The BIG Idea is here to stay. Having only launched 6 months ago, InkSoft’s The BIG Idea Podcast hosted by Marshall Atkinson is off to an incredible start, having received nearly 7,000 downloads!

via GIPHY

To end the year we will be doing a countdown of the top 5 most downloaded episodes.

#1 Creative Marketing with Tom Rauen

Tom’s made waves in the industry with out-of-the-box marketing efforts, including breaking the Guinness World Record for wearing the most T-shirts at one time (247 shirts, to be exact).

Everyone wants to do business with people they know, like, and trust. Tom has taken that to the next level by getting hyper-involved and hyper-visible. The result is what Tom calls “˜The Celebrity Effect.’ Most people know Tom’s name before he even introduces himself.

Dig into the episode to learn:

  • How Tom used out-of-the-box marketing ideas to grow his business
  • The steps he took to double the size of his business through acquiring other shops
  • What to consider when you’re evaluating large purchases like this yourself
  • How to make your business stand out in your community

#2 Screen Room Secrets with Alan Howe

The only way to truly learn about the inner workings of shops is to be inside of them. And Alan Howe of SAATI has seen a lot of them. Over his 30 years of experience in the industry, Alan has held positions at Jay Products and Easiway Systems, and currently is a Technical Sales Representative at the SAATI Chemical Division of SAATI Americas.

In this episode you’ll learn:

  • Why understanding the fundamentals of screen printing is critical for shop growth
  • How standardizing workflow, no matter the task, can eliminate many major printing problems
  • Why you shouldn’t underestimate the need for a well-maintained screen room
  • How to continually stay innovative as a shop, along with some of Alan’s favorite new technologies

#3 Creating Your Value with Mark Coudray

Many decorated apparel businesses still focus on price. I mean why not? When sales aren’t going well, it’s easy to say, “oh well, we’re just too expensive, let’s lower the price and the customers will come.”

However, your customers aren’t coming to you just for the cheapest product. You are NOT selling a commodity. They are coming to you for something more than decoration, and are willing to pay a premium for that. Someone who has been on the forefront of this movement to focus on the lifetime value of a customer and not his transactional value is industry veteran and, #MaxProfit 2018 guest, Mark Coudray.

In this episode you’ll learn:

  • How to move away from the lowest price mentality in your shop’s pricing
  • Why you should focus on improving your shop’s value proposition and not what the guy next door is doing
  • Why your shop needs to “go digital”
  • How InkSoft can help make your shop “sticky” to customers and increase the lifetime value of that customer
  • About Mark’s new project, Catalyst Plan, and how it can help your shop operate in the digital economy

#4 Print Industry Vision with Ryan Moor

Ryan Moor as the founder and CEO of Ryonet, however, has come a long way since he started this company all the way back in 2004 after printing shirts in his garage for his punk rock band. Now Ryonet has grown to 100 team members and is supporting more than 100,000 screen printing companies ranging from the garage start-up to award winning ROQ automatic shops.

Marshall sits with Ryan to discuss the tools and strategies Ryan used to grow Ryonet, the state of the screen printing industry as a whole, Ryan’s all-new garment line, AllMade, and what you can expect in his book “Made to Make It.“

In this episode you’ll learn:

  • How to successfully run a business around the concept of screen printing
  • The biggest question you need to ask yourself to market effectively and efficiently
  • Influencer marketing, and how to use it in your shop
  • The method behind Ryonet’s infamous “how-to” videos
  • What’s next for the screen-printing industry

#5 Scaling Shop Business with Sandlot Sports

Meet Adam McCauley & Ryan Dost. These two entrepreneurs took an idea, and have grown it into a company that has recently won the Michigan Small Business Development Center Award for the Best Small Business. While initially focusing on the sports market, Sandlot Sports has expanded into new segments, with an emphasis on being a “one-stop shop” for customers.

In this episode you’ll learn:

  • How making the decision to “ask for help” facilitated the growth of Sandlot Sports
  • The importance of setting company standards and training employees so you don’t have to micromanage
  • Tools that your shop can use to better market your products and increase sales
  • How InkSoft’s Online Stores made the buying experience easier for Sandlot Sports customers