Sign Greeters Blog
Bert’s Big Adventure: Mycah Rings the Bell!
All of our Georgia Sign Greeters locations are excited for our new partnership with Bert’s Big Adventure! We’ll be delivering signs for BBA kids in Atlanta and the surrounding areas. We recently had a chance to deliver this wonderful sign to BBA 2019 kid Mycah, on his last day of chemotherapy treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Mycah was able to the ring the bell and celebrate his final day of treatment. We loved seeing the smile on his face on this important day! We wish Mycah continued good health.
If you would like to decorate a yard for someone’s special occasion, please check out all of our locations. We love to decorate for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, baby showers, gender reveals, retirements, and all occasions! If you are interested in becoming a Sign Greeters Owner, I would be happy to have my owners touch base. You can check out the details here.
Smiles & Happiness,
Brutus, The Sign Greeters Birdie
Tropical Storm Zeta
It was just another evening in Atlanta and I was out to deliver a big birthday greeting for Dane. I finished setting up everything and then got some bad news: Tropical Storm Zeta was scheduled to come through the area. Normally, our signs can withstand any rain or thunderstorms, but this storm was predicted to have VERY strong winds. For everyone’s safety, we decided to take down all of our signs for the evening and re-deliver them as soon as the storm had passed. Whew! It was a lot of work for the whole team, but we didn’t want our signs to injure anyone or break anyone’s windows. After seeing the number of trees that fell in the storm, I’m glad we chose to err on the side of caution. I went back the next afternoon to make sure that Dane had a great birthday, despite the weather! I heard Dane loved his greeting! Happy 8th birthday, Dane!
If you would like to decorate a yard for someone’s special occasion, please check out all of our locations. We love to decorate for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, baby showers, gender reveals, retirements, and all occasions! If you are interested in becoming a Sign Greeters Owner, I would be happy to have my owners touch base. You can check out the details here.
Smiles & Happiness,
Brutus, The Sign Greeters Birdie
Veterans Day
I flew all around the country so I could deliver some special greetings for Veterans Day. We are so grateful for the service of our American heroes. Though just a small token of our gratitude, Sign Greeters hopes that our yard greetings brought some smiles to our vets. Happy Veterans Day!
If you would like to decorate a yard for someone’s special occasion, please check out all of our locations. We love to decorate for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, baby showers, gender reveals, retirements, and all occasions! If you are interested in becoming a Sign Greeters Owner, I would be happy to have my owners touch base. You can check out the details here.
Smiles & Happiness,
Brutus, The Sign Greeters Birdie
It’s the Bishop’s Birthday!
I was so excited to deliver this very special birthday greeting to Bishop Johnson of the Hands of Faith Deliverance Center. I helped his church celebrate their community earlier this year. The Bishop loves Falcons football, preaching, traveling, and most of all good food! He loved this special birthday celebration and we hope he got to eat all of his favorite things to celebrate turning 51. Happy birthday, Bishop Johnson!
If you would like to decorate a yard for someone’s special occasion, please check out all of our locations. We love to decorate for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, baby showers, gender reveals, retirements, and all occasions! If you are interested in becoming a Sign Greeters Owner, I would be happy to have my owners touch base. You can check out the details here.
Smiles & Happiness,
Brutus, The Sign Greeters Birdie
Always Love: Ellie’s Day
I was recently asked to help honor the life of a little girl named Ellie. Ellie Pruitt passed away in February at eight years old after battling several autoimmune diseases. She was a second grader at Carmel Elementary School in Woodstock, Georgia.
At three years old, Ellie was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis after complaining of fatigue and leg pain. She loved to play outside, but began playing with her toys at the kitchen table because it was too painful for her to sit on the floor. After Ellie’s diagnosis, she began a treatment course of steroids and injections, as well as participated in a medical study attempting to determine the cause of autoimmune disease. The Pruitt family got involved in the Arthritis Foundation’s Walk to Cure Arthritis.
In the days following Ellie’s death, her parents, Chuck and Heather Pruitt, found a piece of paper in Ellie’s room. On it, she had written out a list entitled “My Room Rules” and included the following: 1. Have fun, 2. No fighting, 3. No pushing, shoving, or hitting, 4. Always love. Her parents chose to share the list of Ellie’s rules with her second grade classmates, hoping that it would provide some comfort to the kids.
Heather said of her daughter, “I think Ellie’s mission on Earth was to make sure everyone had a best friend. Everybody said ‘you raised her so well,’ and I’m like, she was easy to raise. She was amazing.” Soon, the entire Woodstock community embraced Ellie’s final rule as a mantra: Always love. Local businesses posted the rule on their signs and recently, the entire community organized “Ellie’s Day” to honor her. Teachers, staff, and students at the area schools wore yellow shirts and of course, I was honored to deliver two huge signs dedicated to Ellie’s memory. All of us at Sign Greeters have embraced Ellie’s rule, and we hope all of you will too.
To learn more about Juvenile Arthritis or to make a donation in Ellie’s memory, please visit www.arthritis.org/diseases/juvenile-arthritis.
Brutus, The Sign Greeters Birdie
Dance Party on the Lawn!
Janet’s husband wanted to celebrate her milestone birthday with a big drive by dance party. He enlisted my help to deliver this huge yard greeting, while he set up big speakers on the lawn so that he could play music for everyone driving by! Janet’s 70th was a huge, joyous celebration that everyone enjoyed. Happy birthday, Janet!
If you would like to decorate a yard for someone’s special occasion, please check out all of our locations. We love to decorate for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, baby showers, gender reveals, retirements, and all occasions! If you are interested in becoming a Sign Greeters Owner, I would be happy to have my owners touch base. You can check out the details here.
Smiles & Happiness,
Brutus, The Sign Greeters Birdie
VOTE!
It’s Election Day in America! I’m just a bird, so I can’t vote, but I hope all of YOU exercise your right to vote today. Voting is a civic duty and a powerful way to make your voice heard. If you haven’t voted by mail or voted early, I encourage you to get out there and vote in person today.
If you would like to decorate a yard for someone’s special occasion, please check out all of our locations. We love to decorate for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, baby showers, gender reveals, retirements, and all occasions! If you are interested in becoming a Sign Greeters Owner, I would be happy to have my owners touch base. You can check out the details here.
Smiles & Happiness,
Brutus, The Sign Greeters Birdie
Happy Haunted Halloween!
We have been so excited to celebrate Halloween all month, but especially this week! Personally, I love all the innovative ways that people are planning to trick or treat this year. From candy chutes to clothes pins, the creativity has been amazing. We have been busy birdies delivering festive and spooky signs all over! We hope you have a haunted (but safe and healthy) Halloween!
If you would like to decorate a yard for someone’s special occasion, please check out all of our locations. We love to decorate for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, baby showers, gender reveals, retirements, and all occasions! If you are interested in becoming a Sign Greeters Owner, I would be happy to have my owners touch base. You can check out the details here.
Smiles & Happiness,
Brutus, The Sign Greeters Birdie
Meet Our Greeters: Boca Raton!
This is a continuation of our series “Meet Our Greeters”. We hope you enjoy getting to know the people and faces behind our greetings!
Today I’ll be chatting with Ivonne Simon, who not only owns the Boca Raton Sign Greeters, but is also the Co-Founder and President of Sign Greeters!
Brutus: What inspired you to start Sign Greeters?
Ivonne Simon: I actually ordered a sign from another company in early April. I happened to be outside when the sign was being picked up, so I complimented and thanked the ladies who had done the sign. They said, “We are so busy that we are turning away business.” I went inside and immediately got on my laptop and started doing research on yard companies and what they provided. Within that week, I connected with Stacie and spoke to her about it. She said, “Why are you looking to go with another company? Let’s start our own!” It was during that time we did our due diligence to learn what other companies were not providing to their licensees or franchise owners. We knew we wanted to create a company that was going to be a “Business in a Box,” so to speak. Our company would provide a robust website, paid searches, and marketing materials and tools for our licensees.
B: What is the most rewarding part of Sign Greeters?
IS: There are so many rewarding parts of Sign Greeters, it’s hard to choose just one! Firstly, I get to work with Stacie each and every day! It’s amazing going through this together, sharing ideas, and watching Sign Greeters consistently evolve. Secondly, it’s the best feeling connecting with customers. Creating custom yard signs for people and knowing how excited they are is incredible. Of course, after installing a sign, the best part is seeing the happy expressions and hearing about everyone’s reactions. It’s complete happiness! I also love meeting prospective licensees throughout the country who are looking to join Sign Greeters. I love speaking with them, getting to know them, and sharing our mission statement and what Sign Greeters offers. Lastly, this has been amazing to do with my husband and two daughters. Everyone helps out and has helped install signs and pick up signs. It’s wonderful to have my whole family be a part of it!
Ivonne and Sign Greeters Co-Founder/CEO Stacie Francombe
B: What’s your number one piece of advice for someone interested in becoming a business owner?
IS: I would say to come into this and be very open to “thinking outside of the box.” It’s always great to brainstorm different ideas. For example, various ways to market locally, best ways to work with your customer, or even coming up with creative ideas for how to install a sign. There are many times a customer will ask for something incredibly specific, which may not be in that licensee’s inventory yet, or perhaps the client needs the greeting installed or picked up outside of our normal delivery/pick up times. Accommodating the client’s needs and coming up with ways to make it work are important! In addition, it’s wonderful to have our community of Sign Greeters owners constantly in communication with each other, whether to ask for suggestions or share advice and tips. It’s such a happy business and if you’re passionate about it, your clients will feel that energy.
B: What is your favorite thing about living in South Florida? What’s your least favorite?
IS: I love being in South Florida because I grew up here! Most of my family is here and tons of my friends are here. I grew up in Plantation, where we always had holidays with extended family; cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. There was always a birthday or occasion for us to get together and celebrate! I also love the warm weather all year, being able to wear shorts and tank tops year round is pretty great. However, what I like least is the humidity. This definitely brings MANY bad hair days!
B: If you could be any household appliance, which one would you be and why?
IS: I would be a dishwasher because I’m always running and going like crazy!!!
B: What’s your favorite book? What’s the last book you read?
IS: I love to read! I have so many favorite books, but recently have been into authors Liane Moriarty and Elin Hilderbrand. The last book I read was _The Castaways_.
B: Did you learn any new skills at the beginning of “quarantine”?
IS: What I actually learned was how far away we had gotten from the “basics.” Having dinners together as a family, playing boardgames, and watching movies together instead of running around in twenty different directions every day! I learned the importance of slowing down and just appreciating what I have. It’s pretty simple.
B: What’s your favorite meal?
IS: I love Alaskan king crab, but a great piece of fish, chicken parmesan, and mushroom pizza make me happy! Of course, I love desserts and a cookie dough Blizzard from Dairy Queen never disappoints!
B: What’s the biggest challenge you’ve tackled this year?
IS: The biggest challenge has been starting this business! We have not stopped since the day we started talking about it. We still can’t believe quickly we started and how rapidly we started growing. It truly has not stopped! Every day is something new, whether that’s speaking to a potential new licensee or handling a sign order from a brand new customer. It’s exciting and challenging, but we are learning and growing all of the time.
B: What are you most thankful for this year?
IS: I’m thankful for finding my way to Sign Greeters. This business has been such a blessing! During such a time of uncertainty, it has brought me such happiness every day. I love hearing from my customers, our happy Sign Greeters licensees, and laughing and working with Stacie. It’s been incredible and I can’t wait to see what our future holds. I’m also grateful and thankful to have had a Bat Mitzvah for my daughter Leah this past October. It was such a special occasion and I’m so proud of what she accomplished.
B: If you had a full 24 hours to yourself with no obligations, how would you spend your day?
IS: First, I would head to the beach, find a great spot, and read a book. Then I’d get some fantastic sushi, head to the mall, do some shopping, get a massage, and end with a great dinner overlooking the water with my family and closest friends. After that, going somewhere where we could all dance for the rest of the night!
Ivonne and family at her daughter’s bat mitzvah
If you would like to decorate a yard for someone’s special occasion, please check out all of our locations. We love to decorate for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, baby showers, gender reveals, retirements, and all occasions! If you are interested in becoming a Sign Greeters Owner, I would be happy to have my owners touch base. You can check out the details here.
Smiles & Happiness,
Brutus, The Sign Greeters Birdie
A Spooky Baby Shower
We were so excited to deliver a greeting for a Halloween themed baby shower in Phoenix! This spooky baby shower was a drive by party, so that the parents-to-be (and their friends) could all be safe before the new addition arrives. The house already had a very large spider web out front, which made our spooky baby shower sign look even creepier! We hope this little monster’s arrival isn’t really a nightmare!
If you would like to decorate a yard for someone’s special occasion, please check out all of our locations. We love to decorate for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, baby showers, gender reveals, retirements, and all occasions! If you are interested in becoming a Sign Greeters Owner, I would be happy to have my owners touch base. You can check out the details here.
Smiles & Happiness,
Brutus, The Sign Greeters Birdie
Share a Special Halloween Yard Sign
With COVID precautions in place, Halloween, like everything else, is going to be a little different. I have been helping my Greeters deliver some festivity to yards around the country, from Sandy Springs, Atlanta, Snellville, and Buford all the way to Boca Raton and Phoenix. A COVID safe option for getting into the spooky season spirit is sending a friend or neighbor a BOO! greeting, which comes with a bag of Halloween treats. Once that friend or neighbor has been “BOO!-ed” it’s their turn to send a BOO! to someone else. An adult option is to “BOOze” your friends and deliver a bottle of wine! We may not be trick or treating this year, but I love how spooktacular everyone’s yards look with our witches, ghosts, and jack-o-lanterns. There’s still time for you to send a Halloween greeting to a friend, so hurry up and BOO! them before they BOO! you.
If you would like to decorate a yard for someone’s special occasion, please check out all of our locations. We love to decorate for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, baby showers, gender reveals, retirements, and all occasions! If you are interested in becoming a Sign Greeters Owner, I would be happy to have my owners touch base. You can check out the details here.
Smiles & Happiness,
Brutus, The Sign Greeters Birdie
Meet Our Greeters: Phoenix!
This is the first of our new series, “Meet Our Greeters”. We hope you enjoy getting to know the people and faces behind our greetings!
I am so excited to start introducing you to all of our Greeters! I’ll be doing interviews with everyone so you can get to know our Sign Greeters family. First up are Kristen Butler and Victoria Canada, who own the Phoenix, Arizona location of Sign Greeters.
Victoria (L) and Kristen (R)
Brutus: What made you decide to become part of the Sign Greeters family?
Kristen Butler: I had recently decided to leave my full-time job, but because of COVID, job searching had to be put on the back burner. Victoria reached out to me with this opportunity to be her business co-owner, and it was really a NO BRAINER! She and I have known each other for 17 years, and I knew that whatever happened, we would have the BEST time working alongside each other.
Victoria Canada: I have been a wedding and event planner for about 20 years. When Covid hit we had our calendars cleared and it was the perfect time to start this business! I met Kristen at a pre-natal yoga class 17 years ago. Kristen has worked with me before at events and we are a great match. She has skills and strengths I don’t–and vice versa. Getting to work with one of my best friends is pretty awesome!
B: What is the most rewarding part of Sign Greeters?
KB: Instant gratification from our clients! They text us with photos of the recipient smiling next to their sign and seeing that just fills my heart with joy.
VC: At the end of the day, we just want to make people happy. The greetings we install are so fun and we love the positive feedback. It pretty much makes my day when we are able to help someone celebrate.
B: What’s your number one piece of advice for someone interested in becoming a business owner?
KB: Create a great list of contacts, personal and professional, and don’t be afraid to reach out to those folks to share your new venture. Tailor your messaging, for us that means tailoring to moms, real estate folks, business owners, etc. You definitely can’t be afraid to share your passion with people and how you can help them create joy for others in their lives!
VC: Be prepared! I am a Virgo and I like to be prepared. For example, we have a great tool kit that ensures we have what we need for any installation (drills, work gloves, headlamps, zip ties, tape, extra business cards, bandaids, bug spray, and so much more!)
B: What is your favorite thing about living in Phoenix? What’s your least favorite?
KB: Favorite is hands down the gorgeous landscape. From the desert to the mountains, we have such varying scenery within a short driving distance. Least favorite? June-September’s heat!!!! Holy moly we got hit with the record number of days for over 100 degrees this year. Thank heavens for air conditioning!
VC: I love living in Phoenix because we are close to the Mountains in Northern Arizona and we can be at the beach in less than 6 hours. I grew up in West Texas–El Paso to be exact–and I love that I can still get my Mexican food fix here! What is my least favorite? The heat can get brutal, but you don’t have to shovel sunshine! We beat the heat by hanging in the pool or escaping to the beach.
B: If you could be any household appliance, which one would you be and why?
KB: My Nespresso coffee pot. Because it brings a smile to whomever needs it!
VC: My wine fridge! I love wine and I buy bottles from my travels. Currently I have some bottles from a winery on Mount Vesuvius and some bold Brunellos from Tuscany. Those are from a trip I took with Kristen and some of our other besties in 2019.
B: What’s your favorite book? What’s the last book you read?
KB: This is a tough one, because I’ve read a LOT… Victoria and I have even been in a book club together for maybe 10 years now? But the books I remember most vividly and fondly are ones I read as a teenager… the Vampire Lestat series by Anne Rice was IT for me! The last book I read was _Anxious People_ by Fredrik Backman; it’s our book for this month’s book club.
VC: The last book I read was _In Five Years: A Novel_ by Rebecca Serle. It was a tear jerker. I have been in a book club for about 22 years and it is something I look forward to each month. Kristen is also in it. It should be known that our book club is also referred to as “wine club” by our husbands. My favorite book is _Little Women_ by Louisa May Alcott and I have read it dozens of times. I think it is timeless and I love the bond of sisterhood told in a story about intelligent, fearless and strong women.
B: Did you learn any new skills at the beginning of “quarantine”?
KB: For sure! My skill was actually learning to let go. I’m a type A planner, and not being in control or knowing what was around the corner was super stressful. So for my sanity, AND my family’s sanity, I had to learn to chill and enjoy the downtime and just “be”.
VC: I have been on a decluttering rampage. I joined a decluttering group on Facebook. As mentioned before, I am a Virgo so this took me down quite the rabbit hole. I have pulled out everything from every drawer and cabinet and closet in my home. I have also digitized many Super 8 films we had moved from my parents home. I found tons of slides and had those digitized. I found images of my grandparents standing in the same spots I stood in Paris and Venice, what a mind trip! Decluttering helped me feel in control when the world was chaotic. I am sad to say that my family learned new skills of baking bread and making pasta from scratch. Additionally, our daughter discovered her talent for baking. I have had to acquire the “skill” of daily workouts to counter balance my family’s carb loading.
B: What’s your favorite meal?
KB: If I’m going out, I want to visit a sushi restaurant every time. And if I’m making something for myself, I’m obsessed with making Tex-Mex cauliflower rice bowls. Quick, easy, and soooo satisfying!
VC: My Family has a Mexican food restaurant in El Paso, Texas called Avila’s Mexican Food. It has been open for over 60 years. My grandfather and uncle started it and my cousins are the 3rd generation to run it. My favorite meal would be to start with chips and salsa with chili con queso, red enchiladas with rice and beans, and a sopaipilla with honey. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
B: What’s the biggest challenge you’ve tackled this year?
KB: Deciding to leave my job and following my heart into the unknown.
VC: My sister passed away 3 years ago and my dad 2 years ago, so I have spent a lot of time this past year getting their items in order. I have been organizing photos so I can look at them and enjoy them vs. them being trapped in boxes.
Victoria’s kids and Kristen’s kids
B: What are you most thankful for this year?
KB: My family and the time we had to be together with no activities, appointments, or distractions. My boys are teenagers and getting to know each other with all the downtime was truly a gift.
VC: I am grateful for my family and friends. I have really leaned on my friends as my touchstones. I am thankful we have many trips that we have taken in the past and I am looking forward to many more trips in the future.
B: If you had a full 24 hours to yourself with no obligations, how would you spend your day?
KB: Ahhhh. For sure I would grab a couple close girlfriends and head to one of the fabulous AZ resorts for a spa day. A massage and facial would start the day. Then we’d sit out by the pool with mimosas and snacks and just gab several hours away. Of course if there was the option, I’d have my hair and makeup done at the spa, and dinner out for excellent food, drinks, and more laughs. THAT would be heavenly!
VC: I would be at a spa with my girlfriends. I have great friends from childhood, high school, college and adulting. It would be a blast to get them all together and have an epic spa day!
If you would like to decorate a yard for someone’s special occasion, please check out all of our locations. We love to decorate for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, baby showers, gender reveals, retirements, and all occasions! If you are interested in becoming a Sign Greeters Owner, I would be happy to have my owners touch base. You can check out the details here.
Smiles & Happiness,
Brutus, The Sign Greeters Birdie
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