Growing Pains: The Business Mistakes Holding Your Shop Back

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Growth sounds exciting, but growing the wrong way can create more stress, smaller profits, and a business that controls your life. This week, Terry and Aaron welcome Colin Sinclair McDermott, The Online Print Coach, to explore the common mistakes print and apparel businesses make while trying to grow. Drawing from his experience running print companies, overcoming business failure, and coaching hundreds of industry professionals, Colin will share how owners can approach growth more strategically in today’s rapidly changing marketplace. We’ll discuss outdated sales and marketing habits, poor planning, inconsistent systems, customer relationships, accountability, and the difference between simply getting busier and building a stronger, more profitable business. Whether you are preparing to grow or already feeling the pains of expansion, this conversation will help you recognize the warning signs and make better decisions before expensive mistakes slow you down.

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Business Mistakes

Terry: Colin, welcome to the show. We stopped reading bios a while ago and just want to learn who you are from you as well as hear about your journey in the print industry.

“I’m Colin Sinclair McDermott, although most people know me as The Online Print Coach. I’ve spent over 25 years in the print industry. I’ve owned print businesses, franchised them, made plenty of mistakes myself and now I coach print, sign and garment decoration companies around the world.

What fascinates me isn’t printing presses—it’s business owners. Two companies can have the same equipment, same suppliers and operate in the same town, yet one is thriving while the other is struggling. The difference almost never comes down to print. It comes down to leadership, marketing, systems and mindset.

That’s why I created Print Mastermind—to stop owners from feeling like they’re having to figure everything out on their own.”

Aaron: Colin, when a print or apparel business starts growing, what are the earliest warning signs that the owner may be building more chaos instead of building a stronger company? 

The warning signs are:

• everyone is busy, but nothing gets finished
• owner works longer hours despite growing sales
• customer service slips
• quoting becomes inconsistent
• cashflow gets tighter despite more orders
• every decision still goes through the owner

Terry: What is the most common growth mistake you see owners make when sales begin increasing, and they suddenly feel pressure to add equipment, employees, or space?

Chasing more customers before looking after the ones they already have

Owner buys:

• another press
• another van
• another employee

…before fixing:

• pricing
• workflow
• quoting
• sales process

Then your line:

“You don’t scale chaos.

You organise it first.”

Aaron: I often talk about the importance of getting clear on what success actually looks like before building a plan. How do you help owners define the kind of business they truly want, instead of simply chasing more revenue?

Refer to our meeting in Print Mastermind this week

“The first question I ask isn’t ‘What’s your turnover target?’

It’s ‘What do you actually want your life to look like?'”

Then discuss

Do they want

• £5m company?
• four day week?
• to sell? AGAIN,the one thing many avoid talking about as it feels so far away
• family business?
• employ 5 people?
• employ 50?

Then

“Too many owners build businesses they end up working for.”

Terry: How can an owner tell the difference between a temporary busy season and genuine, sustainable business growth?

Your answer should centre around predictable systems.

Busy means

• one big customer – seasonal rush
• firefighting
• no pipeline

Growth means – Knowing your numbers, tracking those top 6 KPI’s

• repeat customers increasing
• predictable enquiries
• improving margins
• stronger cash position
• systems improving

Then

“Activity isn’t growth.

Predictability is.”

Aaron: One of the FUNdamentals I teach is knowing your numbers. Which financial numbers should owners watch most closely as they grow, and which numbers are commonly misunderstood or ignored?

Everyone watches turnover.

Almost nobody watches:

• gross margin
• cashflow
• average order value
• customer lifetime value
• sales pipeline
• Conversion rates
• Leads coming into the business

Terry: What outdated sales or marketing habits are still holding print businesses back in today’s marketplace?

Talk about the 8 stage customer journey I wish someone had taught me. 

Talk about

Waiting for referrals.

Waiting for the phone.

Thinking the website is enough.

Discounting.

Posting pictures of presses.

Then say

“Nobody buys print because you own a Heidelberg.

They buy because you solve a business problem.”

Aaron: Many small-business owners know what they should do, but they struggle to follow through consistently. How important are accountability, peer support, and mastermind-style conversations in turning good ideas into action?

“I’ve never met an owner who didn’t know what they should be doing.

The challenge is they’re trying to do it alone.”

Then

Isolation creates:

• procrastination
• doubt
• inconsistency

Community creates:

• accountability
• fresh ideas
• confidence

Terry: What mistakes do owners make when hiring their first employees or expanding their team, and how can they avoid creating a payroll problem instead of a growth solution?

“The biggest mistake I see is that owners hire because they’re overwhelmed, not because they’re ready.

They get busy, work starts backing up, customers are chasing orders, and they think, ‘I need another salesperson,’ or ‘I need another printer.’ The reality is they’re often hiring someone to step into chaos.

Before you hire anyone, I’d ask three questions:

First, have I actually defined what success in this role looks like? Too many job descriptions are just a list of tasks. I want to know: what outcomes should this person be responsible for?

Second, have I built a system that someone else can follow? If the only way a job gets done is by asking the owner every five minutes, the problem isn’t the employee, it’s the business.

And third, can the business genuinely afford this hire? Not because you’ve had one great month, but because your pipeline and cashflow support it.

Aaron: Another key FUNdamental is building the business around the customer. How can a company remain customer-focused while also setting boundaries, protecting profitability, and avoiding the temptation to say yes to every request?

Being customer-focused doesn’t mean saying yes to everything. Sam Armstrong

That’s a mistake a lot of print companies make. They confuse great service with being available 24/7, accepting every request, discounting to keep people happy, and taking on work they shouldn’t.

I’d answer it something like this:

“I think a lot of business owners misunderstand what customer-focused actually means. They think it means saying yes to every request, turning every quote around immediately, squeezing in every last-minute job and absorbing every extra cost. That’s not customer-focused, that’s owner-focused because you’re trying to avoid difficult conversations.

The best businesses I’ve worked with do something different. They build systems around what their ideal customers genuinely value.

Most customers don’t want you to be everything to everyone. They want you to be brilliant at solving their problem.”

Then I’d introduce a framework.

The Three Filters

“Whenever a new request comes in, I’d ask three questions:

Does it fit our expertise?
Just because you can print it doesn’t mean you should.

Does it make commercial sense?
Revenue without profit is just expensive turnover.

Does it fit the experience we want to be known for?
If saying yes to this customer means letting five others down, then it’s probably the wrong decision.”

Terry: How should business owners decide which new opportunities deserve their attention and which ones are simply distractions disguised as growth?

Mission Statement – Does it link back

The Three Questions

“Whenever one of my coaching clients comes to me with a new idea, I ask them three questions.

Does it move us closer to our long-term vision?
If your goal is to become the go-to trade printer, why are you thinking about opening a retail gift shop?

Will it strengthen what we’re already good at?
The most successful businesses I’ve worked with double down on their strengths. They don’t constantly chase shiny new ideas.

Can we execute it brilliantly without damaging what we’ve already built?
Because an average new service that distracts your team is often worse than doing your existing services exceptionally well.”

Aaron: Owners are often so close to their businesses that they cannot see their own blind spots. What role can a coach, mastermind group, or trusted group of peers play in helping them make better decisions?

“I think every business owner has blind spots. I certainly do. The problem is that when you’re in the business every day, every decision feels urgent and every problem feels unique.

When you’re carrying the payroll, dealing with customers, suppliers and staff, it’s very easy to start making emotional decisions instead of strategic ones.”

That immediately makes you relatable instead of positioning yourself as the expert with all the answers.

Then I’d move into this:

“One of the biggest values of a coach or a mastermind isn’t that they give you the answers. It’s that they ask the questions you’ve stopped asking yourself.

Questions like:

Why are you doing it that way?

What evidence do you have that this is the right decision?

If you were starting this business today, would you build it this way?

Those questions force you to think differently.”

I think that’s much more powerful than saying “a coach keeps you accountable.”

Then tell a story.

This sounds very much like you.

“I’ve had owners come into a coaching session convinced they need to spend £300,000 on a new press. Forty-five minutes later they’ve realised the real problem wasn’t capacity—it was pricing, scheduling or sales.

The machine wasn’t the answer. It just felt like the answer because it was the most obvious thing they could see.”

That’s a brilliant illustration of blind spots.

Then explain why peers matter.

“The other thing I love about mastermind groups is that they shorten the learning curve.

Instead of making every mistake yourself, you’re learning from people who’ve already made them.

Somebody else has already hired the wrong salesperson.

Bought the wrong machine.

Lost money on that new product line.

You’re getting years of experience in one conversation.”

That’s a really tangible benefit.

Then finish with your philosophy.

I’d end with this:

“I don’t think business owners need someone to tell them what to do. They need someone who challenges their thinking, helps them see what they’re missing and gives them the confidence to make better decisions.

Sometimes the most valuable thing a coach says isn’t ‘Here’s the answer.’

It’s ‘Have you looked at it from this angle?'”

Terry: For the owner listening today who feels stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure about the next stage of growth, what is one step they can take this week to begin moving forward with greater clarity? 

“The first thing I’d say is that feeling stuck doesn’t necessarily mean you’re failing. In fact, I think most successful business owners feel stuck at some point because they’ve outgrown the way they’ve always done things.

The mistake we make is trying to solve overwhelm by working harder. But clarity rarely comes from doing more—it comes from stepping back.” Refer to Simon and his camper van story

Then I’d introduce a really simple exercise.

“I’d block out just one hour this week. Leave your office if you can. No emails, no phone, no interruptions.

Then ask yourself three questions:

What’s giving me energy?

What’s draining my energy?

If I could only fix one thing in my business over the next 90 days, what would it be?

Not ten things. Just one.”

I like this because it sounds like something you’d genuinely do with a client.

Then explain why.

“I think business owners massively underestimate the power of focus. Every breakthrough I’ve seen has come from someone deciding what they’re not going to work on as much as what they are.”

Then I’d bring in one of your coaching philosophies.

“You don’t have to solve your whole business this week. You just need to identify the bottleneck that’s holding everything else back.

Aaron: We are all excited about the upcoming Printing United event coming up. I get to be part of the All-Star group with you as the captain of the team. What are you most excited about as an All-Star for Printing United?

Never been to Vegas, 

The platform it gives us to connect and engage with so many people at the event

catching up with all the All Stars in person, so much chat ongoing since last year

The All Star area we have this year

The New Rookies 

Terry: Where can people reach out to you and learn more about what you do, and where should people reach out to learn more about Printing United?

Both websites and mention the Podcast

The Secret Sauce

We serve up bite-sized tips for our #regulators to instantly spice up their decorated apparel business. Just like the perfect wing sauce, these quick tips can transform your business experience, adding flavor and depth to your operations. Each video in this playlist is a nugget of wisdom, carefully selected for its potential to bring immediate value to your work. So, whether you’re a seasoned pro or just getting started in the decorated apparel industry, dip into our ‘Secret Sauce’ for insights that can help you soar.