August 26th, 2010

Reinvention in the Custom Sign Industry

Posted in Business

My wife Robin has a seriously competitive spirit. She beats me at Jeopardy every time, hands down, screaming out those answers with a fiery confidence that goes with her fiery red hair. As a voracious reader, she is constantly growing that already huge brain of hers, yet she often accuses ME of being smart. Or “business-smart” as she calls it. In our 25 wonderful years of marriage (this September 22nd), I’ve learned never to underestimate her and I am proud to have her at my side as my partner in life and my partner in business.

One sign of a good marriage is being able to compromise.

One sign of a good business is the ability to overcome adversity.

We were about to do both…

I was in complete shock when I received the letter. “Dear Mr. Harrelson … We have serious concerns about your use of the SignsRus.com business name …”

It was a sign.

I breathed heavy as I continued to read that fateful letter from the New York attorney representing the giant toy conglomerate, Toys ‘R’ Us. They were telling us to change the name of our sign business. “But we don’t even sell toys!” exclaimed Robin with that feisty passion that only adds to her beauty. “We produce custom banners and signs!”

Sometimes you should follow the signs.

It was about that time to ditch the old business name anyway as we had really outgrown it. That was just kid stuff back then. SignsRus.com emerged when we were still cutting our teeth on the internet. Since then, we’ve grown up a lot by serving the custom signage needs of small businesses and corporate clients alike, all across America and around the globe. It truly is a World Wide Web!

But how in the world would I come up with a new business name?

How could I explain in just a name that we are creative and personal, innovative and technology-savvy, friendly and down-to-earth, but proud visionaries of our trade? It was a mouthful. I would have to chew this over for awhile.

I spent a long time in the search engines, hoping the world wide web could offer some kind of inspiration, but instead of blazing glory and a plethora of creative ideas, all I got for my effort was blazing dry eyes and an intense headache. I needed more than words. Rather, I wanted a brand name with some personality; an image that sparks immediate interest and curiosity, an image that visually conveys our message, and an image that visually represents the essence of our service.

Inspiration can strike at the oddest times!

One of our favorite restaurants is Slightly North of Broad on the Charleston peninsula (or SNOB for short). Maybe there was something special in the air that night, but as I was ooooing and ahhhhing over the Chef’s special, the unusual word pair “SignChef” suddenly popped into my head. I had this feeling that I was about to concoct something just as original, imaginative and satisfying as the delicious food on the table in front of me – the very source of the inspiration.

The more I marinated on the unique name, the more it grew on me. I liked the connotations that came along with the image of a master chef: excellence, innovation, creativity, dedication, passion, and the sincere desire to please. These were the same qualities that represent the way we operate our business. Perfect!

Was there a sign of defeat?

But there was a problem, Robin did not like it. She thought it was cheesy – not classy cheesy like a fine-dining fondue experience, but just downright cheesy like a big old hunk of Velveeta. Of course I respect her opinion (and her fantastic sense of humor), but I really believed in my notion. And after all, wasn’t I the “business-smart” one?

So after many a heated debate, we agreed to disagree and indulge ourselves in compromise. And after indulging our business in the delicate science of reinvention, a brand new image was born and has been very well received in it’s first year. Even my toughest critic is not just embracing our new name, but embodying it. Robin is pictured right on our sign in her executive chef coat with that gorgeous red hair and seriously confident smile.

So that evens things up on the home front

Score one for Robin’s brilliant and unrelenting Jeopardy skills and one for my out-of-the-box business ideas. Tie game.

And that, my friends, is the fine art of compromise served up with the science of reinvention in the sign shop. Bon appetit!