Ironside Press — Old-Fashioned Elbow Grease

August 2008 By Cheryl Adams
Managing Editor

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"WE KNOW our competition. And, it wasn't who we thought it was!" reveals Bo Forbes, owner of Ironside Press in Vero Beach, FL. "We realized that we're no longer in the business of simply providing printed ink on paper. At the end of the day, our tangible product is printing, but what exactly are we providing?

"Ironside Press isn't merely a printing company. It's a marketing services group," Forbes contends. "We provide a solution for customers who need to communicate something to a target audience: design ideas, production estimates, mailing lists, response management strategies and, ultimately, the tools clients will use to communicate and grow their businesses or organizations.

"We realized that our competition was less about XYZ Printing down the street and more about the Yellow Pages, radio, television, or any other medium out there competing for our customers' limited marketing budgets," he adds. "We started spending less time complaining about the competition and more time thinking about and providing solutions to our customers. I believe that this mindset is at the heart of our success."

Exceeding Expectations

Ironside Press has nine employees, operates out of a 7,000-square-foot facility and is on track to exceed last year's sales by 40 percent. The company specializes in direct marketing campaigns, sales collateral, event announcements/invitations and business communications. Clients primarily include local businesses and non-profit organizations situated in the Treasure Coast region of Florida.

Interestingly enough, its owner is a printer who almost wasn't.

Describing himself as "all thumbs" when he was young, Forbes was unenthused about learning the printing trade from his father--who was a print shop manager for the local school district and who also owned a small print shop to earn extra money. "But, despite both of my parents' efforts, I never demonstrated any natural ability in printing. So, they sent me to college instead."

Forbes graduated from college and carved a career for himself in business development and analysis, eventually landing with Verizon Corporate in Manhattan. When his father passed away in 2002 after a long battle with cancer, Forbes began to consult with his mother, Olske Forbes, about the health and future of the company.

"The shop was struggling to be profitable," he recalls. "At that point, sales were below $225,000 annually. The equipment was old, and the competition was stiff. Over the next several months, my mother sought my advice about the next steps to take with the business. I encouraged her to invest in a four-color press.

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