25 BIG years of Visual Communication

We sat down with Tom Trutna, president of BIG INK in Eagan, MN, and asked him to reflect on the company’s 25th anniversary.

Q: What values or principles have guided the company’s decisions and actions throughout its history?

A: Managing to our core values is really instrumental and how we differentiate ourselves. It’s a way for us to establish expectations internally with our employees and externally with our customers. Our core values came from within. We took a look at who some of our best employees were and what were the characteristics that made them exceptional and from there we created our four core values which are Create Delight, Genuinely Care, Committed to Constant Improvement, and Consistently Great Results. A lot of times companies post their core values, but don’t necessarily actively support or live by them. If we as a management team are exemplary about our core values, specifically Create Delight for our employees, then they will Create Delight for our customers. I truly believe that was instrumental for us in shaping who we are today.

Q: What drives you?

A: For me it goes back to the creative services side. What I love is when people come to us looking for unique and interesting solutions. We do that every day and so regularly that we don’t even notice it. But if you break it down and say how much of what we do is ink to paper versus solving problems or coming up with new and innovative things, it’s probably that half of what we do doesn’t involve print at all, or at least a small part of it. That’s what I love! Our real secret sauce is our creativity. We love when customers come to us and ask how they can do x, y, and z and we figure it out. We have figured out the best way to put logos on the bottoms of pools and logos that have floated on pools. We’ve put logos in ice and we’ve made large 3D farm animals out of corrugated materials. That’s the kind of stuff that I love and that’s what we keep looking for. To find things that are really interesting and creative. I love the creative process and the innovative stuff that the team comes up with here. That’s what drives me and I think what makes us unique as a company.

Q: What are some of the most significant milestones or achievements BIG INK has reached in the last 25 years?

A: When we are chosen or recognized by our customers for being an exceptional partner, I love that! Over the years we have achieved a variety of key vendor relations with Star, BI, and winning the Wrap to Win contest with 3M. We won an award at The Show one year for a self-promotion campaign that we did. That was impressive because we were competing in a category with all the advertising agencies in the Twin Cities and won a bronze Pin. Coming from the advertising world and to win that was a big deal. I think that speaks to our message about being a creative services company. We do a lot more that just put ink to substrate.  

Q: Can you discuss any challenges the company has faced and how you overcame them?

A: There have been a ton of them, but clearly the biggest was Covid. We serve the trade show, events and branded environments world, and during Covid that was shutdown. Our business went to zero. And there was certainly a point when I thought, I don’t know if we are going to survive this. So, I think in hindsight that was a tremendously impactful period of time. But the upside was Monique, our VP, and the rest of the team rallying to come back. She was insistent that we would get through it, she was insistent we take one job at a time. Between her and Dave, our production manager, I am forever grateful. The willingness of employees to come back when needed, to stay home when needed certainly helped.  Hopefully that’s a time we will never have to live through again.

Q: Are there any key lessons learned that you believe are important for other aspiring entrepreneurs?

A: For me personally that is to find a peer group, a peer council or board. Whether it is a true board of directors or board of advisors. For me that was a group called EO, or Entrepreneurs’ Organization. It’s an international organization, but there are local chapters. I had a forum of 10 people and all of us grew our businesses together and supported each other during really critical times. That was an awesome way for me to learn, share experiences, and also to celebrate successes. Some of them are my dearest friends to this day. I’m telling my son, who is starting his business today, to do the same thing. Find a like minded group of individuals that you can share confidentially with and learn a ton. I would recommend that to any entrepreneur.

We are going to celebrate 25 years of creative services and printing in the Twin Cities throughout the year with 25 various events. Some will be smaller like lunches at our Eagan headquarters and others will be on a larger scale.