Jim Linhoff has been working in his family photo business since 1978 and recently became the sole owner. The company has grown from a pure photo lab and portrait studio into a diverse print and photography model where the business is split between retail services and sports/events photography.
In 2019, he decided to make big changes in order to better position the business for the future and that began with a move to a new location
Like many in the industry, Jim jokingly refers to himself as a “lab rat”, which means he’s traditionally been the one who fixes the equipment and manages production. However, in his new role – he understood that his time needed to focus on strategies to sustain the business long term.
That’s where The Print Refinery (PR) came in. Jim realized that the move was the ideal time to reinvent, not to mention he quickly needed help designing the interior and exterior look of the new space – which opened in October 2019.
Throughout the PR onboarding process, he and his team were exposed to new ideas, operations coaching, and they completely embraced the new “upscale retail” concept. Admittedly, marketing was always a weak spot for the company, so the comprehensive marketing support was extremely helpful as well. The team received training to expand their customer service skills and Jim realized how profitable commercial sales could become.
Embracing the B2B opportunities.
Jim has identified that there are hundreds of commercial products that are an excellent fit with his existing sports and event division. Think athlete banners, yard signs, school murals, branded promotional products and much more.
Marketing was a weak area for Linhoff in the past, so they fully embraced the comprehensive marketing support that accompanies the PR model. They quickly experienced a boost in online engagement and sales.
Why PR was a fit for me?
- Modernize the business.
- Ability to attract a new, younger audience.
- Updated brand look with new logo and addition of PR.
- New upscale retail approach.
- Exposure to significant B2B sales potential.
- Business coaching and goal setting programs provide me with a second opinion, support and direction for helping me succeed as a business owner.
- Add value for future sale.
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REDESIGNED BRANDING:
As part of The Print Refinery model, a new logo and branding plan helped with Jim’s goal to modernize and attract a new audience.
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The future of Linhoff Photo is bright and better positioned for whatever Jim wants to do next! He’s not quite ready to retire but is happy knowing that his business is in a solid position to appeal to a prospective buyer.
Right now, he’s busy working toward a record year and hitting $1 million in sales this year!
