PART TWO: Duncan Parker acquires Minuteman Press Hedge End

The Hedge End branch of the printing franchise, which is the world’s largest and top rated of its kind, was recently purchased by Duncan when the previous owner chose to sell.

Duncan was delighted to join the Minuteman Press team, and he recently sat down with the printing franchise for an interview and a chat about everything that’s happened since he decided to purchase Minuteman Press Hedge End back in August 2021. This is part two of two sharing insights revealed in this interview. Today, Duncan spoke about day-to-day life as a Minuteman Press franchisee, achieving a work-life balance and planning for the future.

When asked about what he does each day running Minuteman Press Hedge End, Duncan said that he works with staff and supports them, as well as working directly with customers. Overall, he really loves what he gets up to and the franchise investment has “rejuvenated [his] excitement” about being a business owner.

Though the pandemic wasn’t without challenges, Duncan reported that his franchise had largely been able weather the storm unharmed. In his words, “The business remained open during the pandemic and today we are seeing more and more people coming back to work in the UK, which means our products and services are in really high demand. Our staff has become busier and busier every day.”

As times get busier, Duncan keeps staff motivated and productive by ensuring that they “have a vested interest in [Minuteman Press’s] success”. For example, Duncan explained, “Two of our senior staff have been awarded a shareholding percentage and have become well-versed in all aspects of the business. I feel this is a win-win and shows we are in this together.”

Duncan keeps himself motivated and productive by enjoying his work, but he also maintains a strong work-life balance alongside this, and finds that “being able to walk to [his] centre from home is something that is really gratifying”.

Asked of plans for the future, he expressed, “We are excited about the changes we just made to our space. We have a two-story building and so one floor is now the production area and the next floor is our new showroom. We feel like we’ve created a positive and productive environment for everyone involved to best serve our customers.” If you’d like to serve similar customers out of your own Minuteman Press franchise, you can find out more about a potential investment with the printing franchise via its profile page, linked above.