We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lorie Swatsek. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lorie below.

Alright, Lorie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Driving my kids to school one day we saw a birthday celebration sign in one of our neighbors yards. I was immediately drawn to it and knew this was something I would love to do. I had never owned my own business before, but this for some reason spoke to me. I had never seen this before and knew there would be a huge demand for it with families, schools, companies, etc. if it was marketed in our area. I asked my kids if they would be up for creating a family yard sign business to run together and they were instantly excited! After lots of research and creating an LLC we were ready to install our first Custom Yard Greeting just a few short months later.

Owning Custom Yard Greetings the past 5 years has been so rewarding and fulfilling! The smiles we have created and the people we have met have been an incredible experience. Owning the business during Covid was especially rewarding knowing that we could provide some sort of celebration for people when birthday parties weren’t possible.

In addition to owning Custom Yard Greetings, I have always loved giving back by volunteering in the community. The people I have met through Custom Yard Greetings and the multiple volunteer organizations have turned into so many other incredible adventures. One customer in particular, noticed my passion for social media, networking, etc. and suggested I create a media and events company. I did just that and soon after she became my first OC Media and Events client. She has had such a huge impact on me over the last few months! I feel truly honored and blessed to be a part of her company that will be a part of changing the lives of so many people. Since joining the team at Neurologics, my days have been filled with social media creation. event coordination, creating a podcast and becoming a contributing member of the Neurologics team in many areas.

After many years of being out of the working world and raising my two amazing kiddos, Custom Yard Greetings was just what I needed too fulfill my creative and business side. Continuing to grow by creating OC Media And Events and working with Neurologics is something I didn’t expect to do and I must say I am happier than ever and so excited for the future!

Lorie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Over the past five years I have experienced so many incredible opportunities and met the most amazing people! I created a yard sign business from scratch, started a media and events company, signed Neuroloigcs as my first client, became a member of the Newport Beach Police Foundation Board and was a member of the CDM High School Executive Board.

Deciding to adventure back into the working world in 2019 was an exciting opportunity for me after being out of it for so long. I have always loved marketing and networking and saw myself working again at some point, but I had no idea what that would actually look like. I truly believe things happen for a reason and it is who you know, not what you know. Connections are everything! I learned that at an early age and it couldn’t be more true today.

I am beyond proud to be a part of so many groups and organizations over the past few years that have created my new adventures. I have a new found confidence, pride and energy and I am so excited to see where my future leads me.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Building a business from scratch was no easy task, but I felt like as long as I supplied my customers with a product they were excited about, provided exceptional personalized customer service and kept my focus on my goals I would be successful.

I took a lot of pride in making sure each sign was personalized and unique so that the customer felt special and celebrated on their special day. As of today, one of my biggest accomplishments is knowing that I made my customers happy. Some of them have ordered over 10 signs over the years from me and have started a tradition of having signs for their special family occasions.

I have always made it a point to give back to the school communities and charity organizations in the area by donating signs, offering discounted prices and giving donations to their events. This gives me a lot of fulfillment.

I believe that having a positive outgoing attitude, creating the yard sign business with the intent of sharing the experience with my kids, and working to create relationships within the community are what built my reputation within my market..

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One important lesson I had to learn was, in a small business you are in charge of all aspects of the business and nothing happens without you. I am the designer, social media manager, accountant, installer, customer service representative, etc. I had to recondition myself to ask for help when needed. I am usually one that likes to manage all aspects of everything, but when things would get really busy I had to let go a bit and let others help.

Contact Info:

• Website: customyardgreetings.com
• Instagram: customyardgreetings, ocmediaandevents
• Facebook: customyardgreetings