Minuteman Press’s Germantown franchisee grows business

Minuteman Press has thrived in Germantown, Wisconsin, thanks to the hard work of its owner, Barry Landowski.

The dedicated franchisee has been with the signage franchise for almost three decades, but has put an extra focus on local businesses over the past year. He said,

“The pandemic has created a close bond between all small business owners around here. We’re all in this together and we need to stick together. That’s the feeling I get. No one wants to see anyone fail.”

Using the services his business can already offer, Barry has been providing printing, marketing and direct mail services across the local area, and using his experience to support other entrepreneurs:

“I tell them not to give up.”

He has also taken the franchise’s recommendations and diversified his products and service. Now, his business benefits from a dye sublimation system, an embroidery machine for custom apparel orders and a large format printer to produce signs and banners in-house.

Barry explained one of the best changes he’s made over the past 12 months:

“One of the smartest things I’ve done was triple our investment in Minuteman Press International’s internet marketing program. This year, we have received more requests and orders from companies I hadn’t heard of before, as buyers have found us online.”

He added,

“We are now a certified USPS mailing center fulfilling bulk mailing and Every Door Direct Mail orders several times per week. These services are in high demand right now from our clients looking to reach out to their target customers, and we can do the entire project from custom design and printing to mailing.”

Reminiscing about launching the business 30 years ago, Barry likened starting out to cliff diving:

“You stand on the cliff looking down at all of the rocks below and it can seem scary. However, once you jump, never look back, and focus on what’s ahead of you.”