From a Recovery Home to the CEO's Office
On Business by the Book, Ray Blom sits down with John Waller, President and CEO of Impress Printing and Professional Services, for a conversation that starts nowhere near a print shop.
John's road to business ownership ran through addiction and through prison. In 2020 he entered a men's recovery home, surrendered his life to God, and began rebuilding. The company he now leads is what got built on the other side of that decision.
The Principles He Already Had
Long before John could name where they came from, he was living on a short list of working-class virtues: hard work, dependability, loyalty, planning, excellence, kindness, and serving others. What changed was not the list. What changed was understanding that the list had a source.
That reframe is the spine of this episode. The same habits that kept him employable became the operating principles of a company once he saw them as scripture rather than survival.
The Scriptures He Runs the Business On
- Colossians 3:23 — the connection between the work in front of you and who you are actually working for. It turns an ordinary print order into something done for an audience of One.
- Romans 12:2 — why a believer in business is supposed to look different from the market around him, not identical to it with a fish on the door.
- Proverbs 21:5 — good planning over the hasty shortcut. The verse a small business feels most sharply, because the shortcut is always cheaper today and always expensive later.
Excellence When the Circumstances Are Bad
The part of the conversation worth replaying is about serving customers in excellence when things are hard. Anyone can deliver on a good week. John's argument is that the hard week is the one the customer remembers, and it is the only week that proves the principle was real.
What Impress Is Becoming
Impress Printing is expanding beyond printing into professional services for entrepreneurs — meeting small business owners at more than the one moment they need something printed.
John also talks about a calling that has grown alongside the company: teaching and educating others in the marketplace. Having been handed a second chance, he is increasingly interested in handing over what he learned building on it.
Why Uncomfortable Places Matter
The throughline: the uncomfortable place is frequently the place where the growth happens. A recovery home in 2020 is not where anyone plans to find a business philosophy. It is where this one was found.
Who Should Watch
Business owners who want their faith to show up in how they actually operate rather than in how they market. Anyone rebuilding after a season that cost them everything. And anyone who has wondered whether biblical business principles translate into real decisions about customers, planning, and leadership — which is exactly what this episode puts on the table.
Watch the full episode for John's testimony, the principles, and how they run day to day at Impress Printing.
