Less than three months after buying Central Coast printer Kiva Design and Print, Peter Nicholson is now offering web design services to give complete solutions to local small businesses.
Nicholson says the business has grown 10 per cent since he took over from retiring founder Ain Moldre, growing the client list to 165 small and medium businesses and launching a web-to-print portal.
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He says the small company in the town of Mardi, just north of Gosford, will offer website design, hosting and search engine optimisation for prices starting at $495-1000, depending on the inclusion of features like e-commerce, social media integration and mobile optimisation.
Kiva can also set up business emails and content management systems so business owners can make small updates themselves, and give them vouchers for print work or sell all services in a package.
“I think this will lift business significantly, a lot of the pricing for web design out there is extraordinarily expensive and too much for small business owners – plus they have a lot of trouble getting service,” he says.
“We will also give personalised, face-to-face service which has sadly been lost in the business world these days.
“A lot of small business owners need some help with things like this. It’s hard to keep up with new technology and even a four-year-old website is too old for new browsers.”
Nicholson says Kiva has a tradition of service that started with Moldre since he started the business four years ago, personally visiting every one of his Central Coast clients to discuss their printing needs, instead of expecting them to come into his office or order online.
“People buy from a person, not a business. They like to meet someone and talk about their needs, so meeting people builds loyalty,” he says.
“We know our niche market and we don’t want to get too big that clients become a number. They can have one of us come out and see them, or order on the phone or online according to their preference.”
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Nicholson says to keep this level of service as the company grows he would be interested in taking on trainees and giving them as much autonomy as possible.
“We want to keep the office environment open and give staff room to grow rather than looking over their shoulder all the time – give them the skills and resources to succeed and their own autonomy,” he says.
Nicholson says offering marketing services could be the next step, combining with its print and web services to provide a complete package to local businesses.
He says Kiva could offer brochure design, printing and distribution in direct mail campaigns, supported by web services.
Kiva designs and prints business cards, flyers, brochures, letterheads, menus, magazines, books, stickers, fridge magnets, logo design, and advertising art. It has no inhouse printing of its own, farming out production to CMYKhub.
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