PRINTING United Expo '24

Last week, on behalf of AYM High Consultants, I attended the massive PRINTING United Expo ’24 in Las Vegas. The show took over two full halls at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with over 800 exhibitors from all over the world and roughly 30,000 attendees!

I spent three days at the convention center, fueled by my favorite Vegas bagels and schmear from adjacent Siegel’s Bagelmania, walking roughly 11 miles each day to try to cover as much of the show as I could and visit with as many exhibitors and attendees as I could.

I went for a four main reasons:

    1)    I love Vegas and will make any excuse to go

    2)    I wanted to see what other consultants there were doing, if they had booths or not, and have some chats with others in similar spaces to learn from them

    3)      To meet with exhibitors and source special requested information, products, equipment, and services for AYM High clients—whom we now call “Soarers”

    4)      To meet up with industry colleagues from the Association of Mail & Business Centers and other organizations and contacts I’ve made over the years to network and continue positive relationship building

I didn’t encounter too many other consultants there though. Are there not many doing what we do in the printing world? Up until now, with AYM High Consultants we’ve really been specializing in the mailbox, print, packing, and retail shipping industry and I thought surely there would be others specifically specializing in print. But I didn’t find too many—if any! This tells me there’s a great opportunity there, so I’m excited to look more into it to see how AYM High can help small and medium print shops get started, get going, and keep growing.

By the end of the three days, I had compiled three full bags of swag, catalogs, business cards, brochures, and giveaways, including a giant pile of pens to bring to my BFAM (brother from another mother) Fahim, who is a tradeshow pen aficionado. I left myself over 100 voice memos during my visits so I could later sit down and sort through all of the information I gained, and ended up compiling a 25-page document full of ideas, photos, contacts, and suggestions that we’ve now shared exclusively with our Soarers.

I also had a great time meeting with organizers of the PRINTING United Expo. Will AYM High be presenting there next year when the show happens in Orlando? There’s a good chance! And an even better chance we’ll be even more involved in 2026 when the show comes back to Vegas. Stay tuned!

Check out AYM High Consultants’ socials @aymhighconsultants or my personal socials @askunclemarty for photos and videos from the experience.

…

Marty Johnson is the Communication and Vision Coach at AYM High Consultants, a columnist, and an editor, producing the mail and business center industry's leading magazine, MBC Today. In 2023, he sold his popular and growing brand, Uncle Marty’s Shipping Office, and retired from shopkeeper life to focus on writing and coaching. Subscribe to his Ask Uncle Marty™ newsletter and read more at askunclemarty.com; follow him on socials @askunclemarty. #AskUncleMarty

September / October 2024 Edition of MBC Today

 

The September / October 2024 edition of MBC Today (volume 26 issue 5) just dropped. A free preview version is available on the homepage of the Association of Mail & Business Centers (ambc4me.org) and AMBC Members may access the full version in the Members Only section of the site; AMBC Members will also receive their printed copy in the mail soon!

Thank you to all who contributed to this issue of the mail and business center (MBC) industry's leading publication, keeping both independent and franchise stores across the country up to date, in the loop, and networked together. It's a privilege to produce and edit this publication, but it's because of your hard work that it has such rich content.

I'll share my Letter From the Editor below. Enjoy!

...

Dear Readers,

I had lunch today with a dear friend. She was in town knocking Delaware off of her visit-all-50-states-before-age-50 list and I was in town between consulting jobs for a day or two to get some laundry done and repack my suitcase, so the timing worked out perfectly.

We went to Big Fish Grille, a local Rehoboth Beach favorite. I had seafood pasta and she had the herb crusted cod. We sat and talked non-stop for nearly two hours, each so happy to see each other and get updates on what we've been up to the past year or two since we last hung out at an AMBC event.

As we were visiting, I was reminded what a truly unique industry we're in. The friendships we make are genuine; the relationships we forge are strong. We see each other like no one else sees us, because we have this weird, wacky thing in common: owning retail shipping businesses.

Over lunch, my friend told me all about her latest ventures—property and business acquisitions, new equipment, new staff, new products, new services—and I told her all about what I've been up to. She is absolutely killing it and I'm proud and grateful to call her a mentor of mine as I learn from her and continue to be inspired by her incredible success and the impact she has had on her community. She's a rock star.

As I travel quite often now with AYM High and visit clients, present at events, and participate in summits across the country, I'm admittedly having a hard time keeping things and people straight. I have to keep detailed notes and spreadsheets to remember conversations, who's who, what's what, and sometimes even where I am at any given time. My brain just doesn't file people, places, and anecdotes away like some other people can. But, despite all of the new stimuli, people, places, ventures, and adventures, one thing remains the same: relationships.

As I've said so often over the years in this magazine, on my blog, and in presentations at events, we are in the business of relationships, not transactions. We forge bonds. We solve problems. We sell solutions, not products or services. We treat people right and do our best to live by the golden rule, because only then will this all-too-karmic universe open up doors that we couldn't even approach on our own.

This issue of MBC Today is, once again, filled with relationship-oriented content. Why? Because AMBC is a non-profit, member-run organization, built on relationships and strong in relationships. Its #membershelpingmembers philosophy is its secret to success and using that same philosophy in your business will be your secret to success. I promise.

With gratitude and care,

Marty Johnson (he/him)

Columnist | Ask Uncle Marty™
Editor & Producer | MBC Today
Founder | Uncle Marty's Shipping Office
Communication & Vision Coach | AYM High Consultants
Co-Host | To-Be-Announced Podcast Launching Soon(ish)
askunclemarty.com · @askunclemarty · #AskUncleMarty