Ginger Bowman of Synergetic Media
In October 2017, Ginger Bowman acquired a commercial printing company. In the five years since then, she has overcome three important challenges with flexibility and agility.
Some in the industry thought Bowman would fail. But sometimes it takes an outside worker in the industry to think outside the box and see where the opportunities are.
The printing industry is dominated by men. Bowman was not taken seriously at first. For many in the printing industry, their fathers passed on their businesses.
Her background was in the film industry as a technical director. She has held leading positions in Oscar-nominated and award-winning films. When she had children, she realized that the long hours of the film industry were not as compatible with the type of mother she wanted to be. She began teaching at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), which has programs in film and television.
As her children got older, “I felt like I had a lot of skills and abilities that I didn’t use as a professor,” Bowman said. “I wanted more and I wanted to strive, use all my strength and have more control over my destiny.”
It intended to modernize the commercial printing business by merging marketing and printing services. Bowman was not a marketer, but she trusted in her ability to learn. After all, she didn’t go to animation school, but studied on the job and progressed to senior technical director for top-notch films.
“I wanted more control over my financial future,” Bowman said. “I wanted to make an effort and use all my strength.” She decided to buy the company instead of starting it from scratch.
Before she bought it, the company changed hands several times and its business model also changed. It started as the recipient of the Atlanta-based franchise Franklin Printer. It was similar to the printing services now offered by Staples and UPS. “The business took care of people who came in and needed something quickly printed,” Bowman said. When the company changed hands again, it changed its business model to commercial printing rather than walking services and changed its name to Southprint.
Bowman now owns a company that has been renamed Synergetic Media. Under her leadership, the business model changed again.
The advantage of buying a business is that the hard start-up work has already been done. You have instant cash flow from existing customers. The company has a financial history, making it easier to get a loan. Existing employees and managers have business experience. Bowman mortgaged her home to get an SBA loan of $ 500,000 to buy the company and invested $ 200,000 of her own money.
One of the disadvantages of buying a business is that you may not know the downside of the business before you buy it. Bowman didn’t know that 70% of Southprint’s business comes from just three customers.
One of these customers, Whole Foods, accounted for about one-third of revenue. When Amazon bought Whole Foods, it changed its habits when buying print. While Bowman has kept Whole Foods as a customer, he is a much smaller customer. The other two large clients began to acquire their printing needs.
In the first year, sales fell by 50%. Lessons learned: When a company relies on a small group of customers, its income is very vulnerable. “I was recently thinking about buying another small print company,” Bowman said. Before deciding, she asked the business owner to look at the company’s revenue by customer to determine if only a few customers were responsible for most of the sales. Revenues were concentrated with only a few customers. She left the deal.
Bowman set about renewing Synergetic Media’s customer list. No matter how small, each customer was treated as if they were the number 1 customer in the company. Small customers have grown and new customers have been attracted.
Because she knew video, Bowman first added video services. No one understood why the printing press would offer a video service.
Nevertheless, the business rose. Then the Covid prisons happened. Colleagues told Bowman that their revenues had plummeted by two-thirds. Although she thought it was good that her company was performing better than the competition, his income still fell by one-third.
Bowman attributes her performance, which was better than the pandemic average, to the fact that she learned to be agile when her top three customers dramatically reduced spending in their first year of operation.
While others cut back, Bowman invested in her company. She trained staff to create websites and SEO to expand services. Suddenly, customers and potential customers understood why all of these services, including video and printing, were under one roof.
Bowman jumped in and picked up their equipment for pennies on the dollar when another printer shut down. He can now make labels where the money is.
It was time to transform the company into a name that reflected what it had become. Bowman renamed the company Synergetic Media. Renovating the brand leverages Bowman’s ability to create films in creating content that attracts attention, evokes emotion, and creates meaningful connections.
Synergetic has moved from 4,000 square feet to 11,000. He just gained a big client and several smaller ones. The business has returned to pre-pandemic levels and is on track to surpass the level of sales the company bought in 2017.
What business challenges have you overcome?
What are the Top 5 reasons businesses fail?
Five common causes of business failure See the article : UM Stephens College of Business Computer Informatics program changes name to Data Analytics.
- Poor cash flow management. …
- Loss of control over finances. …
- Poor planning and lack of strategy. …
- Poor leadership. …
- Excessive dependence on a few large clients.
What is the number one reason companies fail? 82% of small businesses fail due to cash flow problems. And while most small business owners agree that cash flow is the number one risk for small businesses, cash flow is also a general term – if you will – a symptom of several underlying causes.
Why some entrepreneurs fail and others succeed?
1 – Lack of planning – Businesses fail due to lack of short-term and long-term planning. Your plan should include where your business will be in the next few months to the next few years. To see also : Mecklenburg County Business Diversity and Inclusion (BDI) Program Introduces New Guidelines for Working with Suppliers. Include measurable goals and results. The right plan will include specific to-do lists with dates and deadlines.
Why are some entrepreneurs more successful than others? To understand why some entrepreneurs are more successful than others, there are some common features: 1. Don’t procrastinate: This means that when a decision needs to be made, they make it. Do not sit on your hands hoping for the best or dumping and sitting in a “too hard” basket.
Why do people succeed and others fail?
People without goals never achieve much. Some people fail to set goals out of ignorance or fear, or may not be aware of the importance of goals. To see also : There are several reasons why high -tech companies lay off employees. The SMARTS goal setting system will help you set inspiring, purposeful and meaningful goals.
Why do most entrepreneurs fail?
Entrepreneurs fail because they are often self-assured and greedy, believing they are just selling away from revolutionizing the industry and getting dirty rich. Entrepreneurs often fail because they are not corrupt, because they speak their mind, no matter how inappropriate or inappropriate the situation.
Who is the youngest CEO in the world?
Hillary Yip from Hong Kong, born in 2005, is probably still the youngest CEO in the world. 2627 She founded and runs MinorMynas, an online educational platform for children.
Who is the youngest CEO in the world in 2021? Suhas Gopinath. Suhas is the founder, CEO and President of IT MNC, Global Inc. He managed it all before he turned 18, making him the youngest CEO in the world.
Who is the No 1 CEO in world?
| Ranking | chief executive officer | The company |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Cook | Apple |
| 2 | Satya Nadella | Microsoft |
| 3 | Sundar Pichai | alphabet (Google) |
| 4 | Andy Jassy | Amazon |
Who is the youngest successful CEO?
Suhas Gopinath started his business at the age of thirteen and is the youngest entrepreneur in the world. He started the Globals software company, registered in California’s Silicon Valley and currently expanding in eleven states.
Who’s the youngest CEO in the world?
Alex Rodrigues is the youngest CEO of a public company at 26, after his autonomous transport company Embark announced an IPO earlier this week. But Lex Rodrigues always wanted to be an inventor.
