On Providing A Book Publishing Service And Generating 7-Figures In Sales

Rob Price

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Published: July 21st, 2021

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Rob Price

Founder, Gatekeeper Press

Founders

Employees

Gatekeeper Press

gatekeeperpress.com

from Columbus, Ohio, USA

started April 2015

Founders

Employees

Discover what tools Rob recommends to grow your business!

Discover what books Rob recommends to grow your business!

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My name is Rob Price. I run Gatekeeper Press, the verifiably, undisputed, preeminent self-publishing service provider in the world. We work with all types of authors from all over the world who retain 100% of their rights, receive 100% royalties, have 100% control over the process, and have one-on-one unlimited access to their own Author Manager to guide them through the publishing process. We provide the highest-quality editorial, design, formatting, and illustration services in all of publishing, and we do so with extremely affordable prices and an insistence that every single author is happy, well-cared for, and excited to announce their book to the world.

Our company has rightfully grown by leaps and bounds since its inception six years ago. We started with a single author and single book and now have thousands of titles that have generated seven figures in sales, a staff of 40+, and the most exceptional customer reviews that could ever be imagined in our industry. Our growth rate is exponential and we have every reason to believe there will not be any slow down anytime soon.

on-providing-a-book-publishing-services-generating-7-figure-in-sales

What's your backstory and how did you get into entrepreneurship?

I grew up in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, and always had a subconscious passion for entrepreneurship. From lemonade stands to baseball cards, and love for business-themed Nintendo games, the thought of running a business always brought me joy.

Run a business that cares about the satisfaction of every single customer. Every single customer.

I entered college as a psychology major and didn’t realize entrepreneurship was always my calling until I began selling workout programs on eBay from my dorm room. I changed majors to business, self-published a workout book, and aside from a three-year stint in law school, never looked back on books.

Take us through your entrepreneurial journey. How did you go from day 1 to today?

I got my start in publishing as a 19-year-old from my college dorm room. I was big into fitness at the time and decided to create and sell a workout program on eBay, which was still in its infancy. The program sold remarkably well, which led me to enhance and elongate it until one day I decided to learn everything I could about self-publishing a book. I then spent a significant amount of time researching how to self-publish and write my book. I hired editors, designers, formatters, photographers, and my book was picked up for distribution internationally. The infrastructure I built led to me starting a small traditional book publishing company and publishing a large number of outside authors across many genres. This paved the way for Gatekeeper Press.

As the publishing industry began changing, from the fall of Borders to the rise of Amazon, the birth of eBooks to the proliferation of print-on-demand technology, I realized I could offer authors what I always wished I had when I'd started. A one-stop self-publishing shop that used the same tools and expertise as traditional publishers. A company that would do everything for me, from soup to nuts, professionally, precisely, and according to my direction. A company that would level the playing field and provide a more attractive and lucrative option for authors of all ages, genres, and backgrounds than the traditional model in which a writer gives up all rights in exchange for the privilege of earning 8-10% of net from the sale of their books.

How are you doing today and what does the future look like?

The state of our company is strong and has never been stronger. As long as we continue to insist that every single author is provided with the most exceptional level of service imaginable (which will always be the case so long as I’m in charge), then there is no end to our growth potential currently in sight. We believe, rightly, that there is no reason any author looking to self-publish should ever go anywhere other than Gatekeeper Press. The proof is in the pudding. Our global reputation and satisfaction rating is unheard of in any industry, let alone an industry fraught with bad actors, scams, and deceptions.

We are a larger but more efficient and streamlined company now than ever, we have more authors, more repeat business, more referrals, and have higher revenue and profit margins than at any point in our existence. As we’ve grown, we’ve taken advantage of various economies of scale, our revenues tripled from 2019 to 2020 and we’ve been setting records every month so far in 2021. We have several plans in the works that will allow us to offer many new and exciting services while never moving away from our core business

Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?

Treat people with respect. Always. Whether they are your customers or your staff. Put yourself in their shoes, even if you can’t initially begin to comprehend their point of view. If they are unhappy, find out why. Empathize with them. If their unhappiness or displeasure is for good reason, take corrective action. If their unhappiness or displeasure is due to a misunderstanding, correct the misunderstanding, take remedial action, and ensure it never happens again. If you’ve done a poor job, own up to it and make it right. Run a business that cares about the satisfaction of every single customer. Every single customer.

What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?

Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals stands head and shoulders above the rest. This is a book about Abraham Lincoln’s leadership style among other things and colors my everyday decision-making process.

Where can we go to learn more?

Website