14 minute read
FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO Exponential Growth
Shop Profile
By Chad Munroe
Get Graphic was Co-founded by Jennifer Simmons and Chad Munroe. Jennifer has been in the Graphics industry since the late 1990s. They became partners in life in 2010, and partners in business when they founded Get Graphic in April 2011.
At that time, while embarking on thier new relationship, both Jennifer and Chad were at career crossroads and actively seeking new opportunities. Jennifer, with her extensive background in the industry spanning over ten years, including experience with manufacturers, suppliers, and cut vinyl graphics equipment, joined forces with Chad. Chad’s long-term interest in the industry, paired with a significant background in investments, primarily in real estate, set them both on an entrepreneurial path. This convergence of expertise and interests culminated in the founding of Get Graphic.
The company was created as a new endeavor, using a simple plotter and a laptop computer they used out of the back room of their house, with the kitchen counter as a layout table, and Facebook as their storefront. Not knowing how much demand there would be for an at-home graphics shop without print capability. Chad simultaneously filed with The State of Arkansas for a Used Car Dealers License, with the idea of wholesale buying and selling used cars for added
income while they tried to build Get Graphic. Although the used car endeavor never really reached its full potential, access to the local Auto Auction and other local used car dealers proved to be a stroke of luck for Get Graphic, and was like gasoline on a fire for growth in its early days.
They have found that the auto industry differs from the graphics industry in one major way. Local operators need each other. They make friends, they collaborate, and they trade inventory back and forth as a necessary means of survival. Jennifer and Chad’s experience in the graphics industry mirrors this on a national level, but on a local level, they say shop owners see each other as a threat, and rarely if ever communicate or collaborate.
Because of the camaraderie of the local auto industry, Chad was quickly accepted as “one of the guys” among local car dealers, and they almost instantly began reaching out to him for services. They needed everything from storefronts, window lettering, stripes on cars, OEM-style graphics packages, business cards, shirts, stickers, and almost anything else you could imagine. Within a few months, this led to the local auction itself reaching out, and asking if they could print full-color, bumper-sticker-size vinyl graphics, on a weekly recurring basis. Having no print capability, but not wanting to say no, they went on Craigslist, and found a 5-year-old Mutoh Printer and a 48” laminator and immediately started printing. The first auction order paid
for the cost of the used printer, and overnight, Get Graphic was a home-based print shop.
Over the course of the next 6 months, Get Graphic grew quickly, practically never turning down a request for a printed product. They heatpressed t-shirts and found a source for screen printing, embroidery, business cards, and fliers. Whatever customers wanted they would find a way to provide it. They added equipment, bought better printers, and bigger laminators, Jennifer self-taught graphic design and they both taught themselves material selection and installation using all types of adhesive-backed materials.
Within a year they had outgrown their home-based capabilities and were in drastic need of a “real” facility, but they were still somewhat constrained by the availability of income they could funnel into a retail space. Using his real estate background, and being on the backside of the recession, Chad was able to find and obtain a “fixer-upper” retail space that was an abandoned 7Eleven store which had been boarded up and unoccupied for the last several years. They scraped together the financing to purchase the building, were able to renovate it on a shoestring budget, doing much of the work themselves, and opened Get Graphic in its current retail storefront in June of 2013.
Since their new location was a former convenience store there was no install bay or overhead doors, so they reached out to their best recurring customer, the Auto Auction, and struck up a deal to use the auction facility on nonauction days for jobs they needed an install bay. A year or so later they were able to cut an overhead door into their facility, to get a vehicle inside, but they still collaborate with the auction to this day for oversized vehicles and large fleets, which the auction facility can easily accommodate.
Once Get Graphic opened the doors on the retail storefront, business exploded again, and they experienced rapid growth over the next several years, increasing gross revenue by over 100% year over year in
years 3-5. Growth doesn’t come without its challenges, they have plenty of stories of difficulties, struggles, long hours, deadlines, and demands, but when handled correctly, they become not only learning experiences but stepping stones that can be built upon.
In 2014, still using the same old printers they acquired when they were working from home, they decided to attend The ISA Trade Show in Las Vegas to research the latest technology and upgrade their printers. Wraps not being a particular focus at the time, they became fascinated with the HP Scitex, a UV printer that would print directly to substrates, because of its versatility, and ability to print directly to virtually anything flat. This led to them purchasing a six-figure machine that would print basically anything except a wrap, but they had no idea what they would produce with it. In conjunction they purchased a very basic, nofrills, but new, Roland RF-640 solvent, for the rare instance they needed to print a wrap.
When negotiating their package for the printer purchase, Chad learned of a 2-day wrap class being offered by the distributor that was selling the printers, and he was able to negotiate that to be included at no charge for him and their one employee at the time who did graphic design as well as installation, when needed. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, that class would put wheels in motion that would forever change the trajectory of Get Graphic. The class instructor was Jeff Wagner, a long-time 3M Trainer, and member of the prestigious industry trade organization Masters of Branding.
Simply put, Masters of Branding (or The Mob, as it’s referred to informally throughout the industry) is a collective of some of the most elite, talented, and recognized installers worldwide. Their application process is informal yet highly restrictive, focusing on territorial protection and necessitating certification and insurance. Additionally, board approval is required, alongside a recommendation from a current member. This member must be willing to risk their own membership, should the new member cast the group in a negative light during their probationary period. After learning of The Mob, Chad made it a personal goal to attain acceptance into the prestigious group.
Returning home with a few new tricks, a renewed interest in wraps, and a goal of attaining the virtually unattainable, Chad used his local connection with local car dealers to try and drip up wrap business. He found a colleague who specialized in classic cars with a 65 Shelby Cobra kit car in need of a repaint, but not needing bodywork.The Get Graphic team opted to wrap the car in 3M 1080 color change material instead of painting it. They completed the project just before 3M announced its 2nd annual Wrap2Wrap contest, a worldwide competition recognizing the best wrap completed that year using their material.
The car was submitted to the competition, and between the time of submission and when the winners were announced, Chad traveled once again for a 2nd wrap class. Once again taught
by Jeff Wagner, but this time preceding a test for 3M certification. After testing and passing with an overall A grade, becoming one of fewer than 25 people to pass the test at that location at the time, and the first-ever certified installer in Arkansas, Chad and Jeff formed a friendly colleagues. They have continued to keep in touch, network, and collaborate on projects to this day. A few months later winners were announced for the 3M Wrap2Wrap contest, and Get Graphic was crowned co-champion along with Who Did That, in North Carolina (another Masters of Branding member). As a part of the prize package for winning the Wrap2Wrap contest, Get Graphic was honored with the
opportunity to travel to SEMA in 2016. There, they wrapped in the 3M booth alongside the previous year’s winners, Wrap Artist from Nashville and PDX Wraps from just outside Portland (both Masters of Branding members). The connections made, and the accolade of winning the contest instantly launched Get Graphic onto the national stage, and was the catalyst needed to “make the cut” for acceptance into “The Mob”. After a lengthy application and vetting process, and having formed friendships from that first training class, Chad and Get Graphic were induced into Masters of Branding in their class of 2017, solidifying their place among the industry elite.
With new recognition becomes new pressure and higher expectations. After growing quickly in a short period of time and achieving lofty goals, Chad set out to collect other industry certifications. The heightened expectations and new pressure caused him to almost wash out on the first station of his Avery Dennison certification test with Justin Pate. He received the minimum passing score from Justin, but managed to rebound for the rest of the test, ultimately achieving an overall solid passing grade. The same pressures would haunt him at his Orafol test several months later, but he passed with a solid overall score in the second ever Orafol class ever offered at Shadow Graphics (another MoB shop in Indianapolis). Later in 2019, Get Graphic would be invited to the pilot training for Arlon. They would attend Arlon’s first ever live training and certification, making them one of a handful of installers worldwide certified by all 4 industry-leading manufacturers.
This level of certification led to a new wave of growth in the field of wraps and graphic installations. After being contacted and completing countless local installs and large print producers from all over the world, Get Graphic got its next big break in late 2019 by simply being in the right place at the right time. The Get Graphic team encountered 2 individuals while on an install attempting to install a piece of vinyl that was above the 2 gentlemen’s graphic skill set. Carefully and tactfully they approached the situation and offering a hand. The gentlemen turned out not to be graphics installers, but representatives of a firm representing a global retailer in need of printing and installation services nationwide. The piece of vinyl they were struggling with was an element left off of the scope Get Graphic was installing, and they thought they might be able to handle it themselves. After failing and the our team bailing them out, they were more than appreciative, and a new alliance was formed.
As a result of that meeting Get Graphic grew 700% over 18 months, and completely shifted its focus, to mainly printing and installing adhesivebacked graphics. During the last half of 2021 and the first half of 2022, The Get Graphic team completed massive projects in over half of the US and has continued to install and add more since.
To keep up with demand, equipment has been added and upgraded to streamline production and maximize efficiency. However, they struggled to manage the increased volume within the same footprint in the location they have operated since 2011.
In 2022, Jennifer, being the rock of daily operations, production, and design, while navigating everything outlined above was recognized as one of seven recipients in the Women of Wide Format Awards at the Printing United Trade Show in Las Vegas.
In 2023, Get Graphic started to completely shift its focus, and is currently in the final stages of completion on a new, design-built facility. This will allow them to grow in the market as a nationwide print provider. Moving into their new facility in early 2024 will allow them to solely focus on Environmental and
Fleet Branding packages for large companies in need of consistent branding across multiple geographic locations. Their current facility will maintain its wide variety of services under a new name, separate from Get Graphic, and will keep serving local customers with the same high standard for excellence. This collaboration will transition to new management with minimal impact on the existing customer base.
They also have a new website set to launch in conjunction with their move to the new facility, highlighting this new focus. A rebranded version of the existing online presence will continue to represent the current location, now with an even more expanded offering of general sign and electrical services.
The Get Graphic team continues their pursuit of the highest industry standards on a daily basis. In 2023, Get Graphic was invited to the FlexiShield Pilot for their training which Chad attended, adding another Industry Certification. He also added KPMF as a certification in 2023 and was appointed to the board of directors of Masters of Branding. Furthermore, Get Graphic through a partnership with Avery Dennison recently collaborated to bring a first-ever training and certification class to The State of Arkansas which will take place at their new facility in October 2024. Get Graphic and its team are in constant pursuit of excellence
and continually strive to raise the standard not only internally, but for the entire industry. They will be fun to follow and are an organization to continue to watch as they grow and adapt to market trends in the coming years.
There are three things that are most important in business, which have consistently guided Get Graphic throughout their industry journey:
1. Attack problems head-on. Avoiding a situation or a customer due to the fear of difficult conversations only worsens the situation. Unaddressed, it will snowball. Confronting
problems directly, owning up to mistakes, being willing to correct them, and standing ground when faced with unreasonable opposition, garners respect in both business and life.
2. Work for the job you want, not the job you have. You never know where the opportunity will come from. A tireless work ethic, a constant pursuit for improvement, punctuality, accountability, and the willingness to go beyond what’s expected will 100% of the time get you to your goals. They may not happen on your schedule, but it will get you there. The luckiest people work the hardest, and are the best prepared to capitalize on an opportunity when it comes along.
3. Stay humble. The best and most decorated installers in this industry all think their next wrap will be better than their last one. They may not tell you that, and they probably won’t tell their customer that, but they can tell you a dozen things about every project they wish they would’ve done better. If you’re the guy who thinks your install is perfect, and your skills are better than everyone else, you are behind before you even start, and you will never catch up unless you change your way of thought.
From its inception in the back room of a house to becoming a key player in the graphics industry, Get Graphic’s journey is a testament to perseverance, innovation, and adaptability. Their relentless pursuit of excellence, combined with an understanding of market trends and customer needs, has positioned Get Graphic as a dynamic force in the industry.
