Some great benefits of shopping for a enterprise is that the tough start-up work has already been accomplished. You’ve speedy money movement from present clients. The corporate has a monetary historical past, making it simpler to get a mortgage. Current staff and managers have expertise within the enterprise. Bowman mortgaged her dwelling to get an SBA mortgage for $500,000 to purchase the corporate and put in $200,000 of her personal cash.
One of many disadvantages of shopping for a enterprise is that you could be not know the corporate’s weaknesses earlier than you buy it. Little did Bowman know that 70% of Southprint’s enterprise got here from simply three clients.
A kind of purchasers, Complete Meals, accounted for about one-third of revenues. When Amazon bought Complete Meals, it modified its print buying habits. Whereas Bowman has maintained Complete Meals as a shopper, it’s a a lot smaller shopper. The 2 different massive purchasers had began to insource their printing wants.
Gross sales dropped 50% within the first 12 months. Lesson realized: When a enterprise depends on a small group of shoppers, its earnings is extremely susceptible. “I lately checked out buying one other small print firm,” mentioned Bowman. Earlier than making a call, she requested the enterprise proprietor to see the corporate’s earnings by shopper to see if just some clients had been chargeable for the majority of gross sales. Revenues had been concentrated with just some clients. She walked away from the deal.
Bowman started working rebuilding Synergetic Media’s shopper listing. Irrespective of how small, each shopper was handled prefer it was the corporate’s #1 buyer. Small clients grew in dimension and new clients had been introduced in.
Since she knew video, Bowman added video companies first. Nobody obtained why a printing firm would provide video service.
Nonetheless, enterprise picked up. Then Covid lockdowns occurred. Colleagues shared with Bowman that their income had precipitously dropped by two-thirds. Whereas she felt good that her firm did higher than her competitors, its earnings nonetheless had fallen by one-third.
Bowman credit her better-than-average efficiency through the pandemic to studying be nimble when her high three clients decreased spending dramatically throughout her first 12 months in enterprise.
Whereas others reduce, Bowman invested in her firm. She educated employees on constructing web sites and search engine marketing to develop companies. Out of the blue, clients and prospects obtained why all these companies together with video and printing had been underneath one roof.
Bowman swooped in and scooped up their tools for pennies on the greenback when one other printer went out of enterprise. She will be able to now produce signage, which is the place the cash is.
It was time to rebrand the corporate to a reputation that mirrored what it had change into. Bowman renamed the corporate Synergetic Media. The rebranding leverages Bowman’s film making abilities in creating content material that will get consideration, stirs emotion, and creates significant connections.
Synergetic has moved from 4,000 sq. toes to 11,000. It simply received an enormous shopper and a number of other smaller ones. Enterprise is again to pre-pandemic ranges and on monitor to surpass gross sales ranges for the corporate she purchased in 2017.
What enterprise challenges have you ever overcome?
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