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Learn how to build a better sign
and prt shop from a few crusty

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sign guys who've made more
mistakes than they care to admit.

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Conversations and advice on
pricing, sales, marketing,

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workflow, growth, and more.

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Your listening to The Better Sign Shop
podcast with your hosts, Peter Kunis,

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Michael O'Reilly, and Bryant Gillespie.

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Before we jump into the episode,
I'd like to give a shout out to

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our sponsor, GCI Digital Printing
Grand Format Printer to the trade

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GCI is not your average print shop.

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They pride themselves on
providing you a fast stress-free

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experience when outsourcing.

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There are no excuses.

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Mindset means no matter the job.

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They'll have it done every time.

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No other vendor will go to the links
that GCI does to ensure you are

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a satisfied customer to hear more
about their approach to business.

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Hop back into the archives to episode nine
where the guys and I interview owner tj

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be act about top tier customer experience.

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If you're looking for a high quality trade
printer for banners, mesh, core Plast and

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more, TJ and his crew will have your back.

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For jobs, big or small, GCI does them
all, check them out@printgci.com.

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Hi guys.

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Welcome back to the next episode
of the Better Side Shop podcast.

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As always, I've got my
co-host, the side shop Yoda.

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Mr.

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Peter Corus, how are you, Pete?

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Not

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sick anymore.

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That's good.

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That's a, that's a plus, right?

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God is this, this is like the
time of year that your kids.

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Or just like, they're like little sponges
that soak up all the germs around them

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and then they just transmit those to you.

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That's what happens to, to me,

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pretty much.

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Pretty much, yeah.

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I walk around my house with a, a can
of Lysol spraying down like almost

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everything that they touch and
everything that they put in their

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mouths, and they finally, they finally
caught up to me a couple of weeks ago.

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Oh my God, dude.

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First of all, men, when they get like a
cough, it's like, I want to get under the

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covers under seven layers of blankets.

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Like I give my wife so much credit,
she's been coughing for like three

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weeks, really struggling through,
and she's not a whiner like me.

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Like when I get, still does
all the things, still does the

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laundry, cooks dinner every
night, you know, God bless her.

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But for me, when I get sick,
it's like, don't talk to me.

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I'm not doing a damn thing.

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Going onto my, getting under my covers.

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So it's, I've been like, uh.

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I've been healthy for the
past 48 hours, which is good.

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It's been a steady diet of halls and
dumb dumb lollipops for the sore throat.

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And, uh, yeah.

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Um, haven't really gotten much work done
in the past two weeks because of it.

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So, uh, happy to finally be on the,
uh, on the right path and, uh, getting,

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uh, getting in front of you, you again,
and, and enjoying these, uh, these

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guests that we're gonna be bringing on.

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Yeah.

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Oh, I'm, I'm glad that
you're on the mend, man.

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I, I tell you like, the challenge that
I have now is, is not like sickness.

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Uh, my wife thought it was
a good idea to get a dog.

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So we have a new dog in the house.

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It is a puppy.

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And, um, you know, I, what's, I
work from her, her name is Winnie,

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Winnie Cooper, um, the girls.

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Elle.

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Yes.

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So the girls.

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Uh, growing paints, right?

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I think that's what it is.

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Was it growing paints or the Wonder years?

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Growing pains.

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Wonder, wonder, wonder Years.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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The, the hot, hot name.

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Sure.

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I always get them mixed up.

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So like we got it around Halloween and
my girls, they dressed as the Sanderson

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sisters from Hocus Pocus for Halloween.

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Uh, so they called the dog Winifred
and I was like, nah, because that's

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one of the witches names or something.

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I was like, well if we're gonna call her
Winnie, let's call her Winnie Cooper.

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So that's how we ended up there.

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I was wondering if you changed

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the last name for

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whatever reason it is.

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I haven't changed my last name though.

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Um, it's a tiny dog though.

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It's a Yorkie, so it's always underfoot.

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I'm like terrified.

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I'm gonna step on it and I've got somebody
else that poops and pees in the floor.

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Look at you man.

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I'm at you.

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Yeah, yeah.

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Great, great.

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Love it.

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More responsibility is what I needed.

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So who do we got going on here?

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What's the topic?

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Alright, so we have got a, uh,
an awesome guest today from

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Charlotte, North Carolina.

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I feel like, uh, we should have
done like a Bulls intro from

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Charlotte, North Carolina, number 23.

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No, um, I, I really, um, I
really enjoy the gentleman James.

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Um, he is, uh, a, a great guy to talk to.

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Uh, actually redid their
website, uh, earlier this year.

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So that's how we first came into contact.

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As I got to learn more about their
company, I was, I was pretty impressed.

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Uh, they're not the average side shop.

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There's a, a multifaceted, uh, we
will get into some of that, but,

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um, yeah, let's bring 'em on.

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All right, let's do it.

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Alright guys, welcome back with our
special guest, James Neely of RP

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Signs in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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James, super nice to
have you on the podcast.

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How are

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you, sir?

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Doing well.

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Glad to be here.

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Thanks for having me on guys.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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So you and I have had several
conversations before this.

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Um, I was just telling Peter that
we redid the website for you guys.

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Um, Gary over there was my main
contact, but, uh, really enjoyed the

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conversations that we had, uh, where
you and your father were involved.

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And, uh, you know, I think you
guys have a really cool story there

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at rp, not the average side shop.

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Um, a lot of different facets.

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You guys work with a lot
of interesting clients.

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Yeah.

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Super excited to have you on.

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So, for those who, who ha haven't
had conversations with you.

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Why don't you tell us a little
more about yourself and RP signs?

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So, I will be eventually be third
generation owner of the shop.

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Our sister company started in 1984.

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Uh, we are division of them
recognition, plus they do corporate

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apparel, awards, et cetera.

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And then in 86 was the, the birth
of the sign portion of our business.

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Uh, we started getting some
calls from some doctors wanting

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nameplates for their desks.

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So at the time my father was in law
enforcement in South Carolina, so

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he moved up to Charlotte and decided
to, uh, to start this sign business.

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And it has done nothing but
grow since 86 until now.

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And it's, it's been a wild ride.

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Yeah.

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Well I could say like starting out,
like I've seen some of the projects

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that you guys do and it's a far
cry from just name plates now.

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Yeah.

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So, hey, tell us about the shop.

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You know, like what kind of
projects do you guys take on,

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you know, how big are you?

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Give us, give us the full

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scoop.

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Yeah.

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So we have, um, 19 people total on staff.

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Uh, we got five project
managers, two graphic designers.

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We have one graphic designer that
actually is gonna work as a PM

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role as well, and he, he will
support our one and only sales guy.

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Um, we have never had salespeople
before until this year.

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It was our, this is our first sales guy
in, in 30 some odd years of business.

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Wow.

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Um, we have 20, roughly 20,000
square feet in Charlotte where

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we do some light fabrication.

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Um, we do all of our a DA signage
manufacturing in-house, flat

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cut letter sets, um, digital
print, roll to roll flatbed.

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And we just purchased A-A-D-C-S
printer that will allow us to

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do, um, direct to substrate,
uh, tactile and braille signage.

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Um, right now we run the applique.

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Process here in the shop.

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And we have one guy who's
just, he runs three lasers.

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Oh, wow.

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And in the, in the braille machine.

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And he, he's, he's a wizard.

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So we wanna keep him around for a while.

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Hey, like,

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what type of clients
do you guys work with?

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A lot of, a lot of healthcare.

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And that is kind of turned into a
lot of property then that like, helps

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us diversify into property managers.

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Because a lot of times these healthcare
facilities and clients that we

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have, they have different clinics
in all kinds of different buildings.

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So then the people are like, oh,
well who are you using for signage?

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And then that kind of
goes, well, we use rp.

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They can, I'm sure they can help you out.

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So medical office buildings is
another big specialty of ours.

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Full, full service, interior,
exterior signage, uh, design

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00:09:03,180 --> 00:09:04,590
permitting and fabrication.

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We've started breaking into the retail
industry a little bit more here lately.

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Hasn't been a super big focus of ours
for a long time, just because, I mean.

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We pride ourselves in knowing how the
healthcare process works and taking the

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pain out of that for, for our clients.

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Um, because really signage is the
last thing they wanna think about.

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They want to focus on building
a cancer research building and

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not signs that go by a door.

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So we take that out of that for them
and say, listen, hand it over to us.

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We'll run stuff by you.

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We'll keep your brand, um, but
just trust us and we'll, we'll

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deliver when we say we will.

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Gotcha.

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And, and would

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you guys say that is like a, is that
what make you, makes you guys unique?

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Like why do these folks work with with rp?

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Yeah, I mean, I really think
it's the, it's the process.

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I mean.

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And I'm

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not trying to put the, the
screws to you or anything.

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It is just a question that Pete and I love
to ask because we've asked so many owners

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00:10:00,359 --> 00:10:06,359
and, and like leaders in inside their
companies of like, Hey, where's the value?

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00:10:06,449 --> 00:10:08,250
Like, why would people
choose to work with you?

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00:10:08,250 --> 00:10:10,530
And, and you, I'm sure in
Charlotte, you guys are in a

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00:10:10,535 --> 00:10:11,939
super competitive market, right?

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00:10:11,939 --> 00:10:15,000
So what's the, the value
proposition for you guys?

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00:10:16,050 --> 00:10:19,979
I mean, I know a lot of people use
this as like a, a platform to jump off

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00:10:19,979 --> 00:10:25,560
of, but really like, if you come to
us, our customer service is, is going

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00:10:25,560 --> 00:10:28,020
to be what, what you come back for.

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Everybody can promise you and provide you
a quality sign product, but if you come to

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00:10:33,300 --> 00:10:38,609
us, we're gonna take that process, we're
gonna make it as easy as possible for you.

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And we're j we're gonna be hands on and
guide you through that so you don't have

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to worry about what you'll get in the end.

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00:10:45,780 --> 00:10:49,650
I, I feel like w without that part.

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00:10:50,310 --> 00:10:52,620
It doesn't make you any
different than anybody else.

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00:10:53,130 --> 00:10:56,699
Um, there's a lot of, a lot of guys will
go jump on the big job and then leave

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00:10:56,699 --> 00:11:00,689
them abandoned for a couple signs on the,
on the backside, and that's really where

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00:11:00,689 --> 00:11:05,189
we pick up the slack is we, we promised
to be there in the future for you.

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00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:10,199
It's funny, just this past week we
had a customer call us for a sign, an

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00:11:10,199 --> 00:11:14,790
interior donor sign that we made for
them in 2004, and we still had a piece

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00:11:14,790 --> 00:11:18,694
of material in their customer box that we
could provide the same exact material and

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00:11:18,699 --> 00:11:20,640
the same exact sign as we did in 2004.

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00:11:21,300 --> 00:11:21,600
Wow.

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00:11:22,260 --> 00:11:23,310
I does that.

233
00:11:23,370 --> 00:11:24,449
How did that Material Age

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00:11:25,560 --> 00:11:25,975
does it?

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It is Corian, it's solid surface,
so it, it's been protected

236
00:11:29,850 --> 00:11:31,560
inside, so it, it is fine.

237
00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:32,130
Yep.

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00:11:32,925 --> 00:11:33,705
Uh, that's cool.

239
00:11:33,765 --> 00:11:34,245
That's cool.

240
00:11:34,515 --> 00:11:37,935
Uh, is is, I, I remember the days
of like reaching into the file

241
00:11:37,935 --> 00:11:41,505
cabinet from the, the jobs from 10
years ago, but we often didn't have

242
00:11:41,505 --> 00:11:43,185
material on hand from that long ago.

243
00:11:43,755 --> 00:11:44,115
Yeah.

244
00:11:44,180 --> 00:11:49,785
So, so I, as you mentioned, uh, you've
kind of grown up in the business.

245
00:11:50,115 --> 00:11:52,005
All RP signs is a, a family business.

246
00:11:52,064 --> 00:11:56,775
So, you know, kinda walk us through,
we've talked about the shop and the

247
00:11:56,775 --> 00:12:01,095
business, like walk us through your own
individual journey inside the industry.

248
00:12:01,185 --> 00:12:01,245
Yeah.

249
00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:06,194
So, so my journey, like, I mean, I
started as a kid, I would catch duct

250
00:12:06,194 --> 00:12:09,600
tape balls off of Extension Ladder
for my dad putting up Gemini Ladder

251
00:12:09,700 --> 00:12:11,115
on the side of brick buildings.

252
00:12:11,175 --> 00:12:15,885
But then as I, I grew, I mean, I did
the whole schooling, went through and,

253
00:12:16,005 --> 00:12:20,295
and decided college wasn't for me about
six months into my college journey.

254
00:12:21,015 --> 00:12:22,275
And then, so I was.

255
00:12:24,045 --> 00:12:26,415
Well, JI just kn, I mean,
I knew what I was gonna do.

256
00:12:26,475 --> 00:12:28,425
Like I just knew I'm gonna be a sign guy.

257
00:12:28,515 --> 00:12:31,635
Like I've al I was always interested
in it with, with my father.

258
00:12:32,204 --> 00:12:35,324
Um, so I was like, I'm going to school,
but I'm gonna be, I know I'm gonna

259
00:12:35,329 --> 00:12:38,025
be a sign guy, so why can't I just
start being a sign guy right now?

260
00:12:38,505 --> 00:12:41,204
So that was at eight 18 years old.

261
00:12:41,805 --> 00:12:45,735
Um, so I've been, I started picking
at 18 years old, we moved into a

262
00:12:45,735 --> 00:12:49,395
new building for the shop and I
was picking weeds off of a fence.

263
00:12:50,085 --> 00:12:53,865
And so I started at the ground even
though it was, uh, even though it's

264
00:12:53,870 --> 00:12:58,064
a family business, and then moved up
through some manufacturing in the,

265
00:12:58,095 --> 00:13:02,865
uh, in the trophy area of the shop for
the, the other side of the business.

266
00:13:03,255 --> 00:13:07,365
Progressed into being an
installer for our, our sign shop.

267
00:13:08,085 --> 00:13:12,255
Uh, moved to the, being a laser
operator for a short time.

268
00:13:12,645 --> 00:13:16,965
Then after that I moved as
an assistant project manager.

269
00:13:17,564 --> 00:13:22,395
Then started taking on some of the
healthcare clients and then have moved

270
00:13:22,395 --> 00:13:26,265
and then moved through the project
manager positions to where I am now

271
00:13:26,265 --> 00:13:27,765
as director of project management.

272
00:13:28,275 --> 00:13:30,194
So that's been 16 years.

273
00:13:30,915 --> 00:13:35,084
So when I, so I'm 35 now, so I'll
have a lot of time in by the time

274
00:13:35,084 --> 00:13:37,245
I'm ready to, to call it quits.

275
00:13:37,245 --> 00:13:41,925
But I'm ex I'm just excited about
how, how I've had the opportunity

276
00:13:41,984 --> 00:13:43,094
to see it all and move up.

277
00:13:43,094 --> 00:13:45,795
I think it's gonna be very
valuable when, when the business

278
00:13:45,795 --> 00:13:47,805
is handed over at some point.

279
00:13:48,224 --> 00:13:48,645
Sure.

280
00:13:49,334 --> 00:13:54,314
Uh, was there ever a time like growing
up, like you were always a hundred percent

281
00:13:54,314 --> 00:13:55,724
like, Hey, I'm gonna be a sign guy.

282
00:13:55,724 --> 00:13:59,385
Like, there was never a time of
like, ah, dude, if I have to go in

283
00:13:59,385 --> 00:14:03,344
and like, help out in the shop and
sweep the floor and like, pick up

284
00:14:03,344 --> 00:14:07,094
and do all this stuff, like I'm going
to, like, I'm just gonna go crazy.

285
00:14:07,094 --> 00:14:08,834
Like, Hey, I gotta get
out and do something else.

286
00:14:09,344 --> 00:14:09,525
Yeah.

287
00:14:09,525 --> 00:14:11,775
You know, I can honestly say no.

288
00:14:11,805 --> 00:14:16,094
Like, I, I have always enjoyed
being, being with my father.

289
00:14:16,094 --> 00:14:16,334
Like I.

290
00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:19,770
I used to hang around with him
all the time when I was little and

291
00:14:19,770 --> 00:14:20,910
we would do everything together.

292
00:14:20,910 --> 00:14:25,770
So it never really bothered me the thought
of coming to this place every day for

293
00:14:25,770 --> 00:14:27,540
the rest of, for the rest of my career.

294
00:14:27,540 --> 00:14:29,340
I mean, I just, I, I enjoy it.

295
00:14:29,340 --> 00:14:32,820
I soak up every minute of it and
enjoy the people that I work with.

296
00:14:33,510 --> 00:14:33,840
Wow.

297
00:14:34,050 --> 00:14:35,700
Did you, what did you go to school for?

298
00:14:37,380 --> 00:14:39,090
Uh, short time business management.

299
00:14:40,410 --> 00:14:40,920
You do a lot

300
00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:42,810
with a background in
business management, right?

301
00:14:43,290 --> 00:14:43,590
Yes.

302
00:14:43,770 --> 00:14:44,070
Yes.

303
00:14:44,070 --> 00:14:44,220
You could,

304
00:14:46,950 --> 00:14:48,390
you could also run a podcast.

305
00:14:49,385 --> 00:14:52,500
That's what I got into things
without, and I'll tell you why.

306
00:14:52,505 --> 00:14:57,300
P like I got in and I was like, Hey,
what am I gonna do after college?

307
00:14:57,360 --> 00:14:58,110
I have no idea.

308
00:14:58,170 --> 00:15:00,780
So I I Is this management baby?

309
00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:01,830
Yep.

310
00:15:03,870 --> 00:15:05,580
So, uh, you go ahead.

311
00:15:06,450 --> 00:15:06,810
Yeah.

312
00:15:06,810 --> 00:15:09,630
If you, if I, I, I want to kind
of just make a couple of comments,

313
00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:11,040
uh, maybe a question or two here.

314
00:15:11,970 --> 00:15:15,570
So you mentioned the size
of your business and that's.

315
00:15:16,230 --> 00:15:22,230
Remarkably, uh, or a lot of people
would love to have a size operation

316
00:15:22,230 --> 00:15:25,680
the way that you do, you know, with
project managers, a couple of designers,

317
00:15:25,710 --> 00:15:31,290
I would assume that the majority of
your workers are in the production

318
00:15:31,290 --> 00:15:33,120
and project management side of things.

319
00:15:33,630 --> 00:15:37,680
But why don't you give us a little bit
of insight as to the thought process

320
00:15:37,685 --> 00:15:41,010
behind why now with a salesperson.

321
00:15:41,010 --> 00:15:44,340
That was, that was a major takeaway
for me, is that why today after

322
00:15:44,340 --> 00:15:48,480
all of the accomplishments that you
have, are you theoretically bringing

323
00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:50,010
on a new arm of your business?

324
00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:50,640
Yeah.

325
00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,160
You know, I, Pete, that's a
good, that's a good question.

326
00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:59,880
I really take a look at that from, um, a
couple different viewpoints like we had.

327
00:16:00,210 --> 00:16:04,050
I think, and I can honestly say, I
think for, for 30 some years we've

328
00:16:04,050 --> 00:16:07,200
taken for granted the fact that
we have a referral network of just

329
00:16:07,205 --> 00:16:10,560
people's word, word of mouth, from
customer to customer to customer.

330
00:16:11,295 --> 00:16:15,465
Just that business being there
and just, it's always been there.

331
00:16:15,735 --> 00:16:21,915
But as we all know, customers change, uh,
some times change a little bit, and I, I

332
00:16:21,915 --> 00:16:29,565
just felt like in order to not have all
our eggs in one basket to diversify with

333
00:16:29,775 --> 00:16:34,215
a, a salesperson to bring in some of the
work that maybe we wouldn't normally go

334
00:16:34,215 --> 00:16:41,385
after or get, because I, I mean, it, it
definitely helps add to revenue and I just

335
00:16:41,385 --> 00:16:48,765
feel like having that extra stream coming
in can kind of offset any fluctuations

336
00:16:48,765 --> 00:16:53,895
in like a word of mouth referral or a
customer change or, um, just some, or

337
00:16:53,895 --> 00:16:55,905
just, just competition in the market.

338
00:16:55,965 --> 00:16:59,265
Um, there's, it's really
fierce around Charlotte.

339
00:16:59,265 --> 00:17:02,805
There's a lot of, um, there's a lot
of different companies in the area,

340
00:17:02,810 --> 00:17:06,944
so we really have to differentiate
ourselves from the others.

341
00:17:07,665 --> 00:17:07,964
Okay.

342
00:17:08,054 --> 00:17:12,464
And you feel like this is a, a pathway
forward to differentiate yourself?

343
00:17:12,974 --> 00:17:16,544
Yeah, I mean, and just expand, expand
our offerings and maybe get us in

344
00:17:16,550 --> 00:17:19,304
front of people that we haven't
been, been in front of before.

345
00:17:20,085 --> 00:17:25,454
It's, it's not like it's gonna to solve
a major issue, but I definitely think

346
00:17:25,454 --> 00:17:30,375
that it, it can help expand and get us
out in different markets that we haven't

347
00:17:30,495 --> 00:17:33,225
really focused on or touched in the past.

348
00:17:33,225 --> 00:17:34,335
What's gonna be your process

349
00:17:34,340 --> 00:17:37,304
in, in your mind, you bring on
this person, it's an he's an ideal

350
00:17:37,304 --> 00:17:41,804
salesperson, maybe a little bit of
knowledge and aspects of this industry.

351
00:17:41,810 --> 00:17:45,794
What, what, what's gonna be your
process by which to dispatch

352
00:17:45,794 --> 00:17:47,445
that person out into the market?

353
00:17:47,445 --> 00:17:52,274
Is it a self-reliant person to bring
in business, or is there gonna be more

354
00:17:52,274 --> 00:17:57,915
appointments being scheduled, uh, you
know, a rolling showcase or what's,

355
00:17:57,919 --> 00:18:01,304
what's your process and how that
person is going to differentiate and

356
00:18:01,304 --> 00:18:03,195
bring some awareness to the market?

357
00:18:04,215 --> 00:18:09,735
Yeah, so I think, um, we're gonna, he's
gonna have sales, uh, material and stuff

358
00:18:09,735 --> 00:18:13,905
that he's gonna be able to take with
him and like present to, to general

359
00:18:13,905 --> 00:18:20,385
contractors and, and, um, and different
developers and real estate companies.

360
00:18:20,685 --> 00:18:26,625
I, and just getting somebody
out there, just a face for us

361
00:18:26,625 --> 00:18:29,655
out in, into the, the market.

362
00:18:29,985 --> 00:18:33,314
'cause of a lot of what we did, like
I said, was just like referral stuff.

363
00:18:33,314 --> 00:18:37,754
So we kind of, in our OI mean, we got
five project managers in our office.

364
00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:39,284
We manage our projects from here.

365
00:18:39,284 --> 00:18:43,274
We do go on client meetings like
everybody else does, but like to see

366
00:18:43,274 --> 00:18:47,294
somebody, like a recurring face out in
the market, visiting people and talking

367
00:18:47,300 --> 00:18:51,195
about signage and projects, I think
it's just a different, a different

368
00:18:51,195 --> 00:18:52,425
approach than we've had before.

369
00:18:52,425 --> 00:18:56,865
So I think that will kind of help ramp
that up and just, and to get his feet

370
00:18:56,865 --> 00:19:00,705
wet, I'll, I'll go on sales meetings
with him and kind of coach him along

371
00:19:00,705 --> 00:19:02,595
the way and, and get him up and running.

372
00:19:03,945 --> 00:19:04,155
Okay.

373
00:19:04,245 --> 00:19:09,855
Are you guys like gonna put him on like
a, a totally different industry, like

374
00:19:10,185 --> 00:19:16,065
outside of healthcare or, uh, property
management, you know, contractors, or is

375
00:19:16,070 --> 00:19:18,645
it like a double down on, on existing?

376
00:19:19,515 --> 00:19:21,915
No, it's, it's really
gonna be different market.

377
00:19:21,915 --> 00:19:26,415
I think what I would like to see, of
course, when he gets, when he gets

378
00:19:26,415 --> 00:19:31,215
up and running a, a real focus on
multi-family projects and developments.

379
00:19:31,905 --> 00:19:36,765
I just, there's an article in July of
this year that more than 80 people a day

380
00:19:36,765 --> 00:19:38,655
moved to Charlotte, to the Charlotte area.

381
00:19:39,300 --> 00:19:39,420
I.

382
00:19:39,810 --> 00:19:43,740
And, and I mean, you can't a day,
well, 80 people a day, you can't

383
00:19:43,740 --> 00:19:47,640
turn a corner without seeing an
apartment complex under construction.

384
00:19:48,060 --> 00:19:51,480
So I know there's more apartment
complexes than our sign companies.

385
00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:55,290
So to, to capitalize on that market
would be, would be fantastic.

386
00:19:55,590 --> 00:19:56,490
Charlotte's one of my

387
00:19:56,490 --> 00:20:00,870
favorite cities in the country, and for
those of you, for those that know me, I,

388
00:20:00,870 --> 00:20:03,360
I visit frequently to the Charlotte area.

389
00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:05,820
So what, what part of the
Charlotte market are you

390
00:20:05,820 --> 00:20:06,690
guys servicing?

391
00:20:06,930 --> 00:20:12,270
We, I mean, gosh, we
cover on a daily basis.

392
00:20:12,275 --> 00:20:14,190
Anywhere from Yeah.

393
00:20:14,190 --> 00:20:18,180
Fort Mill, South Carolina, which is
just into South Carolina from Charlotte.

394
00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:24,720
And then, we'll, I mean, we'll go
up to Hickory and, and Morganton

395
00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:26,160
area towards the mountains.

396
00:20:26,550 --> 00:20:26,700
Wow.

397
00:20:26,790 --> 00:20:29,610
Um, yeah, and we go,
I mean, go to Raleigh.

398
00:20:30,930 --> 00:20:31,440
No kidding.

399
00:20:31,685 --> 00:20:33,390
Couple, couple times a month.

400
00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:37,500
Um, so we're our guys, our guys
stay on the road pretty well.

401
00:20:38,445 --> 00:20:43,274
Yeah, I mean that you could be on
hours on, uh, 4 85 just between

402
00:20:43,365 --> 00:20:49,065
Fort Mill and, and more victory and
where up there on the north side.

403
00:20:49,065 --> 00:20:53,925
I mean, gosh, that's, I, I've been
in that traffic and I don't, I

404
00:20:53,925 --> 00:20:56,295
don't recommend it, uh, to anybody.

405
00:20:56,895 --> 00:20:59,655
Um, but that's impre, you know,
that's, that's something that's a

406
00:20:59,655 --> 00:21:03,075
very large organization and a very
large area of which you're covering,

407
00:21:03,075 --> 00:21:06,615
especially when you're venturing off
to the, to the east and going into

408
00:21:06,615 --> 00:21:10,004
the Raleigh market, I would assume
you're going into Greensboro as well.

409
00:21:10,514 --> 00:21:13,754
Yeah, Greensboro, Cary Chapel Hill.

410
00:21:14,055 --> 00:21:16,215
Um, yeah, we're, we're pushing.

411
00:21:17,175 --> 00:21:20,024
I mean, we cover, we'll send our
guys to anywhere in the state.

412
00:21:20,024 --> 00:21:23,145
I mean, it, it doesn't really
bother us and we really, we've

413
00:21:23,145 --> 00:21:26,145
positioned ourselves, I feel like,
well, naturally being in Charlotte,

414
00:21:26,835 --> 00:21:29,115
we can cover the whole Southeast.

415
00:21:29,205 --> 00:21:32,865
Um, I've, I've got a client that
is going through an expansion and

416
00:21:32,925 --> 00:21:35,445
we're, um, we've gone to Alabama.

417
00:21:35,985 --> 00:21:39,345
Florida, Georgia, South Carolina,
North Carolina, Virginia for them.

418
00:21:39,345 --> 00:21:42,825
So it's, we can run the whole
corridor if you, if you need us to.

419
00:21:43,155 --> 00:21:43,395
Yeah.

420
00:21:43,395 --> 00:21:46,695
Well, I mean, that's,
that's amazing to hear.

421
00:21:46,695 --> 00:21:51,015
That's a, that's a very large service
area, so that's, I guess you have the

422
00:21:51,015 --> 00:21:54,255
means to take on that kind of work
because I could certainly see a lot

423
00:21:54,255 --> 00:21:59,535
of downtime and travel if you are not
charging for those, uh, types of leads.

424
00:21:59,535 --> 00:22:01,335
So let's get back to the point here.

425
00:22:01,335 --> 00:22:05,505
I was just curious because, um, I wanted
to kinda get a picture of where, what size

426
00:22:05,510 --> 00:22:08,625
your business is and what your service
area is, but it does kind of sound like

427
00:22:08,630 --> 00:22:13,215
you're taking over the entire Charlotte
market, maybe even into the South

428
00:22:13,215 --> 00:22:14,655
Carolina border there a little bit too.

429
00:22:14,655 --> 00:22:16,125
So, okay.

430
00:22:16,875 --> 00:22:21,465
Now you've been in this business now
for what I think you, you called it,

431
00:22:21,525 --> 00:22:25,155
uh, what generations, is that correct?

432
00:22:25,155 --> 00:22:25,905
Did I, did I use the

433
00:22:25,905 --> 00:22:26,475
right term?

434
00:22:27,495 --> 00:22:31,365
Yeah, so my grandfather's first
generation owner, my mom is now

435
00:22:31,485 --> 00:22:36,555
owner majority, so then it'll be,
it'll be me and my sister after this.

436
00:22:36,885 --> 00:22:37,215
After

437
00:22:37,215 --> 00:22:37,395
this.

438
00:22:37,485 --> 00:22:37,755
Okay.

439
00:22:37,755 --> 00:22:41,925
So the businesses in your
family's name, right?

440
00:22:41,925 --> 00:22:42,075
Right.

441
00:22:42,195 --> 00:22:45,255
It's, it's been, you guys have been
in this market for a long time.

442
00:22:45,255 --> 00:22:48,945
A lot of the businesses know
maybe your mom or maybe your,

443
00:22:49,245 --> 00:22:50,685
your grandfather before her.

444
00:22:50,685 --> 00:22:52,965
And you guys are doing
a lot of business now.

445
00:22:53,295 --> 00:22:57,795
The thought here is, is that you
bring on this salesperson, right?

446
00:22:58,215 --> 00:23:02,355
And you have a little bit of a plan
for, for the type of customer that you

447
00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:08,055
want and the and, and the, and the, um,
the approach by which you want to go

448
00:23:08,055 --> 00:23:11,265
after that type of client, but Sure.

449
00:23:11,325 --> 00:23:15,045
Is that your only new business
acquisition strategy, or is, are

450
00:23:15,045 --> 00:23:16,815
there others that you're also planning

451
00:23:16,820 --> 00:23:17,235
around?

452
00:23:17,745 --> 00:23:19,575
Uh, right now, that's the focus.

453
00:23:19,755 --> 00:23:23,595
Um, that's our, that's our
big focus is to get a sales.

454
00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:28,290
Some kind of sales structure up and
running, I think for, for a long time.

455
00:23:28,470 --> 00:23:31,320
Like I said, we've taken for granted
the fact that business has kind

456
00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:35,190
of just come to us organically
and we, we've earned the business

457
00:23:35,190 --> 00:23:36,750
through providing for other people.

458
00:23:37,260 --> 00:23:41,820
But, but I think at some point you gotta,
you have to stop resting on those laurels

459
00:23:41,820 --> 00:23:45,750
and then, and move to a more aggressive
strategy, which a sale, I thought a

460
00:23:45,750 --> 00:23:48,930
salesperson was the logical first step.

461
00:23:49,410 --> 00:23:53,490
And then we kind of see how that business
development takes place and we can

462
00:23:53,850 --> 00:23:56,160
venture off from there to other avenues.

463
00:23:56,670 --> 00:23:57,000
Okay.

464
00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:57,210
Very

465
00:23:57,210 --> 00:23:57,720
interesting.

466
00:23:57,930 --> 00:24:01,710
Like, you guys work with like, primarily
like the healthcare systems, right?

467
00:24:01,710 --> 00:24:08,640
I, I know like a, a, a ton of owners that
we talk to would, would die to be in good

468
00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:13,620
with the healthcare systems because as a,
you know, depending on the products you

469
00:24:13,620 --> 00:24:17,460
sell, steady stream of work, um, oh yeah.

470
00:24:17,820 --> 00:24:22,260
I would say, you know, hey, there's
probably some budget conscious.

471
00:24:22,935 --> 00:24:26,865
Elements there, but you know, for the most
part, probably not more concerned about

472
00:24:27,165 --> 00:24:31,155
like, timelines and, and, and actually
getting like deadlines and project

473
00:24:31,155 --> 00:24:33,105
delivery more so than, than budget.

474
00:24:33,764 --> 00:24:36,945
So you're not holding up like a new wing
of the hospital waiting on the signage.

475
00:24:37,305 --> 00:24:37,514
Right.

476
00:24:37,514 --> 00:24:42,675
But hey, like, how, like, like you said,
you mentioned you take those for granted.

477
00:24:42,764 --> 00:24:46,485
How, like, how did you guys
originally get into that market?

478
00:24:46,485 --> 00:24:49,514
Do you know, like, well, is that
something that's always been there,

479
00:24:49,514 --> 00:24:51,284
like since, since you were young or?

480
00:24:51,855 --> 00:24:55,605
Yeah, so our first shop was actually
right across the street from the

481
00:24:55,605 --> 00:24:56,715
biggest hospital in Charlotte.

482
00:24:57,390 --> 00:25:01,620
So that's their, so that's how
naturally they came over and were

483
00:25:01,620 --> 00:25:02,580
like, Hey, I need a nameplate.

484
00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:07,020
So that mean we, we literally could walk
across the street and be at the front door

485
00:25:07,495 --> 00:25:12,180
of, of the hospital and we would deliver
the products because we were so close.

486
00:25:12,690 --> 00:25:15,900
So, and other guys
wouldn't, wouldn't do that.

487
00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:17,790
So, I mean, we were like,
Hey, we'll bring it to you.

488
00:25:17,790 --> 00:25:19,800
We'll walk we'll across the
street and we'll be right there

489
00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:20,790
for you and we'll give it to you.

490
00:25:20,790 --> 00:25:25,410
And that just kind of, that kind of was
the, the foundation of that relationship.

491
00:25:25,980 --> 00:25:27,480
The, just the personal connection.

492
00:25:28,290 --> 00:25:30,060
And then we kind of just
took it to the next level.

493
00:25:30,060 --> 00:25:31,800
And that's how, that's how it started.

494
00:25:32,340 --> 00:25:35,610
And I mean, at first they would
ask us for illuminated signage.

495
00:25:35,610 --> 00:25:38,910
We, we didn't even know
what that was at one point.

496
00:25:39,090 --> 00:25:40,650
And we would say, yeah,
we'll take care of it.

497
00:25:41,190 --> 00:25:43,320
And then we came back
and we figured it out.

498
00:25:44,534 --> 00:25:45,345
True side guys.

499
00:25:47,595 --> 00:25:50,085
Hey, we need this.

500
00:25:50,145 --> 00:25:50,925
Do you guys do that?

501
00:25:51,405 --> 00:25:52,004
Yes.

502
00:25:52,365 --> 00:25:52,695
Yeah.

503
00:25:52,695 --> 00:25:53,205
Yeah, we do.

504
00:25:53,294 --> 00:25:53,895
Yeah, yeah.

505
00:25:53,895 --> 00:25:54,314
Absolutely.

506
00:25:54,314 --> 00:25:55,064
We'll figure it out, guys.

507
00:25:55,185 --> 00:25:55,514
Yep.

508
00:25:56,445 --> 00:25:57,225
Uh, I think a

509
00:25:57,225 --> 00:26:01,635
lot of our listeners would laugh
or chuckle if they're driving in

510
00:26:01,635 --> 00:26:04,544
their cars or if they're listening
on their phones or whatever.

511
00:26:04,544 --> 00:26:06,824
They would look and be like,
I've done that a million times.

512
00:26:07,185 --> 00:26:07,995
So you're not alone.

513
00:26:08,699 --> 00:26:09,885
I, I've done that.

514
00:26:10,395 --> 00:26:13,004
I know Bryan's done that, and
I know many of our, of our

515
00:26:13,395 --> 00:26:14,955
clients have also, I still do

516
00:26:14,955 --> 00:26:15,915
that sometimes, man.

517
00:26:17,115 --> 00:26:17,835
I'll figure it out.

518
00:26:18,405 --> 00:26:18,855
Sure.

519
00:26:19,544 --> 00:26:20,024
Yeah.

520
00:26:20,054 --> 00:26:21,945
It's, um, yeah, really good

521
00:26:21,945 --> 00:26:22,365
stuff.

522
00:26:22,395 --> 00:26:23,085
Really good stuff.

523
00:26:23,085 --> 00:26:27,824
I, I like that you, uh, go after, you
know, your, your type of clientele,

524
00:26:27,885 --> 00:26:30,165
but you've been doing it for so long.

525
00:26:30,375 --> 00:26:30,705
Right.

526
00:26:30,705 --> 00:26:35,385
So tell us a little bit about
before the salesperson, what

527
00:26:35,385 --> 00:26:37,574
the, what the approach has been.

528
00:26:37,574 --> 00:26:39,105
Like, what's the, what's been

529
00:26:39,105 --> 00:26:39,524
the.

530
00:26:40,245 --> 00:26:41,895
What's, this is what I want to get into.

531
00:26:42,105 --> 00:26:43,575
What's the secret sauce, man?

532
00:26:43,580 --> 00:26:45,255
What's, what's the, what's your secret?

533
00:26:45,285 --> 00:26:49,335
How do you last this long with
three generations, or almost three

534
00:26:49,340 --> 00:26:54,615
generations and, and, you know, live
in a world without a salesperson?

535
00:26:54,615 --> 00:26:55,545
What is your trick?

536
00:26:55,545 --> 00:26:55,965
What is,

537
00:26:56,025 --> 00:26:56,595
what is it?

538
00:26:57,465 --> 00:26:58,065
Yeah.

539
00:26:58,455 --> 00:27:02,250
I mean, I hate to name drop here,
but I kind of think of us like a,

540
00:27:02,255 --> 00:27:04,215
a Chick-fil-A of sign companies.

541
00:27:04,965 --> 00:27:06,465
I mean, it's like, it's our people.

542
00:27:06,470 --> 00:27:09,975
It's, it's the way we,
we pour into our people.

543
00:27:10,365 --> 00:27:14,505
We, we develop them to, to
treat our customers the way

544
00:27:14,505 --> 00:27:16,665
that, that we always have.

545
00:27:16,995 --> 00:27:22,365
We, we ask them to buy in to our,
our level of care, our commitment to

546
00:27:22,365 --> 00:27:26,415
our customers, and, and just really
just, just buy into the system.

547
00:27:26,415 --> 00:27:28,215
Like we we're here to make money.

548
00:27:28,220 --> 00:27:28,725
Yes.

549
00:27:28,725 --> 00:27:32,505
But we really want to take care of
people and, and I just feel like I.

550
00:27:33,165 --> 00:27:36,075
Other people look for that
in a, in a place to work.

551
00:27:36,075 --> 00:27:39,615
It's not just like a, a carousel
of people running through here.

552
00:27:40,245 --> 00:27:45,015
The majority of our people have been
with us for over 12 to 15 years.

553
00:27:45,615 --> 00:27:49,185
We've even got some people that
have been here the whole 36 years.

554
00:27:49,815 --> 00:27:54,825
Um, so I think it's the way we
are intentional with our people

555
00:27:55,605 --> 00:27:59,415
and just ask them to care for our
customers the way that we always

556
00:27:59,415 --> 00:28:01,365
have and they buy into that system.

557
00:28:02,265 --> 00:28:02,475
Okay.

558
00:28:02,715 --> 00:28:02,865
Could

559
00:28:02,865 --> 00:28:06,555
you give us like a specific,
like does a specific example or

560
00:28:06,555 --> 00:28:07,845
a specific story come to mind?

561
00:28:08,295 --> 00:28:08,715
Um,

562
00:28:09,195 --> 00:28:12,465
not, I, I'm sure you've got one or two.

563
00:28:13,215 --> 00:28:13,815
Yeah.

564
00:28:14,145 --> 00:28:15,975
I'm trying to think
off the top of my head.

565
00:28:15,975 --> 00:28:21,675
It, you know, it really just like, I mean
we were doing a project for a healthcare

566
00:28:21,855 --> 00:28:25,815
organization here in, uh, in Charlotte.

567
00:28:26,595 --> 00:28:28,485
They were opening a medical school.

568
00:28:29,190 --> 00:28:32,340
And they came to us four weeks
before the medical school opened

569
00:28:32,340 --> 00:28:34,290
and said, Hey, we need designs.

570
00:28:34,830 --> 00:28:38,670
We need, we need designs, we
need approvals, we need signs

571
00:28:39,330 --> 00:28:41,070
on the outside of this building.

572
00:28:41,700 --> 00:28:43,950
Before they had the ribbon
cutting in four weeks.

573
00:28:45,215 --> 00:28:45,295
Hmm.

574
00:28:45,870 --> 00:28:50,280
And back then, back then we, we
had one graphics guy and that

575
00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:51,870
was, that was Gary back then.

576
00:28:52,770 --> 00:28:53,940
He was on vacation.

577
00:28:54,899 --> 00:28:59,490
So then my, I guess my father outta
desperation reached out to Gary

578
00:28:59,490 --> 00:29:02,910
on vacation, was like, dude, can
you please do me some drawings?

579
00:29:03,870 --> 00:29:06,030
We've gotta take care of
this for the customer.

580
00:29:06,030 --> 00:29:11,040
And, and Gary did his drawings
and, and he made it happen.

581
00:29:11,430 --> 00:29:16,620
They approved it, manufactured
and installed by the ribbon

582
00:29:16,620 --> 00:29:18,389
cutting in the four weeks.

583
00:29:19,950 --> 00:29:21,240
And it was a high-rise install.

584
00:29:22,020 --> 00:29:22,320
I,

585
00:29:23,399 --> 00:29:24,240
yeah, that's not a.

586
00:29:25,020 --> 00:29:26,010
Signed guy job.

587
00:29:27,030 --> 00:29:27,480
Yeah.

588
00:29:27,540 --> 00:29:31,800
And I mean, I just, and it's, we will
do that for, we'll do that for anybody.

589
00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:34,020
Like, I mean with within reason.

590
00:29:34,020 --> 00:29:39,300
Of course we don't like sell, Hey, we're,
we're gonna do everything for you quick.

591
00:29:39,305 --> 00:29:41,880
Like, that's just not, this was, this was

592
00:29:41,885 --> 00:29:43,470
an existing client that you already had?

593
00:29:43,470 --> 00:29:47,070
Yes, it was an existing client that
we had a relationship with, but that's

594
00:29:47,070 --> 00:29:49,080
just how we care for our customers.

595
00:29:49,470 --> 00:29:52,410
And we, we strive to develop those
relationships with everybody.

596
00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,980
Um, and I guess that's why we hadn't
focused on like a lot of retail

597
00:29:55,980 --> 00:30:02,190
signage in the past is because that
relationship kind of, you go to

598
00:30:02,190 --> 00:30:05,310
somebody in a strip mall, you sell 'em
a sign, and then you kind of move on.

599
00:30:05,700 --> 00:30:08,190
And that just, that hasn't
been the way we operated.

600
00:30:08,190 --> 00:30:11,970
So that wasn't really a, like
a focus, but I'd like to bring

601
00:30:11,975 --> 00:30:15,660
that level of relationship to
that, to that sign experience.

602
00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:16,260
Yeah.

603
00:30:17,445 --> 00:30:22,665
Uh, what is, so you guys do a, a, a
ton of a DA, there's a, there's a lot

604
00:30:22,665 --> 00:30:26,715
of smaller shop owners that we talk
to that it's like a mystery box of

605
00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:30,735
like, like, Hey, I, I know this could
be a good avenue for us, but hey,

606
00:30:30,735 --> 00:30:32,085
like, I, I don't know much about it.

607
00:30:32,085 --> 00:30:34,965
Like, how, you know, how do,
how should I get into it?

608
00:30:34,965 --> 00:30:36,315
Do I even want to get into it?

609
00:30:36,825 --> 00:30:36,975
Right?

610
00:30:36,975 --> 00:30:39,495
Like, what do, what do those
projects look like for you guys?

611
00:30:40,245 --> 00:30:45,075
I mean, they're, they're, a lot of our
projects are full packages, like, so

612
00:30:45,075 --> 00:30:48,795
it'll be a new office building and we,
we go from design conception all the

613
00:30:48,795 --> 00:30:50,445
way through the manufacturing process.

614
00:30:50,805 --> 00:30:54,375
So we'll sit down with designers and
work, uh, work through their finish

615
00:30:54,375 --> 00:30:59,145
plans and, and come up with a couple sign
types and drawings for them to approve.

616
00:30:59,895 --> 00:31:05,865
Um, and then, I mean, we just, we've
got people in place that know the,

617
00:31:05,925 --> 00:31:10,875
the regulations, the processes, and it
just is really seamless for us because

618
00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:12,285
we've been doing it for so long.

619
00:31:12,825 --> 00:31:13,965
Um, a lot of.

620
00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:19,889
It's intimidating to a lot of people,
um, just because there's so, there's

621
00:31:19,889 --> 00:31:25,139
so many nuances to the a DA guides
and, and just compliance issues.

622
00:31:25,500 --> 00:31:29,250
Um, there's also a decent amount of
equipment that's involved with, with doing

623
00:31:29,254 --> 00:31:33,570
it, but we've even gotten to the point to
where we have become a wholesale source

624
00:31:33,570 --> 00:31:39,210
for some other companies to provide them
a DA signs because they want to take,

625
00:31:39,210 --> 00:31:42,660
they wanna bring that revenue stream
in, but don't have any way to do it.

626
00:31:42,660 --> 00:31:44,850
So they turn to us and know
that we'll just take care of

627
00:31:44,850 --> 00:31:46,680
them and we provide it to 'em.

628
00:31:47,610 --> 00:31:47,790
Gotcha.

629
00:31:48,149 --> 00:31:48,480
So

630
00:31:48,485 --> 00:31:50,790
I like you, you actually
have like a wholesale to the

631
00:31:50,790 --> 00:31:53,340
trade wing or arm as well.

632
00:31:53,370 --> 00:31:53,670
Yeah.

633
00:31:53,700 --> 00:31:53,910
Okay.

634
00:31:53,910 --> 00:31:54,120
Yep.

635
00:31:54,930 --> 00:31:55,889
That makes a lot of sense.

636
00:31:55,950 --> 00:31:59,970
Um, you know, we're huge advocates
of, of outsourcing stuff that,

637
00:32:00,389 --> 00:32:03,600
that you don't bring value to the
table on or, you know, that that's

638
00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:05,070
not necessarily your specialty.

639
00:32:05,670 --> 00:32:05,879
Sure.

640
00:32:05,885 --> 00:32:09,389
Um, but like when do clients
bring you into those projects?

641
00:32:09,389 --> 00:32:09,780
Is it, I.

642
00:32:10,495 --> 00:32:13,230
Mean, is it typically at the, at
the end, is it like, Hey, four

643
00:32:13,230 --> 00:32:15,300
weeks, like here's the building.

644
00:32:15,300 --> 00:32:21,030
Like we're, we're finishing construction
now we need signs for everything,

645
00:32:21,030 --> 00:32:24,270
or is it like sooner in the process?

646
00:32:24,270 --> 00:32:25,590
Like who are you working with?

647
00:32:25,980 --> 00:32:28,380
Like a lot of inside the
client's organization?

648
00:32:28,980 --> 00:32:29,370
Yeah.

649
00:32:29,430 --> 00:32:32,460
A lot of times we're like, in
their organization, we're working

650
00:32:32,460 --> 00:32:33,810
with their development people.

651
00:32:33,810 --> 00:32:37,920
So when they have something on the
horizon, they'll reach out and just say,

652
00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:39,870
Hey, we've got this project coming up.

653
00:32:39,870 --> 00:32:40,800
Keep it on your radar.

654
00:32:40,805 --> 00:32:45,990
I'll reach out when timing's more, um,
appropriate, uh, for these activities.

655
00:32:46,650 --> 00:32:50,130
But really, and we've worked
with these same architects in,

656
00:32:50,285 --> 00:32:54,180
in construction companies before,
so it's kind of like, hey.

657
00:32:54,630 --> 00:32:57,600
We need to engage rp 'cause we're
gonna need signage down the road.

658
00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:02,130
So we do, we do have customers
that, that keep us in mind early

659
00:33:02,130 --> 00:33:03,510
in the process, which is nice.

660
00:33:03,870 --> 00:33:06,720
Um, but that doesn't mean there's not
gonna be a, a ball dropped every now

661
00:33:06,725 --> 00:33:10,380
and again and us have to come in on the
backside and, and make something happen.

662
00:33:10,380 --> 00:33:16,080
But yeah, we tried to, we've tried
to educate our customers and, and

663
00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:19,680
how long the process takes so that
they're aware of that and they can

664
00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:21,600
build that into their, their schedules.

665
00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:22,920
Gotcha.

666
00:33:23,340 --> 00:33:27,210
And like, you know, you mentioned this
other project was like four weeks,

667
00:33:27,210 --> 00:33:32,370
but like start to finish, like what is
like the average a DA project kind run

668
00:33:32,370 --> 00:33:32,520
for this?

669
00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:38,580
Um, I mean, if you're looking like
around a hundred, 180 a signs, I mean,

670
00:33:38,580 --> 00:33:46,770
we could probably push that out in about
15 business days is what is like average.

671
00:33:47,159 --> 00:33:52,470
I mean, the bigger the project, the longer
we can get is always better, of course.

672
00:33:52,590 --> 00:33:55,800
But like when you, like, if you need just
like a sweet sign insert or something

673
00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:59,429
for a medical office building, our
average lead time for, that's like five

674
00:33:59,435 --> 00:34:03,389
to seven business days and we'll get
it installed or shipped, shipped out.

675
00:34:04,949 --> 00:34:05,310
Gotcha.

676
00:34:05,429 --> 00:34:08,699
And like, can we ask numbers?

677
00:34:08,699 --> 00:34:10,350
Like what, what do you guys do sales wise?

678
00:34:11,310 --> 00:34:15,540
So our, our best year, which
was a year ago, was 5 million.

679
00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:16,529
Okay.

680
00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:21,480
Um, it fluctuates based on, I mean,
that was, that was a good year

681
00:34:21,485 --> 00:34:25,949
based on a, a really long rebranding
campaign that we had embarked on.

682
00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:30,690
Um, so it, it fluctuates based on what,
what's happening in the, in the healthcare

683
00:34:30,690 --> 00:34:32,790
industry and, and just across the board.

684
00:34:33,659 --> 00:34:38,250
But yeah, I mean, I, on average between
three and 5 million is a year for us.

685
00:34:39,029 --> 00:34:39,360
Gotcha.

686
00:34:40,264 --> 00:34:40,685
That's.

687
00:34:41,325 --> 00:34:42,045
It's pretty solid.

688
00:34:42,285 --> 00:34:43,185
Like I know that, yeah.

689
00:34:43,185 --> 00:34:46,635
A ton of shops would, that we talked to
would love to be at three to 5 million.

690
00:34:48,465 --> 00:34:53,235
Like, Hey, what, what is the, the
rough profitability on Aada a signage?

691
00:34:53,310 --> 00:34:57,135
Is it, is it, oh gosh, is it worth
the, is it worth the squeeze?

692
00:34:57,139 --> 00:35:00,375
Or like, at the end of the day,
like, are there, like, you guys

693
00:35:00,375 --> 00:35:01,605
get done with the average project?

694
00:35:01,610 --> 00:35:04,995
Do you look back and you're like, this
was a, this was a win for the client?

695
00:35:04,995 --> 00:35:07,815
Obviously it was a win for
us as a business though.

696
00:35:08,085 --> 00:35:12,285
Yeah, no, I definitely think, I definitely
think that it's a, it's a profitable,

697
00:35:12,375 --> 00:35:14,895
it's a profitable section of our business.

698
00:35:14,895 --> 00:35:19,695
Um, it, but you're also, you're,
you're offering a service that's

699
00:35:19,695 --> 00:35:26,415
very unique that a lot of public
organizations can't function without.

700
00:35:26,420 --> 00:35:28,695
I mean, you can't get
inspections without aada a signs.

701
00:35:29,325 --> 00:35:34,125
So there's, there's a level of
have to, with a d, a signage that

702
00:35:34,125 --> 00:35:35,715
if you bring that to the table, I.

703
00:35:36,540 --> 00:35:38,340
Then we can help you succeed as well.

704
00:35:38,790 --> 00:35:41,850
Um, and it doesn't hurt that we
will design something to tie in

705
00:35:41,850 --> 00:35:45,540
with your building and make it look
elegant and, and it's not just your

706
00:35:45,540 --> 00:35:49,380
standard Home Depot, black and white
restroom sign stuck on the wall.

707
00:35:50,100 --> 00:35:50,460
Yeah.

708
00:35:50,625 --> 00:35:50,915
Yeah.

709
00:35:51,180 --> 00:35:51,540
Got it.

710
00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:54,180
Um, what was I gonna ask?

711
00:35:54,780 --> 00:35:58,980
Like, the a DA stuff is, is definitely
very interesting to me just because

712
00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:03,300
like back in the old days when I ran
the shop, we, we didn't do a DA signage.

713
00:36:03,300 --> 00:36:08,070
And, and for me it was like, I, I
see this, I know people who are doing

714
00:36:08,070 --> 00:36:09,510
it, like what's actually involved.

715
00:36:09,515 --> 00:36:14,820
But it, like, for you guys, it is probably
like more than the actual production.

716
00:36:14,825 --> 00:36:18,540
It, it is like a service offering more
than just like the signage, right?

717
00:36:19,455 --> 00:36:19,785
Yeah.

718
00:36:19,785 --> 00:36:19,995
Yeah.

719
00:36:19,995 --> 00:36:24,524
I mean, we, it's, we'll take it, we
will take your plans, we'll tell you

720
00:36:24,524 --> 00:36:26,085
what you need, where you need it.

721
00:36:26,714 --> 00:36:31,424
Um, so it's a consultative approach as
well as an educational approach saying,

722
00:36:31,725 --> 00:36:35,745
and then we kinda weave in the way
finding with, with the a DA packages.

723
00:36:35,745 --> 00:36:39,315
So, um, it all, it all starts
as the customer is the ba,

724
00:36:39,345 --> 00:36:40,694
like the, the starting point.

725
00:36:40,725 --> 00:36:45,645
How can we educate our customers and,
and let them know this is a service

726
00:36:45,645 --> 00:36:49,335
we offer, this is how it can help you
and we'll take care of it for you.

727
00:36:49,665 --> 00:36:52,305
So we, but we go from
design to to creation.

728
00:36:52,305 --> 00:36:55,245
So I mean, nothing, what, nothing we

729
00:36:55,245 --> 00:36:55,455
don't

730
00:36:55,455 --> 00:36:55,605
do.

731
00:36:55,609 --> 00:36:58,754
Where, where, where does estimating
like come into the process?

732
00:36:59,714 --> 00:37:03,375
So right after, typically we throw out
like a handful of designs to the customer

733
00:37:03,375 --> 00:37:06,705
based on their, like a finished schedule
for a facility that they're moving into.

734
00:37:07,125 --> 00:37:09,435
And then we generate some
ideas and kind of have them.

735
00:37:10,125 --> 00:37:11,355
Narrow those down.

736
00:37:11,895 --> 00:37:17,205
Um, and then once we provide, they have
a concept that they like, then we kind

737
00:37:17,205 --> 00:37:19,634
of give them a, a, a price per unit.

738
00:37:20,384 --> 00:37:23,325
And then if they, if they see that price
and need to value engineer, then we can

739
00:37:23,325 --> 00:37:28,065
kind of back out some different things
to, to help that process for them.

740
00:37:28,365 --> 00:37:29,325
But we don't, yeah.

741
00:37:29,325 --> 00:37:33,705
So we kind of give them design
first before we can provide budgets.

742
00:37:34,275 --> 00:37:34,785
Gotcha.

743
00:37:34,904 --> 00:37:35,205
Yeah.

744
00:37:35,924 --> 00:37:36,315
Yeah.

745
00:37:36,315 --> 00:37:40,245
I imagine like it, depending on like
the number of layers of materials you're

746
00:37:40,245 --> 00:37:43,665
using and, you know, placement size.

747
00:37:43,665 --> 00:37:43,725
Yeah.

748
00:37:43,725 --> 00:37:45,285
All of that goes into, yeah.

749
00:37:45,290 --> 00:37:45,495
I mean,

750
00:37:45,495 --> 00:37:47,775
people come to me and go,
Hey, can you get an eight?

751
00:37:47,835 --> 00:37:49,634
Can you gimme a price
on an eight by 10 sign?

752
00:37:49,634 --> 00:37:54,674
Well, yeah, but what, I mean, what do you
like, there's a million different things

753
00:37:54,944 --> 00:37:55,214
I do.

754
00:37:56,145 --> 00:37:56,984
It doesn't mean anything.

755
00:37:56,990 --> 00:37:57,109
Yeah.

756
00:37:57,109 --> 00:37:57,310
Right.

757
00:37:58,035 --> 00:37:58,125
Yep.

758
00:37:58,830 --> 00:38:01,590
So, so like everything is quoted per sign.

759
00:38:01,590 --> 00:38:04,290
Do you guys have like project
management fees and like

760
00:38:04,290 --> 00:38:06,060
installations tacked on top of that?

761
00:38:06,065 --> 00:38:09,000
Or is like, Hey, that's
part of what we provide.

762
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:13,650
It's like, Hey, you need a
hundred of these signs for

763
00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:15,720
150 bucks a sign or whatever.

764
00:38:15,720 --> 00:38:19,470
We'll, design, manage,
install, do all of that.

765
00:38:20,130 --> 00:38:20,310
Yeah.

766
00:38:20,310 --> 00:38:24,060
So we break, we break all that out so
that on our, on our like proposals to

767
00:38:24,065 --> 00:38:25,530
our customers, it's all broken out.

768
00:38:25,590 --> 00:38:29,130
Um, typically like if we go through
design and the customer, the

769
00:38:29,130 --> 00:38:32,190
customer approves the project we go
through, it's kind of like just, we

770
00:38:32,430 --> 00:38:33,960
consider that part of the process.

771
00:38:34,260 --> 00:38:36,420
So it's never, it's not a
line item on their quote.

772
00:38:36,450 --> 00:38:39,810
We just consider that cost,
cost of business with that,

773
00:38:40,830 --> 00:38:42,630
that, um, that portion.

774
00:38:43,170 --> 00:38:45,720
Um, but install, yeah,
we'll look at drive time.

775
00:38:45,725 --> 00:38:49,080
We separate all that out based
on location of the customer.

776
00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:53,070
How many signs, difficulty of mounting
the signs, depending on what they are.

777
00:38:54,060 --> 00:38:54,569
So, yeah.

778
00:38:54,569 --> 00:38:58,950
But if we do like strictly on
consultation, like if an architect

779
00:38:58,950 --> 00:39:01,319
calls us, says, Hey, we need
you to develop a sign package.

780
00:39:01,319 --> 00:39:03,060
Of course we charge for, for all that.

781
00:39:03,060 --> 00:39:06,689
There is, there is a fee for
our time for that, even if we

782
00:39:06,689 --> 00:39:09,089
don't manufacture the package.

783
00:39:09,209 --> 00:39:09,390
Gotcha.

784
00:39:11,069 --> 00:39:11,310
Yeah.

785
00:39:11,314 --> 00:39:15,689
And, and to me that seems like
almost like the, the most valuable

786
00:39:15,689 --> 00:39:16,770
part of the process, right?

787
00:39:16,770 --> 00:39:18,060
Is the knowledge you guys bring to the

788
00:39:18,060 --> 00:39:18,540
table.

789
00:39:19,229 --> 00:39:19,589
Yeah.

790
00:39:19,649 --> 00:39:19,919
Yeah.

791
00:39:19,919 --> 00:39:21,089
That just correct me if I'm wrong.

792
00:39:21,750 --> 00:39:22,020
Yeah.

793
00:39:22,020 --> 00:39:26,759
Just to let somebody know that, listen,
this may be daunting to you, but if you

794
00:39:27,060 --> 00:39:29,729
partner with us on this, we can walk
you through the whole thing and it'll

795
00:39:29,729 --> 00:39:31,560
be, we'll make it as simple as possible.

796
00:39:33,435 --> 00:39:33,884
It's kind of, it

797
00:39:33,884 --> 00:39:35,625
kinda like the accountant thing, right?

798
00:39:36,165 --> 00:39:40,995
Like I, I know the basics of finance,
but like I do, I want to put my

799
00:39:40,995 --> 00:39:44,535
own knowledge on the line that I
don't get audited by the IRS or,

800
00:39:44,535 --> 00:39:46,484
or have some other consequences.

801
00:39:46,484 --> 00:39:47,085
I, I definitely

802
00:39:47,089 --> 00:39:48,314
don't, yeah.

803
00:39:48,314 --> 00:39:51,285
If I, if I take over, first thing
I'm doing is hiring full, full

804
00:39:51,285 --> 00:39:55,515
scale accountant to do every bit
of, every bit of information I got.

805
00:39:58,665 --> 00:40:05,879
Uh, hey, so what's a, like, we've had
people on the podcast that like, have,

806
00:40:06,075 --> 00:40:09,615
have grown up in family businesses, they
work with their wives type of thing.

807
00:40:10,095 --> 00:40:14,205
Like, what is it, what's it, what's
it like working in a family business?

808
00:40:14,205 --> 00:40:19,274
Like, do you, do you have disagreements
with your, your mom and your dad?

809
00:40:19,274 --> 00:40:21,075
Is your grandpa still in the business?

810
00:40:21,075 --> 00:40:23,685
Um, my grandpa is retired.

811
00:40:23,685 --> 00:40:25,154
What's the, what's the dynamic?

812
00:40:25,154 --> 00:40:25,214
I.

813
00:40:26,250 --> 00:40:27,750
So grandfather's retired.

814
00:40:27,779 --> 00:40:32,939
My, my, my mom focuses on the, um,
the award side of the business.

815
00:40:32,939 --> 00:40:36,509
Like she, she's over that
sector of the business.

816
00:40:36,990 --> 00:40:38,970
So my father runs the signage part.

817
00:40:39,450 --> 00:40:43,350
Um, so working with him, it is been,
it's been fun, but it's also been hard.

818
00:40:43,410 --> 00:40:47,069
Um, he and I don't see eye to
eye on next steps a lot of times,

819
00:40:47,069 --> 00:40:49,680
like hiring a sales guy per se.

820
00:40:50,370 --> 00:40:50,759
Um, okay.

821
00:40:51,480 --> 00:40:56,100
But, but I, I thought it was important
enough and I, uh, pestered the piss

822
00:40:56,100 --> 00:40:58,259
out of him enough to, to where he
was finally like, all right, we'll

823
00:40:58,265 --> 00:40:59,640
give this, we'll give this a try.

824
00:40:59,669 --> 00:41:02,819
Like, let's, let's do
this thing and we'll see.

825
00:41:03,180 --> 00:41:04,049
We'll see how it goes.

826
00:41:05,040 --> 00:41:07,859
So, yeah, my sister's a
senior project manager here.

827
00:41:07,859 --> 00:41:09,870
So I mean, we all work well together.

828
00:41:10,259 --> 00:41:12,089
Uh, we definitely have our disagreements.

829
00:41:12,765 --> 00:41:15,255
There's also non-family people
here, so we kind of keep those

830
00:41:15,255 --> 00:41:16,755
disagreements behind a closed door.

831
00:41:16,755 --> 00:41:19,275
So nobody, nobody needs
to worry about their job.

832
00:41:19,580 --> 00:41:19,799
It,

833
00:41:21,105 --> 00:41:22,424
so it's not super awkward.

834
00:41:22,424 --> 00:41:25,005
Like what is it like at
Thanksgiving dinner with the family?

835
00:41:25,005 --> 00:41:30,555
Like do you guys, do you guys try to turn
like the business side of it off or is

836
00:41:30,560 --> 00:41:35,654
it like a lot of folks where it's just
like, we talk signage all day, every day,

837
00:41:36,045 --> 00:41:37,725
man, you took the, you
took the words right

838
00:41:38,625 --> 00:41:40,545
with like Christmas
right around the corner.

839
00:41:40,545 --> 00:41:43,065
I kind of wanna know what
like Christmas dinner is going

840
00:41:43,065 --> 00:41:46,424
to feel like with you guys.

841
00:41:46,455 --> 00:41:47,924
Like do you talk shop?

842
00:41:48,345 --> 00:41:51,255
Do you argue about projects
like how long that took?

843
00:41:51,495 --> 00:41:52,875
You gotta carved a Turkey now.

844
00:41:52,920 --> 00:41:53,200
Yeah.

845
00:41:56,025 --> 00:41:56,384
Yeah.

846
00:41:56,384 --> 00:42:02,205
So Thanksgiving we, we get together with
my grandfather and grandmother, and he's

847
00:42:02,205 --> 00:42:05,685
the one who started the business, so
he likes to talk about it because he's

848
00:42:05,685 --> 00:42:07,545
not really around that much anymore.

849
00:42:08,595 --> 00:42:09,975
Christmas if we try to talk about it.

850
00:42:09,975 --> 00:42:12,255
We're mostly at my mother and
father's house, so our, my mom

851
00:42:12,255 --> 00:42:14,235
will be like, y'all need to stop
talking about business right now.

852
00:42:14,240 --> 00:42:17,235
We got, this is, we're,
we're closed for a reason.

853
00:42:17,685 --> 00:42:21,975
Um, so we, we try to shut it off
as much as possible, but it's

854
00:42:21,980 --> 00:42:26,955
a disease that we all suffer
from, and that's signs 24 7, so.

855
00:42:28,275 --> 00:42:28,485
Okay.

856
00:42:29,805 --> 00:42:30,225
Got it.

857
00:42:30,945 --> 00:42:34,605
Like, have, have you already
like, discussed transition

858
00:42:34,610 --> 00:42:36,765
plans, uh, or things like that?

859
00:42:36,765 --> 00:42:38,145
Or you're not at that stage yet?

860
00:42:39,075 --> 00:42:40,245
Not at that stage yet.

861
00:42:40,305 --> 00:42:44,775
Um, but it's never too early
for a, a plan to, to start.

862
00:42:45,315 --> 00:42:49,485
Um, that's actually one of my next steps
on my list is like, Hey, let's round up

863
00:42:49,635 --> 00:42:53,055
everybody that needs to talk about this
and let's start working on a, a plan.

864
00:42:53,685 --> 00:42:57,615
Uh, because I mean, as you guys
know, the years just speed by.

865
00:42:57,615 --> 00:43:01,395
So before long, it'll, it'll
be time and we need to have

866
00:43:01,395 --> 00:43:02,655
a plan and be ready for that.

867
00:43:03,420 --> 00:43:04,435
Yeah, I, and I,

868
00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:09,240
I, and I think that's a, like the
transition or, or like handing down,

869
00:43:09,420 --> 00:43:13,110
we, we've got a lot of folks in
our community that are, are nearing

870
00:43:13,110 --> 00:43:18,510
retirement age and like, so is the kids
want nothing to do with the business.

871
00:43:18,870 --> 00:43:19,140
Right.

872
00:43:19,140 --> 00:43:21,780
And at that point it's
like, what do we do?

873
00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:25,410
You know, like I always just assumed I was
gonna hand this down to the kids and, you

874
00:43:25,410 --> 00:43:27,360
know, it's kind of a, a sticky situation.

875
00:43:27,930 --> 00:43:28,320
Uh, right.

876
00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:32,610
And then there's other folks like that
are in your position where like, you're

877
00:43:32,610 --> 00:43:36,630
coming up, you're gonna take over the
business and the not so distant future,

878
00:43:37,140 --> 00:43:41,910
like managing that transition I can
imagine is, I, I like, if you don't do

879
00:43:41,910 --> 00:43:48,450
it well, it's, it very detrimental to
your own health, mental health and to the

880
00:43:48,450 --> 00:43:50,730
business as well, like, yeah, absolutely.

881
00:43:50,970 --> 00:43:54,990
Do you guys like, what, what's the average
age of like all your employees now?

882
00:43:54,990 --> 00:43:56,550
Or like, are you guys, I.

883
00:43:57,320 --> 00:44:01,005
Um, do you have a lot of employees
nearing retirement age as well, or

884
00:44:01,575 --> 00:44:03,135
no, not, not really.

885
00:44:03,135 --> 00:44:08,865
I mean, we've got, we've got a good mix
of, of young and, and seasoned I'll say.

886
00:44:09,465 --> 00:44:12,915
I mean, we've got probably a handful
that are close to retirement, but

887
00:44:13,275 --> 00:44:16,755
we've, we definitely have some, some
younger people that'll, that'll lord

888
00:44:16,755 --> 00:44:18,645
willing continue to, to work here.

889
00:44:18,975 --> 00:44:25,215
Um, even up through the transition
point in eight or 10 years, I, I think

890
00:44:25,215 --> 00:44:30,345
we've kind of positioned ourselves well
in that respect to where we've kind

891
00:44:30,345 --> 00:44:34,185
of balanced our workforce to where we
wouldn't be totally without, you know?

892
00:44:35,865 --> 00:44:36,225
Yeah.

893
00:44:36,405 --> 00:44:39,975
Well, I, I, just in general, I think
that's a concern of mine, you know,

894
00:44:39,975 --> 00:44:46,575
as a a, as like, we, we all get older,
you know, and, and the industry is

895
00:44:47,775 --> 00:44:50,145
like, if you've been in the industry,
you can't get away from it, right?

896
00:44:50,145 --> 00:44:50,560
But Right.

897
00:44:50,560 --> 00:44:53,775
How do we attract new people, a that.

898
00:44:54,585 --> 00:44:58,035
They're willing to invest the
time necessary to actually do the

899
00:44:58,035 --> 00:44:59,865
job, to the level it requires.

900
00:44:59,865 --> 00:45:00,165
Right?

901
00:45:00,525 --> 00:45:00,615
Yeah.

902
00:45:00,615 --> 00:45:03,705
It, it's not like you can bring
anybody off the street and within,

903
00:45:04,365 --> 00:45:07,755
you know, three weeks have them up and
running and, and actually producing

904
00:45:07,755 --> 00:45:10,005
a DA signage or managing a project.

905
00:45:10,005 --> 00:45:10,215
Right.

906
00:45:10,215 --> 00:45:10,216
Sure.

907
00:45:10,220 --> 00:45:10,940
It's just not possible.

908
00:45:12,015 --> 00:45:12,345
Sure.

909
00:45:12,405 --> 00:45:18,115
And especially too, like I, somebody told
me a stat the other day was, by 20 28,

910
00:45:18,115 --> 00:45:21,015
50 2% of the workforce is gonna be Gen Z.

911
00:45:22,065 --> 00:45:23,295
And that scares me to death.

912
00:45:24,525 --> 00:45:27,735
Like, because you just don't, you
just don't know what you're gonna get.

913
00:45:28,515 --> 00:45:29,325
I mean, right.

914
00:45:29,680 --> 00:45:30,885
Do do you wanna work?

915
00:45:30,885 --> 00:45:33,075
Well, if you wanna work, do
you wanna work in a sign shop?

916
00:45:33,105 --> 00:45:34,245
Do you wanna get in a crane truck?

917
00:45:34,245 --> 00:45:39,435
Do you wanna, I mean, I, I was born
into a sign business pretty much,

918
00:45:39,440 --> 00:45:43,425
and I didn't even really think about
signs for half of, I mean, half of my.

919
00:45:44,565 --> 00:45:48,015
Career, like growing up, like I was just
like, I didn't really think about it

920
00:45:48,015 --> 00:45:49,484
until I was immersed in it, you know?

921
00:45:49,484 --> 00:45:53,415
So, I mean, people drive by signs every
day and it's like, almost like they don't

922
00:45:53,415 --> 00:45:55,275
exist, you know, until they, they need it.

923
00:45:56,654 --> 00:45:56,895
Yeah.

924
00:45:57,884 --> 00:45:58,065
Right.

925
00:45:58,069 --> 00:46:00,915
And now it's like you drive by
and you're like, Hey honey, honey.

926
00:46:01,004 --> 00:46:02,115
Like we, we did that one.

927
00:46:02,115 --> 00:46:02,865
We did this one.

928
00:46:03,674 --> 00:46:04,004
Yep.

929
00:46:04,605 --> 00:46:06,134
And she's like, enough already.

930
00:46:07,275 --> 00:46:07,935
Exactly.

931
00:46:08,055 --> 00:46:08,654
Exactly.

932
00:46:09,045 --> 00:46:15,435
Well, um, like we've covered a lot,
like, you know, we've already touched on

933
00:46:15,585 --> 00:46:17,415
like what it's like inside the business.

934
00:46:17,415 --> 00:46:23,055
You know, we, looking at my notes
here, like inside the market, you know,

935
00:46:23,535 --> 00:46:27,464
one question that I do have is, is
like, you know, you mentioned getting

936
00:46:27,464 --> 00:46:31,815
the people to buy into the business
and into like the ethos, but like.

937
00:46:33,480 --> 00:46:34,290
That's one thing.

938
00:46:34,380 --> 00:46:34,590
Right.

939
00:46:34,590 --> 00:46:38,400
But keeping somebody around 20 plus
years is like a totally different thing,

940
00:46:38,400 --> 00:46:40,860
especially in today's climate, like Sure.

941
00:46:40,920 --> 00:46:43,770
Is there, is there any advice you
could give to, to somebody else?

942
00:46:43,770 --> 00:46:48,330
Because like, one of the biggest
challenges, if you ask anybody inside,

943
00:46:48,330 --> 00:46:51,150
like the better sign shop community,
like the Facebook group we have

944
00:46:51,150 --> 00:46:53,610
for owners, I can't find good help.

945
00:46:53,610 --> 00:46:54,840
I can't keep good help.

946
00:46:55,560 --> 00:47:00,540
Like how, how have you guys managed to
keep people around for 15, 20 years?

947
00:47:00,960 --> 00:47:04,140
Is it, Hey, you pay more than most you.

948
00:47:04,235 --> 00:47:06,660
I, I feel like that's,
there's more to it than that,

949
00:47:06,660 --> 00:47:06,990
right?

950
00:47:07,440 --> 00:47:07,920
Yeah.

951
00:47:07,920 --> 00:47:09,690
I mean, yeah.

952
00:47:09,690 --> 00:47:13,230
And there's always somebody too that's
gonna offer more money than you just

953
00:47:13,620 --> 00:47:17,700
because if they find, like, if they're,
they're after people, they're gonna be

954
00:47:17,705 --> 00:47:18,960
like, oh, I'll throw more money at 'em.

955
00:47:19,470 --> 00:47:24,720
But I mean really like, because
the people we have, that's the

956
00:47:24,725 --> 00:47:26,400
reason we can do what we do.

957
00:47:27,090 --> 00:47:28,049
Um, I just, I.

958
00:47:28,660 --> 00:47:32,205
I don't, I don't know how to word it
without saying the same thing over

959
00:47:32,205 --> 00:47:36,705
and over again, you know, but I just,
like, our people are important to us.

960
00:47:36,705 --> 00:47:39,404
Like we wanna take care of
them like they are our family.

961
00:47:39,884 --> 00:47:42,705
And I think that that creates
an environment that makes

962
00:47:42,705 --> 00:47:44,984
them comfortable working here.

963
00:47:45,524 --> 00:47:47,444
And, and they, and they
stick around for it.

964
00:47:48,615 --> 00:47:52,455
It's not, I mean, it's not for lack
of, of, there's mistakes that are made

965
00:47:52,515 --> 00:47:56,325
and we, we cross those bridges when we
get to 'em with, with whoever it is.

966
00:47:57,495 --> 00:48:00,915
But we're not gonna, we
understand mistakes happen.

967
00:48:01,455 --> 00:48:02,984
We're not gonna beat you
over the head about it.

968
00:48:04,004 --> 00:48:05,955
We, we treat people how
we wanna be treated.

969
00:48:06,194 --> 00:48:08,955
I mean, it's, it just boils
down to that simple thing.

970
00:48:08,955 --> 00:48:14,625
For me, it's just getting the people
on our team that have the same kind of

971
00:48:14,625 --> 00:48:20,415
value and outlook that we do that can
make us function together and continue

972
00:48:20,415 --> 00:48:23,055
to provide good service to our customers.

973
00:48:24,495 --> 00:48:26,444
So like, if I'm hearing you, it's.

974
00:48:27,029 --> 00:48:29,970
Like, just to parrott it back to you,
is it basically the culture that you

975
00:48:29,970 --> 00:48:32,430
guys have instilled at the company?

976
00:48:32,430 --> 00:48:32,490
Yeah.

977
00:48:32,520 --> 00:48:33,600
I, I, yeah.

978
00:48:33,600 --> 00:48:35,370
I think the, I think
culture's a big thing.

979
00:48:35,819 --> 00:48:40,379
Um, and just being honest, just doing
what we say we're gonna do with our

980
00:48:40,384 --> 00:48:44,370
customers and if, and the mistakes
made, own up to it and fix it and,

981
00:48:44,370 --> 00:48:50,189
and then that will make you look, look
great as well, the way you respond to

982
00:48:50,189 --> 00:48:54,450
adversity, um, as opposed to like kicking
under the rug or just disappearing.

983
00:48:55,979 --> 00:48:56,520
Talk about your

984
00:48:56,520 --> 00:48:58,229
culture for just a quick second.

985
00:48:58,950 --> 00:49:05,279
Um, I love that you said that, and
I love that you recognize that it's

986
00:49:05,279 --> 00:49:07,350
a major component to your success.

987
00:49:08,009 --> 00:49:15,930
Um, but are you, is your team full
of members that buy in or are there

988
00:49:15,930 --> 00:49:18,629
a couple of bad eggs that, you
know, you have to work through and

989
00:49:18,629 --> 00:49:19,410
massage around?

990
00:49:20,939 --> 00:49:24,415
Right, right now at this time we have, I.

991
00:49:24,945 --> 00:49:27,135
The most solid team that
we've had in our history.

992
00:49:27,735 --> 00:49:32,235
We had some people leave,
um, not too long ago.

993
00:49:32,265 --> 00:49:37,875
Well, it's been a while now, but it was
a little resistant to that and didn't

994
00:49:39,225 --> 00:49:45,435
just, yeah, just didn't really fit in
that we're kind of not the communicative

995
00:49:45,435 --> 00:49:48,615
type to, to foster that team environment.

996
00:49:48,615 --> 00:49:51,915
And it just, it was kind of like walking
on eggshells around a couple of them,

997
00:49:51,915 --> 00:49:53,475
but they're, they're no longer here.

998
00:49:54,105 --> 00:49:58,545
But I feel like now we've, we've
set up a team to where everybody

999
00:49:58,550 --> 00:50:01,725
feels a part of the team and
wants to be a part of that team.

1000
00:50:03,285 --> 00:50:03,495
Yeah.

1001
00:50:03,645 --> 00:50:08,295
You mentioned communication, like do you
guys have any, like, specific protocols

1002
00:50:08,300 --> 00:50:14,175
or, or like anything like, you know,
are you doing like one-on-one meetings

1003
00:50:14,175 --> 00:50:16,695
with your, your project managers?

1004
00:50:16,700 --> 00:50:20,415
Do you guys have like team
meetings, like, you know Yeah.

1005
00:50:20,415 --> 00:50:20,685
Kinda.

1006
00:50:20,685 --> 00:50:21,735
What's the dynamic there?

1007
00:50:21,735 --> 00:50:21,795
I.

1008
00:50:22,410 --> 00:50:24,870
Yeah, that's a, that's a
good, that's a good question.

1009
00:50:24,930 --> 00:50:30,060
Um, so I do one-on-one meetings with
every project manager and Des and the

1010
00:50:30,060 --> 00:50:35,010
two designers the first Monday of every
month to kind of get the state of the

1011
00:50:35,010 --> 00:50:37,320
union of what they're like working on.

1012
00:50:37,860 --> 00:50:42,570
But my door is always open and they know
they can, they can come to me whenever

1013
00:50:42,570 --> 00:50:44,670
they have a question and, and see that.

1014
00:50:44,670 --> 00:50:51,120
And in production, we have a, um, a
daily standup that is at three o'clock

1015
00:50:51,180 --> 00:50:53,430
before shift is over at three 30.

1016
00:50:53,940 --> 00:50:58,230
Um, for our in-house production
team, um, we kind of go through what

1017
00:50:58,350 --> 00:51:01,380
was accomplished, what orders may
be coming up that they need to know

1018
00:51:01,380 --> 00:51:05,340
about, and what kind of installs we're,
we're setting up for the next day.

1019
00:51:05,640 --> 00:51:07,890
So our installers know what
they're, what they're gonna go

1020
00:51:07,890 --> 00:51:09,840
out and do, uh, in the morning.

1021
00:51:10,380 --> 00:51:16,080
Um, because they roll out between,
uh, 7 15, 7 30, um, in the morning.

1022
00:51:16,085 --> 00:51:18,810
So we like to have that time at the
end of the previous day to kind of

1023
00:51:19,110 --> 00:51:20,190
let them know what they're up to.

1024
00:51:20,759 --> 00:51:21,120
Gotcha.

1025
00:51:21,270 --> 00:51:24,120
On on those one-On-ones, like
what's the, what do you guys

1026
00:51:24,120 --> 00:51:24,690
focus on?

1027
00:51:26,130 --> 00:51:29,009
Uh, I try to give them
the most time to talk.

1028
00:51:29,009 --> 00:51:31,980
Like just if they wanna talk about
their family, talk about your family.

1029
00:51:32,460 --> 00:51:36,180
If you, and then give, we'll
talk about Project Rundown, um,

1030
00:51:36,180 --> 00:51:39,420
and kind of get just, just the
status of what they're working on.

1031
00:51:39,420 --> 00:51:43,950
And if they can take more work, they
let me know that and I can, I can

1032
00:51:44,370 --> 00:51:47,430
take projects that come in and send
them to them and just, it's just kind

1033
00:51:47,430 --> 00:51:51,120
of like a, a feedback kind of area.

1034
00:51:51,125 --> 00:51:53,850
Like, Hey, are they struggling with
something that they need my help with?

1035
00:51:53,850 --> 00:51:58,680
Or if, if they just need more, need
more detail on a project or, or

1036
00:51:58,680 --> 00:52:03,090
need a project to, to follow up when
they're about to finish, I'm so,

1037
00:52:03,180 --> 00:52:04,890
I'm so glad to hear you say that, man.

1038
00:52:05,460 --> 00:52:09,540
Like a one-on-ones for me,
when I was managing a team.

1039
00:52:10,755 --> 00:52:16,575
The most effective thing that I had in,
in my arsenal as a manager was like a

1040
00:52:16,575 --> 00:52:20,415
building that relationship with the team
and, and just giving space like, hey, if

1041
00:52:20,415 --> 00:52:24,225
they wanted to talk about their family or
what they've got going on, that's fine.

1042
00:52:24,735 --> 00:52:29,505
Like, you've got 15, 20 minutes and
then like, we'll take the next 15,

1043
00:52:29,505 --> 00:52:33,615
20 minutes to talk about work in the
future and, and what's coming up.

1044
00:52:33,615 --> 00:52:40,395
But, uh, so many people that I talked
to overlook that I was like, you

1045
00:52:40,400 --> 00:52:45,645
know, that's the, I think that's like
a, a, a really strong foundation for

1046
00:52:45,650 --> 00:52:49,965
like the culture and, and like your
people, you gotta have that, that

1047
00:52:49,965 --> 00:52:53,715
relationship, right, because that's,
that's the capital that everybody's

1048
00:52:53,715 --> 00:52:55,965
operating from inside the shop, right?

1049
00:52:55,970 --> 00:52:56,060
Yeah.

1050
00:52:56,350 --> 00:52:56,700
Right.

1051
00:52:56,705 --> 00:53:01,875
If you've got that relationship, you
could come to somebody and say, Hey, I,

1052
00:53:02,205 --> 00:53:04,965
you know, this one didn't go really well.

1053
00:53:04,995 --> 00:53:07,155
Like, there were some
mistakes that were made.

1054
00:53:08,520 --> 00:53:09,299
I'm not worried.

1055
00:53:09,299 --> 00:53:10,200
I trust you.

1056
00:53:10,200 --> 00:53:13,200
Like I I know next time
it, it will be different.

1057
00:53:13,529 --> 00:53:13,830
Right?

1058
00:53:14,700 --> 00:53:15,060
Right.

1059
00:53:16,740 --> 00:53:16,980
Yeah.

1060
00:53:16,980 --> 00:53:19,589
I think that's the important thing is
like that just building that foundation

1061
00:53:19,595 --> 00:53:23,790
with our, our people on our team is
like, listen, we, we care about you.

1062
00:53:24,000 --> 00:53:29,069
Um, not only because you work here and
you, you're part of the team, but like,

1063
00:53:29,069 --> 00:53:32,430
how is stuff outside of, um, of the shop?

1064
00:53:32,430 --> 00:53:33,330
Can we help you?

1065
00:53:34,379 --> 00:53:35,370
Can we help you move?

1066
00:53:35,370 --> 00:53:36,149
Like, are you moving?

1067
00:53:36,149 --> 00:53:39,120
Do we need to, do we need to send
a van over there to help you if

1068
00:53:39,120 --> 00:53:40,319
you're gonna bind or, or something.

1069
00:53:40,350 --> 00:53:42,450
I mean, it's just whatever we
can do for our people to make

1070
00:53:42,810 --> 00:53:46,589
their work life and their life
easier, we'll, we'll do our best.

1071
00:53:47,205 --> 00:53:47,595
Awesome.

1072
00:53:47,865 --> 00:53:49,785
Um, James, any other advice?

1073
00:53:49,965 --> 00:53:52,905
Like, you've got kind
of a, a soapbox here.

1074
00:53:52,910 --> 00:53:56,445
Are there, is there any topics
or any, anything you'd like

1075
00:53:56,450 --> 00:53:57,735
to share with the audience?

1076
00:53:57,885 --> 00:53:58,305
Um,

1077
00:53:58,605 --> 00:54:01,725
you know, big thing for me is
just, just do what you say.

1078
00:54:01,785 --> 00:54:04,635
I mean, I think that's the, one of
the biggest things is like, if you're

1079
00:54:04,635 --> 00:54:07,905
gonna promise something to somebody,
make sure you follow through on it.

1080
00:54:08,205 --> 00:54:13,905
Just, just because not only should you be
doing that, but that as a, as a business

1081
00:54:13,905 --> 00:54:19,665
person, that'll take you far and beyond
what, what just saying I can provide

1082
00:54:19,665 --> 00:54:22,695
you a good product will, will take you.

1083
00:54:23,115 --> 00:54:26,595
Um, and just, just be in there for
your customers and ready to answer

1084
00:54:26,595 --> 00:54:27,765
the call when they need your help.

1085
00:54:27,885 --> 00:54:29,955
Whether it be a long
lead time or in a pinch.

1086
00:54:30,675 --> 00:54:32,085
Um, just show up for 'em.

1087
00:54:32,415 --> 00:54:35,415
Um, fight for 'em if
they, if they need to be.

1088
00:54:35,685 --> 00:54:39,015
I mean, if you're, if they're
running to a tough situation and

1089
00:54:39,020 --> 00:54:42,675
you, you can add your expertise to
the situation and help guide them.

1090
00:54:43,814 --> 00:54:44,105
Yeah.

1091
00:54:44,160 --> 00:54:47,370
I feel like that's 80% just showing up
and doing what you say you're gonna do.

1092
00:54:47,609 --> 00:54:47,850
Yep.

1093
00:54:48,029 --> 00:54:50,220
Uh, it is difficult though,

1094
00:54:50,490 --> 00:54:50,970
honestly.

1095
00:54:51,120 --> 00:54:51,419
Yeah.

1096
00:54:51,750 --> 00:54:51,930
Yeah.

1097
00:54:51,930 --> 00:54:55,350
I mean, especially when you have so
many different customers that you

1098
00:54:55,350 --> 00:54:57,120
want to give that same attention to.

1099
00:54:57,810 --> 00:54:59,819
Sometimes they do, others suffer.

1100
00:55:00,330 --> 00:55:03,390
Um, but you gotta be prepared to, to
pick up that ball and run with it.

1101
00:55:03,959 --> 00:55:04,319
Awesome.

1102
00:55:04,890 --> 00:55:09,120
Um, we, we've talked about the, like
you're hiring the sales rep already, but

1103
00:55:09,660 --> 00:55:11,879
what's the, we asked this to everybody.

1104
00:55:11,879 --> 00:55:13,470
What's, what's the future for you?

1105
00:55:13,470 --> 00:55:14,939
What's the future for the business?

1106
00:55:15,270 --> 00:55:18,540
You know, what do you see
happening in the industry?

1107
00:55:19,230 --> 00:55:20,189
That's always an interesting

1108
00:55:20,189 --> 00:55:20,669
one as well.

1109
00:55:21,600 --> 00:55:21,870
Yeah.

1110
00:55:21,870 --> 00:55:26,459
I'd, I'd love to see how a, I mean,
I know people are real hot on AI

1111
00:55:26,459 --> 00:55:30,839
right now, but like, future of
the industry, how is AI gonna play

1112
00:55:30,839 --> 00:55:33,959
into, uh, just signage in general?

1113
00:55:33,959 --> 00:55:37,470
Like, I'm just super
interested to see that.

1114
00:55:37,470 --> 00:55:39,629
I never really considered that part of.

1115
00:55:40,799 --> 00:55:45,000
Like our business, but I'm, it
can be filtered in wherever.

1116
00:55:45,450 --> 00:55:48,120
Um, but next steps for
us is like a business.

1117
00:55:48,870 --> 00:55:53,939
I really wanna see the sales guy flourish
and just, and, and being able to measure

1118
00:55:53,944 --> 00:55:59,520
that success, um, to see him go out
there and, and pick up different markets.

1119
00:56:00,120 --> 00:56:02,370
Um, I'm excited for that.

1120
00:56:02,640 --> 00:56:07,620
Uh, but then also to see how, like, when
we start developing our transition plan,

1121
00:56:08,399 --> 00:56:10,770
what that looks like 10 years from now.

1122
00:56:11,279 --> 00:56:15,899
Because I'm trying to, like, as director
of project management, I only, I have

1123
00:56:15,899 --> 00:56:21,750
my own team and projects, but I want
to start working on the business as

1124
00:56:21,750 --> 00:56:25,919
well and building that for when the
transition occurs, as opposed to just

1125
00:56:25,919 --> 00:56:30,209
working in the business all the way
up, up to it, and then like quitting

1126
00:56:30,209 --> 00:56:36,060
cold Turkey because that, that really
would establish the transition.

1127
00:56:37,470 --> 00:56:38,399
Right, right.

1128
00:56:39,150 --> 00:56:42,540
It's a, a major challenge for
a lot of folks that we talk to.

1129
00:56:42,540 --> 00:56:46,470
Like getting out of that mindset
of like, Hey, I'm knee deep in

1130
00:56:46,470 --> 00:56:51,060
projects all day, versus like, what
is the, the strategy side of it?

1131
00:56:51,060 --> 00:56:52,830
You know, what's, what's
the future for the business?

1132
00:56:52,830 --> 00:56:56,790
Where do we need to point things
to go the right direction?

1133
00:56:58,020 --> 00:57:00,090
Pete, any closing shots?

1134
00:57:00,150 --> 00:57:03,540
Any final questions for
James before we let him go?

1135
00:57:04,620 --> 00:57:05,880
There's a couple of shots.

1136
00:57:05,910 --> 00:57:06,120
Pop.

1137
00:57:07,980 --> 00:57:08,640
I deserve it.

1138
00:57:08,640 --> 00:57:09,060
Probably.

1139
00:57:11,580 --> 00:57:14,819
Listen, I think you've got a really
great organization going on here.

1140
00:57:14,825 --> 00:57:20,160
I love that your men in, the people on
your team, your breathing, integrity,

1141
00:57:20,250 --> 00:57:23,790
honesty, being men and women of
high integrity is a big part of

1142
00:57:24,150 --> 00:57:26,400
establishing that baseline culture.

1143
00:57:27,480 --> 00:57:31,290
Uh, but one of the things that
are for me, that culture, I.

1144
00:57:31,860 --> 00:57:36,480
As a whole, you know, if we're
looking at, uh, the C word, I know

1145
00:57:36,480 --> 00:57:39,810
people like to throw it around very
loosely and they think that they have

1146
00:57:39,815 --> 00:57:43,320
a culture and they think that they,
you know, the way that they do things

1147
00:57:43,320 --> 00:57:44,550
is the way that their culture is.

1148
00:57:44,550 --> 00:57:49,980
But to me it breaks, I break
culture down into four key areas.

1149
00:57:50,010 --> 00:57:50,040
Okay?

1150
00:57:51,660 --> 00:57:54,330
So the first is, I call
it the best culture.

1151
00:57:55,230 --> 00:57:58,380
Uh, so that's an acronym
for B is becoming better.

1152
00:57:58,980 --> 00:58:02,580
So my first question, and let me
get through it here for just a quick

1153
00:58:02,580 --> 00:58:05,040
second, is, uh, becoming better.

1154
00:58:05,040 --> 00:58:10,800
What are you doing to, as an
organization at the ownership level,

1155
00:58:10,800 --> 00:58:14,850
at the employee level of what are
your employees doing to become better?

1156
00:58:15,510 --> 00:58:15,900
Okay.

1157
00:58:16,080 --> 00:58:19,920
The second piece is exceeding
the expectations, which I think

1158
00:58:19,920 --> 00:58:21,600
you've talked a lot about here.

1159
00:58:21,900 --> 00:58:22,650
Um.

1160
00:58:23,400 --> 00:58:28,260
That you have your own foundational
ways of taking what a traditional

1161
00:58:28,260 --> 00:58:31,590
experience is for a customer and
really going above and beyond that.

1162
00:58:31,950 --> 00:58:35,010
So there's another foundational
pillar that I look at and say, wow,

1163
00:58:35,010 --> 00:58:36,510
this guy's really got it going on.

1164
00:58:37,290 --> 00:58:39,540
The next is providing superior service.

1165
00:58:39,545 --> 00:58:43,290
So that's your product, not
your, the way you talk to your

1166
00:58:43,295 --> 00:58:45,090
client, that's your product.

1167
00:58:45,090 --> 00:58:49,740
So I would assume that you guys all have
to buy into a great product that you're

1168
00:58:49,740 --> 00:58:54,150
distributing and then doing so as a team.

1169
00:58:54,840 --> 00:58:55,110
Okay.

1170
00:58:55,110 --> 00:58:59,250
So the, the, the last part of
best is doing it as the teamwork.

1171
00:58:59,250 --> 00:59:06,840
So what cultural elements are you bringing
to become better and to improve your bond

1172
00:59:06,840 --> 00:59:07,470
as a team?

1173
00:59:08,100 --> 00:59:12,510
Yeah, I, I, um, I think
something for us now, I.

1174
00:59:12,930 --> 00:59:18,960
To become better is embracing new
technology just and, and educating

1175
00:59:18,990 --> 00:59:21,180
our team on that new technology.

1176
00:59:21,240 --> 00:59:23,760
Um, and what we can off
different offerings that we

1177
00:59:23,760 --> 00:59:25,140
can give to our customers.

1178
00:59:25,710 --> 00:59:29,100
Um, like I said, we, we purchased
that new direct color systems.

1179
00:59:29,640 --> 00:59:34,290
Um, a DA printer I think is
really gonna kind of revolutionize

1180
00:59:34,530 --> 00:59:36,660
and has the a DA game.

1181
00:59:37,200 --> 00:59:41,700
Um, it just provides so many more
opportunities of, of different signage

1182
00:59:41,700 --> 00:59:44,670
that you can offer to, to client bases.

1183
00:59:45,120 --> 00:59:50,280
Um, so, and, and leadership,
just taking those, taking

1184
00:59:50,280 --> 00:59:51,810
those steps to be open to that.

1185
00:59:51,870 --> 00:59:55,650
'cause I know there's a lot of,
um, companies with, with leadership

1186
00:59:55,740 --> 00:59:57,780
that're kind of stuck in the
ways that things used to be done.

1187
00:59:57,780 --> 01:00:02,340
And it's just like, we're gonna live and
die by weeded and vinyl and applying it to

1188
01:00:02,670 --> 01:00:09,150
an aluminum panel and as opposed to doing
a flatbed print or, um, stuff like that.

1189
01:00:09,150 --> 01:00:10,680
So I think just having.

1190
01:00:11,459 --> 01:00:16,259
Leadership that's willing to listen
to, to steps we need to take to, to

1191
01:00:16,265 --> 01:00:20,250
improve our game and kind of still keep
ourselves at the top of the, the top

1192
01:00:20,250 --> 01:00:22,410
of the scale as far as sign companies.

1193
01:00:22,865 --> 01:00:23,084
And,

1194
01:00:23,279 --> 01:00:25,620
and if they don't listen, then
you just aggravate the piss

1195
01:00:25,620 --> 01:00:26,640
out of 'em, as I heard you say.

1196
01:00:26,910 --> 01:00:27,089
Yep.

1197
01:00:27,095 --> 01:00:27,245
And

1198
01:00:27,245 --> 01:00:28,725
then, and then they, and then they do it.

1199
01:00:32,104 --> 01:00:35,490
Uh, it is strange how effective that is.

1200
01:00:35,729 --> 01:00:38,459
I, I, that's how it works
for me at home anyway.

1201
01:00:39,540 --> 01:00:40,080
Yeah.

1202
01:00:40,080 --> 01:00:44,129
And I think too, like, and it
being the person I'm talking to

1203
01:00:44,134 --> 01:00:45,899
boast about is my, is my father.

1204
01:00:46,319 --> 01:00:50,310
'cause he's, I mean, I report,
I pretty much report to him.

1205
01:00:50,310 --> 01:00:53,669
So it's kind of like, Hey, listen,
I've said this about six times.

1206
01:00:53,669 --> 01:00:55,259
I really think we should do this.

1207
01:00:55,770 --> 01:00:56,399
Okay, fine.

1208
01:00:56,430 --> 01:00:58,410
All right, we'll look, we'll
look at it kind of thing.

1209
01:00:58,979 --> 01:00:59,609
So he.

1210
01:01:00,540 --> 01:01:03,810
When, when he finds something that
I'm passionate about and I, I won't

1211
01:01:03,810 --> 01:01:06,029
let it die, he, he understands it.

1212
01:01:06,270 --> 01:01:10,740
It's, let's take a serious look at this
and just see how it could benefit, uh,

1213
01:01:10,745 --> 01:01:12,990
the organization and our team overall.

1214
01:01:13,770 --> 01:01:13,980
Yeah.

1215
01:01:14,520 --> 01:01:15,120
No, that's great.

1216
01:01:15,720 --> 01:01:16,170
James.

1217
01:01:16,174 --> 01:01:16,650
Man, thank you.

1218
01:01:16,650 --> 01:01:17,730
This has been a great conversation.

1219
01:01:17,730 --> 01:01:19,259
I, I, I knew it would be a good one.

1220
01:01:19,725 --> 01:01:20,850
I, I really enjoyed it.

1221
01:01:21,930 --> 01:01:22,920
Thanks for having you on, man.

1222
01:01:23,460 --> 01:01:28,500
Uh, everybody can find you
guys@rpsigns.net, you know?

1223
01:01:28,980 --> 01:01:32,400
Hey, like, are you, if anybody reaches
out, are you open to chatting to

1224
01:01:32,404 --> 01:01:33,930
other owners that may be listening?

1225
01:01:34,589 --> 01:01:35,520
Yeah, absolutely.

1226
01:01:35,580 --> 01:01:40,859
Um, if just any questions in general,
a DA signage questions, if you want us

1227
01:01:40,859 --> 01:01:44,129
to help you make some signs and ship
'em to your shop, we'll do that too.

1228
01:01:45,720 --> 01:01:47,055
Whatever anybody wants
to talk about, I'm open.

1229
01:01:47,145 --> 01:01:51,615
I've, I've really tried to, to do
that and expand myself in that way.

1230
01:01:52,154 --> 01:01:55,785
Like, moving more into leadership is
just being available for people when they

1231
01:01:55,785 --> 01:01:59,475
need to talk, what doesn't matter really
what it is, but we'll be glad to help.

1232
01:02:00,645 --> 01:02:00,945
Yeah.

1233
01:02:01,065 --> 01:02:02,025
So like, if

1234
01:02:02,025 --> 01:02:07,125
you're listening, you're looking for like
a wholesale provider for Aada, a signage.

1235
01:02:07,125 --> 01:02:11,595
James has, has stated that,
uh, they do a wholesale work.

1236
01:02:11,985 --> 01:02:15,555
Um, and if, if you're like me and you have
no clue about it, I'm sure they would be

1237
01:02:15,555 --> 01:02:20,025
willing to, to lend some time to educate
you and help you sell that as well.

1238
01:02:20,384 --> 01:02:23,025
Um, so Awesome James.

1239
01:02:24,165 --> 01:02:25,455
Super glad to have you on, man.

1240
01:02:25,515 --> 01:02:26,654
I appreciate you joining.

1241
01:02:27,915 --> 01:02:30,075
Hopefully we can come back and
do this again sometime soon.

1242
01:02:30,945 --> 01:02:31,485
Absolutely.

1243
01:02:31,485 --> 01:02:32,145
Thanks Bryant.

1244
01:02:32,715 --> 01:02:33,134
See you Pete.

1245
01:02:34,035 --> 01:02:34,275
See you

1246
01:02:34,275 --> 01:02:34,545
James.

1247
01:02:34,815 --> 01:02:38,805
Alright, so we've wrapped
the conversation with James.

1248
01:02:38,805 --> 01:02:38,865
I.

1249
01:02:39,195 --> 01:02:42,015
Pete, should we get into
rapid fire takeaways?

1250
01:02:42,015 --> 01:02:44,445
Man, I, I really enjoyed the conversation.

1251
01:02:45,585 --> 01:02:50,655
I, I think we've, for me there's a,
a few things, but I'm gonna hit you.

1252
01:02:51,825 --> 01:02:52,185
Yeah.

1253
01:02:52,425 --> 01:02:53,715
Rapid fire takeaways, man.

1254
01:02:54,195 --> 01:03:01,695
So, first and foremost, I think it's,
I great for our listeners to know that

1255
01:03:01,695 --> 01:03:05,835
there are seasoned shops out there that
have been doing this for a very long

1256
01:03:05,835 --> 01:03:08,025
time without an, an outside sales force.

1257
01:03:09,165 --> 01:03:14,505
And that even a seasoned shop like that,
uh, that specialize in a, in a specific

1258
01:03:14,505 --> 01:03:18,525
type of five, $5 million
without a sales rep, right?

1259
01:03:18,795 --> 01:03:18,975
Yeah.

1260
01:03:19,035 --> 01:03:22,065
That, that, that's,
that's mind blowing to me.

1261
01:03:22,065 --> 01:03:29,205
I mean, I would think that, you know,
I've been around 5, 6, 10, $12 million

1262
01:03:29,205 --> 01:03:33,195
signed businesses that have large
accounts like they do, they have large

1263
01:03:33,200 --> 01:03:36,795
accounts, but they're only getting
those large accounts because of an

1264
01:03:36,795 --> 01:03:38,655
outside sales force I've never heard of.

1265
01:03:39,225 --> 01:03:44,505
Somebody reaching that kind of
plateau without having somebody

1266
01:03:44,925 --> 01:03:46,515
the be the face of the business,

1267
01:03:46,515 --> 01:03:49,485
somebody that's without
beating the drum man.

1268
01:03:50,235 --> 01:03:50,655
Yeah.

1269
01:03:50,655 --> 01:03:52,905
And that, that's, that's remarkable.

1270
01:03:52,905 --> 01:03:58,005
But I do think that that is the
exception to the rule still.

1271
01:03:58,365 --> 01:04:02,715
It's, it was important for us to get
him on here to talk through like how

1272
01:04:02,745 --> 01:04:08,445
your, your $5 million approach is very
similar to a lot of sign shop's approach.

1273
01:04:09,165 --> 01:04:11,205
And he's gonna have some, you
know, I, I don't doubt it.

1274
01:04:11,205 --> 01:04:13,635
I think he's gonna have some
struggles finding that right

1275
01:04:13,635 --> 01:04:14,925
candidate like we all do.

1276
01:04:15,375 --> 01:04:19,845
I hope that, but I, but I, but
I'm confident that they have

1277
01:04:19,845 --> 01:04:21,315
the infrastructure in place.

1278
01:04:21,585 --> 01:04:24,045
They talked about culture, so
I'm confident that they have the

1279
01:04:24,045 --> 01:04:26,505
culture in place that that person.

1280
01:04:27,390 --> 01:04:30,930
Will be able to be retained, uh, uh,
and they're not gonna have like an

1281
01:04:30,930 --> 01:04:38,310
endless revolving door of signs shop
salespeople coming in and out of, you

1282
01:04:38,310 --> 01:04:42,030
know, his business and, uh, and, and
allowing it for it to be a struggle.

1283
01:04:42,030 --> 01:04:48,600
He's got a good foundation, a good,
a good amount of, um, knowledge,

1284
01:04:48,600 --> 01:04:50,550
a good, a good amount of support.

1285
01:04:50,760 --> 01:04:57,270
I think that there's a lot of room for
shadowing and, uh, being out in being

1286
01:04:57,270 --> 01:05:00,870
out in, in the shop and, and meeting
with the designers and the project

1287
01:05:00,870 --> 01:05:04,770
managers and whomever else he's got
working there so that that person can

1288
01:05:04,770 --> 01:05:08,100
have a little bit more of a holistic
understanding of what everybody

1289
01:05:08,100 --> 01:05:09,810
does and their role in the business.

1290
01:05:10,380 --> 01:05:15,120
Uh, you know, if you're a sign
shop that's listening out there

1291
01:05:15,125 --> 01:05:18,240
and you have five people working
for you, you could be chaotic.

1292
01:05:19,110 --> 01:05:22,650
On the other side of that
fence is a non chaotic shop.

1293
01:05:23,160 --> 01:05:28,290
That has structure, it has people in
the right seats, it has systems, it

1294
01:05:28,290 --> 01:05:33,570
has processes, it has the onboarding
steps to bring on employees like this.

1295
01:05:33,570 --> 01:05:37,560
And I think today you heard
of a, of a large, a large

1296
01:05:37,560 --> 01:05:40,290
shop owner who has that dialed

1297
01:05:40,290 --> 01:05:40,500
in.

1298
01:05:42,090 --> 01:05:42,270
Yeah.

1299
01:05:42,930 --> 01:05:46,710
I think the, the number one thing
for me that I heard and picked up on,

1300
01:05:46,950 --> 01:05:48,450
well, yeah, I'll say two things, right?

1301
01:05:48,870 --> 01:05:51,030
You, you've already touched on
culture and I, I think we've

1302
01:05:51,300 --> 01:05:52,560
beat that one really well.

1303
01:05:53,460 --> 01:05:54,330
It's so important.

1304
01:05:54,600 --> 01:05:55,770
So, so important.

1305
01:05:56,190 --> 01:06:00,720
Um, but like the, the tactical piece that,
that James mentioned was that like the

1306
01:06:00,720 --> 01:06:06,600
one-on-ones with his project managers,
um, of just setting aside the time to

1307
01:06:06,600 --> 01:06:09,570
actually build work on that relationship.

1308
01:06:10,110 --> 01:06:14,430
You know, in a small shop, like if
you're the owner, you've got five people

1309
01:06:14,430 --> 01:06:17,940
working for you, is that's the, the
hypothetical that we're dealing with.

1310
01:06:19,589 --> 01:06:22,680
You still have to make time
for, for people to build.

1311
01:06:22,710 --> 01:06:27,690
You gotta build those relationships
with your team so that there's, that's a

1312
01:06:27,690 --> 01:06:32,400
critical component of the culture as well
is like, hey, you know, you hear it from

1313
01:06:32,404 --> 01:06:34,259
like a guys in the military all the time.

1314
01:06:34,259 --> 01:06:36,390
Like, I'm standing shoulder
to shoulder with somebody.

1315
01:06:36,750 --> 01:06:39,540
I know they're gonna get
the job done no matter what.

1316
01:06:40,170 --> 01:06:47,850
And when you have that relationship with,
with the team and leadership, uh, the

1317
01:06:47,850 --> 01:06:51,089
things that you can do, you could get
to 5 million without a sales rep, right?

1318
01:06:51,089 --> 01:06:56,190
You can like under promise, over
deliver every single time You can

1319
01:06:56,190 --> 01:07:01,560
deliver, uh, an impossible project
in four weeks for a client who just

1320
01:07:01,560 --> 01:07:02,940
threw their hands up and said, oops.

1321
01:07:02,940 --> 01:07:07,379
Like, Hey, we totally forgot about the
signage portion of this new development.

1322
01:07:07,950 --> 01:07:10,440
Um, we need you guys to,
to come through for us.

1323
01:07:10,799 --> 01:07:13,799
So to me, that was like the, the
more tactical piece that I see

1324
01:07:13,799 --> 01:07:17,069
a lot of owners skip over, have
one-on-ones with your people.

1325
01:07:18,040 --> 01:07:21,195
When you bring somebody new on, you
do tend to spend more time with them.

1326
01:07:21,195 --> 01:07:23,985
You let them shadow, you give them space.

1327
01:07:24,525 --> 01:07:27,705
But past a certain point, a a lot
of folks just throw 'em to the

1328
01:07:27,710 --> 01:07:33,885
fire, like take the time, set aside
the time to focus on their growth.

1329
01:07:34,245 --> 01:07:36,705
Like how do you bring them up
in the organization, right?

1330
01:07:36,705 --> 01:07:40,365
That that person that you, you
hired for a production assistant

1331
01:07:40,365 --> 01:07:44,145
probably doesn't wanna stay
production assistant forever, right?

1332
01:07:44,535 --> 01:07:47,535
Take the time to talk to them
about their goals for the future.

1333
01:07:48,075 --> 01:07:50,235
Um, how can you help them grow?

1334
01:07:51,105 --> 01:07:54,705
And, and I think ultimately
that's, that's part of how you

1335
01:07:54,735 --> 01:07:56,085
keep people around long term.

1336
01:07:56,325 --> 01:08:00,855
In this day and age where
people seem to come and go, it's

1337
01:08:00,855 --> 01:08:02,115
impossible to find good help.

1338
01:08:02,505 --> 01:08:04,365
All that stuff we hear every single day.

1339
01:08:05,445 --> 01:08:06,045
Right on man.

1340
01:08:07,695 --> 01:08:07,935
Boom.

1341
01:08:08,775 --> 01:08:09,255
Anything else?

1342
01:08:09,280 --> 01:08:10,875
I, I don't think there's
anything left to say.

1343
01:08:11,805 --> 01:08:12,465
That's it guys.

1344
01:08:13,065 --> 01:08:14,745
If you are interested in.

1345
01:08:16,560 --> 01:08:19,050
Uh, networking with other shop owners.

1346
01:08:19,050 --> 01:08:20,850
You are a shop owner or leadership.

1347
01:08:21,420 --> 01:08:23,880
Join our Facebook group.

1348
01:08:23,970 --> 01:08:26,040
It is completely free for shop owners.

1349
01:08:26,520 --> 01:08:27,660
It is a small group.

1350
01:08:27,660 --> 01:08:30,330
We only allow owners and
leadership into the group.

1351
01:08:30,690 --> 01:08:33,090
So there are not 12,000 people.

1352
01:08:33,330 --> 01:08:39,720
It is a safe space for you to chat about
these specific things, pricing, employees,

1353
01:08:40,050 --> 01:08:43,920
management, de-stress a little bit.

1354
01:08:43,950 --> 01:08:46,410
What was the, what was the
one I saw the other day?

1355
01:08:46,950 --> 01:08:52,620
Uh, did I mess up by buying a side shop
or was I crazy for buying a side shop?

1356
01:08:52,830 --> 01:08:55,800
The first response was,
yeah, just a little north of

1357
01:08:55,859 --> 01:08:57,990
batshit crazy for doing that.

1358
01:08:58,380 --> 01:08:59,220
So I like,

1359
01:09:00,029 --> 01:09:03,180
I like that last question that you asked
in our group where it was like, how

1360
01:09:03,180 --> 01:09:04,649
much money should you have in the bank?

1361
01:09:04,649 --> 01:09:08,190
And I'm like, oh, that stemmed
a, a ton of conversation.

1362
01:09:08,640 --> 01:09:10,050
I thought that was a great question.

1363
01:09:10,050 --> 01:09:14,460
So if you're interested in
joining and getting insights to.

1364
01:09:15,165 --> 01:09:20,025
Questions like that and seeing what other
shops are doing and how they're doing it.

1365
01:09:20,145 --> 01:09:20,984
This is the group

1366
01:09:20,984 --> 01:09:25,815
for you and if you're interested in
being a guest on the podcast, hit at us.

1367
01:09:25,965 --> 01:09:29,505
Hit us up at hey@bettersignshop.com.

1368
01:09:30,675 --> 01:09:31,154
Alright, sounds good.

1369
01:09:31,154 --> 01:09:31,845
Roll credits.

1370
01:09:32,715 --> 01:09:33,765
So that's the episode.

1371
01:09:33,765 --> 01:09:34,755
I hope you enjoyed it.

1372
01:09:34,965 --> 01:09:39,435
I'd like to give one final shout out
to our sponsor, GCI Digital Printing

1373
01:09:39,734 --> 01:09:44,654
Grand Format Printer to the trade
GCI is not your average print shop.

1374
01:09:45,045 --> 01:09:50,025
They pride themselves on providing
you a fast stress-free experience when

1375
01:09:50,029 --> 01:09:52,275
outsourcing, there are no excuses.

1376
01:09:52,275 --> 01:09:56,445
Mindset means no matter the job,
they'll have it done every time.

1377
01:09:56,925 --> 01:10:00,855
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1378
01:10:00,855 --> 01:10:02,625
you are a satisfied customer.

1379
01:10:03,255 --> 01:10:07,455
To hear more about their approach to
business, hop back into the archives

1380
01:10:07,455 --> 01:10:11,325
to episode nine where the guys
and I interview owner TJ Beat Act

1381
01:10:11,625 --> 01:10:13,845
about top tier customer experience.

1382
01:10:14,265 --> 01:10:18,585
If you're looking for a high quality
trade printer for banners, mesh,

1383
01:10:18,645 --> 01:10:23,805
core blasts and more, TJ and his
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1384
01:10:24,225 --> 01:10:27,495
Check them out@printgci.com.

1385
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listening.