An Interview With Chad Silverstein
Our strategy is actually rather simple. We focus on the “why” and not the “what”. It is not what we produce or what we sell. It is about why we do those things. The why behind our decisions is that it creates jobs. The why is that it allows us to give back to organizations that support the communities in which we live and work. We surround ourselves with others who believe in the why. We hire people who believe in the why. Then, collectively, we can do anything we set out to do. Sure, we print shirts and cards that help other businesses promote and grow themselves. But that is a byproduct, albeit a great byproduct, of the why.
In the world of business and within every industry, there are forward-thinking leaders who go against the status quo and find success. Their courage to take risks, embrace innovation, and inspire collaboration separates them from the competition. Until 2002, Apple’s famous slogan was “Think Different”. This attitude likely helped them become one of the most successful organizations in history. This interview series aims to showcase visionary leaders and their “status quo-breaking” approach to doing business. As part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing John DiDonato of K12 Print.
John DiDonato has been at the helm of printing leader K12 Print for over 30 years. With a natural ability to see the big picture, he has successfully created a printing “engine” that is not only hard to compete with but has a bigger purpose in mind. Manufacturing Beginnings — John DiDonato’s career prior to launching K12 Print was in various manufacturing roles. He learned how to use lasers at his first “real job” at LaserTron. Always looking to do something bigger, he went on to build his own laser and began creating parts for Fortune 500 companies such as Motorola and IBM, as well as NASA and Boeing. As the American story unfolded, eventually, all the manufacturing jobs were shipped offshore. The Birth of K12 Print — It was at this time that John pivoted toward printing, something he knew would be harder to take overseas. As he built K12 Print, he advocated for making things in the U.S.A. as much as possible. The K12 Print facilities are state-of-the-art, with the ability to print high quality, competitively priced customized items at rapid speed. K12 Print specializes in the printing of plastic cards, business cards, promotional and marketing items and custom apparel. A Vision With Purpose — K12 Print’s home base in Palm Beach County, Florida, is also home to many people struggling to find jobs and make ends meet — especially those without a four-year college degree. In a moment of clarity, he put it all together. John’s vision for K12 Print became more purposeful. K12 Print has the opportunity to not only sell a high-quality product at a competitive price in an efficient turnaround time but also make a difference in the community. From here, the Printing with a Purpose concept was born. K12 Print gives its customers the opportunity to enhance their brands while changing young lives. A portion of K12 Print’s apparel profits will go to help the underserved youth populations, but K12 Print plans to go even further. The K12 Print vision includes a program that will take an active role in providing training and job opportunities in our organization for the underserved members of our community.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us your “Origin Story”? Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up in Haworth, New Jersey, a small town about 30 minutes outside of New York City. I lived in Haworth until the age of 20. That is when my father, a New York City bus driver, retired and he and my mother moved to Florida and I joined them. Once in Florida, I married and began a family. I went to trade school to be a Machinist and began working at machine shops around the Ft. Lauderdale area. It was in these shops I developed an understanding of manufacturing and how important it is to make things properly. I excelled as a machinist and eventually began working with one of the first lasers that was sold commercially in the U.S. I honed my skills on the laser and in 1989, along with my first partner, we bought our own laser to go into business for ourselves. I began making pager lenses for Motorola. That led to making prototype lenses for cell phones before most people even knew what cell phones were. The cellphone lenses required each company’s name to be printed on them, like Sony and Panasonic. That’s how I went from being a machinist to working in the printing industry and I’ve been in the printing business ever since.
Can you give us a glimpse into your journey into this industry and share a story about one of the most significant challenges you faced when you first started out? How did you end up resolving that challenge?
The biggest challenge I faced when starting was purchasing machines. I learned quickly that it was a better business decision to figure out how to purchase machines that had more capacity. Even if it was a greater capacity than we needed at the time it was better to be over-prepared than underprepared. When you do not plan for the future, you begin playing catch-up which tends to stop the forward progression of the company.
Who has been the most significant influence in your business journey, and what is the most significant lesson or insight you have learned from them?
When I started printing on plastic I met a man named Chris Roach. Chris ran a printing company in the northeastern U.S. I was looking for a certain plastic material and the supplier had none in stock after a customer of theirs had purchased everything they had. That customer was Chris Roach. I called Chris and asked if I could buy some of the material from him. He asked what I was doing with it and we discussed the business of printing on plastic. He invited me to visit his factory and he showed me everything he had learned about printing on plastic. I was surprised by his desire to share his knowledge with me since I was becoming his direct competitor. When I brought that up, he told me there was no way he could print all the plastic cards that would need to be printed and that it’s better to work together instead. I learned that by working together we can improve the printing industry as a whole and be fulfilled on a much deeper level. I’ve carried that same philosophy to this day and have passed it on to others along the way.
Can you share a story about something specific that happened early on that you would consider a failure but ended up being a blessing in disguise or ended up being one of the most valuable lessons you had to learn on your own?
I learned something important at the beginning of my career that has become the cornerstone of K12 Print. I moved the factory to a location where the people who were applying were desperate for work. Not only that, they were desperate for opportunity. They were in survival mode and had no time to enjoy life. Life was moving too quickly, they were constantly having to overcome one problem just to be faced with another. You could almost read it on their faces.
However, once they started earning a paycheck and were able to have a few dollars in their pocket, life began to slow down for them. They were able to look around and find enjoyment in life. That is what led me to create K12 Print and develop the mission behind the company: Provide good paying blue collar jobs while taking part of our proceeds and investing in the community. We do that by providing computers and other learning equipment to organizations like the Boys and Girls Club.
Leading anything is hard, especially when grappling with a difficult situation where it seems that no matter what you decide, it will have a negative impact on those around you. Can you share a story about a situation you faced that required making a “hard call” or a tough decision between two paths?
A very tough decision I faced was changing the name of the company. Beginning in the early 2000’s, the name of the company was Plastic Card Factory, along with a website branded as Factorymart. Those names, along with the website URL’s had very good Google rankings across the country. It took over a dozen years to build that and when I changed the name to K12 Print, all of the SEO was lost. I felt that my vision for the company required a strong commitment internally and a name that would reflect our mission. The mission of helping children and young adults is reflected in K12 Print.
When the name was officially changed and we launched the website, we took a big hit in both website traffic and revenue. It may have been a larger hit than we anticipated. However, looking back, it was the right decision. It not only achieves my goal of fully committing to what I wanted this company to be, but it has also opened up more opportunities for us with SEO and advertising.
Let’s shift our focus to the core of this interview about ‘Successful Rule Breakers’. Why did you decide to “break the rules”? Early on, did you identify a particular problem or issue in how businesses in your industry generally operated? What specifically compelled you to address this and want to do things differently? Please share how you went about implementing those changes and the impact they had.
I think this goes back to my mission. The problem I decided to solve wasn’t about the printing industry or even business in general. It was a societal problem that I could use business, particularly manufacturing, to solve. I addressed this problem by putting young people to work in well-paying blue-collar jobs. In addition, I created a company that works like an engine. This engine generates money by manufacturing printed products and funnels part of the profits back into the communities in which we live and operate. The delivery here is hope. Giving hope and opportunity to those in underserved communities. When a person has a purpose to wake up in the morning and go to work where they find a paycheck and a sense of accomplishment, their lives become more fulfilling. They blossom and their families benefit. We need these types of jobs to make our communities stronger and healthier.
In the ever-changing business landscape, how exactly do you decide when to adhere to industry norms versus “breaking the rules” and forging your own way? Can you share an example?
Just because something is the norm doesn’t make it the only way to do something. As an engineer, I am inclined to look for different, more efficient, or cost-effective ways to achieve the result. In printing, there is a process of running sheets of paper through the press until it is printing the desired color. Sometimes this could take 50 to 100 sheets. Well, I was printing large sheets of PVC plastic and the cost of those sheets was $1.15 each. So, there was no way I could run 50 to 100 sheets to bring the machine to color. That would be a waste of between $57 and $114. There is no way to be profitable with that loss for each run. So, I began to run 10 sheets through the machine and then put the same 10 sheets back through again. I would keep doing this until the machine was up to color which would only waste a fraction of the dollar amount. I would reuse those same sheets until the ink buildup was too much. I would then start another round of 10 sheets. Kimori, the manufacturer of the press, actually shot a video of my new “make ready” model to show to their other clients.
What guidance or insight can you offer to new entrepreneurs trying to follow existing and accepted industry norms while at the same time trying to differentiate themselves in the marketplace?
You can follow the norms for business structure and employee work environment as those have been tested well. In terms of differentiating yourself, don’t be afraid to go against the grain with marketing or advertising. Being memorable will help you stand out from the crowd and will help you land business. From that point, it’s customer retention. Hang on to your customers and treat them better than the next guy. Be fair in business and do not overcharge for your product or service. That way you’re always looking forward and don’t have to continuously look over your shoulder.
Here is the main question of our interview. To make an impact, you have to champion change, get creative, and take risks. Please think back about the decisions you’ve made that have helped your business get to where it is today, and share your top 5 strategies or decisions that helped you succeed by doing things differently. If you can, please share a story or example for each.
1 . Selling the Kimori offset press and investing in HP digital presses. This change in manufacturing technology helped K12 Print evolve into the company we are today. We are able to offer smaller quantity orders for those who need that and also a much faster turnaround time, which is what customers expect in today’s marketplace.
2 . Another major decision came when adding a new product line and investing in the machinery to produce those products. In 2023, we made a large capital investment in apparel printing machinery. We purchased the most productive equipment that uses the latest digital printing technology. This opens us up to a much larger market than where we have historically had access to. The custom-printed t-shirt market in the US alone is projected to reach nearly 10 billion dollars by 2030. Although buying new machinery can always have its risks, that decision has helped grow K12 Print and take us to the next level.
3 . Our strategy is actually rather simple. We focus on the “why” and not the “what”. It is not what we produce or what we sell. It is about why we do those things. The why behind our decisions is that it creates jobs. The why is that it allows us to give back to organizations that support the communities in which we live and work. We surround ourselves with others who believe in the why. We hire people who believe in the why. Then, collectively, we can do anything we set out to do. Sure, we print shirts and cards that help other businesses promote and grow themselves. But that is a byproduct, albeit a great byproduct, of the why.
4 . Outstanding customer service. This has been a focus of K12 Print and we continually strive to raise the bar higher and higher. Many years ago, we did not prioritize customer service as much as we do today. It was not until we began hyper-focusing on the customers that our business began to thrive. There have been several times over the years when a customer across the country needed something on the same day. We have been able to produce, package, and arrange same-day delivery across the county for those customers. We’ve even offered to personally fly and deliver items to our customers to meet their needs and would be more than happy to do so. It positively impacts our business to prioritize customer service in that way, with a happy customer you are more likely to have repeat orders.
5 . Building the right team. I have learned that without the right team, you can’t move forward in any meaningful way. I’ve hired and worked alongside a lot of people in the last 40 years. What I found is that when you assemble the right people and they are all doing it for the same “why”, things begin to change for the better and you start to build momentum. What I’ve learned from hiring people with different professional and personal backgrounds is that they each help the company in their own unique way. My team’s skills and success also help attract more talent which leads to greater growth. The K12 Print team is now at a place where we are ready for that rapid growth and are beginning to see that happen.
As a leader, how do you rally others to align with your vision? Also, how do you identify those who may not be fully committed or even silently sabotaging or undermining your efforts? What steps do you take to address these situations?
I believe that in order to rally others to follow your lead, you need to be passionate and unwavering in your resolve. They need to feel that you are fully invested in your vision and that you’re offering them an opportunity to be part of something bigger than themselves. I found that people who work toward a purpose, and not simply a paycheck, are happier and more likely to share that with others. I have found very few detractors or people actively looking to undermine our efforts.Their true colors seem to shine though rather quickly. The few that I have come across did not last long.
Imagine we’re sitting down together two years from now, looking back at your company’s last 24 months. What specific accomplishments would have to happen for you to be happy with your progress?
In terms of company growth, I would like to see multiple locations in that timeframe. It is yet to be determined whether those will be more locations in South Florida or new places around the country. Those new locations will allow K12 Print to create more jobs and hire more talented people which is a fundamental part of the company’s vision of success.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would like other companies to adopt the K12 Print philosophy. Stop putting so much emphasis on the bottom line and begin to measure your success by the number of jobs you create along with the families that are supported with those jobs.
How can our readers continue to follow you or your company online?
K12print.com, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube
Thank you so much for sharing all of these insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein, a seasoned entrepreneur with over two decades of experience as the Founder and CEO of multiple companies. He launched Choice Recovery, Inc., a healthcare collection agency, while going to The Ohio State University, His team earned national recognition, twice being ranked as the #1 business to work for in Central Ohio. In 2018, Chad launched [re]start, a career development platform connecting thousands of individuals in collections with meaningful employment opportunities, He sold Choice Recovery on his 25th anniversary and in 2023, sold the majority interest in [re]start so he can focus his transition to Built to Lead as an Executive Leadership Coach. Learn more at www.chadsilverstein.com
Successful Rule Breakers: John DiDonato Of K12 Print On How To Succeed By Doing Things Differently was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.