I have worked in the Creative field for 20+ years. Through these years I’ve had the opportunity to work on all sides of my industry. QuarkXPress anyone? Alright, guess my age? I've worked in Sales and Marketing, Design, Product Development and Logistics. I've been a CSR and I've been an Account Executive, but for the past 10 years I have owned and operated a Marketing and Print Production Company. 3.5 years ago I added to our umbrella by building from the ground up, a Large Format Digital Print and Manufacturing Plant ...a split second of comfort, which led to a moment of clouded-clarity that thankfully has turned out to be a good decision.
From the moment I entered into this Industry, I could not have accomplished much of anything without the people who operate on the peripheral of my business life. We all know that our Clients are our most valuable asset and without their trust and continued loyalty, we might be kickin’ it at the neighborhood diner flipping burgers or hanging on the street corner garnering the courage to launch into street dance, for tips. Indeed, we are grateful for Client loyalty, but this Blog is about the peripheral, its about those folks who are busting their butts behind the scenes, making the impossible happen! There are many worth acknowledging for sure, but today I would like to give a shout out to our Vendor-Partners! Those people who go to bat for us over and over again! We have confidence in them and they understand that we’re counting on them, after all we’ve brought them into our business. You know who I’m talking about, the people you leave in the background, those who are not present and sitting beside you in a big meeting, although likely aware of your meeting because they’ve helped you plan for it. They’ve answered questions and addressed timelines and they’ve “almost” committed, with very little information and certainly no purchase order. They’ve already told you they would do it, whatever “it” is? Yes, they’re on board... they will make it happen! We’ll be calling them shortly after our meeting- its happened a hundred times before. We’ll call to let them know the timeline has changed and we would like to see how quickly they can ship a few samples out or if they’ll be able to fulfill an outrageously large custom order in record time?
As a business owner, I am both a Client and a Vendor and in being so I have the utmost respect for both relationships. That said, I am fully aware that without constant communication and partnership with my Vendors, without acknowledging those who daily hit the ground running, because I’ve challenged them with budget deficiencies and unreasonable deadlines, and because I expect that even so, they’ll say yes... and in the end they’ll make magic happen!
To our Vendor Partners, you know who you are... as we near Thanksgiving, this one’s for you! We appreciate you, we thank you, and we look forward to our continued friendship and mutual success! It takes a village to raise a business!
