Matt Bloom is the owner of Minuteman Press in Norwich, CT since September of 2023. He purchased the center from retiring owners Gail and Steve Weber, who ran the business for 31 years. Thanks to a smooth transition with help from a strong core team, Matt has continued the tradition of excellence in Norwich by joining the Minuteman Press International President’s Club for achieving over $1 million in gross sales for the year ending 2024.
On joining the President’s Club in his first full year in business, Bloom is quick to give credit to those who paved the way. He says, “Since I’m a relatively new Minuteman Press owner, the true credit for our center’s President’s Club achievement really goes to the previous owners, and most importantly, the hardworking and dedicated team that we have here in Norwich, CT. We have an amazing core team that has been working together for over 20 years now, plus some key team members who are newer additions and bring in fresh ideas and different perspectives.”
Bloom continues, “That being said, it really is an honor and privilege to join this accomplished group of owners in the President’s Club. There are unique challenges and opportunities at every stage of a company’s growth, so I’m humbled to have the chance to network, brainstorm with, and learn from other more experienced owners that are (or have been already) at a similar inflection point in their businesses.”
From Venture Capitalism to the Printing Industry
Prior to franchising with Minuteman Press, Bloom explains, “I’m a serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist by background. Before buying Minuteman Press in Norwich, I spent the past 10 years advising and investing in tech startups at early-stage VC firms. But as much as I loved investing in other entrepreneurs, I missed being on the operating side of things myself.”
Bloom shares why the Minuteman Press franchise appealed to him: “With two young kids at home at the time (now three), the constant travel didn’t seem appealing anymore and my wife and I quickly nixed the idea of me starting a new company from scratch. I then turned my attention to evaluating all kinds of different established businesses for sale and eventually came across this opportunity in Norwich, CT. Although I didn’t have any experience in commercial printing, I really liked the infrastructure, training, and support that MPIHQ offers their franchisees.”
Bloom adds, “After vetting the corporate entity and doing a ton of market research, I put my VC hat on and really dug into the specific opportunity for sale in Norwich. Long story short, it checked off all of my boxes and I fell in love – experienced team, healthy financials, diversified customer base, limited local competition, strong growth opportunities, etc. I was sold on Minuteman Press for all of those reasons.”
Business Transition
Bloom reflects on the transition of the business. He shares, “These types of transitions always have some challenges but on the whole, I think it’s been very successful. I’m proud to share that through the first year we retained our entire team and existing customer base, and also added to both. At first, there was a learning curve and I needed to earn my team’s trust in making effective changes. I certainly have a lot more to learn still but I am happy with our progress as a fully integrated team.”
On the customer side, Bloom says, “The feedback from our customers has been wonderful since I took over. Our customers have really appreciated the renewed focus we’ve placed on being a consultative, solution-oriented partner for them. We’ve invested a lot of time and energy into relationship-building and we’re really starting to see that pay off for us.”
As he became more comfortable in his new role as business owner, Bloom made it a point to establish a culture of proactivity over complacency. He says, “Southeast CT has a handful of small cities, such as Norwich, but is primarily comprised of towns and rural communities. We’re fortunate to have a strong market position here; however, it became apparent to me pretty early on that there was a bit of complacency in that respect. I spend a lot of my time meeting current and prospective customers in-person, which has made a significant difference in strengthening existing relationships and building new ones as well.”
He continues, “For the first year, I was much more focused on stability through the transition phase and operational efficiencies. I’m excited to shift that focus fully towards growth now though, and it all starts with that shift in our mindset internally, and that change in perception externally. We’re already starting to see meaningful returns from this simple repositioning alone, and now we’re at a point where we can start investing the time and money into growth marketing efforts to support that moving forward.”
“My team thinks I sound like a broken record, but my mantra to the staff and to the community is that we’re here to be a partner and a solution provider, not just a passive order fulfillment service.” -Matt Bloom
Bloom shares the following keys to growing and marketing the business since taking over Minuteman Press in Norwich: His top three keys to growth:
- Investing in the team
- More cross-selling of other products/services to existing customers
- Doing whatever it takes to make a good first impression with new clients
His top three marketing strategies are: 1) networking and building in-person relationships; 2) the Minuteman Press Internet Marketing Program; and 3) customer referrals.
Final Thoughts
When asked why print is so relevant today, Bloom reveals how his opinion has changed now that he’s more familiar with the industry. He says, “Given my background as a tech investor, I’ll candidly admit that until a few years ago I did not have a full appreciation of how relevant and impactful print truly is today. We’re all getting constantly bombarded with a deluge of digital messaging and people are overwhelmed by it. Digital messaging is constantly in our faces and the sheer volume of it, combined with continually decreasing relevancy rates, is agitating their intended targets more and more.”
He concludes, “We’re at a point in time where physical mail is viewed by the average consumer as refreshing. Not only is it a tangible piece of messaging that you can pick up and interact with but that mail piece tends to be much more relevant and interesting than its digital equivalent. I believe print is so effective partly because of this subtle yet powerful appeal that cuts through the clutter. One thing I’ve learned is that people interact with such a wide variety of printed materials in their normal day-to-day lives without even realizing it, and that is simply good for the present and future of our business.”
