Charlene Douglas, Managing Director, Tradeprint

What is it your company does, and what makes it special? Tradeprint are a print partner for thousands of marketing, creative and print professionals. We provide the best print products and service to all our clients. Ultimately our main aim is to help grow your business by delivering reliable print on time and showing dedication and going the extra mile.

How do you feel your business is ‘representative’ of Scotland?
As pioneers of print we are passionate about discovering innovative ways to move forward. Our main headquarters is in Dundee, the city of discovery. Scotland is renowned for its generosity and we love to give back to the community and run various charity events throughout the year and donate to our local causes.

Describe your role in no more than 100 words
As “a passionate customer advocate”, Customer focus and an ambition for making Tradeprint stand out through the quality of its service is my aim.  The backbone of providing a high-quality service falls on our fantastic team, so it is vital that we make sure that we put their happiness at the heart of our business to allow them to grow with us.

Give us a brief timeline of your career so far – where did you start, how did you progress?
I started out as an Account Assistant at EQ Chartered Accountant and spend just over 3 years. From here I spent just over 9 years at NCR Corporation as a Finance Manager. Finally joining Tradeprint in November 2015 as Finance Director before moving into the Marketing Director role in October 2018.

Where do you see the company in five years’ time?
Having gone through a re-platforming exercise, enhancing our e-commerce capabilities to expand our online products. Being part of the Cimpress group we have access to a wide range of products such as business cards, flyers and leaflets. The goal is to stand out from our competition by delivering a world class service through from the online ordering process to the quality of our physical products right through to the exceptional customer service and aftercare.

What do you believe makes a great leader?
Someone who data driven and can make informed decisions in a consistent way at speed. Someone who is accessible and approachable who takes the time to listen and talk to others within the business. A great leader is a good mentor, someone who takes delight in building a strong team and encourages progression through objective setting.

What has been your biggest challenge in your current position?
Ensuring that as a business we stay focused on our loyal customers’ requirements in everything we do and that we constantly strive to deliver the best print experience online.

How do you alleviate the stress that comes with your job?
The feeling of accomplishment and job satisfaction more than outweigh the stress of this job. Moving at an incredibly fast pace and I am surrounded by a team of hard working, enthusiastic and passionate co-workers who are an inspiration to work alongside. I am extremely proud to be in this position. I really try to switch off at the weekend and spend precious time with my family.

What advice would you give to an aspiring business leader?
Understand your problems, break them down in to manageable chunks and deal with them one at a time. Make sure you are presented with all the key data and involve key stakeholders when deciding or implementing a change. Change is more widely accepted when people feel like they have been included.

What do you wish someone had told you when you started out? Don’t be scared to make mistakes. We can only learn by making mistakes. It’s better to move forward, fail fast and must pivot rather than not move forward at all. Change is inevitable we just need to embrace it.

How and why did you become involved in Scotland House? It’s great to have a place to meet up in London with like-minded colleagues in this fast-growing business with Scottish heritage.

How has your Scotland House membership enhanced your business?
Offering of extended meeting spaces to engage with partners located in London to talk about newly launched products has been excellent for our continued growth.  

Describe the three biggest benefits of being a member.
Scotland House provides us with a well-run facility in a great location.
The accessibly to here we can host meetings for our key stakeholders
The networking opportunities is providing to Tradeprint

What would you say to a Scottish business considering membership?
Operating in various locations, Scotland house provide excellent locations without crippling operation costs