Big Picture - October 2019 - 48

CHRISTINE WALSH
PRESIDENT

A L P H A G R A P H I C S | B A LT I M O R E
alpha-graphics.net

BIG PICTURE

October 2019

Walsh has met with more than 60 women to help mentor them in
their businesses. She also volunteers at Maryland New Directions, a
work/life nonprofit that helps people get back into the working
world after incarceration or being laid off. She is also a sponsor of
many artistic and creative events in and around Baltimore.

You are the founder of Baltimore Cake & Whiskey, a
women's networking event that has more than 200
women each quarter who meet up, talk shop, and
drink whiskey. Can you talk about why you started
this? Has there been an event or relationship with
a mentee that has been the most impactful?
This was my biggest accomplishment in 2014. I wanted to start
something where women could feel comfortable and present. I
work in an old-white-male-dominated industry, so finding the
right women to network with to empower and feel empowered
was something that needed to happen. It's been a huge success
in Baltimore and I still get people from around the country
liking our posts on Facebook and wanting to attend Cake &
Whiskey. Since starting it five years ago, we've managed to get
into great venues and build relationships that would never have
been started. I like to connect people that attend the event. If
women are able to get business out of it then it's a win/win. I
met one woman who just started an inspirational speaking
business. She speaks about shame and why women carry it with
them but also how to release it! She was able to connect with a
city organization called Family League that now hires her to
speak with and support the women/families in their organization. It never would have happened if they didn't meet at Cake &
Whiskey last year. Everything about Cake & Whiskey is
impactful. I am so glad that it's still widely attended.

You became president of Alpha Graphics (unrelated
to the AlphaGraphics franchise) in 2007 during the
middle of a recession. In what ways did you change
your business so you would be successful during
this time?
I had no idea what I was getting into. Not only was the business
in the red, but we were in the middle of the recession. I can't tell
you how many books and magazines I read to get myself
educated on how to do sales, marketing, accounting, and
customer service. I also read print trade magazines that helped
me realize that we could do so much more than we were doing
to get customers in the door. Our Epson 9880 and 9890 printers
were able to help me make payroll because we were able to
print banners. So many hospitals and universities in the area
were using them and I needed to get the work. Because of our
then-35-year history with our clients, they trusted us and we
delivered. Since then, we have grown with signage, both indoor
and outdoor, wayfinding, and cut vinyl. Our museums have
been able to use cut vinyl as well as our custom color transfers.
We continue to get proposals from around the country because
of our national reputation for museum quality work.

http://www.alpha-graphics.net

Big Picture - October 2019

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