Ryan Benn is the president and publisher of Alive Publishing Group and the president of Teldon, a 45-year-old marketing company.
Throughout the 2000s, Teldon grew rapidly. The company acquired Alive Publishing Group and added a printing division. However, when the recession hit in 2008, the company was forced to make some hard decisions. Teldon sold its printing business in 2012. That move, which involved laying off 35 employees, was particularly difficult because the company is employee-owned.
That experience, Benn said, taught him that focusing on your core business is key.
“We had two long-standing legacy businesses, and the core businesses were the ones where we felt we could be No. 1 in the industry,” he said.
“We couldn’t be No. 1 in the printing business because of the capital required, the size of our competitors and the scope of the national market for print purchasing versus us being a regional player.”
But Benn did feel confident that Teldon and Alive – which produces natural health publications – could compete.
To make those businesses the best they can be, the company has focused on hiring and retaining the best employees, Benn said.
“We had a rapid increase in our employee engagement, a rapid increase to both our top and bottom lines on our other businesses. … We’ve been going through just exceptional growth in both businesses.”
On developing a sterling reputation: “Because we’ve gotten to that place where we’re known for being exceptional, we find that our partners are coming to us with opportunities to grow because they understand that if we take the jobs on, we have a high degree of credibility that we’re going to operate those with excellence as well.”
