Meet Chris Lumsden | Owner Small Wide Format Print Shop

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris Lumsden and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, what’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
One thing specifically i have learned is never to trust or rely on one source of revenue for the business. We were too heavily dependent on social media and their reach and hadn’t developed ways to stay in contact with our customers when all my social media profiles were deleted. We lost access to thousands of loyal clients who only really contacted us through Facebook or Instagram. After being cancelled i learned that a face to face handshake deal is infinitely more powerful than doing faceless business behind a screen. Getting to know your customers will always yield a higher quality client that will stick with you for years.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We are a small Wide Format print shop located is San Antonio Texas. We specialize in fast turn around stickers, banners, and poster prints, with same or next day shipping on regular sized orders. We also offer paper printing such as business cards, postcards, table tents and more. We work well under pressure, so we still might be able to make your deadline, even if YOU think you missed it. We’re most proud of working with some of the biggest names and companies in the 2A, Patriotic. and Tactical industries. The first few of these clients were purely dumb luck. Friend of a friend knew someone working for the company. Once we had been working with them for a while it was easy to realize they just wanted to worry about making their products, and didn’t want to stress over printing, we provide a stress free process for them and their branding, so they can invest time into their businesses. After dealing with people in almost all other industries, we truly find that working with other Patriots and like minded people just make the day to day go so much smoother. Our biggest challenge was losing access to all our social media accounts. We were almost 90% dependent on work being generated on social media, and it ALMOST crippled us. It was a tooth and nail fight to try and find and reach out to old clients, and start the process of generating new ones. Now, we actively seek hand shake relationships with all our clients and it has really renewed my drive to be successful one way or another.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Most of my friends, having not visited Texas ever would have to get the “Welcome to Texas” fast track introduction course. We would obviously have to stop at a a Buccee’s for Beaver Nuggets and Brisket Sandwiches, and let them try to figure out why there are so many gas pumps, and why the gas station is bigger than a Walmart. We would have to knock out all the touristy stuff one night. Check out the River Walk, See the Alamo, Ripleys Museum etc, and catch a good meal down there. The BEST ceviche I have ever had is at El Buceneroes, and i have tried it in 10+ different countries. Tacos for at least 3-4 meals will be a must. Then we would find some good old Texas fun for them to get into. Hog hunting, a range day or two, checking out one of the beautiful rivers we have locally. There is some really cool SCUBA spots here locally, such at SCUBA ranch, or lake Travis.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Honestly this is probably 30 years late, but my dad Curtis Lumsden. My fathers work ethic and sheer determination to make things happen played a huge part in who i am today, it just took me well into my adult life to realize it. All the long nights in his office after a 14-16 hour day just to keep HIS families business alive weren’t him ignoring me, it was him making sure his family had everything they needed. I spent the first half of my life being resentful of it, only to realize i found myself doing the same thing once owning my own business. Putting in the extra hours during family time to make sure that this business would be successful and put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads.

Website: www.americanprintandapparel.com

Instagram: american_print_and_apparel

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/americanprintandapparel/

Other: We prefer email. We need: 1. Art 2. Size 3. Qty 4. Material (gloss, matte, chrome, holo, etc) 5. Shipping Address to get things moving

Image Credits
Me, Chris Lumsden