WORCESTER, Mass., Sept. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In September of 1983, Bill Feinberg bought his Minuteman Press franchise in Worcester, MA. While he was just 26 years-old at the time, Bill was ready to own his own business and put in the work that was needed to succeed. After all, business ownership was something that ran in the family.
Bill shares, "Before Minuteman Press, I was involved in a family business called Beaconway Fabrics that was sold. It was a family chain of fabric stores. When I was looking for employment, I heard about Minuteman Press through two of our business partners. One of them bought a Minuteman Press shop in Burlington, MA, and another bought a location in Chelmsford, MA. I ended up purchasing the shop in Worcester that was only open for 9 months at the time. 41 years later, I am still just the second owner to have owned this location.” Bill's shop is located at 122 Green Street in Worcester.
RVP Todd Golberg presented Bill and his team with his well-deserved Special Achievement Award in recognition of over 40 years in business. Reflecting on this accomplishment, Bill says, "40 years later, this award means I've established a reliable source of income, year in and year out. I did my 'first million' in 2000, and have been over the million mark ever since, year in and year out. The Worcester market is very consistent for me. This is a lucrative business and Minuteman Press has been good to me. I now own three homes - my house here, a ski house in Vermont, and a condo in Montauk. I renewed my franchise agreement when it was up a few years ago and we just keep humming along with myself and my 3 team members."
Building the Business
As Bill noted, he has been a member of the Minuteman Press International President's Club every year since 2000, achieving annual gross sales of over $1 million each year since then. He is the first person to tell you that his success was achieved incrementally over time and because of one word: "Tenacity.” Bill explains, "My path to success was not overnight. Where I was to where I am today is because of tenacity. I was always comfortable going out and selling myself. I followed the Minuteman Press system. I knocked on doors, made the phone calls, and hired an effective salesperson that I had for 8 years who was a real road warrior. Later on, I acquired new business off the Internet Marketing Program.”
Bill adds, "We've never lost any business because of mistakes. The only time we've lost clients is when companies have been sold or changed marketing teams/purchasing managers. We've also picked up new business that way as well, so it goes both ways. The key is to deliver on your promises, keep grinding, and be tenacious.”
Bill shares his top 5 products and services for Minuteman Press in Worcester:
- Digital printing
- Color work, high-end work, and wide format printing
- Signage
- Labels
- Mailings (outsourced direct mail)
In 41 years, you are bound to see changes in your industry and your business. For Bill, digital printing was a game-changer, and Minuteman Press embracing digital printing showed just how ahead of the curve they were on emerging trends.
Bill says, "By far, the most impactful change I've seen is the move to digital printing. We used to run so much black and white printing for retailers as well as medical forms for groups. Digital printing ushered in high-quality color runs that have made operating the business much easier. The whole operation is streamlined with digital printing - we have the print-ready file, send it to our Xerox machine, and our quality is just as good as it would be on a 6-color press. The margins are tremendous for us with digital printing and it's the highest margin product we sell.”
He continues, "Today, we sell direct to businesses that are small and medium in size. The vast majority of the artwork we get is print ready, and all we need to do is make minor adjustments and changes to the files. Our digital printing is done in-house. Signs365 is an incredible vendor for signage; they are very cost-effective especially as quantities increase. We also outsource higher-end work for custom labels and tags as well as point of sale displays.”
Another way Minuteman Press has evolved since Bill first bought the business in 1983 is through software development. Bill says, "I have been with Minuteman Press since the very first software was introduced. To see what FLEX is today is absolutely incredible as it is invaluable to the business. FLEX helps our team track client orders while also helping our clients keep track. Everything is at our fingertips, so if a client is interested in ordering an item, we can easily pull up the information we need. We've come a long way from paper pricing and basic computer pricing to the fully integrated business management and marketing capabilities that FLEX has today.”
"Running the business for 41 years, I am very happy with Minuteman Press as my franchisor. I had the option of leaving the franchise after 25 years or renewing the agreement, and I renewed. We have the support, the freedom, the vendor contracts with Xerox and Signs365, and the FLEX software. I feel that Minuteman Press was always leading the charge in the industry and they proved that by getting on top of the digital printing trend right when it was going to happen. Of course, it did, and Minuteman Press made sure we were ready for it.” -Bill Feinberg, Owner, Minuteman Press, Worcester, MA
Rewards & Advice for Others
Bill further reflects on his 41 years and the rewards of owning his business. He says, "Minuteman Press gives you the freedom to structure the business as you see fit. The shop has become extremely simple to operate. I can delegate to my staff. The vendors have been reliable in delivering the quality products with fast turnaround and cost-effective pricing. Managing the business today is much different than 20 years ago. My tenacity has paid off and I can operate the business but also take time off and enjoy my vacations.”
He offers this piece of advice for others, sharing, "I pride my shop on attention to detail. We virtually never have any jobs printed wrong. A lot of details go into getting the correct product out the door so we are very detail-oriented. I believe in quality assurance, never missing deadlines, and providing customer quotes in a really fast timeframe. We do same-day quotes and follow up with customers so that we are always first to get back to them on pricing. While they are waiting for others, they'll see how fast we can be, and if we are fast with their quotes, we can be fast with their jobs.”
In Bill's own words from earlier , the business is "humming along” indeed… Congratulations!
Minuteman Press in Worcester, MA is located at 122 Green St., Worcester, MA 01604. For more information, visit
https://minuteman.com/us/locations/ma/worcester/
Learn more about #1 rated Minuteman Press franchise opportunities and read Minuteman Press franchise reviews at https://minutemanpressfranchise.com
Media Contact:
Minuteman Press International
Chris Biscuiti, 631-249-1370
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0929bbdc-bb8a-4dbf-9fda-f6c3259015a4
