Influential Woman · Printing

Sudha Kaistha

Owner, SK Printing Inc.

Mount Airy, MD

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Master's Degree in Public Administration Degree 1979 Degree Bachelor's Degree in Political Science Honors Degree 1977 Cert Trained as Trainer on Equipment Cert Programming Management Certification Cert Woman Entrepreneur Course Certification Member Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce Member Vice President Member Mount Airy Rotary Club Member Past President 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 Member LETIP of Mount Airy Member Maryland

Her Story

About Sudha

I have dedicated 45 years to the printing industry, building a career that spans from working for others to owning my own successful business. I started by working for a commercial printer in Virginia, then moved to Xerox in Virginia where I received exceptional training. In my first year at Xerox in management, they invested about $106,000 in my training 30 years ago, training me as a trainer on equipment and in programming management, teaching other managers how to use different software. For the last 24 years, I have owned my own company, running three businesses under the same tax ID: SK Printing, SK Gifts, and we print a magazine called Full County Cat every month with about 11,000 publications. My daily focus is on building relationships with people and growing the business. When I came to this country, my kids were little and I didn't want to give them to a babysitter, so I worked a 4 to 1 shift while my husband worked for Nike in the morning, and it worked out great for us. I have always prioritized keeping my customers close through good product quality and excellent customer service, with some customers staying with us for more than 24 years.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Sudha

01What do you attribute your success to?

I would say the first commercial printing where I worked and also Xerox, because they trained me how to create a win-win situation and how to handle a difficult future. I have good teams that we work very well together. My experience is my mentor - every day when I have good experience or bad experience, I appreciate the gratitude for everything I have in my life because of those good or bad experiences. I also attribute my success to my customers, because I have customers who are with us more than 24 years. Anybody can give you a cheaper price, but when you have a good product, good quality, and good customer service, you keep your customer close to you.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

Respect everybody unconditionally.

03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

I would say never say I know. When somebody wants to show you something, always listen and learn from it. Because everybody have different way of doing things, even though they are doing the same thing, but you might find the best way to get it done when somebody else is showing you. But when people say, I already know how to do it, they close the opportunity for themselves.

04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

Printing is a male-dominant area. You see sometimes some VP there, they have the title, they own the company, but actually company is run by all the males. But my situation is different. I have my hand on day-to-day things. Price negotiating is the big challenge, and it does not matter if it's from the vendor, or it's for the customer.

05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

My personal and business, I run them equally. Family is my number one priority, and second is good ethics. I think if you don't have good ethics, you can't succeed no matter what you do.

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