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Keith Miller is the esteemed CEO at Strategic Factory, a premier single-point provider acclaimed for its excellence in Printing, Signage, Promotional Products, Branded Apparel, and Agency Services. Taking the reins in January 2015, Keith has orchestrated Strategic Factory’s evolution into a powerhouse of collaborative strategy and creativity. By crafting cohesive and innovative campaigns, Keith empowers clients to outmaneuver their competition, solidifying Strategic Factory’s position as the go-to destination for all marketing, branding, and communication needs.
With a relentless drive for innovation, Keith also serves as the President & CEO of PhotoSquaredApp since January 2017. Under his guidance, PhotoSquared has emerged as a pioneering platform, revolutionizing how individuals interact with their digital memories. Keith’s vision has liberated countless photos from smartphones, transforming them into lightweight, easily mountable squares that adorn living spaces, facilitating the effortless sharing of life’s moments.
Throughout his illustrious career, Keith has held various leadership roles, including President of Miller’s Minuteman Press and Sales Associate/Manager at Jammin Audio. His decades-long tenure in the industry has solidified his reputation as a dynamic leader and visionary entrepreneur. With a steadfast commitment to excellence and a passion for driving innovation, Keith Miller continues to shape the future of integrated marketing solutions, leaving an indelible mark on the industry landscape.
Strategic Factory is a Maryland-based industry leader specializing in print, signage, branding, and marketing solutions. With award-winning expertise, they offer a comprehensive range of services including printing, mailing, signage, branded apparel, promotional products, graphic design, content writing, and digital strategy. As a single-point provider, Strategic Factory delivers exceptional quality and tailored solutions to meet diverse business needs.
Chris Santomassimo: I’m your host Chris Santomassimo from OGC Solutions and I’m excited to spend some time with my friend Keith Miller, today from Strategic Factory. Welcome to the podcast.
Keith Miller: Thanks for having me, Chris. Appreciate it.
Chris Santomassimo: I have to be honest, it’s always our pleasure. So, Keith, is the the president and the CEO of the strategic factory. Maybe we should have got together earlier because we’re both running factories, I guess the think factory of strategic factory. But. Yeah. Yeah. No, but I think your business is really interesting. And, you know, that’s the purpose of the podcast really, is to share some really interesting stories such as yours and what Strategic Factory is doing, what it’s done. So talk a little bit about the business and and where you got to you know, where you got to.
Keith Miller: Sure. So I give you the story, the history of the story. I grew up in South Africa. I was an electrical engineer by education. I went into business doing a lot of automotive electronics called stereos, security systems, a lot of crime, a lot of corruption in South Africa. I decided that I was going to move. I bought myself a ticket around the world and I went to visit anyone, anywhere to kind of figure out where I would like to start my new life. I ended up running into, I ended up meeting my wife, now my wife in Baltimore, Maryland, and my original boss was actually living in Sydney. So I was kind of picking between those two places and whether she would come there or not. She had already immigrated before from South Africa. I did not know her then when she was two. So she had just said to me, you know, I’d prefer not to have to leave my family there. Yeah. If why don’t you move to Baltimore? If that doesn’t work, you can consider Sydney. My aunt at that time was selling minimum price franchises in South Africa. So she introduced me to the local rep was selling the franchises in America. And long story short, ended up settling in Baltimore, buying a franchise. It was 800 square feet, two person operation. And that’s what got me into the industry.
Chris Santomassimo: Think about starting small, but that’s pretty impressive.
Keith Miller: Yeah. And again, I just didn’t have the resources to do much more than that. So it was somewhat distressed or the gentleman had been in for a long time looking to retire. And, you know, we really learned that. Franchise to print. You know, we could do letterhead, business card envelopes. That was about what we learned. I then figured out that if you fold the letterhead and printed on two sides, you could create a brochure. And one thing led to another and we just carried on growing and growing and offering services, did a lot of listening to our customers and sharing what they were asking for and followed that pursuit of delivering what? Where the market was going. Today we have 165 people. We operate out of three facilities in Owings Mills, Maryland, just outside of Baltimore City, were in the county. We do everything from printing promotional products, branded apparel, signage, fabricated architectural signage and then agency services. So the goal is really to be a single point provider for anything a customer is requiring that has the logo or a message or a brand and helping them get that delivered.
Chris Santomassimo: Don’t forget direct mail too, Yeah. An important piece of what you do. Let’s circle back for a minute. When. When did you arrive in the United States? What year was it?
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