15 Minutes

Mark Henry, director, new business development, of the Bangor, Maine-based Creative Digital Imaging, is pretty new to the printing game.

In the years following his time in the Navy, Henry started, grew and sold several different businesses including a custom machine shop, pet store and training consultancy.

"As the economy began to tighten towards the spring of 2008, I liquidated several of these investments and decided it was time for me to work for someone else. Leveraging my Computer Science degree, I went to work for Creative Digital Imaging as [its] IT manager. Two years later I now head up the company's new business development efforts, bringing on new print distributors and supporting them in their sales efforts."

Here, Henry further discusses his thoughts on the industry.

Print Professional (PP): Tell us about your background. Where did you grow up, what school did you attend?

Mark Henry (MH): I grew up in the small paper mill town of Rumford, located in the mid-western foothills of Maine. Following high school I spent 10 years in the U.S. Navy, during which I completed my degree in computer and information science.

PP: Describe your business style.

MH: I'm a problem/solutions kind of guy. I don't try to sell things people don't need. Instead, I seek out their challenges, their issues, and develop products and solutions that alleviate those pain points.

PP: What is the best business advice you ever received?

MH: My father-in-law once told me that if I want to be successful in business I only need to do one thing—find the worst job imaginable, the one no one else wants to do, and become the best at doing it.

PP: What is your greatest business accomplishment and disappointment?