The Marketing and Information Source for Imprintable Products
A Tristan Communications Ltd. Publication PM 40025740
HOT NEW LOOKS FOR THE YEAR AHEAD
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012
Volume 19, Issue 1
The of Decorated Apparel
By Mark L. Venit, MBA
I met Joan Weber, a decorated apparel entrepreneur from the San Antonio area at a marketing workshop I conducted recently at a trade show in Fort Worth, Texas. I will be presenting this same workshop, Survival Tactics -- Eating Your Competitors & Capturing Their Customers, at the 12th Annual Imprint Canada Show at the Toronto Congress Centre on January 5. After a discussion about the critical nature of choosing (or changing or adding) a company name and positioning a business to better reflect its core mission to customers and prospects, Joan handed me her business card. Her company name is “Bling Concepts,” her tag line is “Enhancing Your Brilliance!” and the first word listed in her product offerings is “Rhinestones.” If this were a college course and I were still a professor, I’d give her an ‘A’ for her mastery of the fundamentals of business nomenclature and positioning, though she came to the course already “schooled” on these principles.
Blingification, continued on Page 10
ATTEND THE PREMIER INDUSTRY TRADE SHOW OF 2012 Toronto Imprint Canada Show Toronto Congress Centre, North Building
NEW PRODUCT SPOTLIGHTS
BEGIN ON PAGE 20
WHAT'S INSIDE WHY INCORPORATE?
Our resident financial expert Pierre-Yves Wong breaks down the benefits of incorporating your business 8
2012 TRENDS We look at some of the products and styles that could top your clients' want lists this year 12
GLOBAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Imprint Canada highlights key economic indicators from prominent global economies 16
The Business of Growing
The Top Nine Challenges of Growing an Entrepreneurial Business and How to Tackle Them By Edward D. Hess
For many, achieving their dream means taking control of their destiny, quitting the 9 to 5 grind, and opening the doors to their very own business. These brave entrepreneurial souls have shaped our business landscape, and are playing an important role of helping to drive the economic recovery. “Growing a business presents a whole new group of challenges for entrepreneurs,” says Edward D. Hess, professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business and author of the book Growing an Entrepreneurial Business: Concepts & Cases. continued on Page 14