Hello Everyone !

[Jamil Pilli]

Hello everyone, this is my first post here.
I'm Brazilian and recently arrived in London. I moved here with my wife (she’s English) and we came on a mission to care for her grandmother, who has dementia.

Back in Brazil, I owned a large-format printing business (banners, stickers, visual communication). We outsourced part of the offset printing, but handled clients from start to finish. We started from scratch in 2014, grew to six staff members and three branches. Unfortunately, in the end, one of the partners thought he was smarter than the rest of us — and everything fell apart.

I had to restart in 2021/22, on my own. Then, at the end of 2023, after visiting my wife’s family, we decided to move to the UK to look after her grandmother and give life here a try.

We went through all the expensive and time-consuming visa processes (especially tough when your currency is worth seven times less!) — but in the end, everything worked out and I’m now here with a visa that allows me to work in the UK!

At the moment, I’m doing some freelance installation and hands-on work for a friend’s print shop in South London, although I’m based in NW1.

I’d love to learn more about the corporate landscape here, how business works in the UK, and if anyone here runs something in the visual communication or printing field, I’d be genuinely interested in getting to know your business.

I’m passionate about new ventures and I’m also a musician — a drummer. I had bands from 1997 to 2009, and then again from 2010 to 2022. Hundreds of gigs, two albums, two tours — and even shared stages with bands like Slipknot, Sepultura, and Kittie. I also have experience in event production and backstage operations.

I also run a couple of web projects that don’t earn much yet – one is a rock‑news aggregator that already attracts millions of visits each month, but Google Ads pays next to nothing!

I previously founded a cultural association in my hometown, which had great success until it started being used for political ends, so I decided to step away.

I have a working knowledge of graphic design (Photoshop, Illustrator, CorelDRAW).

Anyway, this is a very brief version of my story — thanks for reading!

 

[ctrlbrk]

if anyone here runs something in the visual communication or printing field, I’d be genuinely interested in getting to know your business.

Hi Jamil and welcome,

I think @HFE Signs is UKBF's resident expert on the subject!

 

[HFE Signs]

We support a lot of smaller printers and people wishing to get into the industry, we're able to supply direct to you clients under plain wrap. With our low pricing structure you have plenty of scope to mark-up and as a ongoing customer you also get a 10% discount off everything (excluding special offer items). We'd be delighted to support you.

 

[Jamil Pilli]

We support a lot of smaller printers and people wishing to get into the industry, we're able to supply direct to you clients under plain wrap. With our low pricing structure you have plenty of scope to mark-up and as a ongoing customer you also get a 10% discount off everything (excluding special offer items). We'd be delighted to support you.

Tks to reply me !!!
I’ll be keeping a close eye on your business! I really want to understand the UK market better. I love how many vans I see on the streets, all wrapped in graphics!

 

[Jamil Pilli]

@HFE Signs do you happen to know what the average profit margin is here in the UK? In Brazil, we usually worked with around 30%.

 

[HFE Signs]

@HFE Signs do you happen to know what the average profit margin is here in the UK? In Brazil, we usually worked with around 30%.

It depends very much on the product, with our prices you'd be able to buy from us with a 10% discount and mark up by 20-30% without having to do much

 

[Frimley111R]

You say : "..one is a rock‑news aggregator that already attracts millions of visits each month, but Google Ads pays next to nothing!"

If you're getting millions of visits you've got the audience and just need to work out how to monetise that. It should be much easier than other options.

How did you get so many people? You must have marketed that? Sounds like an interesting story...

 

[Jamil Pilli]

You say : "..one is a rock‑news aggregator that already attracts millions of visits each month, but Google Ads pays next to nothing!"

If you're getting millions of visits you've got the audience and just need to work out how to monetise that. It should be much easier than other options.

How did you get so many people? You must have marketed that? Sounds like an interesting story...

Hi Frimley, how are you mate?

So, the music market (specifically rock and metal) isn’t one with a lot of money; hardly any companies invest in this segment. The only types of events that receive funding are large-scale ones, massive festivals like Lollapalooza, Rock in Rio, and others. Basically, smaller events are put on by small and medium-sized producers who invest in the productions themselves; there’s no sponsorship. Another thing is that millions of views in a country of 220 million people isn’t a big deal! lol
The whole of England could fit inside my state (São Paulo). Brazil is absolutely enormous. If you want to check out the website, it’s www.rocknoticias.com.br (but it’s in Portuguese).

 

[Frimley111R]

I see, some quick thoughts:

Sell priority placing to allow events to sit at the top for longer
Sell advertising space to buy band's merchandise
Sell article space to promote venues
Write blogs on how to travel to venues
Etc.

User
Ad search option for bands to allow someone to see all the content for that band