Echuca Printers

In 2017 Echuca locals Nick Lee – a trade printer with 30 years’ experience – and his wife Chris – a business administrator – completed a 3-year purchase process to become sole owners of Echuca Printers, the culmination of a long-held dream. But their work had only just begun.

The business

Chris and Nick had long seen the potential in Echuca Printers, but at the point they acquired the business, it was probably at its lowest ebb.

'One of the business's strengths was the number of long-term customers, but the previous owner had been looking to retire for a while so there had been little recent investment at a time when print technology was advancing rapidly.'

Echuca Printer's small but dedicated team, comprising Nick, Chris and 3 staff, rapidly identified the business strengths and weaknesses, and the essential steps they would need to take to realise their business dreams.

'Bringing digital printing in-house, which would require substantial investment in new technology, would decrease turnaround times for customers and increase both quality control and profit. We also needed to get out there in our own community, rebuild those relationships that are so important to a local business.'

The challenge

In the knowledge the business they had bought had been reactive and had limited cashflow, Chris and Nick were focussed on what they needed to do. The difficulty was how to do it, how to move the business forward while also finding their feet as business owners.

'We had to work in the business in order to survive, but what we really needed was to work on the business, two very different things. I felt if we could get all our ducks in a row, we could progress.'

The first step was to rebrand with a vibrant contemporary look and feel that would appeal to the local market as well as the wider national market.

The assistance

Help was at hand in the form of Business Victoria’s workshop program run by Campaspe Shire Council.

'The Business Victoria workshops were exactly what we needed. Very time efficient, access to impartial business experts who we could trust and seek advice from, and great value for money.'

Chris found that the workshop enabled her and Nick to draw a line in the sand, recognising the business challenges they were facing and developing a process for tackling them.

'We knew where we wanted to take the business, it was just how to get there. Working with course leader, Bruce Hall, we were able to develop a concise one-page business plan. It made us accountable to ourselves, developing a strategy and timeline. This has probably had the biggest impact on our business.'

'I find marketing hard, and as a business owner, everything you do is marketing. Learning about marketing through a workshop helped remove a lot of the stress around this for me and my staff member who attended. It enabled us to focus on what worked for us and get maximum return on every marketing dollar spent.'