Success Advice From Norm Hullinger, CEO of alphabroder®

For the new year, I have decided to ask some of the most respected industry leaders to share their thoughts on success.

Thank you to Norm Hullinger, the CEO of the #1 ranked supplier in the industry alphabroder®, for sharing his valuable advice.

From your years of experience, what do you think the most financially successful people in our industry have in common?

Norm’s advice: “I think the most financially successful people in our industry are incredibly well balanced. That is, they can be very focused and intense with regard to their business, but still very human and approachable when dealing with their customers and coworkers.”

What advice would you give someone that wants to become very financially successful?

Norm’s advice: “My only advice to someone pursuing financial success in our industry would be to always remember to always treat the person on the other side of every conversation, email, or negotiation with the utmost respect and remember that they are simply trying to do their job. I would remind people to remember how it felt when you were just starting your career and had little leverage and ‘juice.’ I would guess that everyone simply wanted to be treated with respect. We should all remind ourselves of that, and act accordingly.”

What I appreciate most from Norm’s words is that these are all very achievable and admirable characteristics to run our business and our lives by which I’m sure we would all choose. The bottom line is YOU CAN DO IT. Success is not “rocket science.” Success is the result of choices all of us could and should make every day.

Thanks again Norm.

Proforma is the leader in the printing, promotional products and packaging industries with a creative edge to add impact and value to your programs. Get in touch to learn how Proforma can help you achieve your marketing and overall business goals.

About The Author

Greg Muzzillo started Proforma as an industry distributor in 1978. The company grew quickly and in the early 1980s Proforma was recognized for three consecutive years on Inc. magazine’s list of the 500 fastest-growing companies in North America. In the late 1980’s Proforma introduced its membership program to empower distributors to retain their business ownership and independence, and to share in sales and marketing resources, purchasing power with industry suppliers, one back office including all billing, accounting, vendor payments, cash flow, computer systems and more. Today Proforma has over 600 Members and is the $500 Million leader in the Promotional Products and Print Industry. Proforma’s record breaking success includes having 18 of its Affiliates named to Inc. Magazine’s 2020 list of the 5,000 fastest-growing companies and 193 Affiliates achieving its Million/Multi-Million Dollar Club with sales up to $38 million.