Conversations with Deanna Cole

Today we’d like to introduce you to Deanna Cole.

Hi Deanna, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
2016 I was looking to change careers. I didn’t want to travel all the time for work anymore since I was newly married. Being gone most of the time is great for a single person, but not so great for a newlywed.

I remembered how much I loved the printing and mailing world back many years ago when I worked for another company so I found a location looking to hire. I was hoping to gain knowledge and see what was new in the printing world before jumping in on my own. This company also did promotional products which I was interested in as well so it was a great starting point. At the time, I didn’t necessarily plan in going out on my own but after several months of the owner and I not agreeing on his micro management of me. (I’d been doing sales for 30 years. I know how to sell, not to mention, I am always selling even outside of work hours, when I see an opportunity to help someone).

We parted ways and I got in touch with someone who was looking to do work for brokers. It seemed to be a good way to start on my own. I just had to get the orders, send them to this guy and then deliver to the customer and collect the payment. I started doing that a couple months later, working from home, managing my own time and how I did business.

Fast forward a couple years and I was to the point where I was wanting to have more control over projects. Being a broker was great for expenses but, I didn’t have any control over the finished product and I wanted to be able to have more say in the way it turned out. Make sure colors matched, layout was right, do test prints to show the client before we printed the whole order to get confirmation that was what they were wanting.

One day, I was driving down 19th Avenue, like I had done so many times before, taking my father in law to a Dr.’s appt. We were stopped at the corner of 19th Avenue and Greenway. I was looking around at the shop in the shopping center on the northwest corner and I saw a for lease sign in the window of one of the shops. I took the number down, not knowing if I would do anything with it. One day I thought, why not just call and see what it is like. I went and looked at it and really loved the spot. I took my husband back to check it out and he liked it. I thought on it for awhile and in that time frame, I had a dream that scared me, but when I talked to people about it, they said it was actually a good dream saying that it meant a fresh start. In my mind, that was my sign to take a chance and move forward and open my shop in that space.

I opened my doors October 21, 2019. 4 months later, the world closed down. I started doubting myself and my decision to open a shop. It was too late to change my mind now. I have to make it work. With the help of my networking group who made a quick transition to zoom, I was able to hang on. Barely, but I did. I was doing some work for those who were still able to work their businesses from home or who were approved to be open and those who needed flyers or brochures to send out since they couldn’t meet in person.

Once things opened back up, I was working with restaurants and the places that needed the safety signage, keep your distance signs and notes, pick up only signs etc. Things slowly started to come around. I was doing Christmas cards from printing to mailing for many since many still weren’t going out a lot.

I met with a larger format company in the area and they started calling me and giving me business, I in turn had them do some of my larger print work and things started to take off. My networking group was sending me business and things were going great.

I now have a steady clientele who come back for projects and people who come to me for specialty work. We will make your visions come to life. Most of the other big print companies just print a file you send over. It may not look the same the next time you print it and if there are spelling errors, they won’t catch it. At SAS we will get creative. We make suggestions, we will proofread the smaller projects and make sure everything is correct. You will get the same end product every time because we care about your end product. We care about the client and want them to be happy and feel important. If we mess something up we will redo it for you at no cost. (doesn’t happen very often, but we are human and mistakes can happen). We love what we do and will do the fun projects that you have in mind but don’t know how or don’t have the time, to get them done.

We can typically turn small projects around fairly quickly and the larger ones in 7 – 10 business days.
We love what we do and we love our clients.
We are honest, reliable and don’t gouge our clients.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
We had lots of obstacles not listed in the previous.
COVID
Mother in Law having a Stroke and needing extra care
Father in Law needing more care
Sister in Law passing
Paper and supplies hard to get and/or a lot more expensive
Landlord wanting to double rent and having to move
Father in law passing
Printer issues and needing to get new equipment.
Lots of orders with no one to help when I needed it. (I now have an amazing assistant)
Lots of part time help that was not necessarily consistent or reliable. A couple were great others not so much or no at the right time.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Like I mentioned earlier, we love to do the things other print shops won’t. We will meet before / after hours with someone to talk about their project.

We will do the crafty projects to make their project come to life.
We just recently did a lot of work for a quinceanera. from scroll invitations, to bottle labels, cake topper, horse medallion for the horse to wear in pictures, table reserved signs, mirror decal. There was a lot of work put into these and they all turned out amazing.

Specialty work is why people come back to us.

I took a large image that was on rice paper and found a way to duplicate it without damaging the original so we could print duplicates for a client. He was so surprised and happy we were able to do it.

Foam core baby/wedding – shower and event signs, games, invites, menu boards, seating charts, invitations, reply cards, envelope liners to match.

We love to get creative.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Always get confirmations from clients on what they want. You can never ask to many questions to ensure the end product is correct and what they want.

Always get proofs approved before printing. That way if there is an error, they have approved the work and we are not responsible for the error being printed. Get approvals on pricing and expectations up front.

Don’t under price or over price. I get people who say I am expensive and then I have those that say I don’t charge enough. To me, that means I am at a good price point. I recycle boxes, paper, packing material and anything else I can recycle to help lower the cost. Some people just want a lot and want to pay practically nothing. Our time and expertise is valuable and worth what we charge.

Under promise and Over deliver.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sasunlimitedprinting.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sas.printing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SASUPNOW/