When Cindy Hadfield was working as a consultant, setting up companies' accounting systems and training their personnel, she always got the same question: Where could they get checks that were compatible with their software?
The lightbulb switched on for Hadfield.
"I saw the opportunity to have an additional revenue stream, so I researched where I could purchase checks at wholesale and resell them to customers. I became a printing distributor in August 1998. This is how it all started and it has been very successful for me," Hadfield, president of Lebanon, Ohio-based QuikProof.com, said.
Here, Hadfield further discusses the business, her philosophy and the industry as a whole.
Print Professional (PP): Tell us about your background—Where did you grow up, what school did you attend, your degree?
Cindy Hadfield (CH): I grew up in Ohio. My father was in the [U.S.] Air Force so we moved several times as a child but most of my childhood was spent in Ohio, which is where I consider home. I graduated from Xenia High School in Xenia, Ohio in 1983.
I went to colleges all over the country and graduated with a bachelor's degree in MIS from Cal State Long Beach in Long Beach, Calif. I received a bachelor's degree in Business (Accounting) from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. I have always loved to learn and I consider myself a student for life.
PP: What is the best business advice you ever received?
CH: I received some advice from one of my coaches that turned everything around for me. He told me to always come from a place of service. Listen to what the customer needs and fill it. When talking with people, be excited instead of nervous and live the outcome before you do the actual activity.
PP: What is your greatest business accomplishment?
CH: My greatest business accomplishment has been to create www.QuikProof.com, which is an online proofing and ordering system that is integrated into a distributor's website so [its] customers can proof and order checks online without all the hassles. I also have this technology patent pending.
PP: What is the secret to your success?
CH: I believe in the entrepreneurial spirit. I want to surround myself with people that believe the same. I live by the Law of Attraction, among other things. The Law of the Universe is the foundation of my belief system and I know that I can accomplish anything that I want because everything is possible with the right attitude and belief system.
PP: What do you think is the most exciting, cutting-edge thing your company is doing right now? Why?
CH: We are streamlining the printing industry by integrating our software into distributors' websites so their customers can proof and order their printing within three to five minutes and not have any of the hassles. I have been very fortunate and have had many business successes and I plan to have many more.
PP: What do you think will be the printing industry's biggest challenge in the next few years?
CH: From what I saw, the printing industry could use some more innovation and technology. We are creating a way for the printing industry to run on auto pilot.
PP: What is the best part of your business day? Please explain.
CH: The best part of my day is when I wake up in the morning with new ideas. I wake up around 4 a.m. every day and imagine my day and create it the way I want it to go in my mind and then I get out of bed and I live it. It always works if I create it and let go of any attachment to the outcome.