Minuteman Press

Cindie and Andre Nel are the owners of Minuteman Press in Costa Mesa, CA since January of 2020. Celebrating 5 years in business, Cindie and Andre are thrilled to be recognized as two of the newest members of the Minuteman Press International President’s Club for achieving over $1 million in gross sales for the year ending 2024. They credit a key acquisition as well as customer referrals/reviews, the Minuteman Press Internet Marketing Program, and increased networking for their growth and success leading to President’s Club status.

On joining the President’s Club, Cindie shares, “This accomplishment means everything. I am a competitive person and since purchasing the business in 2020, this has been a huge goal. However, more than the prestige of joining the President’s Club, I am happy to have the privilege of interacting and learning from the best in the business so I can be a better leader and business partner. I was excited to attend my first President’s Club trip to Florida in May and interact with fellow President’s Club Members to share my experiences and learn from theirs.”

On celebrating five years, Cindie continues, “Five years and we’ve made it! There’s no substitute for experience and that’s so true in this business. Printing is a business that includes chasing down deadlines while ensuring quality is never compromised. However, seeing the delight in our customers’ faces when they see their brand come alive never gets old. Five years down the line seeing how our business has grown and how our staff has developed, I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve achieved together.”

“We are passionate about the Minuteman Press brand.  We appreciate the structure, support, and systems available to us while being given the independence to run our business as we feel best. The camaraderie between Minuteman Press owners and our genuine desire to see each other succeed is so special. It feels like family.” -Cindie Nel

Journey to Minuteman Press

Prior to Minuteman Press, Cindie and Andre built two distinct businesses in South Africa before exploring opportunities in the USA. Cindie shares, “Andre built a significant multi temperature logistics and distribution company for several large US fast food franchise brands. Through my strong sales and account management skills, I built an innovative telecommunications brand.”

Five years later, Cindie reflects on the importance of joining the Minuteman Press family as she and Andre set their sights on a new industry in a new country. She shares, “The ongoing training and support we’ve received from Dan Byers and the Minuteman Press Team has been exceptional from the beginning and a huge key to our ongoing success. There are no questions or situations they’ve been unable to assist with. The FLEX software support team from MPI World HQ is always very helpful and efficient and our concerns are resolved with ease. FLEX has really supported all aspects of our business, and its powerful reporting has helped in managing our combined debtors’ books, profitability, and work in progress status. After the acquisition, the merging of our two businesses would have been a lot more difficult to manage without FLEX and the support of Minuteman Press International.”

Growing & Marketing the Business

Cindie shares the following keys to growing the business in Costa Mesa over the past 5 years. She says, “1. Customer Referrals – we’ve gained numerous significant clients this way. When staff members we’ve been working with move to new companies, their experience with us has been so positive they take us with them to their new team; 2. We utilize the Minuteman Press Internet Marketing Program and the Minuteman.com website. We’ve been successful in quickly contacting clients the moment their inquiries come in and engaging with them as a print partner so they have confidence in us from the outset; and; and 3. Networking, both personally and professionally. I have joined the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce and have achieved increased orders and sales as a result.”

Cindie continues, “Joining the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce has resulted in us getting a lot more involved in our community. We love the fact that we’re all local businesses wanting to support and help each other while contributing to our city’s improvement. Minuteman Press is the print sponsor for the annual Love Costa Mesa event and we also sponsor the Chamber’s local annual cycle race. It feels rewarding to be able to give back. In addition, we work hard at increasing the number of 5-star Google Reviews. We’re members of the Southern California Century Club (with over 100 5-star reviews) and have seen the benefits of this in terms of increasing our credibility and boosting our online presence.”

She adds, “Our high demand products include books, forms, labels, stickers, and brochures. As a result of our acquisition, we now have an in-house automated scorer and booklet maker to fulfill jobs quickly in a more cost-effective manner.”

Acquisition of Copy Group

For Cindie and Andre, the acquisition of Copy Group in August of 2024 further spurred sales to help them join the President’s Club. Cindie says, “We acquired Copy Group, an independent print that was in business for 25 years. Our acquisition was completed July 31, 2024. The customers and staff came across officially on August 1, 2024. The purpose of the acquisition was twofold. We obviously wanted to increase our customer base, sales, and profits. Due to our growth, we also saw the need to increase our staff and increase our capabilities.”

Cindie explains, “Prior to the Copy Group acquisition, we had three full-time staff members, Cindie (Owner/Manager), Nick (Graphics), and Jan-Marke (Production). I knew I wanted to increase our staff but also wanted to make sure the sales were there to support additional team members and resources. As a result of the acquisition, we have acquired equipment and skills that enable us to do a lot more in-house, which has increased our efficiency, turnaround times, and reduced our cost of using external vendors. Our ability to do quick turnaround large format rigid signs has been another positive addition for us. We are seeing significant growth in this area thanks to the Copy Group acquisition.

Another benefit of the acquisition is Cindie’s ability to have a more flexible work day, which has added to her work-life balance. She shares, “I find myself being able to work shorter days and take more time off to enjoy fun activities such as pickleball while knowing our shop is well taken care of if I am not always there.”

In order to complete the acquisition of Copy Group and ensure a smooth transition, Cindie and Andre leaned on the guidance and support of Minuteman Press International. Cindie says, “Our Regional VP Dan Byers was essential in this process with drafting the legal documentation and walking us through the legal and financial details which was new to me. It could have been way too overwhelming without Dan’s guidance, which made things so much easier.”

Cindie continues, “Our Area Manager Damien Neitzke was phenomenal in setting up all of our new staff members on FLEX and configuring our network. He helped transition Copy Group employees to FLEX in the kindest, most supportive, and patient manner. Copy Group had no automated systems and they relied heavily on handwritten orders that were manually handed to production and then billing. Damien and I worked together to help the staff make this transition as we were adamant about bringing everyone up to speed on our tried and true systems and processes.”

That decision has paid off, as Cindie states, “We’re now eight months down the road and to see how the team has not only embraced but now trusts and loves the Minuteman Press way is testimony to our well-oiled systems and processes. The business we acquired is more profitable than before. The powerful reports we can run at the click of a mouse in FLEX have been so instrumental in demonstrating to Copy Group staff how managing your margins results in direct profits that add to your bottom line.”

“Important in an acquisition is to integrate the team as soon as possible to avoid an us vs. them scenario. We are quick to celebrate key wins. The ease at which our team has bonded has been a godsend and has made for a smooth transition. We appreciate and celebrate each other and value what each member brings to our team.” – Cindie Nel.

Final Thoughts & Reflections

Reflecting on 5 years, Cindie shares, “Our biggest personal reward has been our ability to send both of our children to great colleges without them having to take out onerous student loans. Our son is about to graduate as a Computer Science Engineer from UCSC and our daughter is a rising Junior Marketing major at SDSU, both of whom have zero student debt. Our business has also provided us with flexibility to remain tightly connected with our children through frequent visits and milestone celebrations.”

She adds, “One of my biggest professional rewards is managing a well-oiled, hard-working and dedicated team. Prior to Minuteman Press, I had not managed a single person, so this was a huge learning curve for me. Another is achieving President’s Club status, which has been my goal since purchasing our business in 2020. Finally, creating a healthy work/life balance has enabled me to invest more time on self-enrichment activities, which has been life changing for me.”

Cindie’s advice to others is this: “We view the stakeholders in our business as a triangle with three key, equally important areas: our staff, our customers, and our vendors/partners. All are equally essential to the success of our business. We therefore invest in, value, and treat all of them with the utmost care and respect.”

She concludes, “The key to success is to know your local market and client base and to let them dictate what and how much to invest in in-house capabilities. Also, become experts in your field. Never hand over a job that is anything less than exceptional. Package and label your orders in the manner that you, as a client, would like to receive them. Always be excited and enthusiastic about every job you do for your client, and the rewards will follow!”