I am one of the many people affected by the slowing of the real estate market in the Treasure Valley. Formerly a broker, today I maintain a limited involved in the real estate community, but it has been clear for awhile that I needed to find another source of income.

There are many sign companies in the Valley, but I felt there was a niche to be filled as I heard Realtor complaints about the slow turnaround time from the companies they were using. I started Boise Area Signs to offer wooden sign posts to Realtors.

I built the posts in my garage and delivered them to the locations needed. Having a background in the cabinet design and installation business, I already had the necessary tools and equipment. I simply needed to deliver the goods faster than the competition. This began as a supplemental income during the leaner times and was meant to be a temporary solution to help family financial needs.

Then, one day, a Realtor asked if I could make him the actual real estate sign. This required using a vinyl-cutting machine I did not own. So to my wife's surprise, one day she found a rather industrial-looking piece of equipment in our dining room.

It was obvious, however, that this was becoming a business that could no longer be run out of our home. To do this right, we needed a storefront. Because of my wife's 30-plus years in assorted retail capacities, it seemed reasonable to expect she'd be happy to staff this storefront outlet for 12 hours a day, six days a week. For some reason, she was not as enthusiastic as I was about this part of the business plan.

Instead, we opted for a warehouse that suits our equipment needs. By not choosing a strip mall location that must be staffed constantly, we are free to lock up the business while we are out in the field installing signs for customers. I am happy that my wife won the argument against the storefront location.

We graduated to the next level by purchasing a Roland wide-format digital printer, which allows us to produce beautiful photo-quality images. It is also capable of printing anything from small window graphics to billboards. This opened up a whole new customer base for us, as we are now competing for the higher-end projects such as large photo-quality signs for new housing developments.

We have been fortunate to have great customers like the Meridian Fire Department, EventRent, multiple small businesses and numerous real estate agents. All are loyal customers and have sent many referrals our way. We are a member of the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce and Buy Idaho.

As a result of our time out meeting people, the business has exceeded our expectations month by month.

We are a family-run business, with my staff consisting of my wife, my father, a sister who is a graphics design artist and a generous neighbor. We want to be known as good stewards in our community and are doing our best to make all of our choices as eco-friendly as possible. We have even found a vocational high school that is in need of our vinyl scrap, thus giving our trash one more use before it finds its way into a landfill.

We feel that we have found our niche in the Treasure Valley community and know that only bigger challenges and rewards await us.

Scott Robertson is the owner of Boise Area Signs. He can be reached at scott@boiseareasigns.com.

Starting Up is a series published on Thursdays. The columns grew from discussions between the Statesman and local tech and entrepreneurial leaders and are coordinated by Julie Howard, a specialist for the Idaho Office of Science and Technology. Reach her at julie.howard@commerce.idaho.gov.

Article written by Scott Robertson - Special to the Idaho Statesman

Edition Date: 07/10/08