Emily Hardy, Mike Jones, and Chris Moore set up the business in May 2017
Three’s a charm at Signability
When the sign company they worked for closed up shop in May 2017, three colleagues took a leap of faith and set up their own sign business instead. Mike Jones, Chris Moore and Emily Hardy bounced back after being made redundant and now run Signability as a three-(wo)man-band.
Jones, aged 37, has worked in the sign industry since leaving school. Moore, aged 32, graduated from university as a graphic designer and worked in this field before moving over to the sign industry. Hardy, aged 29, trained in another field but joined the sign industry after having her daughter to work in admin and customer services. The three eventually ended up working at the same company and formed a close working relationship.
Fast-forward to 2017, and the trio used their creative minds to get Signability off the ground. Hardy explains: “We started out on my living room floor, bought a van and printer and Mike would make and cut the graphics in his back shed. We invested a small amount of money each and used this to set the business up with the thought that if it doesn’t work then at least we’ve tried.”
We started out on my living room floor, bought a van and printer and Mike would make and cut the graphics in his back shed”
Four years later and Hardy describes the business venture as life changing. She continues: “We never expected the business to do so well and love doing what we do every day. Financially the business does better than we ever would have expected with just the three of us.”
Learning on the job
The three directors utilise their individual skills to ensure the business runs smoothly. According to Hardy, a typical day starts with a cup of tea and a chat about upcoming jobs. Moore will then go off to do his design work and Hardy and Jones will make a start on making and installing signs. As the team is comprised only of the three, they all share the customer-facing side of business – making sure there are always biscuits on hand.
(Above & below) The trio split all the work between themselves
That being said, Hardy explains how the team have had to adapt and learn new skills as the business has grown. She says: “We don’t employ anyone. We have really focused on making the company work with just us and building a stable base. We have had to adapt and learn new skills in order to make it work.
“Chris designs and prints and also has learned to make signs. Mike surveys, makes and installs, and I do the business management and accounting, and have very much focused on learning how to make signs and graphics.”
To do this, Hardy says the team have all undertaken IPAF (International Powered Access Federation) mobile elevating work platform courses, wrap courses as well as business management courses.
Dream team
Signability operates from a small unit in Stoke-on-Trent which has space for the team’s printers, plotters, roller table and CNC machine as well as an office. Keeping the team small means the trio can organise work effectively to make use of the space.
Hardy also explains that the reason they have no plans to invest in more staff is because keeping operations small means they can ensure everyone maintains a happy work life balance.
In terms of the work on offer, the company designs and produces signs and vehicle graphics as well as in-house large-format printing such as posters, stickers and roller banners.
As to who completes which jobs, Hardy explains it is very much a team effort. She says: “Mike is very skilled and has taught Chris and myself a lot. We design, create and install ourselves. Our work is very varied from producing signs for start-ups, small local companies, and tradesman vans, to graphics for national dealerships and the NHS.
“Whether it’s for a large customer or not, it doesn’t bother us. Our favourite jobs are the ones where the customer is beaming and loves what we’ve created. Mike really likes jobs which he’s made from scratch and had to think about. Chris enjoys a job where the brief is quite relaxed and there is some creative freedom.”
Whether it’s for a large customer or not, it doesn’t bother us. Our favourite jobs are the ones where the customer is beaming and loves what we’ve created”
As you can imagine, setting up a business from scratch is no mean feat. Hardy describes this as one of the company’s biggest challenges to date. She recalls some of the worries the team experienced at the very start of the venture: “How will we get customers, is it the right thing to do, how are we going to pay ourselves, and can we find a job if it fails?”
Perseverance
Another challenge the business has faced in recent years is one that many are still battling with today. The Covid-19 pandemic saw many businesses in the print and sign industries lose work. This was the case for Signability and Hardy describes how the company went from being fully booked to closed for weeks on end with no income. “A lot of our customers were struggling and this had a knock on effect on us,”she explains.
To offer a range of services, the directors completed various training courses
Luckily, Hardy says demand has started to grow again with things starting to improve. She says the company hopes to be back to pre-Covid business levels soon. Amongst this, the team was able to step back and reassess the business properly.
Hardy says: “Pre-covid the company was growing substantially year-on-year and we were at the point of going through with a purchase of commercial property but due to Covid we had to adapt, and our plans changed accordingly. It made us reassess what was important to us as individuals, and this is what drives the company’s decisions.”
The pandemic taught people all around the world the importance of resilience and perseverance in both our work and personal lives as we buckled down to help reduce the spread of the virus.
This trait is something the Signability team showed on setting up the business four years ago and is something Hardy says herself, Moore and Jones are most proud of. “With no business experience at all, we have made the company work and be a success. We have all played our part and done everything we can to learn as much as we can and put everything into it.”
Signability offers a range of sign and wide-format print services
Looking forward, the three-strong team says they want to keep operations small and are planning to put their new CNC machine to good use, bringing letter cutting in-house to make some really creative signage.
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