Client Name: Caleb Price
Business Name: Signarama Concord
Business Website: https://signarama.com/locations/nh-concord
Industry: Sign Manufacturing
Location: Concord, NH
SBDC Advisor's Name: Kyla Brustin
When Kendra Price landed a new job with Signarama in Concord, a full-service sign center, it turned out to be a much bigger opportunity than she had anticipated. The college grad with a BFA in Printmaking had worked in other print and sign shops and eventually joined Signarama as their Production Manager. But, as they say in infomercials, “that’s not all!” She assumed this role in March 2023 and just two months later, she and her husband Caleb embarked on the journey toward business ownership.
Signarama’s owner at the time shared that he was looking to retire and that piqued the couple’s interest. Caleb, a 7th generation farmer whose family-owned dairy farm has been providing milk to Cabot Cheese for 20 years, was curious about this potential business venture for him and his wife. They found the idea of having economic participation on a larger scale and the ability to make their own decisions appealing.
While Kendra continued to work in her role, Caleb started hanging out at the shop, watching how things are done, and with his handy farm skills, he joined the owner on sign installations. Travelling between installations was a great time for them to talk about this potential purchase opportunity. Caleb shares, “next thing you know, we’re signing an NDA and going through the process of buying.” Caleb and Kendra closed on the purchase of Signarama in October 2023.
Signarama makes custom signs for businesses, whether they’re looking to advertise or inform. Having been in and around the business just a little over a year now, Caleb is enjoying the impact Signarama gets to have on businesses. He says, “Signs are the image of a business and being able to see your work help other businesses is rewarding.”
Before that purchase could take place though, Caleb and Kendra needed the funding to make it happen. It was over dinner with a previous employer of Kendra’s that SBDC came up. The employer had used SBDC’s services in the past and recommended it as a valuable resource. Caleb, who knew he needed to put together a good business plan before approaching lenders thought, “you know what? Why not?”
Caleb got connected with SBDC Business Advisor Kyla Brustin. “Kyla is honestly fantastic,” says Caleb. He was especially impressed with her commitment and willingness to, quite literally, go out of her way to help. Kyla once made the trip from North Conway all the way to Concord to join Caleb for a walk-through of the facility he was doing with the bank before their loan was approved. “It was so great to have her along, because she helped communicate with the lender,” says Caleb. “That also made us look like we had second opinions and someone helping us with important decisions.”
Kyla’s support was especially helpful with the business plan. SBDC provides a template for small businesses to use, but Caleb really appreciated Kyla’s review of the information he put into the plan. He says, “Kyla proofread the plan several times over zoom meetings and helped make it professional and convincing.” If he had questions, Kyla answered them. She was there for support through it all, providing guidance on what to include, what not include, and then some. “I place a large portion of our success on a well put together business plan that caught the eyes of lenders,” says Caleb. SBDC provided Caleb with what lenders want and need to see, along with templates for cash flow projections, startup capital costs, and more. Caleb and Kendra were able to attain an SBA loan for the purchase.
In addition, Kyla provided good advice on feasibility. Caleb explained how it was helpful to have someone with her experience to go over the numbers and reassure them that everything looked good for what they needed to finance. He says,
“Kyla’s advice about whether it seems doable gave us confidence. Sometimes just having the opinion from someone unbiased, with experience, is worth a lot and that is something you can get a lot of with NH SBDC.”
And so far, it seems, the continued success of Signarama is more than “doable.” Business is good and they are looking forward to a bright future where they hope to expand into a warehouse space for manufacturing while keeping their store fronts as points of sale and service for customers. Caleb shares, “If we play things right, eventually we would like to open an additional sales location in southern NH in a "wheel and spoke" business model, adding an additional franchise to our name.”