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?
MH: My greatest business accomplishment and disappointment are one in the same. From 1998 through 2002, I ran a business that specialized in training software developers [on] how to put together highly interactive training programs. We had scheduled a large conference for the fall of 2001 when 9/11 happened. Due to the FAA curtailment of flights and the overall business decision not to travel, show attendance was decimated. Poor risk planning on my part left us overexposed and eventually led to the bankruptcy of the company. While I was greatly disappointed by the failure of the business, my father-in-law's advice helped me come through the event, identify what I had done wrong and formulate a plan to move forward. Six months later I was back in business, and within two years I had tripled my original margins, while managing risk much more effectively.
PP: What do you think will be the printing industry's biggest challenge in the next few years?
MH: I can't speak for commercial printers, but for variable data houses like Creative Digital Imaging it's in identifying that print is [not] the only medium that carries the message. To survive and grow you must find ways to diversify your portfolio into other mediums as well. For some, that will be other print formats ... but for many it might mean adding electronic mediums.
PP: What is the best part of your business day?
MH: I love the moment when I describe a solution to a client's pain point and I can watch their eyes light up when they realize that I can help them solve a problem no one else has been able to. That brings me great satisfaction, and it's why I love working in this business.
PP: What would people be surprised to learn about you—hobbies, special interests, etc.?
MH: I have two great hobbies: building custom rifles and pistols for competitive shooting and building modified street cars for racing. The gunsmithing hobby grew in 2004 when I was hired to develop a course in pistol and rifle maintenance for the military.
- People:
- Mark Henry
- Places:
- Bangor, Maine