What do you do?

We own The Print Room, a screen print, embroidery & promotional product business that specialises in environmentally conscious products.  Our vision is to create a better world one print at a time so we print with water-based inks which removes a number of toxic chemicals from our production process. 

How many years have you been in business?

6 1/2 years.

What the best thing about running your own business?

I think in our case to build a business from the ground up to the point where we work with some of the country's top brands is something to be very proud of.  In a relatively short space of time, with no real prior experience, we've been able to position ourselves as one of New Zealand's leading garment decorators.  At the outset, we never thought we would be where we are now, but with perseverance, skill and creativity we have been able to build a business we're really passionate about.  To be able to see that passion shine through in our team and the work that they do is awesome to see.

Why is it important to have a good accountant?

We tend to use an accountant as a sounding board for ideas that we might have, Jared is
someone who understands our business and what we're trying to achieve.  We see Jared as a partner
in our growth and he is someone we turn to when making key decisions to grow and develop the company.

What’s the hardest thing about running your own business?

We are now in a position where we are trying to systemise all aspects of the business so that we can continue to grow. In the past both Chris and I had been heavily involved in all aspects of the business, now we're trying to bring up key staff into managerial roles so that we can focus our efforts on working on the business.

What’s next for your business?

We're planning to double our production capacity.  Our goal is to cut our lead times and continue to grow
our market share. We're also looking to increase our range of ethical & sustainable products and want to shift more of our production to ethically accredited brands. The end goal would be to shift all of our production to ethically accredited merchandise.