A threepeat for Kaitaia print shop

John (centre) and Rachel Stewart with their champion Printing.com Kaitaia team, from the left Louise Staub, Peter Smith, Gavin Nathan, Rob Bamber, Leon Gordon and Alex Jones.

Winning a Franchisee of the Year award takes some doing.

Winning two in a row is even more of a challenge, but Printing.com Kaitaia has now gone one better than that.

John and Rachel Stewart's business has scooped the award for the third time in succession, but even that wasn't enough to get them to Wellington to collect the trophy.

They were flat out at the Durapanel 90 Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza, with Mr Stewart recording his acceptance speech at the weigh-in, which didn't really surprise the conference organisers.

"John is a larger than life character who manages to combine his two passions in life, and run a very successful business as a result," Lawrence Evans, managing director of Printing.com franchisor owner Redshift Group, said.

"John has worked at making the Kaitaia Printing.com studio a model of how franchising can work to everyone's benefit."

Mr Stewart gave much of the credit for what had been another good year, capped by a third Franchisee of the Year award, to his staff, each and every one of whom were sufficiently skilled and competent to make the decisions that had to be made between meeting the client and delivering the product.

"As a franchise business we have the support of the printing.com network (comprising 29 independently-owned businesses), combined with the power of the Redshift group of companies. That's a real asset to this business, and the reason I got into a franchise operation," he said.

"Our strength lies in being able to offer a one-stop shop marketing solution to local businesses. We can advise on marketing strategy, provide great design, and then produce both printed and online materials. I haven't found a business yet that we couldn't help and grow."

His customer base extended far beyond Kaitaia though. In fact 70 per cent of his business now came from Auckland south, all the way to Invercargill.

The fact that it was a small operation was another strength.

"We understand what it's like for other small business owners.

"We've been there, done that, and we've learned a lot of lessons the hard way, and can pass what we've learned on to our customers," he said.

"My team and I have put in the hard yards, and now we're reaping the rewards. Being a small business owner isn't easy, but I love it, and I love the opportunities it gives me, like going fishing when the feeding frenzy is on."

Meanwhile Mr Evans said Printing.com, as a nation-wide operation, took a great deal of pride in seeing its franchises succeed in smaller towns and the heartland.

"Having a business from Northland take out the title three years running sends the signal that we aren't just for the big city operators.

"What John and his team in Kaitaia have achieved is amazing. Other Printing.com franchises will no doubt share an ambition to emulate that success."