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Hi guys.
Welcome back to the next episode of the Better Side Shop podcast.
As always, I've got my co-host, the side shop Yoda.
Mr.
Peter Corus, how are you, Pete?
Not
sick anymore.
That's good.
That's a, that's a plus, right?
God is this, this is like the time of year that your kids.
Or just like, they're like little sponges that soak up all the germs around them
and then they just transmit those to you.
That's what happens to, to me,
pretty much.
Pretty much, yeah.
I walk around my house with a, a can of Lysol spraying down like almost
everything that they touch and everything that they put in their
mouths, and they finally, they finally caught up to me a couple of weeks ago.
Oh my God, dude.
First of all, men, when they get like a cough, it's like, I want to get under the
covers under seven layers of blankets.
Like I give my wife so much credit, she's been coughing for like three
weeks, really struggling through, and she's not a whiner like me.
Like when I get, still does all the things, still does the
laundry, cooks dinner every night, you know, God bless her.
But for me, when I get sick, it's like, don't talk to me.
I'm not doing a damn thing.
Going onto my, getting under my covers.
So it's, I've been like, uh.
I've been healthy for the past 48 hours, which is good.
It's been a steady diet of halls and dumb dumb lollipops for the sore throat.
And, uh, yeah.
Um, haven't really gotten much work done in the past two weeks because of it.
So, uh, happy to finally be on the, uh, on the right path and, uh, getting,
uh, getting in front of you, you again, and, and enjoying these, uh, these
guests that we're gonna be bringing on.
Yeah.
Oh, I'm, I'm glad that you're on the mend, man.
I, I tell you like, the challenge that I have now is, is not like sickness.
Uh, my wife thought it was a good idea to get a dog.
So we have a new dog in the house.
It is a puppy.
And, um, you know, I, what's, I work from her, her name is Winnie,
Winnie Cooper, um, the girls.
Elle.
Yes.
So the girls.
Uh, growing paints, right?
I think that's what it is.
Was it growing paints or the Wonder years?
Growing pains.
Wonder, wonder, wonder Years.
Yeah.
The, the hot, hot name.
Sure.
I always get them mixed up.
So like we got it around Halloween and my girls, they dressed as the Sanderson
sisters from Hocus Pocus for Halloween.
Uh, so they called the dog Winifred and I was like, nah, because that's
one of the witches names or something.
I was like, well if we're gonna call her Winnie, let's call her Winnie Cooper.
So that's how we ended up there.
I was wondering if you changed
the last name for
whatever reason it is.
I haven't changed my last name though.
Um, it's a tiny dog though.
It's a Yorkie, so it's always underfoot.
I'm like terrified.
I'm gonna step on it and I've got somebody else that poops and pees in the floor.
Look at you man.
I'm at you.
Yeah, yeah.
Great, great.
Love it.
More responsibility is what I needed.
So who do we got going on here?
What's the topic?
Alright, so we have got a, uh, an awesome guest today from
Charlotte, North Carolina.
I feel like, uh, we should have done like a Bulls intro from
Charlotte, North Carolina, number 23.
No, um, I, I really, um, I really enjoy the gentleman James.
Um, he is, uh, a, a great guy to talk to.
Uh, actually redid their website, uh, earlier this year.
So that's how we first came into contact.
As I got to learn more about their company, I was, I was pretty impressed.
Uh, they're not the average side shop.
There's a, a multifaceted, uh, we will get into some of that, but,
um, yeah, let's bring 'em on.
All right, let's do it.
Alright guys, welcome back with our special guest, James Neely of RP
Signs in Charlotte, North Carolina.
James, super nice to have you on the podcast.
How are
you, sir?
Doing well.
Glad to be here.
Thanks for having me on guys.
Yeah.
So you and I have had several conversations before this.
Um, I was just telling Peter that we redid the website for you guys.
Um, Gary over there was my main contact, but, uh, really enjoyed the
conversations that we had, uh, where you and your father were involved.
And, uh, you know, I think you guys have a really cool story there
at rp, not the average side shop.
Um, a lot of different facets.
You guys work with a lot of interesting clients.
Yeah.
Super excited to have you on.
So, for those who, who ha haven't had conversations with you.
Why don't you tell us a little more about yourself and RP signs?
So, I will be eventually be third generation owner of the shop.
Our sister company started in 1984.
Uh, we are division of them recognition, plus they do corporate
apparel, awards, et cetera.
And then in 86 was the, the birth of the sign portion of our business.
Uh, we started getting some calls from some doctors wanting
nameplates for their desks.
So at the time my father was in law enforcement in South Carolina, so
he moved up to Charlotte and decided to, uh, to start this sign business.
And it has done nothing but grow since 86 until now.
And it's, it's been a wild ride.
Yeah.
Well I could say like starting out, like I've seen some of the projects
that you guys do and it's a far cry from just name plates now.
Yeah.
So, hey, tell us about the shop.
You know, like what kind of projects do you guys take on,
you know, how big are you?
Give us, give us the full
scoop.
Yeah.
So we have, um, 19 people total on staff.
Uh, we got five project managers, two graphic designers.
We have one graphic designer that actually is gonna work as a PM
role as well, and he, he will support our one and only sales guy.
Um, we have never had salespeople before until this year.
It was our, this is our first sales guy in, in 30 some odd years of business.
Wow.
Um, we have 20, roughly 20,000 square feet in Charlotte where
we do some light fabrication.
Um, we do all of our a DA signage manufacturing in-house, flat
cut letter sets, um, digital print, roll to roll flatbed.
And we just purchased A-A-D-C-S printer that will allow us to
do, um, direct to substrate, uh, tactile and braille signage.
Um, right now we run the applique.
Process here in the shop.
And we have one guy who's just, he runs three lasers.
Oh, wow.
And in the, in the braille machine.
And he, he's, he's a wizard.
So we wanna keep him around for a while.
Hey, like,
what type of clients do you guys work with?
A lot of, a lot of healthcare.
And that is kind of turned into a lot of property then that like, helps
us diversify into property managers.
Because a lot of times these healthcare facilities and clients that we
have, they have different clinics in all kinds of different buildings.
So then the people are like, oh, well who are you using for signage?
And then that kind of goes, well, we use rp.
They can, I'm sure they can help you out.
So medical office buildings is another big specialty of ours.
Full, full service, interior, exterior signage, uh, design
permitting and fabrication.
We've started breaking into the retail industry a little bit more here lately.
Hasn't been a super big focus of ours for a long time, just because, I mean.
We pride ourselves in knowing how the healthcare process works and taking the
pain out of that for, for our clients.
Um, because really signage is the last thing they wanna think about.
They want to focus on building a cancer research building and
not signs that go by a door.
So we take that out of that for them and say, listen, hand it over to us.
We'll run stuff by you.
We'll keep your brand, um, but just trust us and we'll, we'll
deliver when we say we will.
Gotcha.
And, and would
you guys say that is like a, is that what make you, makes you guys unique?
Like why do these folks work with with rp?
Yeah, I mean, I really think it's the, it's the process.
I mean.
And I'm
not trying to put the, the screws to you or anything.
It is just a question that Pete and I love to ask because we've asked so many owners
and, and like leaders in inside their companies of like, Hey, where's the value?
Like, why would people choose to work with you?
And, and you, I'm sure in Charlotte, you guys are in a
super competitive market, right?
So what's the, the value proposition for you guys?
I mean, I know a lot of people use this as like a, a platform to jump off
of, but really like, if you come to us, our customer service is, is going
to be what, what you come back for.
Everybody can promise you and provide you a quality sign product, but if you come to
us, we're gonna take that process, we're gonna make it as easy as possible for you.
And we're j we're gonna be hands on and guide you through that so you don't have
to worry about what you'll get in the end.
I, I feel like w without that part.
It doesn't make you any different than anybody else.
Um, there's a lot of, a lot of guys will go jump on the big job and then leave
them abandoned for a couple signs on the, on the backside, and that's really where
we pick up the slack is we, we promised to be there in the future for you.
It's funny, just this past week we had a customer call us for a sign, an
interior donor sign that we made for them in 2004, and we still had a piece
of material in their customer box that we could provide the same exact material and
the same exact sign as we did in 2004.
Wow.
I does that.
How did that Material Age
does it?
It is Corian, it's solid surface, so it, it's been protected
inside, so it, it is fine.
Yep.
Uh, that's cool.
That's cool.
Uh, is is, I, I remember the days of like reaching into the file
cabinet from the, the jobs from 10 years ago, but we often didn't have
material on hand from that long ago.
Yeah.
So, so I, as you mentioned, uh, you've kind of grown up in the business.
All RP signs is a, a family business.
So, you know, kinda walk us through, we've talked about the shop and the
business, like walk us through your own individual journey inside the industry.
Yeah.
So, so my journey, like, I mean, I started as a kid, I would catch duct
tape balls off of Extension Ladder for my dad putting up Gemini Ladder
on the side of brick buildings.
But then as I, I grew, I mean, I did the whole schooling, went through and,
and decided college wasn't for me about six months into my college journey.
And then, so I was.
Well, JI just kn, I mean, I knew what I was gonna do.
Like I just knew I'm gonna be a sign guy.
Like I've al I was always interested in it with, with my father.
Um, so I was like, I'm going to school, but I'm gonna be, I know I'm gonna
be a sign guy, so why can't I just start being a sign guy right now?
So that was at eight 18 years old.
Um, so I've been, I started picking at 18 years old, we moved into a
new building for the shop and I was picking weeds off of a fence.
And so I started at the ground even though it was, uh, even though it's
a family business, and then moved up through some manufacturing in the,
uh, in the trophy area of the shop for the, the other side of the business.
Progressed into being an installer for our, our sign shop.
Uh, moved to the, being a laser operator for a short time.
Then after that I moved as an assistant project manager.
Then started taking on some of the healthcare clients and then have moved
and then moved through the project manager positions to where I am now
as director of project management.
So that's been 16 years.
So when I, so I'm 35 now, so I'll have a lot of time in by the time
I'm ready to, to call it quits.
But I'm ex I'm just excited about how, how I've had the opportunity
to see it all and move up.
I think it's gonna be very valuable when, when the business
is handed over at some point.
Sure.
Uh, was there ever a time like growing up, like you were always a hundred percent
like, Hey, I'm gonna be a sign guy.
Like, there was never a time of like, ah, dude, if I have to go in
and like, help out in the shop and sweep the floor and like, pick up
and do all this stuff, like I'm going to, like, I'm just gonna go crazy.
Like, Hey, I gotta get out and do something else.
Yeah.
You know, I can honestly say no.
Like, I, I have always enjoyed being, being with my father.
Like I.
I used to hang around with him all the time when I was little and
we would do everything together.
So it never really bothered me the thought of coming to this place every day for
the rest of, for the rest of my career.
I mean, I just, I, I enjoy it.
I soak up every minute of it and enjoy the people that I work with.
Wow.
Did you, what did you go to school for?
Uh, short time business management.
You do a lot
with a background in business management, right?
Yes.
You could,
you could also run a podcast.
That's what I got into things without, and I'll tell you why.
P like I got in and I was like, Hey, what am I gonna do after college?
I have no idea.
So I I Is this management baby?
Yep.
So, uh, you go ahead.
Yeah.
If you, if I, I, I want to kind of just make a couple of comments,
uh, maybe a question or two here.
So you mentioned the size of your business and that's.
Remarkably, uh, or a lot of people would love to have a size operation
the way that you do, you know, with project managers, a couple of designers,
I would assume that the majority of your workers are in the production
and project management side of things.
But why don't you give us a little bit of insight as to the thought process
behind why now with a salesperson.
That was, that was a major takeaway for me, is that why today after
all of the accomplishments that you have, are you theoretically bringing
on a new arm of your business?
Yeah.
You know, I, Pete, that's a good, that's a good question.
I really take a look at that from, um, a couple different viewpoints like we had.
I think, and I can honestly say, I think for, for 30 some years we've
taken for granted the fact that we have a referral network of just
people's word, word of mouth, from customer to customer to customer.
Just that business being there and just, it's always been there.
But as we all know, customers change, uh, some times change a little bit, and I, I
just felt like in order to not have all our eggs in one basket to diversify with
a, a salesperson to bring in some of the work that maybe we wouldn't normally go
after or get, because I, I mean, it, it definitely helps add to revenue and I just
feel like having that extra stream coming in can kind of offset any fluctuations
in like a word of mouth referral or a customer change or, um, just some, or
just, just competition in the market.
Um, there's, it's really fierce around Charlotte.
There's a lot of, um, there's a lot of different companies in the area,
so we really have to differentiate ourselves from the others.
Okay.
And you feel like this is a, a pathway forward to differentiate yourself?
Yeah, I mean, and just expand, expand our offerings and maybe get us in
front of people that we haven't been, been in front of before.
It's, it's not like it's gonna to solve a major issue, but I definitely think
that it, it can help expand and get us out in different markets that we haven't
really focused on or touched in the past.
What's gonna be your process
in, in your mind, you bring on this person, it's an he's an ideal
salesperson, maybe a little bit of knowledge and aspects of this industry.
What, what, what's gonna be your process by which to dispatch
that person out into the market?
Is it a self-reliant person to bring in business, or is there gonna be more
appointments being scheduled, uh, you know, a rolling showcase or what's,
what's your process and how that person is going to differentiate and
bring some awareness to the market?
Yeah, so I think, um, we're gonna, he's gonna have sales, uh, material and stuff
that he's gonna be able to take with him and like present to, to general
contractors and, and, um, and different developers and real estate companies.
I, and just getting somebody out there, just a face for us
out in, into the, the market.
'cause of a lot of what we did, like I said, was just like referral stuff.
So we kind of, in our OI mean, we got five project managers in our office.
We manage our projects from here.
We do go on client meetings like everybody else does, but like to see
somebody, like a recurring face out in the market, visiting people and talking
about signage and projects, I think it's just a different, a different
approach than we've had before.
So I think that will kind of help ramp that up and just, and to get his feet
wet, I'll, I'll go on sales meetings with him and kind of coach him along
the way and, and get him up and running.
Okay.
Are you guys like gonna put him on like a, a totally different industry, like
outside of healthcare or, uh, property management, you know, contractors, or is
it like a double down on, on existing?
No, it's, it's really gonna be different market.
I think what I would like to see, of course, when he gets, when he gets
up and running a, a real focus on multi-family projects and developments.
I just, there's an article in July of this year that more than 80 people a day
moved to Charlotte, to the Charlotte area.
I.
And, and I mean, you can't a day, well, 80 people a day, you can't
turn a corner without seeing an apartment complex under construction.
So I know there's more apartment complexes than our sign companies.
So to, to capitalize on that market would be, would be fantastic.
Charlotte's one of my
favorite cities in the country, and for those of you, for those that know me, I,
I visit frequently to the Charlotte area.
So what, what part of the Charlotte market are you
guys servicing?
We, I mean, gosh, we cover on a daily basis.
Anywhere from Yeah.
Fort Mill, South Carolina, which is just into South Carolina from Charlotte.
And then, we'll, I mean, we'll go up to Hickory and, and Morganton
area towards the mountains.
Wow.
Um, yeah, and we go, I mean, go to Raleigh.
No kidding.
Couple, couple times a month.
Um, so we're our guys, our guys stay on the road pretty well.
Yeah, I mean that you could be on hours on, uh, 4 85 just between
Fort Mill and, and more victory and where up there on the north side.
I mean, gosh, that's, I, I've been in that traffic and I don't, I
don't recommend it, uh, to anybody.
Um, but that's impre, you know, that's, that's something that's a
very large organization and a very large area of which you're covering,
especially when you're venturing off to the, to the east and going into
the Raleigh market, I would assume you're going into Greensboro as well.
Yeah, Greensboro, Cary Chapel Hill.
Um, yeah, we're, we're pushing.
I mean, we cover, we'll send our guys to anywhere in the state.
I mean, it, it doesn't really bother us and we really, we've
positioned ourselves, I feel like, well, naturally being in Charlotte,
we can cover the whole Southeast.
Um, I've, I've got a client that is going through an expansion and
we're, um, we've gone to Alabama.
Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia for them.
So it's, we can run the whole corridor if you, if you need us to.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, that's, that's amazing to hear.
That's a, that's a very large service area, so that's, I guess you have the
means to take on that kind of work because I could certainly see a lot
of downtime and travel if you are not charging for those, uh, types of leads.
So let's get back to the point here.
I was just curious because, um, I wanted to kinda get a picture of where, what size
your business is and what your service area is, but it does kind of sound like
you're taking over the entire Charlotte market, maybe even into the South
Carolina border there a little bit too.
So, okay.
Now you've been in this business now for what I think you, you called it,
uh, what generations, is that correct?
Did I, did I use the
right term?
Yeah, so my grandfather's first generation owner, my mom is now
owner majority, so then it'll be, it'll be me and my sister after this.
After
this.
Okay.
So the businesses in your family's name, right?
Right.
It's, it's been, you guys have been in this market for a long time.
A lot of the businesses know maybe your mom or maybe your,
your grandfather before her.
And you guys are doing a lot of business now.
The thought here is, is that you bring on this salesperson, right?
And you have a little bit of a plan for, for the type of customer that you
want and the and, and the, and the, um, the approach by which you want to go
after that type of client, but Sure.
Is that your only new business acquisition strategy, or is, are
there others that you're also planning
around?
Uh, right now, that's the focus.
Um, that's our, that's our big focus is to get a sales.
Some kind of sales structure up and running, I think for, for a long time.
Like I said, we've taken for granted the fact that business has kind
of just come to us organically and we, we've earned the business
through providing for other people.
But, but I think at some point you gotta, you have to stop resting on those laurels
and then, and move to a more aggressive strategy, which a sale, I thought a
salesperson was the logical first step.
And then we kind of see how that business development takes place and we can
venture off from there to other avenues.
Okay.
Very
interesting.
Like, you guys work with like, primarily like the healthcare systems, right?
I, I know like a, a, a ton of owners that we talk to would, would die to be in good
with the healthcare systems because as a, you know, depending on the products you
sell, steady stream of work, um, oh yeah.
I would say, you know, hey, there's probably some budget conscious.
Elements there, but you know, for the most part, probably not more concerned about
like, timelines and, and, and actually getting like deadlines and project
delivery more so than, than budget.
So you're not holding up like a new wing of the hospital waiting on the signage.
Right.
But hey, like, how, like, like you said, you mentioned you take those for granted.
How, like, how did you guys originally get into that market?
Do you know, like, well, is that something that's always been there,
like since, since you were young or?
Yeah, so our first shop was actually right across the street from the
biggest hospital in Charlotte.
So that's their, so that's how naturally they came over and were
like, Hey, I need a nameplate.
So that mean we, we literally could walk across the street and be at the front door
of, of the hospital and we would deliver the products because we were so close.
So, and other guys wouldn't, wouldn't do that.
So, I mean, we were like, Hey, we'll bring it to you.
We'll walk we'll across the street and we'll be right there
for you and we'll give it to you.
And that just kind of, that kind of was the, the foundation of that relationship.
The, just the personal connection.
And then we kind of just took it to the next level.
And that's how, that's how it started.
And I mean, at first they would ask us for illuminated signage.
We, we didn't even know what that was at one point.
And we would say, yeah, we'll take care of it.
And then we came back and we figured it out.
True side guys.
Hey, we need this.
Do you guys do that?
Yes.
Yeah.
Yeah, we do.
Yeah, yeah.
Absolutely.
We'll figure it out, guys.
Yep.
Uh, I think a
lot of our listeners would laugh or chuckle if they're driving in
their cars or if they're listening on their phones or whatever.
They would look and be like, I've done that a million times.
So you're not alone.
I, I've done that.
I know Bryan's done that, and I know many of our, of our
clients have also, I still do
that sometimes, man.
I'll figure it out.
Sure.
Yeah.
It's, um, yeah, really good
stuff.
Really good stuff.
I, I like that you, uh, go after, you know, your, your type of clientele,
but you've been doing it for so long.
Right.
So tell us a little bit about before the salesperson, what
the, what the approach has been.
Like, what's the, what's been
the.
What's, this is what I want to get into.
What's the secret sauce, man?
What's, what's the, what's your secret?
How do you last this long with three generations, or almost three
generations and, and, you know, live in a world without a salesperson?
What is your trick?
What is,
what is it?
Yeah.
I mean, I hate to name drop here, but I kind of think of us like a,
a Chick-fil-A of sign companies.
I mean, it's like, it's our people.
It's, it's the way we, we pour into our people.
We, we develop them to, to treat our customers the way
that, that we always have.
We, we ask them to buy in to our, our level of care, our commitment to
our customers, and, and just really just, just buy into the system.
Like we we're here to make money.
Yes.
But we really want to take care of people and, and I just feel like I.
Other people look for that in a, in a place to work.
It's not just like a, a carousel of people running through here.
The majority of our people have been with us for over 12 to 15 years.
We've even got some people that have been here the whole 36 years.
Um, so I think it's the way we are intentional with our people
and just ask them to care for our customers the way that we always
have and they buy into that system.
Okay.
Could
you give us like a specific, like does a specific example or
a specific story come to mind?
Um,
not, I, I'm sure you've got one or two.
Yeah.
I'm trying to think off the top of my head.
It, you know, it really just like, I mean we were doing a project for a healthcare
organization here in, uh, in Charlotte.
They were opening a medical school.
And they came to us four weeks before the medical school opened
and said, Hey, we need designs.
We need, we need designs, we need approvals, we need signs
on the outside of this building.
Before they had the ribbon cutting in four weeks.
Hmm.
And back then, back then we, we had one graphics guy and that
was, that was Gary back then.
He was on vacation.
So then my, I guess my father outta desperation reached out to Gary
on vacation, was like, dude, can you please do me some drawings?
We've gotta take care of this for the customer.
And, and Gary did his drawings and, and he made it happen.
They approved it, manufactured and installed by the ribbon
cutting in the four weeks.
And it was a high-rise install.
I,
yeah, that's not a.
Signed guy job.
Yeah.
And I mean, I just, and it's, we will do that for, we'll do that for anybody.
Like, I mean with within reason.
Of course we don't like sell, Hey, we're, we're gonna do everything for you quick.
Like, that's just not, this was, this was
an existing client that you already had?
Yes, it was an existing client that we had a relationship with, but that's
just how we care for our customers.
And we, we strive to develop those relationships with everybody.
Um, and I guess that's why we hadn't focused on like a lot of retail
signage in the past is because that relationship kind of, you go to
somebody in a strip mall, you sell 'em a sign, and then you kind of move on.
And that just, that hasn't been the way we operated.
So that wasn't really a, like a focus, but I'd like to bring
that level of relationship to that, to that sign experience.
Yeah.
Uh, what is, so you guys do a, a, a ton of a DA, there's a, there's a lot
of smaller shop owners that we talk to that it's like a mystery box of
like, like, Hey, I, I know this could be a good avenue for us, but hey,
like, I, I don't know much about it.
Like, how, you know, how do, how should I get into it?
Do I even want to get into it?
Right?
Like, what do, what do those projects look like for you guys?
I mean, they're, they're, a lot of our projects are full packages, like, so
it'll be a new office building and we, we go from design conception all the
way through the manufacturing process.
So we'll sit down with designers and work, uh, work through their finish
plans and, and come up with a couple sign types and drawings for them to approve.
Um, and then, I mean, we just, we've got people in place that know the,
the regulations, the processes, and it just is really seamless for us because
we've been doing it for so long.
Um, a lot of.
It's intimidating to a lot of people, um, just because there's so, there's
so many nuances to the a DA guides and, and just compliance issues.
Um, there's also a decent amount of equipment that's involved with, with doing
it, but we've even gotten to the point to where we have become a wholesale source
for some other companies to provide them a DA signs because they want to take,
they wanna bring that revenue stream in, but don't have any way to do it.
So they turn to us and know that we'll just take care of
them and we provide it to 'em.
Gotcha.
So
I like you, you actually have like a wholesale to the
trade wing or arm as well.
Yeah.
Okay.
Yep.
That makes a lot of sense.
Um, you know, we're huge advocates of, of outsourcing stuff that,
that you don't bring value to the table on or, you know, that that's
not necessarily your specialty.
Sure.
Um, but like when do clients bring you into those projects?
Is it, I.
Mean, is it typically at the, at the end, is it like, Hey, four
weeks, like here's the building.
Like we're, we're finishing construction now we need signs for everything,
or is it like sooner in the process?
Like who are you working with?
Like a lot of inside the client's organization?
Yeah.
A lot of times we're like, in their organization, we're working
with their development people.
So when they have something on the horizon, they'll reach out and just say,
Hey, we've got this project coming up.
Keep it on your radar.
I'll reach out when timing's more, um, appropriate, uh, for these activities.
But really, and we've worked with these same architects in,
in construction companies before, so it's kind of like, hey.
We need to engage rp 'cause we're gonna need signage down the road.
So we do, we do have customers that, that keep us in mind early
in the process, which is nice.
Um, but that doesn't mean there's not gonna be a, a ball dropped every now
and again and us have to come in on the backside and, and make something happen.
But yeah, we tried to, we've tried to educate our customers and, and
how long the process takes so that they're aware of that and they can
build that into their, their schedules.
Gotcha.
And like, you know, you mentioned this other project was like four weeks,
but like start to finish, like what is like the average a DA project kind run
for this?
Um, I mean, if you're looking like around a hundred, 180 a signs, I mean,
we could probably push that out in about 15 business days is what is like average.
I mean, the bigger the project, the longer we can get is always better, of course.
But like when you, like, if you need just like a sweet sign insert or something
for a medical office building, our average lead time for, that's like five
to seven business days and we'll get it installed or shipped, shipped out.
Gotcha.
And like, can we ask numbers?
Like what, what do you guys do sales wise?
So our, our best year, which was a year ago, was 5 million.
Okay.
Um, it fluctuates based on, I mean, that was, that was a good year
based on a, a really long rebranding campaign that we had embarked on.
Um, so it, it fluctuates based on what, what's happening in the, in the healthcare
industry and, and just across the board.
But yeah, I mean, I, on average between three and 5 million is a year for us.
Gotcha.
That's.
It's pretty solid.
Like I know that, yeah.
A ton of shops would, that we talked to would love to be at three to 5 million.
Like, Hey, what, what is the, the rough profitability on Aada a signage?
Is it, is it, oh gosh, is it worth the, is it worth the squeeze?
Or like, at the end of the day, like, are there, like, you guys
get done with the average project?
Do you look back and you're like, this was a, this was a win for the client?
Obviously it was a win for us as a business though.
Yeah, no, I definitely think, I definitely think that it's a, it's a profitable,
it's a profitable section of our business.
Um, it, but you're also, you're, you're offering a service that's
very unique that a lot of public organizations can't function without.
I mean, you can't get inspections without aada a signs.
So there's, there's a level of have to, with a d, a signage that
if you bring that to the table, I.
Then we can help you succeed as well.
Um, and it doesn't hurt that we will design something to tie in
with your building and make it look elegant and, and it's not just your
standard Home Depot, black and white restroom sign stuck on the wall.
Yeah.
Got it.
Um, what was I gonna ask?
Like, the a DA stuff is, is definitely very interesting to me just because
like back in the old days when I ran the shop, we, we didn't do a DA signage.
And, and for me it was like, I, I see this, I know people who are doing
it, like what's actually involved.
But it, like, for you guys, it is probably like more than the actual production.
It, it is like a service offering more than just like the signage, right?
Yeah.
I mean, we, it's, we'll take it, we will take your plans, we'll tell you
what you need, where you need it.
Um, so it's a consultative approach as well as an educational approach saying,
and then we kinda weave in the way finding with, with the a DA packages.
So, um, it all, it all starts as the customer is the ba,
like the, the starting point.
How can we educate our customers and, and let them know this is a service
we offer, this is how it can help you and we'll take care of it for you.
So we, but we go from design to to creation.
So I mean, nothing, what, nothing we
don't
do.
Where, where, where does estimating like come into the process?
So right after, typically we throw out like a handful of designs to the customer
based on their, like a finished schedule for a facility that they're moving into.
And then we generate some ideas and kind of have them.
Narrow those down.
Um, and then once we provide, they have a concept that they like, then we kind
of give them a, a, a price per unit.
And then if they, if they see that price and need to value engineer, then we can
kind of back out some different things to, to help that process for them.
But we don't, yeah.
So we kind of give them design first before we can provide budgets.
Gotcha.
Yeah.
I imagine like it, depending on like the number of layers of materials you're
using and, you know, placement size.
Yeah.
All of that goes into, yeah.
I mean,
people come to me and go, Hey, can you get an eight?
Can you gimme a price on an eight by 10 sign?
Well, yeah, but what, I mean, what do you like, there's a million different things
I do.
It doesn't mean anything.
Yeah.
Right.
Yep.
So, so like everything is quoted per sign.
Do you guys have like project management fees and like
installations tacked on top of that?
Or is like, Hey, that's part of what we provide.
It's like, Hey, you need a hundred of these signs for
150 bucks a sign or whatever.
We'll, design, manage, install, do all of that.
Yeah.
So we break, we break all that out so that on our, on our like proposals to
our customers, it's all broken out.
Um, typically like if we go through design and the customer, the
customer approves the project we go through, it's kind of like just, we
consider that part of the process.
So it's never, it's not a line item on their quote.
We just consider that cost, cost of business with that,
that, um, that portion.
Um, but install, yeah, we'll look at drive time.
We separate all that out based on location of the customer.
How many signs, difficulty of mounting the signs, depending on what they are.
So, yeah.
But if we do like strictly on consultation, like if an architect
calls us, says, Hey, we need you to develop a sign package.
Of course we charge for, for all that.
There is, there is a fee for our time for that, even if we
don't manufacture the package.
Gotcha.
Yeah.
And, and to me that seems like almost like the, the most valuable
part of the process, right?
Is the knowledge you guys bring to the
table.
Yeah.
That just correct me if I'm wrong.
Yeah.
Just to let somebody know that, listen, this may be daunting to you, but if you
partner with us on this, we can walk you through the whole thing and it'll
be, we'll make it as simple as possible.
It's kind of, it
kinda like the accountant thing, right?
Like I, I know the basics of finance, but like I do, I want to put my
own knowledge on the line that I don't get audited by the IRS or,
or have some other consequences.
I, I definitely
don't, yeah.
If I, if I take over, first thing I'm doing is hiring full, full
scale accountant to do every bit of, every bit of information I got.
Uh, hey, so what's a, like, we've had people on the podcast that like, have,
have grown up in family businesses, they work with their wives type of thing.
Like, what is it, what's it, what's it like working in a family business?
Like, do you, do you have disagreements with your, your mom and your dad?
Is your grandpa still in the business?
Um, my grandpa is retired.
What's the, what's the dynamic?
I.
So grandfather's retired.
My, my, my mom focuses on the, um, the award side of the business.
Like she, she's over that sector of the business.
So my father runs the signage part.
Um, so working with him, it is been, it's been fun, but it's also been hard.
Um, he and I don't see eye to eye on next steps a lot of times,
like hiring a sales guy per se.
Um, okay.
But, but I, I thought it was important enough and I, uh, pestered the piss
out of him enough to, to where he was finally like, all right, we'll
give this, we'll give this a try.
Like, let's, let's do this thing and we'll see.
We'll see how it goes.
So, yeah, my sister's a senior project manager here.
So I mean, we all work well together.
Uh, we definitely have our disagreements.
There's also non-family people here, so we kind of keep those
disagreements behind a closed door.
So nobody, nobody needs to worry about their job.
It,
so it's not super awkward.
Like what is it like at Thanksgiving dinner with the family?
Like do you guys, do you guys try to turn like the business side of it off or is
it like a lot of folks where it's just like, we talk signage all day, every day,
man, you took the, you took the words right
with like Christmas right around the corner.
I kind of wanna know what like Christmas dinner is going
to feel like with you guys.
Like do you talk shop?
Do you argue about projects like how long that took?
You gotta carved a Turkey now.
Yeah.
So Thanksgiving we, we get together with my grandfather and grandmother, and he's
the one who started the business, so he likes to talk about it because he's
not really around that much anymore.
Christmas if we try to talk about it.
We're mostly at my mother and father's house, so our, my mom
will be like, y'all need to stop talking about business right now.
We got, this is, we're, we're closed for a reason.
Um, so we, we try to shut it off as much as possible, but it's
a disease that we all suffer from, and that's signs 24 7, so.
Okay.
Got it.
Like, have, have you already like, discussed transition
plans, uh, or things like that?
Or you're not at that stage yet?
Not at that stage yet.
Um, but it's never too early for a, a plan to, to start.
Um, that's actually one of my next steps on my list is like, Hey, let's round up
everybody that needs to talk about this and let's start working on a, a plan.
Uh, because I mean, as you guys know, the years just speed by.
So before long, it'll, it'll be time and we need to have
a plan and be ready for that.
Yeah, I, and I,
I, and I think that's a, like the transition or, or like handing down,
we, we've got a lot of folks in our community that are, are nearing
retirement age and like, so is the kids want nothing to do with the business.
Right.
And at that point it's like, what do we do?
You know, like I always just assumed I was gonna hand this down to the kids and, you
know, it's kind of a, a sticky situation.
Uh, right.
And then there's other folks like that are in your position where like, you're
coming up, you're gonna take over the business and the not so distant future,
like managing that transition I can imagine is, I, I like, if you don't do
it well, it's, it very detrimental to your own health, mental health and to the
business as well, like, yeah, absolutely.
Do you guys like, what, what's the average age of like all your employees now?
Or like, are you guys, I.
Um, do you have a lot of employees nearing retirement age as well, or
no, not, not really.
I mean, we've got, we've got a good mix of, of young and, and seasoned I'll say.
I mean, we've got probably a handful that are close to retirement, but
we've, we definitely have some, some younger people that'll, that'll lord
willing continue to, to work here.
Um, even up through the transition point in eight or 10 years, I, I think
we've kind of positioned ourselves well in that respect to where we've kind
of balanced our workforce to where we wouldn't be totally without, you know?
Yeah.
Well, I, I, just in general, I think that's a concern of mine, you know,
as a a, as like, we, we all get older, you know, and, and the industry is
like, if you've been in the industry, you can't get away from it, right?
But Right.
How do we attract new people, a that.
They're willing to invest the time necessary to actually do the
job, to the level it requires.
Right?
Yeah.
It, it's not like you can bring anybody off the street and within,
you know, three weeks have them up and running and, and actually producing
a DA signage or managing a project.
Right.
Sure.
It's just not possible.
Sure.
And especially too, like I, somebody told me a stat the other day was, by 20 28,
50 2% of the workforce is gonna be Gen Z.
And that scares me to death.
Like, because you just don't, you just don't know what you're gonna get.
I mean, right.
Do do you wanna work?
Well, if you wanna work, do you wanna work in a sign shop?
Do you wanna get in a crane truck?
Do you wanna, I mean, I, I was born into a sign business pretty much,
and I didn't even really think about signs for half of, I mean, half of my.
Career, like growing up, like I was just like, I didn't really think about it
until I was immersed in it, you know?
So, I mean, people drive by signs every day and it's like, almost like they don't
exist, you know, until they, they need it.
Yeah.
Right.
And now it's like you drive by and you're like, Hey honey, honey.
Like we, we did that one.
We did this one.
Yep.
And she's like, enough already.
Exactly.
Well, um, like we've covered a lot, like, you know, we've already touched on
like what it's like inside the business.
You know, we, looking at my notes here, like inside the market, you know,
one question that I do have is, is like, you know, you mentioned getting
the people to buy into the business and into like the ethos, but like.
That's one thing.
Right.
But keeping somebody around 20 plus years is like a totally different thing,
especially in today's climate, like Sure.
Is there, is there any advice you could give to, to somebody else?
Because like, one of the biggest challenges, if you ask anybody inside,
like the better sign shop community, like the Facebook group we have
for owners, I can't find good help.
I can't keep good help.
Like how, how have you guys managed to keep people around for 15, 20 years?
Is it, Hey, you pay more than most you.
I, I feel like that's, there's more to it than that,
right?
Yeah.
I mean, yeah.
And there's always somebody too that's gonna offer more money than you just
because if they find, like, if they're, they're after people, they're gonna be
like, oh, I'll throw more money at 'em.
But I mean really like, because the people we have, that's the
reason we can do what we do.
Um, I just, I.
I don't, I don't know how to word it without saying the same thing over
and over again, you know, but I just, like, our people are important to us.
Like we wanna take care of them like they are our family.
And I think that that creates an environment that makes
them comfortable working here.
And, and they, and they stick around for it.
It's not, I mean, it's not for lack of, of, there's mistakes that are made
and we, we cross those bridges when we get to 'em with, with whoever it is.
But we're not gonna, we understand mistakes happen.
We're not gonna beat you over the head about it.
We, we treat people how we wanna be treated.
I mean, it's, it just boils down to that simple thing.
For me, it's just getting the people on our team that have the same kind of
value and outlook that we do that can make us function together and continue
to provide good service to our customers.
So like, if I'm hearing you, it's.
Like, just to parrott it back to you, is it basically the culture that you
guys have instilled at the company?
Yeah.
I, I, yeah.
I think the, I think culture's a big thing.
Um, and just being honest, just doing what we say we're gonna do with our
customers and if, and the mistakes made, own up to it and fix it and,
and then that will make you look, look great as well, the way you respond to
adversity, um, as opposed to like kicking under the rug or just disappearing.
Talk about your
culture for just a quick second.
Um, I love that you said that, and I love that you recognize that it's
a major component to your success.
Um, but are you, is your team full of members that buy in or are there
a couple of bad eggs that, you know, you have to work through and
massage around?
Right, right now at this time we have, I.
The most solid team that we've had in our history.
We had some people leave, um, not too long ago.
Well, it's been a while now, but it was a little resistant to that and didn't
just, yeah, just didn't really fit in that we're kind of not the communicative
type to, to foster that team environment.
And it just, it was kind of like walking on eggshells around a couple of them,
but they're, they're no longer here.
But I feel like now we've, we've set up a team to where everybody
feels a part of the team and wants to be a part of that team.
Yeah.
You mentioned communication, like do you guys have any, like, specific protocols
or, or like anything like, you know, are you doing like one-on-one meetings
with your, your project managers?
Do you guys have like team meetings, like, you know Yeah.
Kinda.
What's the dynamic there?
I.
Yeah, that's a, that's a good, that's a good question.
Um, so I do one-on-one meetings with every project manager and Des and the
two designers the first Monday of every month to kind of get the state of the
union of what they're like working on.
But my door is always open and they know they can, they can come to me whenever
they have a question and, and see that.
And in production, we have a, um, a daily standup that is at three o'clock
before shift is over at three 30.
Um, for our in-house production team, um, we kind of go through what
was accomplished, what orders may be coming up that they need to know
about, and what kind of installs we're, we're setting up for the next day.
So our installers know what they're, what they're gonna go
out and do, uh, in the morning.
Um, because they roll out between, uh, 7 15, 7 30, um, in the morning.
So we like to have that time at the end of the previous day to kind of
let them know what they're up to.
Gotcha.
On on those one-On-ones, like what's the, what do you guys
focus on?
Uh, I try to give them the most time to talk.
Like just if they wanna talk about their family, talk about your family.
If you, and then give, we'll talk about Project Rundown, um,
and kind of get just, just the status of what they're working on.
And if they can take more work, they let me know that and I can, I can
take projects that come in and send them to them and just, it's just kind
of like a, a feedback kind of area.
Like, Hey, are they struggling with something that they need my help with?
Or if, if they just need more, need more detail on a project or, or
need a project to, to follow up when they're about to finish, I'm so,
I'm so glad to hear you say that, man.
Like a one-on-ones for me, when I was managing a team.
The most effective thing that I had in, in my arsenal as a manager was like a
building that relationship with the team and, and just giving space like, hey, if
they wanted to talk about their family or what they've got going on, that's fine.
Like, you've got 15, 20 minutes and then like, we'll take the next 15,
20 minutes to talk about work in the future and, and what's coming up.
But, uh, so many people that I talked to overlook that I was like, you
know, that's the, I think that's like a, a, a really strong foundation for
like the culture and, and like your people, you gotta have that, that
relationship, right, because that's, that's the capital that everybody's
operating from inside the shop, right?
Yeah.
Right.
If you've got that relationship, you could come to somebody and say, Hey, I,
you know, this one didn't go really well.
Like, there were some mistakes that were made.
I'm not worried.
I trust you.
Like I I know next time it, it will be different.
Right?
Right.
Yeah.
I think that's the important thing is like that just building that foundation
with our, our people on our team is like, listen, we, we care about you.
Um, not only because you work here and you, you're part of the team, but like,
how is stuff outside of, um, of the shop?
Can we help you?
Can we help you move?
Like, are you moving?
Do we need to, do we need to send a van over there to help you if
you're gonna bind or, or something.
I mean, it's just whatever we can do for our people to make
their work life and their life easier, we'll, we'll do our best.
Awesome.
Um, James, any other advice?
Like, you've got kind of a, a soapbox here.
Are there, is there any topics or any, anything you'd like
to share with the audience?
Um,
you know, big thing for me is just, just do what you say.
I mean, I think that's the, one of the biggest things is like, if you're
gonna promise something to somebody, make sure you follow through on it.
Just, just because not only should you be doing that, but that as a, as a business
person, that'll take you far and beyond what, what just saying I can provide
you a good product will, will take you.
Um, and just, just be in there for your customers and ready to answer
the call when they need your help.
Whether it be a long lead time or in a pinch.
Um, just show up for 'em.
Um, fight for 'em if they, if they need to be.
I mean, if you're, if they're running to a tough situation and
you, you can add your expertise to the situation and help guide them.
Yeah.
I feel like that's 80% just showing up and doing what you say you're gonna do.
Yep.
Uh, it is difficult though,
honestly.
Yeah.
I mean, especially when you have so many different customers that you
want to give that same attention to.
Sometimes they do, others suffer.
Um, but you gotta be prepared to, to pick up that ball and run with it.
Awesome.
Um, we, we've talked about the, like you're hiring the sales rep already, but
what's the, we asked this to everybody.
What's, what's the future for you?
What's the future for the business?
You know, what do you see happening in the industry?
That's always an interesting
one as well.
Yeah.
I'd, I'd love to see how a, I mean, I know people are real hot on AI
right now, but like, future of the industry, how is AI gonna play
into, uh, just signage in general?
Like, I'm just super interested to see that.
I never really considered that part of.
Like our business, but I'm, it can be filtered in wherever.
Um, but next steps for us is like a business.
I really wanna see the sales guy flourish and just, and, and being able to measure
that success, um, to see him go out there and, and pick up different markets.
Um, I'm excited for that.
Uh, but then also to see how, like, when we start developing our transition plan,
what that looks like 10 years from now.
Because I'm trying to, like, as director of project management, I only, I have
my own team and projects, but I want to start working on the business as
well and building that for when the transition occurs, as opposed to just
working in the business all the way up, up to it, and then like quitting
cold Turkey because that, that really would establish the transition.
Right, right.
It's a, a major challenge for a lot of folks that we talk to.
Like getting out of that mindset of like, Hey, I'm knee deep in
projects all day, versus like, what is the, the strategy side of it?
You know, what's, what's the future for the business?
Where do we need to point things to go the right direction?
Pete, any closing shots?
Any final questions for James before we let him go?
There's a couple of shots.
Pop.
I deserve it.
Probably.
Listen, I think you've got a really great organization going on here.
I love that your men in, the people on your team, your breathing, integrity,
honesty, being men and women of high integrity is a big part of
establishing that baseline culture.
Uh, but one of the things that are for me, that culture, I.
As a whole, you know, if we're looking at, uh, the C word, I know
people like to throw it around very loosely and they think that they have
a culture and they think that they, you know, the way that they do things
is the way that their culture is.
But to me it breaks, I break culture down into four key areas.
Okay?
So the first is, I call it the best culture.
Uh, so that's an acronym for B is becoming better.
So my first question, and let me get through it here for just a quick
second, is, uh, becoming better.
What are you doing to, as an organization at the ownership level,
at the employee level of what are your employees doing to become better?
Okay.
The second piece is exceeding the expectations, which I think
you've talked a lot about here.
Um.
That you have your own foundational ways of taking what a traditional
experience is for a customer and really going above and beyond that.
So there's another foundational pillar that I look at and say, wow,
this guy's really got it going on.
The next is providing superior service.
So that's your product, not your, the way you talk to your
client, that's your product.
So I would assume that you guys all have to buy into a great product that you're
distributing and then doing so as a team.
Okay.
So the, the, the last part of best is doing it as the teamwork.
So what cultural elements are you bringing to become better and to improve your bond
as a team?
Yeah, I, I, um, I think something for us now, I.
To become better is embracing new technology just and, and educating
our team on that new technology.
Um, and what we can off different offerings that we
can give to our customers.
Um, like I said, we, we purchased that new direct color systems.
Um, a DA printer I think is really gonna kind of revolutionize
and has the a DA game.
Um, it just provides so many more opportunities of, of different signage
that you can offer to, to client bases.
Um, so, and, and leadership, just taking those, taking
those steps to be open to that.
'cause I know there's a lot of, um, companies with, with leadership
that're kind of stuck in the ways that things used to be done.
And it's just like, we're gonna live and die by weeded and vinyl and applying it to
an aluminum panel and as opposed to doing a flatbed print or, um, stuff like that.
So I think just having.
Leadership that's willing to listen to, to steps we need to take to, to
improve our game and kind of still keep ourselves at the top of the, the top
of the scale as far as sign companies.
And,
and if they don't listen, then you just aggravate the piss
out of 'em, as I heard you say.
Yep.
And
then, and then they, and then they do it.
Uh, it is strange how effective that is.
I, I, that's how it works for me at home anyway.
Yeah.
And I think too, like, and it being the person I'm talking to
boast about is my, is my father.
'cause he's, I mean, I report, I pretty much report to him.
So it's kind of like, Hey, listen, I've said this about six times.
I really think we should do this.
Okay, fine.
All right, we'll look, we'll look at it kind of thing.
So he.
When, when he finds something that I'm passionate about and I, I won't
let it die, he, he understands it.
It's, let's take a serious look at this and just see how it could benefit, uh,
the organization and our team overall.
Yeah.
No, that's great.
James.
Man, thank you.
This has been a great conversation.
I, I, I knew it would be a good one.
I, I really enjoyed it.
Thanks for having you on, man.
Uh, everybody can find you guys@rpsigns.net, you know?
Hey, like, are you, if anybody reaches out, are you open to chatting to
other owners that may be listening?
Yeah, absolutely.
Um, if just any questions in general, a DA signage questions, if you want us
to help you make some signs and ship 'em to your shop, we'll do that too.
Whatever anybody wants to talk about, I'm open.
I've, I've really tried to, to do that and expand myself in that way.
Like, moving more into leadership is just being available for people when they
need to talk, what doesn't matter really what it is, but we'll be glad to help.
Yeah.
So like, if
you're listening, you're looking for like a wholesale provider for Aada, a signage.
James has, has stated that, uh, they do a wholesale work.
Um, and if, if you're like me and you have no clue about it, I'm sure they would be
willing to, to lend some time to educate you and help you sell that as well.
Um, so Awesome James.
Super glad to have you on, man.
I appreciate you joining.
Hopefully we can come back and do this again sometime soon.
Absolutely.
Thanks Bryant.
See you Pete.
See you
James.
Alright, so we've wrapped the conversation with James.
I.
Pete, should we get into rapid fire takeaways?
Man, I, I really enjoyed the conversation.
I, I think we've, for me there's a, a few things, but I'm gonna hit you.
Yeah.
Rapid fire takeaways, man.
So, first and foremost, I think it's, I great for our listeners to know that
there are seasoned shops out there that have been doing this for a very long
time without an, an outside sales force.
And that even a seasoned shop like that, uh, that specialize in a, in a specific
type of five, $5 million without a sales rep, right?
Yeah.
That, that, that's, that's mind blowing to me.
I mean, I would think that, you know, I've been around 5, 6, 10, $12 million
signed businesses that have large accounts like they do, they have large
accounts, but they're only getting those large accounts because of an
outside sales force I've never heard of.
Somebody reaching that kind of plateau without having somebody
the be the face of the business,
somebody that's without beating the drum man.
Yeah.
And that, that's, that's remarkable.
But I do think that that is the exception to the rule still.
It's, it was important for us to get him on here to talk through like how
your, your $5 million approach is very similar to a lot of sign shop's approach.
And he's gonna have some, you know, I, I don't doubt it.
I think he's gonna have some struggles finding that right
candidate like we all do.
I hope that, but I, but I, but I'm confident that they have
the infrastructure in place.
They talked about culture, so I'm confident that they have the
culture in place that that person.
Will be able to be retained, uh, uh, and they're not gonna have like an
endless revolving door of signs shop salespeople coming in and out of, you
know, his business and, uh, and, and allowing it for it to be a struggle.
He's got a good foundation, a good, a good amount of, um, knowledge,
a good, a good amount of support.
I think that there's a lot of room for shadowing and, uh, being out in being
out in, in the shop and, and meeting with the designers and the project
managers and whomever else he's got working there so that that person can
have a little bit more of a holistic understanding of what everybody
does and their role in the business.
Uh, you know, if you're a sign shop that's listening out there
and you have five people working for you, you could be chaotic.
On the other side of that fence is a non chaotic shop.
That has structure, it has people in the right seats, it has systems, it
has processes, it has the onboarding steps to bring on employees like this.
And I think today you heard of a, of a large, a large
shop owner who has that dialed
in.
Yeah.
I think the, the number one thing for me that I heard and picked up on,
well, yeah, I'll say two things, right?
You, you've already touched on culture and I, I think we've
beat that one really well.
It's so important.
So, so important.
Um, but like the, the tactical piece that, that James mentioned was that like the
one-on-ones with his project managers, um, of just setting aside the time to
actually build work on that relationship.
You know, in a small shop, like if you're the owner, you've got five people
working for you, is that's the, the hypothetical that we're dealing with.
You still have to make time for, for people to build.
You gotta build those relationships with your team so that there's, that's a
critical component of the culture as well is like, hey, you know, you hear it from
like a guys in the military all the time.
Like, I'm standing shoulder to shoulder with somebody.
I know they're gonna get the job done no matter what.
And when you have that relationship with, with the team and leadership, uh, the
things that you can do, you could get to 5 million without a sales rep, right?
You can like under promise, over deliver every single time You can
deliver, uh, an impossible project in four weeks for a client who just
threw their hands up and said, oops.
Like, Hey, we totally forgot about the signage portion of this new development.
Um, we need you guys to, to come through for us.
So to me, that was like the, the more tactical piece that I see
a lot of owners skip over, have one-on-ones with your people.
When you bring somebody new on, you do tend to spend more time with them.
You let them shadow, you give them space.
But past a certain point, a a lot of folks just throw 'em to the
fire, like take the time, set aside the time to focus on their growth.
Like how do you bring them up in the organization, right?
That that person that you, you hired for a production assistant
probably doesn't wanna stay production assistant forever, right?
Take the time to talk to them about their goals for the future.
Um, how can you help them grow?
And, and I think ultimately that's, that's part of how you
keep people around long term.
In this day and age where people seem to come and go, it's
impossible to find good help.
All that stuff we hear every single day.
Right on man.
Boom.
Anything else?
I, I don't think there's anything left to say.
That's it guys.
If you are interested in.
Uh, networking with other shop owners.
You are a shop owner or leadership.
Join our Facebook group.
It is completely free for shop owners.
It is a small group.
We only allow owners and leadership into the group.
So there are not 12,000 people.
It is a safe space for you to chat about these specific things, pricing, employees,
management, de-stress a little bit.
What was the, what was the one I saw the other day?
Uh, did I mess up by buying a side shop or was I crazy for buying a side shop?
The first response was, yeah, just a little north of
batshit crazy for doing that.
So I like,
I like that last question that you asked in our group where it was like, how
much money should you have in the bank?
And I'm like, oh, that stemmed a, a ton of conversation.
I thought that was a great question.
So if you're interested in joining and getting insights to.
Questions like that and seeing what other shops are doing and how they're doing it.
This is the group
for you and if you're interested in being a guest on the podcast, hit at us.
Hit us up at hey@bettersignshop.com.
Alright, sounds good.
Roll credits.
So that's the episode.
I hope you enjoyed it.
I'd like to give one final shout out to our sponsor, GCI Digital Printing
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To hear more about their approach to business, hop back into the archives
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Check them out@printgci.com.
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