San Antonio Minuteman Press franchise moves & celebrates grand re-opening
Owners Steve Wolff & Lea Wolff shared their journey & business tips.
Steve Wolff and Lea Wolff have been the owners of their Minuteman Press franchise in North San Antonio, Texas, since July of 2018. When they were looking for a bigger space for their business, they didn’t have to look too far. Steve Wolff said, “Our original location was 980 square feet. We decided to literally move next door to our new space at 16606 San Pedro Avenue, which is now 1400 square feet.”
Steve Wolff shared further details about the move and why it made sense to stay in the same area: “When we bought our franchise, our regional VP found a terrific location and negotiated our lease in a long-established shopping center. It is very easy for customers and prospects to find, and the business density is outstanding. When we were looking to expand, we shopped around, particularly in business parks, but we could not find anything that beat where we already were. So, when we moved, we just amended the original lease and kept the original terms virtually unchanged.”
Steve Wolff cited two particular benefits of the new location with the additional space he now has to work with:
- Room for a second digital press: “Without a doubt, the most significant benefit is we were able to add an additional digital printing press with booklet-making finishing modules that include square fold, stapling, top and bottom trim, and face trim. When customers and prospects come in, they immediately see the two digital press lineups and know we’re able to handle large quantity orders. We think it’s really great marketing for them to see this.”
- New lobby displays and more efficient production layout: “With the additional space, we’re able to have promotional products, apparel, and caps displays that we were lacking in the old space. The additional space has also allowed us to be more efficient with our production process. The new layout is more comfortable, and we don’t have to shuffle equipment and furniture around to accommodate the various finishing on jobs.”
Grand re-opening event
On March 6, Minuteman Press in North San Antonio held its grand re-opening, celebrating the move to the larger location. The event was sponsored by Metro SA, which is the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. Marketing Director Alexx Ramirez organized the event. Steve Wolff shared, “We had catering provided by John the Greek Restaurant, and we were also sponsored by local printing and toner vendor Ubeo Business Services, which helped contribute to our swag bags provided to guests.”
He continued, “We had a really solid turnout with several recent new customers, friends of customers, and recent prospects in attendance. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was conducted by Metro SA Ambassadors as well as the Metro SA President.”
The feedback from the event was positive all the way around. Steve Wolff stated, “Our team made a great impression on everyone by demonstrating their knowledge, letting their enthusiasm show, and just being friendly. We received a handful of quote requests right after the event and more assurances by others that we’d be hearing from them. The most satisfying response was from Metro SA, who placed an order to produce their 2025 Voter’s Guide booklets.”
We engage with our clients and let them know that we’re scalable and flexible. We can accommodate virtually any promotional, marketing, or operational need they have to conduct business. Most importantly, we understand business and know how to offer solutions in a timely way.
-Steve Wolff
Journey to Minuteman Press
Prior to Minuteman Press, Steve Wolff shared, “I was a director for a media production company (print and digital). I have experience in graphic design, process analysis & improvement, UX design, information architecture and taxonomy, and usability analysis for web design and development. Lea’s experience includes owning and operating a small, upscale shoe store, and she also has experience in graphic design and print buying.”
Steve Wolff and Lea Wolff chose Minuteman Press because they knew the viability of printing and had crossover skills that translated well. Steve shared, “The experience I had in media production was helpful, but there was a learning curve for the business model. Now, having gained some practical experience, the main benefits are having a tool like FLEX as well as the royalty cap. Other nice benefits are the buying power of the Minuteman Press system (like end-column pricing), access to other owners to talk shop, and the brand.”
Steve Wolff added, “Pete Scaglione’s and Erick Rios’ support were extremely valuable when we first opened. They filled a lot of gaps in our training, particularly the nuts and bolts of print shop operation. I had a learning curve on promotional products and Central Facilities work. Erick is very good and is always responsive and helpful. We feel fortunate to have him to lean on.”
Growing & marketing the business
According to Steve Wolff and Lea Wolff, their high-demand products are “booklets, business cards, brochures, flyers, postcards, and wide format printing.” Steve Wolff shared, “Our absolute best way we’re growing is marketing these products to our existing customer database. Alexx applied his experience with ‘call-backs’ (calling customers to check in with them), and we saw very good success. Alexx has also been busy leveraging social media to drive traffic to our website and Internet quote request form.”
Steve Wolff laid out the four keys to acquiring new customers:
- “We get a great deal of new customers who come through the website and quote request form.”
- “We also get prospects through networking. It’s not unusual for someone to submit a quote request from a casual conversation with Alexx or Lea outside of business hours.”
- “Next, we get prospects from referrals, usually from existing customers. Referrals also come from print buyers who change jobs and stick with us in their new positions.”
- “Since San Antonio hosts a lot of conventions and conferences, Alexx has been actively pursuing out-of-town companies that are attending them. He finds their contact information on the conferences’ websites and leverages the Minuteman Press brand by contacting them with calls and emails. We have a fairly large order in production right now, as a matter of fact.”
He added, “Google Reviews are very important since many prospects use Google after they’ve been referred. I’m happy to say we’ve consistently held a 4.9 rating. A couple of things to note about our reviews: we actually only have one review that is not a 5-star review. The second thing is, everyone on our team has been recognized by name in at least one 5-star review.”
Final thoughts
When asked if there’s anything else he’d like to share, Steve Wolff reflected, “I’ve talked to many other Minuteman Press owners all around the country and here in Texas, and every single one of them has been very gracious and generous with their time and advice. In keeping with the standard they’ve set, I’m happy to talk shop with anyone as well.”
