Are You Better Off Dead? Disability Can Cripple a Printing Business Too -Carl Gerhardt

By Carl Gerhardt

Sorry if that title sounds somewhat harsh. But the truth is, when serious injury occurs, many small business families are not financially prepared. This is a conclusion that I have reached from visiting with owners of graphic arts businesses about their risk analysis and estate plan.

You may think that it’s something that doesn’t happen very often. You suffer an illness or injury that prevents you from working for an extended period of time—six months, a year...even five years. Sounds rare, doesn’t it? It’s not.

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Companies:
Allegra Network

Carl Gerhardt Author's page Carl Gerhardt is the chairman of Alliance Franchise Brands LLC, the parent company of Allegra Network LLC and Sign & Graphics Operations LCC, and a world leader in marketing, visual and graphics communications, linking more than 600 locations in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom. The company’s Marketing & Print Division, headquartered in Plymouth, MI, is comprised of Allegra, American Speedy Printing, Insty-Prints, Speedy Printing and Zippy Print brands of marketing, printing, mailing and Web services providers. Its Sign & Graphics Division, headquartered in Columbia, MD, is comprised of Image360, Signs By Tomorrow and Signs Now brands of sign and graphics communications providers.

Carl and his wife, Judy, owned and operated their own successful Allegra franchise for nearly 20 years before selling the $2.3 million operation in 2003. He is a PrintImage International/NAQP Honorary Lifetime Member and was inducted into NAPL’s prestigious Soderstrom Society in 2010 in recognition of his contribution to the industry.