You never know who you’ll meet or how that person will impact your life. Mark is the fraternity brother of someone whom I knew professionally. This person recommended Mark for some printing work I needed. I’ve worked with printers in the past, especially when working as a photographer, and those connections are not memorable. Mark is, and it didn’t take me long to learn this about him. What I’ve seen in him is his concern for his clients and their work. He takes pride in turning out high quality work, on time, and at good prices. Lessons we all need regardless of the type of work, but lessons which many do not seem to have learned. He goes the extra mile to be sure the job is delivered and the client is happy. And we developed a friendship much more than a client-vendor relationship. Because of that friendship I’ve grown and learned much more than I would have otherwise. We have shared stories of successes and problems with clients and their challenges. As with others I’ve written about in this series, the ability to share experiences, which are the same, but different, is beneficial in many ways. I can’t really explain all of the lessons learned from Mark, but he’s one of the types of people who have made an impact in my life, professionally, and personally, by getting to know him. I know most of us have friends, and that is nothing new, but it has been helpful to me to have people, like Mark, who make navigating the course of entrepreneurship, as well as life, more meaningful.
Mark is one of those people who, at least every time I have ever encountered him, is upbeat and full of energy. He is always ready to help David and me, particularly in our early days of business ownership when we took a long time to pay him for his excellent work. Mark is one of the hardest working people I know; he is constantly in motion, looking for the best opportunities to make money and turn some money into more money. The emphasis he places on quality and customer satisfaction are unsurpassed in his industry, mine, or just about anyone else’s. Every year, Magnus publishes a calendar of beautiful courthouse photographs David has taken around our home state, Florida. Every year, Mark gives us a deadline for turning in everything he needs to print the calendar and distribute hundreds of calendars to our clients before the holiday season. Every year, David fails to meet the deadline, forcing Mark to rush the calendar into production just as the holidays are upon us. Every year, somehow, some way, all of the lovely calendars Mark has worked so hard to print make it to their final destination, Magnus’ clients, all of whom are attorneys who love our annual photographic tribute to courthouses. And, every year, without exception, Mark thanks David and me for our business. Mark, you are a super mensch, just like the movie of the same name!
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