News Release 11

“Some of our customers run 25 books every six months and others order 5,000 every month,” Bradley says.

Fundcraft’s instant publishing division can print books for as little as $7 per book and can run as few or as many as the customer wants. The company grew by 10% to revenue of nearly $7 million last year and Bradley anticipates similar growth this year. The company also plans to hire 20 people by the end of the year. It currently employs 80 people at its 200,000-square-foot facility in Collierville.

Fundcraft can print paperback, soft-cover and hardback books. The employee handbook division’s customers include the Salvation Army, St. Dominic’s Home, Sahjanand Corp., a Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee and the U.S. Army’s Landmine Division.

Bradley, who started at Fundcraft sweeping floors when he was 15, says his goal was to simply keep the company alive when the cookbook business began to decline.

One of Fundcraft’s customers, Terry Johnson, a motivational speaker, trainer and CEO of Oxford, Miss.-based Champions Within, says in his business, having a book published is the best way to get a foot in the door when looking for clients. He has published two books, Train Like You Fight and Rules of Engagement: The 8 Principles of Leadership, through Fundcraft.

“I was searching around online and was told you had to get 3,000 or 4,000 books printed and I was getting quotes of around $10,000 from other publishers,” Johnson says. “But with them, you can have a book in your hand seven days after you turn it in.”

The self-publishing business has grown to the point it parallels Fundcraft’s cookbook business, which still serves clients such as residential real estate firm Crye-Leike Inc. The next step is to increase marketing efforts to generate more business.

“We’re more of a national company, but we can print and ship anywhere,” Bradley says. “If local companies are doing their printing out of town, we can save them money by doing it locally.”

He’s also keeping an eye on the growing digital reader market. The company is in the process of creating its own apps for the iPhone and iPad and developing software for Kindle and Nook e-book users.

“When the e-book craze first came, we got into it a little, but it went away,” he says. “Now with the iPad, it’s starting back up, so we’ll probably start offering it again.”

While he doesn’t anticipate book publishing will ever completely go away, Bradley says it’s best to be prepared for any situation.

“You can’t just stick a file on (an iPad), you have to split it up so it flows,” he says. “Only time will tell if it’s just a fad because people still love the feel of a book in their hands.”