In September of 1983, Bill Feinberg bought his Minuteman Press franchise in Worcester, Massachusetts. While he was just 26 years-old at the time, Feinberg 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.
Feinberg shared, “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, Massachusetts, and another bought a location in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. I ended up purchasing the shop in Worcester — which had only been open for nine months at the time. 41 years later, I am still just the second owner to have owned this location.”
RVP Todd Golberg presented Feinberg and his team with his well-deserved special achievement award in recognition of over 40 years in business.
Reflecting on this accomplishment, Feinberg said, “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 renewed my franchise agreement when it was up a few years ago and we just keep humming along with myself and my three team members.”
Building the business
As Feinberg 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.”
He explained, “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 phone calls, and hired an effective salesperson that I had for eight years who was a real road warrior. Later on, I acquired new business off the Internet Marketing Program.”
Feinberg added, “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.”
Feinberg shares his top five products and services for Minuteman Press in Worcester:
- Digital printing
- Colorwork, high-end work, and wide-format printing
- Signage
- Labels
- Mailings (outsourced direct mail)
Evolution of Minuteman Press & digital printing
In 41 years, you are bound to see changes in your industry and your business. For Feinberg, digital printing was a game-changer, and Minuteman Press embracing digital printing showed just how ahead of the curve they were on emerging trends.
He said, “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 six-color press. The margins are tremendous for us with digital printing and it’s the highest margin product we sell.”
Another way Minuteman Press has evolved since he first bought the business in 1983 is through software development.
He said, “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. 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, 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, Massachusetts
Rewards & advice for others
Feinberg further reflects on his 41 years and the rewards of owning his business. He said, “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 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 offered this piece of advice for others: “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.”
