Rising To The Challenge // Karrie Brock - Owner of FASTSIGNS Toledo / Better Sign Shop

00:00:00Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: Learn how to build a better sign and print shop from a few crusty sign guys who've made more mistakes than they care to admit. Conversations and advice on pricing, sales, marketing, [00:00:15] workflow, growth, and more. Your listening to The Better Sign Shop podcast With your hosts, Peter COIs, Michael O'Reilly, and Bryant Gillespie.

00:00:30 jump into the episode, I'd like to give a shout out to our sponsor, GCI Digital Imaging Grand Format Printer to the Trade. We talk a lot about outsourcing on the podcast and the importance of having. Good partners and gci Digital [00:00:45] Imaging is a good partner to have owner TJ Bak and his team focus on providing killer customer service just the way grandmother used to make it.

00:01:00 episode nine where the guys and I interview TJ about customer experience. So if you're looking for a high quality trade printer for banners, wraps, and other printed graphics that your customers throw at you, check out [00:01:15] GCI Digital imaging@printgci.com.

00:01:30 Yoda.

00:01:31Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: What's up? What's up? What's up? What's up? What's up? Happy to be here, everybody. I feel like I had to put a little flare into it that time. Yeah. I feel like I'm like entering into like a boxing ring or better yet, like a wrestling ring.

00:01:45 What's up? What's up?

00:01:46Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: Are we gonna start getting like some music going?

00:01:51Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: No, I don't think so.

00:01:54Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: No. What the folks come for?

00:01:56Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: Nope. Nope. Cool. Um, [00:02:00]

00:02:00Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: Mike is absent today, so we're gonna soldier on without 'em. I'm really excited for today. We've got a special guest. Uh, we'll talk about that in a minute, but let's catch up real quick, man.[00:02:15]

00:02:16Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: It's been good. It's been good. You know, um, I'm enjoying working with a couple of sign shop owners, uh, helping them navigate through their, their issues. Uh, I'm learning a lot. As a matter of fact, you know, like [00:02:30] there are. There are things that are happening in my sign shop, coaching, consulting, coaching, whatever you wanna call it, that I'm realizing that there are a lot of owners out there that are, that don't have answers to some, to some of these [00:02:45] like, real simple questions.

00:03:00 charge a rush charge? And how much should you charge on rush charges? Uh, go. Just thinking back, you know, like employee handbook, employee manual, like, what should, should not be included?

00:03:15 So, you know, there, there's some things from on a, when you put on, when you decide to be a business owner, when you decide to be a sign shop business owner, you are getting into a field where you are gonna be wearing many different [00:03:30] hats.

00:03:45 chief. And it's like, yeah, well, you know, when should you charge three and a half?

00:04:00 like what happens if it's my biggest client and their, and their, uh, their order comes in under the minimum? Should I put it through at that price?

00:04:15 so many questions that are being asked and I'm enjoying every little bit of it because it keeps me on my toes. But these things that yeah, you know, naturally come. Maybe some of us, you know, we, we would know how to answer that.

00:04:30 question. But there are a lot of sign shop owners out there that, you know, are listening to this podcast and, you know, reaching out to me and saying, Hey, you know, what would you do in this situation? And, and I'm loving every little bit of it. So that's, uh, that's really what's going on with me these past few days.[00:04:45]

00:04:45Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: Yeah. I've seen some of these questions come up in the community as well of, uh, like rush charges and things like that, and there's always, there's always some nuance to it. Right. Um, and maybe that's the part that they're just struggling with. [00:05:00]

00:05:00Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's a big customer, it's their biggest customer.

00:05:15 and being a, uh, sign shop coach, you know, these people are excessive. Very, I have made myself very excessive to. To these people. Like they can accessible, uh, accessible.

00:05:30 excessive, no accessible. I've made myself accessible to these people, you know, that they're writing me, uh, on our Slack channel and, you know, it seems like I'm in their back pocket the moment they have a situation arise. They get, they pill out their phone [00:05:45] and they're, ah, what would you do here?

00:06:00 lead Wet your palate, wet your beak here a little bit, is,

00:06:05Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: you know I'm all about wetting my beak? My man

00:06:08Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: is this signed business PDF that's in our, uh, dine shop community, right?

00:06:15 it's one of those free resources. Yeah. Yeah, right. It's like 108 pages long. But everybody that's read it, they have hit me with the. You have, you have[00:06:30]

00:06:45 many years ago. I don't even know where he is anymore. But, you know, we threw it up there. We, it's a great, it, it made a significant impact in my life and it's making a significant impact in others' lives as well, especially regarding the sign [00:07:00] rising area, you know?

00:07:11Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: I do, I would say the

00:07:12Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: world this point. Right. You know what? [00:07:15] Absolutely. Australia, wherever these people come from, pricing. In this world of businesses, like we could talk for days, not hours, days on, on pricing and how to do it correctly.

00:07:30 saying, oh my God. Oh, it all makes sense. Everything that I've thought, everything that I've said, everything that I've heard on this podcast, it's like all the dots finally connected. It's, it's like [00:07:45] Tony Stark. It's finally making an element to make a brand new, you know, self sustained electricity.

00:08:00 I've solved sign pricing. Read the pdf. If

00:08:05Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: you haven't. I'm gonna have the editor just. Chop in all the sound effects and like some explosions and stuff for this episode,

00:08:11Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: right? No, read the pdf, [00:08:15] but the, the clients that I've had, they are, uh, they're absolutely taken back by it.

00:08:30 but I'll take them anyway. Yeah.

00:08:33Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: Excellent. Well, man, yeah, I'm glad you're excited about it. I, I knew you wouldn't stay retired for too long,

00:08:40Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: so that's good. I love the business, man. I mean, there's what's not to love about the sign shop [00:08:45] industry.

00:09:00 Yes. I'm not, I'm no longer a franchisee, but I. I'm so happy to have a franchise owner on this show. I,

00:09:10Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: I, I hate that Mike's not gonna be here for this one because he, you guys have always gone at [00:09:15] the, the fast science thing,

00:09:17Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: but, well, I'm go, I'm gonna ask her like, one huge question for her.

00:09:30 get a bad rap? And I wanna know, I wanna know, because, you know, the industry experts here, you know, we've had TJ on here not too long ago. We've had, you know, he said Fast Signs is one of his biggest clients, right?

00:09:45 whatever the heck that means. I don't know. But they're fast signs. Like people like say there's Fast Signs Insam, and then there's the real Sign shops. I wanna know if she believes in that, and we're gonna ask her here today. Yeah, yeah.

00:09:57Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: Well, let me like set the stage a little [00:10:00] bit, right?

00:10:15 for several weeks. Uh, so I feel like we're a little disorganized there, but, uh, extremely happy to welcome our first female guest.

00:10:30 franchisee. They're one of the fast signs that is, uh, here. I, I'm, I'm being a little partial, I'll say one of the fast signs. There may be many that are actually doing larger sign projects in-house.

00:10:42Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: So, and if I'm not mistaken, if I'm [00:10:45] not mistaken, she's in Toledo, right?

00:11:00 little bit of like a secret sauce that worked for her. If I'm not mistaken, I'm really eager to hear all about that

00:11:06Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: national award-winning sign and branding package winner.

00:11:10Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: Wow. Well,

00:11:15 we are in the presence of a significant franchisee here. All right. I like it. Yeah.

00:11:21Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: Yeah. I don't, I don't know what the tears were, but I, I would think that she's on the, the top rung of the, the fast signs. [00:11:30] Did you guys have tears behind the scenes? Was

00:11:32Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: there like a No, no, no, no. It was not.

00:11:36Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: I, I, I, I'm, I'm pegging it as like a cult

00:11:39Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: or something, you know?

00:11:45 I, I love all the people there on the executive team, and they do a really great job of, of bringing in people in this franchise. But, uh, I have ne I have never met Carrie, and, and I've gone to several of the conventions.

00:12:00 do know of her, but we have never been formally introduced and there is no groupings, you know, fast signs doesn't say like, here's the elite and then here's the poor man. You know, they don't do that. They don't do that. They put everybody, everybody's [00:12:15] equal.

00:12:30 franchisees in this system that do not do fabrication. They outsource this, they utilize the fast signs.

00:12:37Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: Did you guys have like a preferred, like in-network vendor

00:12:41Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: for that type of Yeah, that's what I was gonna say. They, they use the preferred vendor network [00:12:45] that Fast Signs built out. They have this really great system where you could just like in the backend, like click pipe in channel letters and then the system tells you like, okay, these are all the vendors that do channel letters.

00:13:00 product and locate a vendor that might be near you or might be across the country, but is the better priced vendor. And then there's all these vendors that have, you know, discounts for fast signs and X, Y, Z. So, you know, it's, [00:13:15] uh, it's a really great, they've built a really great infrastructure.

00:13:30 hear what, you know, being, being a business owner, being a woman, bus business owner in this market, in her market, what that's like, and I'm, I'm sure that our listeners would like to know as well.

00:13:40Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: I think that's the angle that I'm very interested in exploring as, as well [00:13:45] as the, the women in signage. Like, you know, it's in our tagline, the crusty sign guys. But you know, it like, I feel like the women that I've seen in our Facebook community, [00:14:00] and I, I'm gonna call out the men here, like, I've seen the women asking way better questions, uh, from a business owner perspective than some of the men.

00:14:15 All right, guys. So we are back with our guest, Carrie Brock from Fast Signs in Toledo. And what's the, what's the second office? Carrie, I'm gonna pronounce it wrong. Mommy. Mommy, ma. Mommy. [00:14:30] Yeah. Close enough. Close enough.

00:14:45 we're super honored to have you.

00:14:47Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Well, thank you. I'm honored to be here and I know because it's a male dominated industry that's don't have as many to pull from, but watch out.

00:14:57Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: I do. You guys have showed up in force. Are you [00:15:00] ladies, I should say, I have to be careful of my, my words. You ladies have showed up in full force in our community and it was a very proud moment for us to, to see that many people show up. Of course, we were kind of worried at first it was like, who is spamming [00:15:15] our community?

00:15:23Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: Well,

00:15:23Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: it got posted in, um, the wise group, so, which is all women in signs and everything else. And so [00:15:30] that, that's kind of where it came from. But you guys have been actually very gracious. You know, sometimes it's not as easy to talk to guys in the sign industry.

00:15:44Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: [00:15:45] Excellent. Well, this has been, this is a, a great moment for me. I'm not the o I'm only Fast signs franchisee any longer on the podcast, so that's, I'm super excited. Uh, how long have you been with, uh, the franchise?

00:15:58Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: I have been with the [00:16:00] franchise for about 12 years.

00:16:03Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: You were? I was a, I was a conversion as well. Nice, nice. Excellent. And what was the name of your friend, uh, your company before that? Signs and Designs. What a standard Desi sign

00:16:14Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: [00:16:15] shop name, right? Pretty, pretty common. Nothing fancy?

00:16:18Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: No. Nope, Nope. Signs. I think I have a Signs and designs in my, in on Long Island, somewhere around here.

00:16:24Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: was there any z at the end of it or No, it was, oh no, just all Ss. Ok.

00:16:29Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Just all ss. [00:16:30]

00:16:32Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: There's so many of those.

00:16:33Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: Yes. So you've been with Fast Signs now 12 years. Uh, and you have, did I understand this right? You have a couple of different locations?

00:16:42Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Yep. We have two locations. They're only about 10 [00:16:45] minutes apart.

00:16:45Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: But walk me through your journey. How did you start and then did you convert both of 'em at the same time?

00:16:51Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Yep. So we, uh, I actually started in the industry in 97, my own shop. I had worked at a vinyl shop in college. I [00:17:00] absolutely loved it, loved the industry, and just went my way and decided to open up my own place.

00:17:15 mom and pops. So I was like, okay, well prove to me why. And they did. And, and we really saw some good benefits to joining the network. So we signed on. At that point, we only had the one location and the other location we opened about [00:17:30] six or seven years ago.

00:17:31Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: Okay. So they, they approached you and you said, tell me why. Right. I have the reasons I'll, I want to hear what your reasons were. Go ahead.

00:17:41Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Well, I, I struggled with that cuz they're all like, do your due diligence, do your d But [00:17:45] we were in the beginning stages of their whole transition of, you know, converting people.

00:18:00 Uh, and I talked to Dan for probably 45 minutes and at the end of the call he told me, I for sure thought you were not going to do it. Wow. And, uh, so I'm like, well, surprise.

00:18:15 know, we were an average center size when we signed up and I was looking for something greater, something bigger. And we have a good network of people locally. You know, one of my best friends own a mom and pop shop down the street. [00:18:30] We absolutely get along and help each other back and forth as much as we can.

00:18:45 I didn't have to worry about that. So there were some added benefits on that scope that we thought were, that made sense for us.

00:18:52Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: Excellent, excellent. And, well, I can't imagine what that conversation was like many years ago, but why don't you [00:19:00] just go into it just a minute if you could, and just tell me what you see now today, looking back, what those advantages are of being a franchisee versus being an independent company.

00:19:11Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Sure. I mean, to be honest, I, somebody asked me the other [00:19:15] day, you know, would you do it again?

00:19:30 through college, it was more so the business aspect. You know, I was the creative, I was the graphic designer.

00:19:45 work? So I, I wish we would've started it sooner. Yeah, exactly.

00:19:49Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: Just talking about the creative angle before, uh, before you jumped on, it's like serendipity almost, of like, Hey, hey.

00:20:00 you, you wanna move up, there's nowhere to go in in most shops, right? What do you do? You start your own shop. And then the real challenge of of actually managing and running the business end of it kind of rears its head.

00:20:12Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Yeah, and I think you guys do a [00:20:15] great job.

00:20:30 I, again, wish we would've done it sooner, but

00:20:32Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: Yeah.

00:20:45 Learning about what their systems look like. I realized just how advantageous it would be for a small business sign shop to come in. And we were talking about like the vendor network.

00:21:00 here and talking about how easy it is to like source a vendor that can do something for you, say like channel letters or stickers or, you know, floor graphics, whatever, because you couldn't do it, you know, yourself, so you would tap into their network.[00:21:15]

00:21:30 place that franchises get, right. So while you know, you have fa uh, a whole plethora of things as a franchisee, right.

00:21:45 have no idea what you have acc what we have had access to that have made our lives so much easier as franchisees. So, uh, a as part of like our thought processes, what, how could we build out some of this collateral to make the [00:22:00] journey of an average sign shop owner that much easier?

00:22:15 description for hiring a salesperson, a graphic designer, like taking that resource, copying it and pasting it into your Indeed account just seems like too simple, right?

00:22:30 looking for? I have to take time out of my day and think about how I'm going to sell my business to somebody. So those resources are, are great.

00:22:37Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Yeah. And I. Well, well think about two. I'm sorry. No, no, go ahead. Uh, just think about it.

00:22:45 when we started back in the day in 1997, I had a plotter and a computer. Yep. How simple could it be? Now you've got latex versus solvent versus eco solvent versus UV flatbed versus, oh, hey, there's a cutter, there's a, [00:23:00] you know, a table. I'm like, it, it's so much more complicated. I mean, it doesn't have to be that complicated, but you know, it, it can get overwhelming starting it.

00:23:15 that, it, it is huge I think in this day and age.

00:23:18Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: Yeah. Looking back, like what would you say is like the biggest, like if you had to pinpoint here's the one single benefit that we got that was the most advantageous, what would you [00:23:30] say it

00:23:30Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: is?

00:23:45 staffing. That's true. But, um, for the moment we really haven't had that issue in a while, except for recently. But yeah, for the most part, learning how to actually run my business and free me up to do what I need to do has been the [00:24:00] number one instrumental thing and, and has helped me like, grow as a person, be a better, you know, feel better about myself, feel like I spend enough time with my family and, and the shop and have that balance.

00:24:13Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: yeah, that's, yeah, that's the most important thing [00:24:15] I think is having that balance. Uh, I talk to you a lot of owners that are get just getting ran over by their shop. Like, Hey, we are spending 60 hours a week, and then I get home exhausted, uh, only to come back and do it [00:24:30] again next week.

00:24:31Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Yeah. But then I look at it too, like when Covid hit, right?

00:24:45 doing this? You know, we gotta, we still have to put food on the table. So, you know, having, having something where, okay, I can bring my kids in, they can sit in the conference room, or my daughter who at the time was only like nine was answering the phone, I'll get you to a salesperson.

00:25:00 she transferred it to me just to give that five minutes, right? Yes. So like what you're teaching them and the opportunities that you have for even that kind of growth. I mean, it, it, it is really huge. As long as you can set yourself up to [00:25:15] do that. When you mom and shop started person in your. How, how

00:25:25Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: long,

00:25:25Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: when you began that journey of transitioning out of that role, how long did it take you to [00:25:30] get to a point where you were comfortable like walking off and leaving the shop for a couple days, or, you know, stepping out of the day-to-day operations?

00:25:40Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: So I think that part, to me, you know, it was [00:25:45] probably easier back then cause the business wasn't as complicated. Gotcha. I remember we had, uh, two college interns. They were girls and they were V C T majors and we brought 'em in, we trained them. And I'm like, okay, you literally had two weeks of training.

00:26:00 I'm leaving for three days. Have fun. I'll see you when I get back. And they're like, ok. But they did a great job. Right. It wasn't as complicated. Now depending on the staffing we have, you know, I still have anxiety and checking emails and whatever from time to time. But [00:26:15] it's okay. We've been able to take two weeks off as a family walk away and it hasn't burnt down.

00:26:22Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: That's excellent. You know, I, it hasn't burned down. We've had a couple of people on here that have had their shops burn down, so I [00:26:30] gotta

00:26:34Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: stories. Yeah, it's.

00:26:38Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Okay, well, love knocking

00:26:39Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: on wood. Yeah, yeah, definitely. So

00:26:42Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: tell, tell us and our listeners about [00:26:45] these awards that you've won.

00:26:47Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Yeah, so we're, we're very excited. We, uh, in 2017 we won the project of the year for Fast Signs with our city ag project, so that was amazing. Very excited about that.

00:27:00

00:27:00Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: That's you guys, us, me,

00:27:02Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: yeah. My store. I love, that's such a great project. Thank you. Okay. Okay. So that

00:27:09Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: our ahead, that is our pride and joy. Yeah. That's our, I mean, that's our big accomplishment. You know, just, [00:27:15] just our sales achievement awards and what we've been able to accomplish as a team together.

00:27:30

00:27:30Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: Tell us more about the City Ag Project for us Fast signs outsiders.

00:27:38Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Yeah. Cause I, I apologize to fast signs people if it's like beat in your beating a, a dead horse.

00:27:45 um, so we have a client who has used us for 20 plus years. Um, they own an a restaurant concept called Scramblers, which is a dine-in, uh, sit down restaurant. And we did all of their marketing and advertising. We [00:28:00] even fine tuned their original logo. And they've, they've gone through transitions over the years of changing their name and things like that.

00:28:15 well, you know, what are you gonna call it? Whatever. He's like, no, you're, you're gonna figure out what we're gonna call it. I need a brand. I need a name. I need the concept. Create the concept.

00:28:30 handle that. We got branding. I can figure out the design part. We're good. So we did, we, we put together three brand packages, different names, different logos, and uh, even interior boards of what it would look like, exterior boards, what [00:28:45] it would look like.

00:29:00 demographic, we have a different, the foods are kind of the same, but they're not gonna be called the same.

00:29:15 location a few ago. So, yeah.

00:29:17Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: That's amazing. That's awesome. I hadn't, I had no idea that that was you coming into this, so that's a little bit of a shocker to me.

00:29:30 I'm only familiar with City Egg. I'm all the way here in New York. You're in Toledo and you know, you've done this project and now pretty much, I think every center that has opened has like this sample in their lobby.

00:29:45 a giant City Egg. Like, this is what we can do for you. It's like, yeah, you guys did that. And we're like, yep. We did, did fan signs, did just not my signs, but,

00:29:58Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: and her team, [00:30:00] what you're telling me is carrying her team or the model. Of what we can do for you in every single fast signs

00:30:06Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: across country.

00:30:15 That's awesome. You got, that's such a great project. And you said then they have now opened up a couple of different, uh, locations.

00:30:21Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Yeah, so there, it, the initial one was in Columbus, Ohio, and then we did one in Toledo, downtown Toledo.

00:30:30 Green, which is about 30 minutes away from us. It's a college town and, uh, it fits the demographic really well. But yeah, we'll see how that goes. I, I don't even know that they've officially opened the doors yet cause there was some hurdles with, uh, permitting and whatnot.

00:30:45 yeah, so the, it's exciting. It's exciting that they're growing that concept as well.

00:30:49Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: Great, great, great.

00:30:50Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: I'm gonna, I'm gonna play Mike here, Pete, just because he's not on here, this, this is not typically something I would associate with fast science, [00:31:00] so, correct. Kinda gimme the backstory there. Like what was it like, was there like a transition process?

00:31:15 signed packages and branding packages before? Or was this kind of new.

00:31:20Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Yeah, so I mean, with scramblers we had, so we had history with the client. We did all of the, when, when they rebranded to Scramblers, because like I said, they [00:31:30] renamed themselves a couple times.

00:31:45 another state, we won't necessarily do the sign for them, but they're getting our signed specs so that they make it to what we have dictated.

00:32:00 quite a bit of architectural signage and full sign packages before that. I wouldn't say we put together a whole piece for somebody, but have we done all of those components separately for different customers?

00:32:15 as far as the pieces and parts, and I think that's what people need to realize is these large scale projects are really taking one-offs of other things you've done and just making it one job, which in really is the best thing, right? Because [00:32:30] it's one customer, one job, one focus.

00:32:34Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: Yeah. I think the, the shift is like thinking of it as more of like a consultant hat on. Instead of like, Hey, I'm a sign guy, or a [00:32:45] signed woman. Like, we're just making signs, you

00:32:48Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: know? And yeah, so even the last City Ag that we did, you know, I drove out there and I took my designer with me this time and we walked the place and we helped break it out.

00:33:00 this is where you should put your kiosk for ordering. This is where your barista's gonna be. Okay, well then we'll move this to this place. And so we kinda mapped out the floor plan too, but I think that also goes a little bit hand in hand, like I said, with my background. So not every sign company or [00:33:15] even at, you know, traditional sign companies are gonna necessarily have that advantage or be able to do that.

00:33:30 that's what the customer really needs, right? It's something to dress up that atmosphere.

00:33:35Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: Carrie, I can't agree with you more. I, I try to preach what you just said in so many training sessions and where I get the biggest [00:33:45] pushback from our listeners is how do you get to be that authoritative figure?

00:34:00 you going forward. But here's the thing, you telling them where to place their kiosks, and this is like what you, you're now infusing fat signs, Carrie Brock, you, your company, your designer, everything into their [00:34:15] ecosystem, into their operation.

00:34:30 nonetheless. But. How does a sign shop get there with a customer? What do you do? What were some of the things that you have done to help make that journey happen? Turn this customer into one of your largest accounts.[00:34:45]

00:34:45Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: think the key is trust and the relationship you have Now, I will be honest, he's tried to fire me a couple times and I said, go ahead.

00:34:55Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: You,

00:34:55Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: you just can't. You cannot be afraid of losing that customer, but [00:35:00] you still have to. Listen enough and be adamant enough in, if you listen to me, I promise I won't steer you wrong.

00:35:15 purpose is for your decisions, but have the confidence to know like, okay, if they don't choose it, that's fine. I will do whatever you want. We will mock it up both ways, right? Like, here's what you wanted, here's what we suggest.

00:35:30 even when you're talking about smaller projects, but you have to have some sort of knowledge and education to back up what you're saying because ultimately they are buying on your knowledge. And if you have the confidence to show that [00:35:45] it's easy, but, but not overconfidence, right?

00:36:00 wanna wow them. And you wanna explain, I have reasonings.

00:36:04Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: Okay, but what do men do wrong here? So sometimes I feel like you, you, you can, you can be honest.

00:36:15 doing wrong that maybe women take a nicer route to doing?

00:36:19Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Well, sometimes I feel like the approach is a little more, it's, it's direct. And I can definitely be direct, but I'm going to soften it. I'm gonna be a little more [00:36:30] PC, or I'm going to have a little more polished to what I'm saying.

00:36:45 you know, that that's part of it, right? Like part of it, instilling that trust without offending them or without making them feel like, Well, I gotta go with him because he, he's strong arming me.

00:37:00 stories about how competitors handle certain things and you know, we take a different approach. Sometimes we are non assuming we are more, I'm gonna listen to you, I'm gonna sit here, I'm gonna listen to all your needs. I'm going to reiterate to you [00:37:15] what you just told me because I heard you.

00:37:30 they know

00:37:33Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: laughing. Cause you know, right. Yeah. She's exactly, you're describing every conversation with my wife where she complains to me about something. I'm like, well, what do you want me to do? Like, okay, I could do this, I could do this. Like, before she's [00:37:45] even spit the whole thing out, I'm already like, okay, like how can I fix this four months and move on?

00:37:51Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: it's a hundred percent correct as a, as a sign shop, as a male sign shop owner, you know, you're hit, you hit the hill right on the head with that last statement. It's like, yeah, I [00:38:00] know what you need. I already have my mind made up of what's going to go well here and now my job is convincing you of that solution.

00:38:15 said, you are listening, not just to respond, you're listening so that you can formulate a much better thought, a lucid thought. Um, yeah, men, men can be like that. I know I am, so I, I'm not gonna speak for all men, but I I can definitely agree to that.[00:38:30]

00:38:30Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: I'm not saying it's all men.

00:38:32Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: Yeah. I'm gonna generalize and say like, tactful, and I heard Carrie say relationship earlier in that same context. I, I'll give you an example, Pete, like a former boss that I had not [00:38:45] so distant. Past. He and I would occasionally butt heads on certain things, but there was a, uh, an amazing female on our team that could take the same argument that I had and [00:39:00] sway him to her side in a way that I just, I could not

00:39:04Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Very tactical.

00:39:15 So I'm going to present you with two options. I'm gonna present you with this is what you want, or this is what you think you want, and this is what I think you should have, and here's why.

00:39:30 it's being that open to I will do what you want to do. But I do think there's a different option, whereas sometimes I think guys come in with, Nope, this is it. This is how we're doing it. Sign on the line, gimme your deposit, let's go.

00:39:45 know,

00:39:47Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: I, I think you're, you're accurate on a lot of counts. I'm

00:39:50Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: never coming back on this podcast again. No.

00:39:56Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: Uh, you're speaking too much truth. That's that's why [00:40:00] we're, we're laughing and, uh, getting red in the face because I like, yeah, I can totally identify with it, especially in my personal life. Um,

00:40:09Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: so like,

00:40:10Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: well, and trust me. Yeah. I told you I work with my husband, so I still even have to [00:40:15] do that with him.

00:40:16Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: to get him to do a project that's inter Yeah. I'm glad you brought that back up. That was one of the things that I wanted to ask about was like, what is it like working with your husband on a day-to-day

00:40:26Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: basis? Honestly, Most days it's great. We, we get [00:40:30] along very, very well. You know, we, we definitely know what the other needs to get their stuff done, whether it's, you know, in the business or at home.

00:40:45 two separate sections of the business, I think really that helps. You know, if we were both salespeople, I don't know how well that would work or if we were both production people. I dunno how that would work.

00:41:00 while, but what's a while? Like, I need a time, like I need a deadline, I need some answers. But yeah, for the most part we get along pretty well and we don't butt heads too much.

00:41:15

00:41:15Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: ok, having a discussion.

00:41:28Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: God, no. We talk [00:41:30] about a, you know, we come home to dinner and the kids are like, are you guys done yet? I'm like, Nope. Keep going.

00:41:38Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: I, I was just curious because like, I look at my wife and I as a, as a couple, we were great.

00:41:45 were like in business together, it would, it like, would totally not work just at all.

00:41:50Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: I, I realize we're a rarity. I I do accept that.

00:41:54Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: Well,

00:41:55Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: and we've had other, you know, like I can think of Chris and his wife

00:41:59Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: [00:42:00] Peter. Yeah. We've had, that's the one that comes to mind. Yeah. Yeah. We've had

00:42:02Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: several people that, that work with their family that are, have been successful on the podcast.

00:42:12Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: I will say I used to, my dad used to be in the [00:42:15] business for a minute. Everyone thinks, oh, your dad started it. No, he, he was a fighter pilot, had nothing to do with it. Retired, needed a job. So here we go. But, um, he, uh, he and I would butt heads way more than [00:42:30] Randy and I, Randy and I get along much better.

00:42:45 Let's, let's

00:42:46Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: about, I'm the one helping you out. Dad.

00:42:49Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Yeah. Two-way street, but I just took more percentage.

00:42:54Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: There you go. There you go. So what has been your experience as a, just a, a [00:43:00] woman in the sign industry, kinda in general over the last, you know, 20 years or so?

00:43:06Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: So I think it was, it was a lot different back in the day, and especially when my dad would work with me, so he was also back [00:43:15] of the shop versus front of the shop.

00:43:30 thought, oh, he he must own it.

00:43:45 and so gaining their trust that, yeah, I, I can put a sign together, you guys build houses, but I can put a sign together.

00:44:00 more and more women. Like with the Wendy Graves in the Wise Women and uh, even other fast science owners have been fantastic. We really have come together to help support each other and build each other up.

00:44:15 versus 26 years ago.

00:44:16Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: Yes. Carrie, what, what advice do you have for other women in the industry?

00:44:24Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: I, I would tell them to know their technical details because we are very [00:44:30] tech oriented, right? As far as technicalities, um, engineering, that kinda stuff. So don't be afraid of that.

00:44:45 upon like, yeah, you might be able to do the design work and you might make it look pretty, but do you know how it functions? So just know your stuff and know how to back that up. And educate, educate, educate

00:44:56Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: yourself.

00:45:00 in or involved in the sign industry? What would you think it would be a good way for, for us in this platform and any other platforms that are out there? How, what would you suggest would be a good way of.

00:45:14Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: You need a [00:45:15] panelist? That's a woman. No. Yes, it's ok.

00:45:22Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: be intimidated.

00:45:25Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Um, no, but seriously, I think like, you know, [00:45:30] just being open to having the conversations and being willing to listen to us and understand and, and know too that we don't know everything. Just you guys don't know everything. We don't know everything. But together we can make it so much better.

00:45:45 speak and ask questions and be a source or re ask for resources in your group, that's even better. And having that open, welcoming forum, that's all we're looking for because remember, we're the ones wanting to connect and build the relationships and all of that.

00:46:00 thrive on making sure that we have good, solid resources. And I would rather run to somebody who has more knowledge and expertise than I do, whether it's a man or a woman, as long as I know that it's an approachable situation.

00:46:13Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: Do you have any questions for [00:46:15] us before we go?

00:46:18Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: I don't, I dunno. I don't think so.

00:46:26Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: I've got, I've got one question [00:46:30] that I, and I mentioned, I was gonna ask this to Peter. Like, ever since the, the Women in Signs group joined our group, like probably, I think there was a hundred women that joined afterwards after the first game, [00:46:45] but I noticed that the women were asking way better questions as a business owner than some of the, the men in the group were.

00:47:00 why that is or I was just curious. Um, well,

00:47:04Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: I don't, I don't think so. I think that we. Maybe sometimes we see a bigger picture and, and don't try to get lost in the weeds, although, you know, that depends on the person. [00:47:15] I can get lost in the weeds on a project easily too.

00:47:30 know, I think we're, we're really good at making systems. We have to juggle the house and juggle the kids and juggle the business.

00:47:45 because if we can make our lives easier so we can, you know, not drop every ball that we are carrying, that'd be great.

00:47:50Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: So what's, what's the, what's the future for you? What's the future for your business?

00:47:59Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Yeah, [00:48:00] so I, you know, I wish I could tell you because if, if you would've asked me 10 years ago, would you be fabricating large electrical signs, would you be doing this? Would you, I would've said, no, actually, my dad had those dreams and I'm like, we're not doing that.

00:48:15 as we have a wall paint booth now and everything. Yeah.

00:48:20Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: Actually, actually, hold on. I'm gonna ask you a different question and I actually promised our listeners I would definitely ask here, so I, I almost forgot to ask. [00:48:30] Okay. Fair signs. The network, when you take a look at the collective, the macro of all of the owners, the majority of them do not fabricate, right?

00:48:45 you do? Why do you, why do you think that is? Why do you think that Fast Sign says to you, yeah, fabrication is not necessarily a part of our desired business model, [00:49:00] but you can grow into it. Why do you think that that is?

00:49:02Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: I think the biggest reason is there's just so many more complexities to it.

00:49:15 fabrication, there's a lot more rules, regulations, you know, you're, you're talking a lot of different technicalities that not everyone can handle, and it takes a skillset. You know, I, I probably wouldn't be doing it, but my husband has a mechanics background.

00:49:30 certs. Like, he kinda drove us into this. Our clients drove us into it. The market that we're in drove us into it. So I think it's not as easy to replicate, and there's a lot more questions that come up with that. So they might not be, [00:49:45] they are getting better. We have a exterior fabrication group.

00:50:00

00:50:01Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: enjoy that you fabricate or would you ever think about going back? Could you ever go backwards if you can back to a final shop? No.

00:50:09Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: You know, some days I think, oh my God, we were so much more profitable when we were so much more simpler.

00:50:15

00:50:16Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: there's that question. Cause final shops, you know, they preach

00:50:21Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: interior decor, interior decor, high profit margins. Yeah. We get into this, we get into this business not as a fast signs, but as a [00:50:30] desired fine shop owner because we know margins and vinyl are through the roof. Right. I hope our customers are not listening to this, but yeah.

00:50:45 products. Everybody knows that. But once you get into fabrication, what I, what they also know is the margins are lower. So with margins being lower, but the ticketed sales being higher, right?

00:51:00 mean, I'm not one to argue this question, but I have had people on the show say, why would you ever get into that? You know, what was the reasoning behind it? Uh, I don't have a mechanical background. I had to learn on the job. So learning how to use a [00:51:15] C N C router, learning how to use old laser, a channel letter, you know, Accu, you know, and all the machines that go along with that, that comes with, okay, I gotta, I'm going to school today and I'm gonna learn this new machine.[00:51:30]

00:51:35Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Well, and I think you brought up a good point. The margins might be lower percentage wise, but the tickets are bigger. So that does balance itself out. I'm not gonna lie, I do feel like we probably make [00:51:45] more money now than we did 20 years ago, but, you know, I had a fast science owner in my board group ask me the same thing, you know, I know Carrie, that it's all fun and creative and, and you like the, the creativeness of it, but shouldn't you just go back to the regular model?

00:52:00 no, because this is for one. If you look at my whip, it's more than 50% of our whip right now. So no, I'm not gonna back and cut our sales in half.

00:52:15 focus here in our shop on solution-based thinking. That is the number one thing that everyone needs to come to the table with. And we all enjoy that, and we really care about making those brands stand out and look different and unique. And so that [00:52:30] is the avenue where we feel we get the most bang for our buck.

00:52:33Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: so I'm gonna echo, I'm gonna echo that same sentiment, but I'm gonna just take it a little bit, a little bit further. See, the reason why I got into fabrication was because I wanted the control [00:52:45] of all of those things that are in your head, right? So if I needed to route something dimensional letters, I knew that I was gonna produce it and what my capabilities were not, what a vendor's capabilities were in having to, you know, possibly go through that [00:53:00] procedure of going through, okay, let's, let's, let's send them the mockup.

00:53:15 creative team, okay, we're gonna make three layered dimensional, H D U signs, paint some graphics, X, Y, z, I actually know how to build that with within my own resources.

00:53:30 timing, overhead, all that goes into that formula. And that's why I decided to get into it. Cause I can have 100% control over the, the sale price, right? And people might say to you, well, Pete, I always have a hundred percent control [00:53:45] over the sale price. If I'm outsourcing it, I can control what I wanna do.

00:54:00 and you know, you have to live. Outside of that, you have to live with those margins being, uh, taken up out of your pocket. So if you can bring all of that into your company, all of that equipment, maybe extra labor, [00:54:15] maybe extra square footage, whatever the case may be, the goal for me was, well, now I'm going to be able to produce a channel letter product, or a routed product, or a painted project, whatever the case was, I'm gonna be able to handle it [00:54:30] inside my four walls.

00:54:45 know, it's just not our thing. Not, it's not our thing. You know, we have a vendor network for that.

00:55:00 Stick point of contention, they're putting a lot of emphasis on interior decor. And I'm like, well, my mar you said your market dictated your whip. And I look at, I look at like, I've done 18 channel letter jobs this month.

00:55:15 like, I I, I'm not gonna throw that away, right? Yeah. I make more margin on vinyl, but these, this is like 200, $300,000 worth of sales right here. I'm, I'm, I'm not throwing that away. So yeah, and for those of you out there that don't know whip, it means work [00:55:30] in progress. I, I knew what you meant when you said that, but I'm not sure if our listeners did, but Okay.

00:55:37Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: other thing too, I mean you brought up really good points because on one of your podcasts you guys talked about outsourcing so much and I literally was cringing and having like ticks when you [00:55:45] guys were talking about it. I agree to an extent. Like, I'm not gonna go run out and get a sub machine, I'm not gonna go print fabric, I'm not gonna do certain things, but mm-hmm.

00:56:00 channel letter bender. So for one, I, we weren't competitive with one of the number one companies in town. Like I could not win a set of channel letters against them if we're going head-to-head on price only. Right? So I'm like, okay, we've gotta build 'em ourselves.

00:56:15 themselves, we've gotta build them ourselves. 2020 hits. Cause I think we got it in 19, or right before 2020 converted or changed over. 2020 hits. Guess what? There are no raceways. The channel letter people are 12 to 15 weeks out. [00:56:30] I knocked out a set of channel letters in two weeks.

00:56:45 I'm making money, more money because, you know, it's, it's a little bit of labor, but once the guys figured out how to use it, that's the other thing.

00:57:00 cut it, process it. That's a lot of labor intensiveness where a set of channel letters we can knock out in a couple days. Not, not as much. And one guy and one basic machine. I mean, it, it's a, [00:57:15] it's a game changer.

00:57:25Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: Yeah. I would say that you would've definitely won that argument. Uh, I can't, I can't [00:57:30] side with anybody that thinks that bending letters manually is faster than what I can put outta the machine.

00:57:36Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: wanna do it at all. He, he didn't wanna do it at all. He didn't wanna do it at all.

00:57:40Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: I was like, no, we're getting this machine.

00:57:42Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: Oh, no, no, no, no. You won that audio. Yeah. I,

00:57:44Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: I'm gonna [00:57:45] go on record here, Carrie, and just suggest your superpower is like rising to the challenge and like figuring it out.

00:57:56Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: yourself. I, I can accept that. [00:58:00] Yeah.

00:58:02Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: I've, that come up several times and I, I just wanted to call it out. And that's, you know, that's totally ao Okay. Like, hey, when I started in the industry, I was driven by a lot of those same things [00:58:15] of like, Hey, how is this sign made and can we make something like that in-house?

00:58:30 of the challenge of it. And next up

00:58:32Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: is awnings, but my husband still says no. I'm like, I'm gonna win that one too, but gimme, gimme a couple years.

00:58:38Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: Yeah. So talk to us about the future.

00:58:45 for the shop? We, we'll keep it really, you know, we

00:58:48Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: open-ended. Yeah. We continue to do what we do and I just, you know, we'd like to bring in more capabilities and more people and yeah. I mean, doing the same thing we always do [00:59:00] and we just grow with it and grow with our clients.

00:59:04Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: better than that. Any specific plans? More locations, more equipment, more capabilities? Like what's the, what is, let me rephrase. Like what's the [00:59:15] endgame for you?

00:59:16Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: So, you know, I'm approaching 50 and my husband's already in his 50. So, you know, we are thinking about the downturn eventually, you know, 10 years from now.

00:59:30 already outgrown it. It's about 6,500 square feet. So we would like to build out a separate fab shop and if we do that, I will win the awning argument. But if we, it'll be, you know, something on the back lot so that we can just have [00:59:45] fab separated out from the rest of it.

01:00:00 But I, I really am open for whatever comes our way and, you know, as long as they're willing to accept the challenge with me, but more people

01:00:07Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: and we'll see what happens.

01:00:15 questions on the, the fast signs side of things? We all have, we beat that to death. Are you, I think

01:00:21Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: we, I think we may have beaten that to death. Uh, a little bit. I mean, I, I I'm so excited. Uh, we're, I was so excited to have you on here, Carrie. So, [01:00:30] uh, we can geek out a little bit.

01:00:36Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: the, I did. You

01:00:37Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: did? Yep. Very nice. Very nice. Okay. How did you like, uh, Las Vegas?

01:00:44Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Ugh, I [01:00:45] hate Las Vegas. Like everything's in Las Vegas this year. I'm like, no, not going Isa. I'm not going, no, not going any of that. Yeah. Once was enough. I just not, not me.

01:00:56Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: Well, thank you so much for coming on board here and talking with Brian and [01:01:00] I I'm, I'm so happy to have you and good luck the rest of the way and City Egg. Do not fire Harry Brock. And that is never gonna happen.

01:01:11Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: Yeah. Thanks guys. It was fun. Yeah, absolutely. [01:01:15] If, uh, anybody is interested in learning more about Citi Egg Project or your locations or connecting with you, is there any place you'd like them to reach out or you on Twitter?

01:01:30

01:01:30Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: Yeah. Email's fine. I'm like, not Twitter, TikTok.

01:01:34Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: My kids are like complaining to me that I need to get TikTok and I'm like, uh, no, I, I'm not gonna do it.

01:01:41Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: We

01:01:41Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: started a TikTok channel for the shop. There you go. You, [01:01:45] you can

01:01:45Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: check that out there. There you go. Yeah.

01:01:49Karrie Brock: #a86800;">Karrie Brock: I don't have much to do with it, but you can see some of the creativity about our team.

01:01:55Peter Kourounis: #de4a1d;">Peter Kourounis: number? 5 84. Okay, so everybody [01:02:00] can get Carrie at 5 5 80 four@fastsigns.com. 5 84. There you go. At Fast signs.com. Thank you so much Carrie. Appreciate you jumping on. Thanks guys. Enjoy the rest of your week. Thanks Gary. You too. Bye.

01:02:13Bryant Gillespie: #6600cc;">Bryant Gillespie: All right. If you liked [01:02:15] this episode, make sure you hit subscribe to get all the latest episodes and check out our website, better sign shop.com.

01:02:30 listening.