Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joseph Feminella. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Joseph thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Has Covid resulted in any major changes to your business model?

Covid forced a lot of people out of work, businesses closed and people were struggling (and still are struggling). More and more folks are starting their own businesses. Every day we see customers leaving industries they have worked in for years to start their own thing. They’re opening cleaning businesses, lawn services, hair salons, food trucks, etc.

So for us, we have seen lots more small starter orders like small runs of t-shirts, business cards, or one set of vehicle magnets. Most sign companies have high minimum order amounts and typically don’t like to waste their time on smaller jobs, but these are the jobs that mean the most to us. We have had to re-evaluate our shop minimums and re-define what good customer service really means. We like to sit with our clients and guide them through the process (something the online print moguls cannot do). We want them to be successful. And when they do well, they bring us more business and larger orders and we have a customer for life. Now, the vacancies on our Main St are being filled with these new and exciting small businesses, and we’re always so thrilled when we get to be a part of that growth

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I have worked in the sign industry for about 28 years, starting as an apprentice at a t-shirt shop in Florida. After working my way up to operations manager for the largest sign franchise in the US, my wife and I opened our own sign company in 2012 in Elgin, Texas out of our garage. After years of gaining the trust of the local business community, we opened our first storefront in January 2018 in Bastrop, Texas. We are a small, family run business. We take pride in the relationships we have built over the past decade and feel so lucky to have loyal customers who have been using us for over 10 years now.

At our shop, we do everything from small labels to billboard banners. We deal mainly with other businesses, providing anything from t-shirts to window lettering to postcards; however, we are on Main St. so we tend to also get a lot of walk-in retail traffic (which isn’t typical of sign shops). We produce 99% of our products in-house, have professional installers and even help with the city permit process.

One thing we try to do here, because sign shops produce a ridiculous amount of waste, we try and donate as much scrap material as we can to local organizations, artists, and basically anyone who can use it.

Something else exciting we are doing is hosting local bands at our shop after hours. We met a local musician starting his own production company and offered our space to help it grow. We had one in June and will pick it back up again in October.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

100% the best source of new clients for me has been word of mouth. Being such a small sign shop, and only myself and two others running everything from phone calls to production, we have little time for marketing. It’s honestly a good day when I can find the time to post an instagram picture. I cannot tell you how many times in a week a new client walks in saying “so-and-so told me about you and said you were the only sign shop they will use!” It’s an amazing feeling and helps remind me how important good customer service really is.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I try really hard to create something my customer and myself can both be proud of. I fix mistakes and take accountability. I try and offer more affordable options to customers with fixed budgets. I try and fix bad art without bankrupting my customer with unnecessary fees. I am honest and up front with people, and don’t overpromise. I don’t charge extra “just because I can.” I have worked in lots of sign shops in my life and feel these are what separates me from other shops and keeps new clients coming.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.signandbannertx.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/signandbannertx
• Facebook: facebook.com/signandbannertx