Hi Im Jason and I am the owner of Pick Me Graphics, I am also the Sales Manager, Marketing Manager, Graphic Designer, Sign Manufacturer, Web Developer among many other things. Lets be upfront you are probably thinking how could I possibly maintain quality and efficiency across all these products and services if I am doing it all on my own. If you read on I’ll tell you exactly how I do it and why I have chosen to be a one man show.
I started a business around 10 years ago called Coe Design out of my passion for all things creative. Graphic Design, Signmaking, Web Design and Art has been such a huge part of my life that it has borderlined an addiction. With the help of my wife we grew the business from a husband and wife team to a very strong business that employed at its peak 7 or 8 staff. I believe that the accelerated growth we sustained in the early years of our business was a direct result of 3 priorities that we had at that stage:
Providing superior quality products and services -
Giving our clients a better quality design than our competitors could manage was our main selling point. Because I was doing the graphic design myself and manufacturing the products myself I had total control of the quality of work that was being produced and was doing what I loved ….. creating.
Building relationships with our clients -
Just being friendly is not enough. My wife and I learned quickly to not make promises that we couldn’t keep. If I make a promise I will do everything in my power to keep it. The main focus was to build trust within our clients through product knowledge, efficiency, communication, quality and proving that our services really do benefit a business.
Effective Marketing -
Practicing what we preach gave us the exposure and the leverage that we needed to make our business the obvious choice over our competitors. Marketing a business was something that intrigued me from the start. I enjoy the chase. The creation of idea’s, creative concepts and marketing strategies challenged me to think outside the box but remembering not to stray too far from proven systems kept our business securing new clients and retaining existing clients.
The more the business grew the less I was involved with the day to day operations. I was doing less of the graphic design, less manufacturing, less dealing with clients but more managing people, training employee’s and creating processes for staff, a path I had never expected to take.
Although our business was financially rewarding things were not as I had hoped. Towards the end of Coe Design’s existance I had taken a good look at the business and realised that the business had evolved to something that made me money but did not make me proud. The design work although acceptable was not something that was “wowing” every single client. The business was attracting clients which didn’t take pride in the way their own business looked and who bought on price alone. The staff were complacent and comfortable with the way the business was but I was not. I was frustrated and needed to make some changes for myself and my family and so decided to take the necessary steps to sell the business.
Relocating to Brisbane and starting a new business with a focus on giving small and medium business access to high end design, utilising my marketing experience and giving them access to the same print technologies that larger corporate business has access to was the next phase and a new challenge.
I missed designing and creating and was eager to show people what I could do not only technically but utilising my marketing experience. Over the years I have learned to go beyond being an average designer. I very rarely do the “3 concepts” thing that most other designers do because I focus on creating the ultimate design for my client and if they are not happy I am not happy. Not everyone will be a suitable client for me though. I am an experienced designer, I know what works and believe that I can truly help my clients build a corporate image that benefits their business. I listen to my clients and hope that they will listen to me, those that don’t have the same aspirations or pride as me are probably better suited to a designer which “just does what they are told”. For those that trust me I guarantee to create something that we both are proud of. Every design I create I intend to add to my portfolio, there are no slap together jobs here….lol.
Many of my clients are surprised at my efficiency producing their banners, business cards and other items I manufacture in house. I have been making this stuff for a long time now and owning a larger business forced me to develop systems and processes to streamline workflow for my employee’s. Those systems although altered to suit a smaller scale have come in handy for Pick Me Graphics. I am able to match if not beat larger print and sign shops turnaround times on products such as Roller Banners, business cards and A-Frames for these reasons:
- The specialised equipment that I have
- My years of experience and skill level compared to their Factory Hands
- I am able to prioritise my workflow accordingly without having to “interrupt their print queue”
- My work ethics, I can work long and odd hours to get the job done
- This is my business I want to impress you. Their juniors don’t care about you at all
If you are looking for someone who can really make a difference to the way your business looks you have found a “no frills” guy who can do it. I may not have the fancy sales pitches that my competitors highly paid super salesperson has, nor do I wear an expensive suit. I drive a hilux ute and dont go anywhere without my Volcom hat but I do have my experience, design skills, knowledge and work ethics that I will devote to you….. my valued client.
Seeya
Jason Coe
