IT STILL RUNS IN THE FAMILY

CNC ROUTER BUSINESS BY BRAD BURNETT BY JEFF WOOTEN

Working on vinyl decals in the shop’s production area.

IT STILL RUN LL RUNS S IN THE FAMILY

A family-run shop gets a new name and new projects.

Billie Jackson had already been ated the mom-and-pop business with her tion in order to provide additional prodrunning her small sign and graph- husband Joe and her son working part- ucts and services to clients in their area. ics shop Daddy Rabbit Graphics time. (Note: Joe has also served as a full- But let’s rewind for a moment here: in Beckley, West Virginia for elev- time West Virginia state trooper for the Billie initially moved into the sign and en years when, two years ago, she made a past twenty-three years.) graphics industry thanks to her family big decision that would change not only Attending a tradeshow a couple of years being into dirt track racecars. Her son the direction of her business but also open ago, Billie and her husband took advan- was one such racer. “On these racecars, up a better way to manage the challenges tage of the FASTSIGNS discounted fran- you have to have sponsors on them,” that were coming her way. chise fee for first responders and decided she says, “and we needed to find a way

Daddy Rabbit Graphics had been quite to convert their existing Daddy Rabbit to add these sponsors and other grapha family affair—Billie owned and oper- Graphics business into a franchise loca- ics to his vehicle.”

Joe English (left) and their production specialist apply vinyl to a client’s work trailer.

The big challenge that crept up here was that Billie and her son didn’t have easy access to anyone doing vehicle wraps in their area of southern West Virginia. So she did some research and, after learning how to print wraps, made the decision to buy the machines to help her create and print these graphics.

The sponsor was impressed, and a few weeks later, they asked Billie if she could make a vinyl sign for them based off the logo she had designed and printed for her son’s racecar. That led to follow-up requests for screen-printed t-shirts for the sponsor’s workers and then embroideredstyle shirts for the executives—all projects that Billie was excited to take on.

Suddenly Billie was off and running with her Daddy Rabbit Graphics business.

However stress eventually settled in as Billie’s clients were increasing, while her time to finish projects seemed to be decreasing. Her family was part-time help. Joe would come into the business at eight in the morning, leave at three to go to work at the state police until eleven and repeat the process again the next day. Meanwhile her son was only able to help out after school and before and after races. And space at the small-sized shop limited bringing on additional help.

Realizing that she would need to expand their scope in order to grow their business as technology was changing so much, Billie started her process by looking for information.

“A customer would come in and say they had saw something on the Internet and asked if we create it for them,” she says. “We would search frantically on the Internet trying to figure out how to get the materials, how to build it, and importantly, how to price it.

“By the time we would find the information and get an estimate out, the customer had moved on to someone else.”

It was during this Internet research that Billie noticed ads for FASTSIGNS, so she made it a point to visit them at a local tradeshow her family attended. “That’s when they told us about the First Responder discount,” says Billie, “and we learned about their vendor support. It made so much sense for us to make this transition.”

Billie and Joe eventually received lots of literature about FASTSIGNS in the mail and a designated representative frequently called them and answered any questions they had—even going out to lunch with them. “He also set us up to go visiting other FASTSIGNS locations within an hour or two from us,” says Joe, “so we scheduled a few days away from the shop to go out and tour them and talk with those owners. And they all appeared calm and happy.”

The first thing they did after converting to a FASTSIGNS was incorporate the franchisor’s showroom package into their shop layout. It had a very positive impact. “It was the best thing we could’ve done. Our customers responded differently,” says Billie. “We didn’t realize how much of an impact it would have to be able to show our products. We couldn’t display our products as a mom-and-pop because we didn’t realize the benefits of having our showroom right.”

Billie says that they had a marketing consultant work directly with them to make the transition smoothly. “We did have a few people that were concerned they weren’t going to get the same thing. And it turns out they didn’t get the same thing—they got something better!” she says. “They learned that we were the same locally owned and operated people that they were used to dealing with but better equipped to serve them at this point with better options.”

After converting, the Jacksons still kept their FASTSIGNS at the metal industrial building location of Daddy Rabbit Graphics for awhile, but they outgrew the space within eight months and have recently relocated to a larger 3,500-square-foot space at a strip mall storefront location complete with a wrapping station and garage.

Since transitioning to a FASTSIGNS, Billie has been able to explore so many new types of sign offerings that she admits they couldn’t have done before. “Before becoming a FASTSIGNS, we didn’t have the knowledge, the vendors, or the support that we needed to do this,” she says.

They’ve increased their wrapping capabilities to now expand into fleet graphics programs for vehicles. They’ve also moved into custom dimensional signage, even incorporating LED lighting for clients such as the Boy Scouts of America. “We’ve also started doing a lot of digital sign installations now,” she says.

Today Joe is a full-time member of the company (having recently retired from his career as a state trooper), and they have since brought onboard a graphic designer, a production specialist, and an installer and have put out recent feelers

for additional staff.

“We can bring anyone in and incorporate them if they fit the culture, if they have bright ideas, and if they want to be helpful to our customers,” says Billie. “We like it if they have experience, but we can train anybody how to make a sign. And FASTSIGNS offers continuing education for our employees.”

Billie and her crew recently finished up the biggest sales month ever in their twelve-month history, and they celebrated by bringing onboard a new Epson S60600 printer, as well as a new cutter, to help with their production.

“People still need signage, and we were deemed an ‘essential business’ through the whole COVID-19 shutdown. So we were there to help our customers either maintain their businesses, reopen their businesses, or get used to a whole new way of operating,” says Billie, noting they also recently fulfilled a work order of producing social distancing A-frame signage and banner stands for local schools.

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Billie Jackson and her husband Joe stand in front of a recent vinyl wall graphics project that their shop completed.

Call for availability: 1-800-895-4389 or 1-402-346-4740

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SHOP TALK PRINTING UNITED DIGITAL EXPERIENCE | BY ASHLEY BRAY

Covering COVID-19’s E ects The future of sign & graphics in the wake of COVID-19.

The PRINTING United Digital Thompson, owner, AdGraphics. Experience ran from October 26 Many of the panelists were optimisthrough November 12 and pro- tic about the industry’s ability to carry vided three weeks of new product on with Powers of D’Andrea Visual demos and cross-segment programming. Communications saying, “The print-

The first day kicked off with a fo- ing industry is full of a whole bunch cus on hardware and consumables in of survivors.” the graphics and wide format sector. The panelists also spoke about their And while there were plenty of prod- biggest challenges; building up emuct demos to take in, one of the most ployee morale and relationships came interesting parts of the day was a panel up frequently—especially in the wake discussion titled, “The Future of Sign of temporary layoffs earlier this year. and Graphics.” “We’re spending a lot of energy trying

In this panel discussion, four leading to rebuild that trust,” said Powers. graphics businesses talked about their Disrupted supply chains and finding view of the market and their outlook access to needed materials and supplies for the near term. Panelists includ- has also been a challenge. In fact, Adam ed Brian Adam, president, Olympus of Olympus Group said that having a roGroup; Greg Neath, VP Business De- bust supply chain will be important for velopment – In-Store & Direct Mar- making sales and will help to balance out keting, Premedia, Transcontinental; any pricing pressures. “I think there will Scott Powers, VP of Sales, D’Andrea be an opportunity to sell more on value Visual Communications; and Rich with having a reliable supply chain mov-

Sign Builder Illustrated Magazine (Print ISSN 895-0555, Digital ISSN 2161-4709) (USPS#0015-805) (Canada Post Cust. #7204564; Agreement #40612608; IMEX Po Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2, Canada) is published monthly 11 times per year in the months of January, February, March, April, May, June/July, August, September, October, November, and December with the exception of June, which is a digital-only issue, by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation, 88 Pine St. 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10005. Printed in the U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and Additional mailing offices. Print & Digital versions: 1 year US/Canada/Mexico $50.00; foreign $99.00. Single Copies are $15.00 ea. Subscriptions must be paid for in U.S. funds only. Prices are subject to change.

COPYRIGHT © Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation 2020. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without permission. For reprint information, contact: Arthur Sutley, Publisher (212) 620-7247 or asutley@ sbpub.com. ing forward,” he said.

Speaking of pricing, Adam believes that downward pricing pressure will be a big way COVID-19 changes the industry. He says a lot of printers desperate for work settle for cheaper prices. Once things return to normal, it will be very hard to push that pricing back up, resulting in new market prices that will be below what they were pre-COVID. His advice is for shop owners to figure out how to be profitable at that price point by investing in equipment, optimizing their workflows, etc.

Powers says greater internal efficiency will be needed. In the wake of COVID-19, he believes buyers will become more realistic about turnaround times. He also cautions owners to reconsider carrying money for clients on jobs and taking the risk of not getting paid.

AdGraphics’ Thompson believes that COVID-19 will irrevocably change the client relationship and the way the industry does business. He said the concept of high-touch versus low-touch sales will change as more and more people get used to remote meetings and sales.

The panelists ended by offering advice to others in the industry. Thompson cautioned owners to be safe with their cash, plan ahead, and stay optimistic.

Adam returned to the topic of employees and said since every shop has access to the same printers and technology on the market, the only real differentiators are the employees. He said to be sure to build a team with the best and most engaged employees and use them as your competitive advantage.

Powers said to be careful about dropping prices lower than you’ll be comfortable with after COVID-19 is over.

Neath at Transcontinental advised shops to find their niche now if they haven’t already so they’ll be better positioned coming out of the pandemic.

stamats.com, or write to: Sign Builder Illustrated, Simmons-Boardman Publ. Corp, PO Box 1407, Cedar Rapids, IA. 52406-1407. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sign Builder Illustrated, PO Box 1407, Cedar Rapids, IA. 52406-1407.

Instructional information provided in this magazine should only be performed by skilled crafts people with the proper equipment. The publisher and authors of information provided herein advise all readers to exercise care when engaging in any of the how-to-activities published in the magazine. Further, the publisher and authors assume no liability for damages or injuries resulting from projects contained herein.