We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Zach Wilson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Zach, appreciate you joining us today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?
I’m an avid bass fisherman. When I’m not working, I’m usually on the lake or traveling fishing tournaments. As entrepreneurs we often put so much passion into our projects that we forget about time for ourselves. Years ago, I changed to a “weekends are for family and self” business plan, and while working less, production and profits actually increased! I think the best advice for business owners is to make the time to take time for yourself.
Zach, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Everything started in 1999 when I opened a skateboard shop (Lovely Skateboards) in downtown KC in what is now the crossroads. I worked part-time at a print shop in the evenings for extra cash and made clothing for my Lovely brand while working there. I ended up buying some equipment from a couple that was retiring so I could print my own stuff for the skate shop. Quickly I started printing stuff on the side for friends that were opening businesses at the time also. The skate shop didn’t make enough money to survive, so I closed it and stuck with the printing, and things kept growing. In 2005 I made it official and opened Union Press to the public. Since then, the company has grown from a one-man operation to having 2 automatic presses and 6 full-time employees. We now print thousands of shirts weekly.
I started the printing company as a client. Beginning as a retail store and clothing line owner, I was simply frustrated with the process of getting a quality screen printed product from the big guys. Prices were always too high for small runs, and salespeople sometimes a little too pushy. It always seemed like these monster factories just couldn’t see the actual artistry in the T-shirt, just their quick profits and on to the next job. We cut out the middle-man, started producing our own products, and finding many people in the same place as us, we opened our presses to the public.
Fast forward almost twenty years later, we truly enjoy the process and helping clients, and strive to provide a screen-printing experience to be a friendly, not frustrating experience. We’re happy to share our years of industry knowledge to help make client projects a success. We want everyone that shops with us to feel like part of the family and know they are getting a quality product that care and attention to detail is put into. We are also actually a Union labor shop and our employees are Union cardholders. I think it’s very important to take care of your team and provide a positive workplace and a living wage. A happy team leads to happy customers.
Union Press is truly a home-grown company. We started small and worked hard to grow into what it is today. We specialize in textile screen printing and are known for producing print results that can be a challenge for the average screen-printer. A big part of our clientele is private label clothing brands and graphics-driven designs. The majority of our business is repeat and referral. We are known for quality prints with fast turnaround times and making the order process easy. our team is great at problem solving and finding solutions to make projects a success. More than likely a client that needs T-shirts will also need promotional items, vehicle graphics, etc. We have partners in many related industries and are great at taking the legwork out and being a one-stop solution. We have facilitated fleet vehicle wraps, printed skateboard wheels, made life-size cutouts for birthday parties, designed and produced custom awards for car shows, and taken on all kinds of projects! Recently we did an 80 feet wide vintage style sign for a store front for our neighbors. You can get everything you need for your business here, apparel, banners, cards, signs, etc.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Location, location, location! We were in the west bottoms for a long time and although it was a lot of fun, it wasn’t the greatest location since the building was old, too big, and very inefficient, and at the time a ghost town. Moving to KCK 7 years ago was a huge part of the success and growth of the company, being in the right type of building and with lots of street traffic. I was definitely nervous making the move and taking on a commercial mortgage, but it ended up being the best thing I ever did. One of the best pieces of advice I could give to someone staring out in business is that if at all possible BUY vs. rent. Think of that monthly mortgage payment as a savings account for your future, rather than paying all that money to a landlords bank account. Get creative, if you can’t get bank financing try to find a property owner that will owner finance. Don’t be afraid to dive in, later down the road you’ll ask yourself why you didn’t do it sooner. There’s also something that just feels good about it being all yours, even when you have to fix and maintain things!
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Solid, honest work. I would say 80% of our business is repeat and referral. Providing a quality and timely product will allow your brand to build itself. Treat your clients the way you would want to be treated if you were on the other side of the counter. The customer getting 12 shirts is no less important than that 10,000 pc order. If you are always consistent, people will return for years and they will also refer you new clients and open new doors.
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: unionpresskc