Signals Magazine 1994 - Women in the Sign Business
by Nancy Beaudette, co-owner of Sign It in Cornwall,
Ont.
This is our thirteenth
year in the sign business. It's difficult to generalize our
experiences with other shops because we all have such unique
stories to share. We come from a variety of experiences & lifestyles,
and our goals differ from one another. Our story is unique
as well, as women in the sign industry. Thirteen years ago
it was odd to see a woman making signs but today it is much
more common place. The small commercial sign shop is well suited
to women. Why? Perhaps because the industry has evolved in
many ways, becoming more refined, and more technologically
advanced. Maybe it's because the last couple of decades have
presented women with many exciting career options, so why not
the sign business.
Noella and I began our business out of necessity. We are both
artists who realized very early on that no one was going to 'hand
us a living'; we are responsible for our own destiny. Both of
us had the blend of skills needed to get started; basic woodworking,
fine and graphic arts including sign lettering experience, and
an ability to communicate effectively. We drew on the skills
our fathers taught us, like using power tools and swinging a
hammer. I don't know how many women are able to have that experience,
and we feel fortunate to have had father's who took the time
to teach us stuff when we showed an interest. We became as self
reliant as possible in our business, doing most of the work ourselves.
Whether it meant installing signs or climbing a 100 foot tower
to paint someone's logo, we were gutsy enough to do it, and excited
about learning something new. That's not to say it wasn't nerve
racking, and that sometimes even now we get scared, but we truly
believe and live by this code: we must be willing to risk something
to move forward.
Like most small businesses, our beginnings were humble, yet
exciting. Noella and I have a wonderful partnership. We've heard
many partnership horror stories, and count ourselves among the
lucky few who've found the right balance. Our skills compliment
each other, as do our natural likes and dislikes. We all wear
many hats to run a small business. Over the years, we've honed
our artistic abilities, and worked hard to gain understanding
in areas where we were weak, like reading financial reports and
doing cost accounting.
Today we operate in a
two thousand square foot shop in Cornwall, and from our woodworking
shop in the country. We employ three full time people, one
part time, and ourselves. Our specialty is the design and manufacture
of dimensional wood signs, plus we offer a full range of commercial
sign products. We write a marketing plan that includes many
long and short term goals for us to work on over the year,
including things like public education, the refining of our
craft, and broadening our market base. We follow through on
these plans by speaking to community groups, reading about
and experimenting with new materials & techniques,
advertising to specific industries, plus a variety of other actions
that will help us fulfill specific goals.
We've made a real effort
to be accessible to our cliental through public exposure, like
trade shows. It's in that forum that we hear this statement
most often, "Oh, it's two women who
own this company!" Surprise and amazement seem to follow
as people ooh and awe at our work. (I've often wondered if a
male partnership draws that same reaction.) Noella and I have
never made the fact that we're women an issue in our business
though I'm sure our personalities affect our approach in ways
that are different from men. Our emphasis has been to concentrate
on creating a vision for our company that will set us apart and
help us live out our dreams.
Faith is an important element in our lives; it not only gives
us comfort, it gives us direction. It's neat to see how our spiritual
lives overlap with our business goals. Believing in a greater
purpose has enabled us to open new doors and try new things.
For instance, we've spent a pile of time and money taking courses,
on everything from sign design, to customer service, from decoy
carving to financial management. You need to have faith that
spending a thousand dollars on a marketing course will effect
positive results and bring new light to our business over the
short and long term. Our efforts are recorded in a journal so
our progress can be measured and updated. We know that the more
we read, write and teach, the more we will risk, learn and grow.
Access to information
has also been an invaluable source of growth for us. Sign magazines,
workshops, & Letterheads
meets, change our approach to business on an ongoing basis.
Technological advances have also played an important factor
in our growth. We operate with Gerber computers and have a
router system which allows us to increase production and remain
competitive. Keeping abreast of new equipment and things like
internet are exciting and advantageous to small businesses.
I think that's what's really neat about running our own shop;
we're always on the move, always changing and evolving.
If the truth be known, Noella and I would have to admit we have
placed extremely high expectations on ourselves. It could be because
we're trying to proof ourselves as women in a competitive industry,
or it may be the cursed artistic sense of insecurity, or may simply
be that we're over achievers. Our motivations are as varied as
our dreams. In our business, we are driven by the shear enjoyment
of making signs, and the will to accomplish what we set out to
do.
.
|
