Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Davidson.
Hi Jason, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Several years ago, I began running an ad agency. One of my clients started asking me for more branding type services, such as vehicle graphics. I slowly began learning about machines and materials, which got me through several of these types of requests. Eventually, I happened upon an out of business sign shop that was coming up for auction. I decided to jump at the opportunity, filled out my business paperwork the next day and leased the space the business was in. At that point, I bought everything I could at the auction, and began seeing clients by appointment within a couple of weeks. After 90 days I opened the doors officially, and hired my first employee a short time later. The shop has grown quickly since then, and I believe it will continue to grow in the next few years.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It kind of depends on what you consider to be a smooth path. My first biggest hurdle was actually getting the proper tax ID paperwork from the state of Missouri. They apparently lost my original submission, then sent me one with incorrect information. At one point I was on the phone with them daily for about 1-2 hours per day, which was how long the hold times would be. I guess I finally got ahold of the right person, because she told me she would take care of the issue and she did. I had been told that several times before, but she really came through for me and did everything she said she would.
Beyond that, I had never worked in a sign shop before, and didn’t know how to operate a lot of the equipment. It’s a little daunting staring at expensive machines that you know nothing about. The biggest of these was the wide format printer/cutter. I read the printer’s manual several times, before I felt like I had some understanding of how to operate it, and only then did I start testing with it. Youtube videos filled in most of the blanks.. Facebook groups were another valuable resource, although many people there were happy to tell me how foolish I was for stepping into an industry that I knew nothing about.
After learning to operate the equipment, knowing how to properly source materials and price projects to the customers was a big challenge. Having a fair amount of knowledge about other businesses helped alleviate some of those problems. Another huge resource for me was meeting a former owner of the business who was happy to help me out as much as possible. I saved my most difficult questions for him that I couldn’t find answers to, and he always had the perfect response for me. Just having the ability to run something past him on occasion probably moved my business forward by at least six months.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Sign Depot?
It’s have to have a specialty at a sign shop, just because of the large number of services you need to be able to provide. I think where we stand out is when customers bring us unusual projects or problems. We take the time to figure out what the best path forward is for them in ways that are cost-effective. I think a typical shop would just say that’s a project or service they can’t help with, but some of the hardest projects also turn out to be the most rewarding. The best example I can think of was a lady who brought us a couple of signs that belonged to her husband. He was suffering from dementia, and the signs were from his childhood farmstead. One of them was completely unreadable, but she happened to have a picture that showed how it had once appeared. We carefully reconstructed all the graphics and were able to do a full restoration on both signs. Her hope was that seeing the signs would help him stay connected to things that were important to him. In that particular case, we did not charge her for the hours of design time that it took to re-create it, only the signs themselves so that it would still be reasonable for her to do the project. I think that kind of customer service goes a long way in the end.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
It’s hard to know the future, but it is already becoming more and more competitive. Online retailers are cutting deep into the margins, and operating at both costs and margins that aren’t sustainable for a small business. I think the key is that their customers are probably not the same customers that we have in the long run. We have already done a lot of repeat business, and will continue to do so. A local shop has two advantages- first, we have the chance to produce an item faster because you don’t have to wait on shipping. Secondly, there is a name and a face associated with the product if the customer happens to run into an issue. By taking care of the customers, I believe they will continue to take care of us as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.signdepotkc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/signdepotkc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/signdepotkc
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SignDepotkc
