Lightning Labels Blog

The Season of Giving

As 2007 draws to a close I thought I would let you all know about a wonderful organization that we support here at Lightning Labels. SungateKids is on the front lines in the fight against child abuse. They help children in Colorado who have been victim to this terrible crime by advocating on their behalf and helping them begin the healing process. We believe it is important to support organizations that are making a positive difference in this world, which is why in this season of giving we gave $5,000 to SungateKids.

A Big Quarter at Lightning Labels

Today is the last day of the quarter, and it has been our best quarter ever here at Lightning Labels. Yesterday, we reached another milestone - over $1,000,000 in sales for a quarter.

When I first started this business back in 2002 my first goal was to reach $500,000 in sales for a year. Starting from nothing and shouldering a lot of debt, I thought that we would make it if we could hit that number. I knew there was an untapped market for high quality, short run labels, but I had no idea how big a market it was. We blew past that first goal in 2004 and I realized that we had far more potential than I had expected.

Today, my goals do not concern any specific sales number; my main goal now is being simply the best digital label printer. We want to use the latest technology to provide the highest quality labels in the most efficient manner possible, while at the same time giving you friendly old-fashioned customer service.  If we do this well I know we will continue to grow.

So on behalf of all of us here at Lightning Labels I would like to thank you for your continued business - we will certainly do everything we can to earn your future loyalty.

Lightning Labels Makes Inc. 5000 List

Yesterday Inc. Magazine released their annual list of the fastest growing private companies in the US. This year they have expanded their list from 500 to 5,000 companies, known as the Inc. 5000. We are delighted to announce that Lightning Labels made the list coming in at number 657. What is even more gratifying is that in the manufacturing category we are #15, and in label printing we are #2.

For those people who may feel negative about the business climate in general or specifically manufacturing companies, you should take a look at this list. There are plenty of manufacturers who are growing fast despite the threats of international competition. Here at Lightning Labels we work hard to exceed your expectations, and our great employees continue to deliver on that goal every day. That is how we are able to make a list like the Inc. 5000.

Being Tech-Savvy Helps With Business Growth

Yesterday over at the Small Business Trends blog Anita Campbell wrote about a fascinating study of small business owners and business growth. The technology products company CDW conducted a survey of the owners of mid-size companies to identify which factors helped small businesses succeed and grow.

The most interesting point of the survey is that the fastest growth were from company owners who describe themselves as "total geeks". The vast majority (73%) of these total geeks reported double digital average annual growth over the past five years versus 57% for the survey as a whole. There were plenty of other statistics that support the idea that business owners who are comfortable with technology grow their business faster than average.

Given today's business environment, I don't think these findings are surprising. When I graduated with a computer science degree 20 years ago there were very few small businesses that even had a computer. Today there are so many technology tools to help in every aspect of running a business, that you not only need a computer, you need to utilize it effectively. I can tell you that growing Lightning Labels as fast as we have would not have been possible without an intimate knowledge of today's technology.

Today you can buy the latest PC and laser printer and still get change from $1,000. You can get high speed internet access for $50/month. There is even plenty of free software out there now to help you run your business. Every small business owner should be leveraging this technology. You don't need to be an expert, but you need to be willing to learn. Spend just half an hour each week teaching yourself some new technology and you will be rewarded many times over.

The Lightning Labels Wall of Honor

Over the years we have done several stickers for the military. We support our troops by offering a 50% discount for any active military personnel who wants a sticker of their unit patch. We have done military stickers for all four branches of the military, including the unit patch for several units serving in the Middle East.

When we provide these stickers we always ask for a photograph of their unit, and we have had some wonderful pictures sent back. Recently we gathered all these photos, along with sticker samples and sometimes an accompanying letter from the unit commander, and created what we call the Wall of Honor. Whether or not you agree with the war, I think everyone should support the people who are risking their lives every day. The Wall of Honor is our dedication to these people.

Denver's Fastest Growing Private Companies

Yesterday morning, Steve Smith (president of Lightning Labels) and myself attended a breakfast downtown honoring Denver's fastest growing private companies. Hosted by the Denver Business Journal, there were three categories: small, medium and large. We were delighted that Lightning Labels was honored in the small business category - coming in at number 20 on the list.

While it is nice to be recognized like this, I certainly realize that we wouldn't be growing fast if it wasn't for the continued support of our many loyal customers. You continue to trust us with your label orders, and we do everything we can to earn that trust by providing you with good value and fast service. I also realize that we wouldn't be able to manage such fast growth without a team of dedicated employees - our people work hard every day to exceed your expectations.

So thank you to all of you who have made this growth possible. We will continue to do everything we can to earn your business.

Belonging to Membership Organizations

We just signed up to join TLMI (the Tag & Label Manufacturers Institute) which is the premier trade association for the label printing industry. Members of TLMI produce around 80% of the labels manufactured in this country and all the leading label printers are members. As one of the pioneers and leaders in digital label printing, we felt that we needed to be a part of this important membership organization.

One of the benefits of joining the leading membership organization in your industry is the ability to meet with industry leaders. And the best way to do that is to get involved. I will be joining one of the committees there - the Environmental Committee, where I hope to learn about the latest initiatives that label printers are undertaking to lessen the environmental impact of label printing. I will share some of what I learn on this blog and will be doing a feature on sustainable labeling in an upcoming newsletter.

The label industry is changing fast. Here at Lightning Labels we want to be at the forefront of these changes and our membership in TLMI I believe will help us do that.

Labels and Labeling Profile

The recent edition of Labels & Labeling magazine has a wonderful profile on Lightning Labels. My partner Steve Smith and I did an in depth interview with the magazine where we talked about how we have been able to build a label printing business so fast in a competitive industry. We don't give away all our secrets, just a general overview of the business.

Labels & Labeling is one of the world's leading label industry publications and it is based in the UK.

A Unique Packaging Idea

The latest issue of Inc. Magazine has a great article titled The Coolest Little Start-up in America. It is the story of TerraCycle, a company that "manufactures" plant food from worm poop. I found it a fascinating story, but what intrigued me most was the packaging that TerraCycle uses for its products. All of the bottles they use to sell their plant food began their life storing soda. You see, TerraCycle is the first company in the world to sell a mass produced consumer product in used soda plastic bottles.

It all started out of necessity. Back in 2003, when the company was just getting going, they had no money to buy bottles for their plant food. So Tom Szaky, the young founder, recruited some Princeton students to go around during the night taking plastic bottles out of recycling bins. Today, they buy the bottles from recycling companies, and in 2006 they expect to use between 1.5 million and 2 million used bottles.

Most of the space in the factory is taken up by bottles. They receive these plastic bottles from huge trailers. After they arrive in the factory they are cleaned, delabeled, filled and then labeled again with a TerraCycle label. The used bottles are an integral part of the marketing message for TerraCycle. On their web site, the bottles are front and center, and they show you before and after pictures with Pepsi logos.

This is such a great packaging idea, it is surprising that no one has thought of it before. It is a less expensive option that is also better for the environment. And with all the billions of plastic bottles that are thrown away every year either in recycling bins or landfills there should be a plentiful supply.

Staying on Top of Industry Trends

Staying on top of the latest trends in your industry is essential if you want your business to thrive. There was an excellent post on this very topic yesterday on one of my favorite marketing blogs, Kinetic Ideas. I am going to expand on some of the ideas presented there.

In today's rapidly changing world, entire industries are being transformed almost overnight. Look at photography, travel, and advertising - here are three industries that have experienced extremely rapid change in just the last decade. Google is now the most valuable advertising company in the world based on market capitalization and it didn't even exist 10 years ago.

There are many examples of companies that did not see the latest trends in their industry, and had to play catch-up with their more nimble competitors. In photography Kodak was in denial for many years about the growing trend of digital cameras; General Motors is in trouble now in part because they didn't see the trend away from gas guzzling SUVs soon enough; Schwinn Bicycles didn't see the mountain bike trend coming in the late 1980's and the family owned American company was forced into bankruptcy in 1993 - it is now owned by a large Canadian company.

So how do you stay on top of industry trends? I think there are five important factors to consider:
1. Listening to your customers - what new questions are they asking?
2. Watch your competitors closely - are they offering something new?
3. Read industry publications, and look to see what new developments are happening. 
4. Look at new technology and see how it could be adapted to your business.
5. Read blogs - if there are new trends happening you can be sure some bloggers are writing about it.

Here at Lightning Labels we try to consider all these factors as we position our business for the future. There is an industry trend in label printing towards shorter runs of labels, so we have streamlined our operation to take advantage of this trend. Our customers and prospects want instant pricing for their labels - so we have developed an easy to use online quoting system.

I know there will be many new trends in our industry in the future. We hope to recognize them early and be one of the first companies to benefit from them.