This article is a follow-up to a Success Spotlight story published in 2016 about Global Sign and Awning. Christopher Wicks is the founder and owner of GS&A who started financing with Beacon Funding in 2015.
Chris Wicks is the embodiment of the American dream. As a young entrepreneur, he dreamed of achieving more. Wicks was homeless and slept in his car until he saved up enough money to buy a sign printing machine. At times, the only rest he would get was when he would fall asleep while waiting for his signs to print.
Today, Wicks’ dream is a reality. Wicks is the proud owner of Global Sign & Awning, the reputable sign company he founded in 2007, and specializes in designing, producing, and installing signs in the greater Florida area.
With perseverance, hard work, and equipment financing support from Beacon Funding, Global Sign and Awning has grown from a small garage operation into a reputable sign company with multiple departments.
Click here to watch Part I of Wicks’ success story and how he started his equipment financing journey in 2015.
In this article, Wicks provides an update on his company’s growth since he started financing his equipment with Beacon Funding.
Below is the video transcript as Wicks discusses how Beacon Funding’s fast and easy equipment financing contributed to Global Sign and Awning’s accelerated success.
In this Success Spotlight...
- How Has Global Sign & Awning Improved after Financing Equipment with Beacon Funding?
- What Challenges Did Additional Equipment Help Your Business Solve?
- What Equipment Did You Acquire with Beacon Funding and How Did It Help Your Business?
- What Do You Imagine Your Business Will Look Like in the Future with Beacon Funding’s Ongoing Financing Support?
- What Is It about Beacon Funding That Makes Us Your Preferred Financing Partner?
- Launch Your Own Success Story with Beacon Funding’s Equipment Financing
- Final Words
How Has Global Sign & Awning Improved after Financing Equipment with Beacon Funding?
Expanded Operations
After we financed our equipment, we were obviously able to get our hands on better and newer equipment, which most definitely made our team more efficient, more productive, and gave us the ability to complete projects smoother and easier.
Employee Retention
Most importantly in today's day and age, financing equipment definitely helped with team member retention as well.
The excitement that our team feels with getting their hands on the latest, newest, and functioning equipment is definitely a game-changer in team member retention.
It's exciting to come in and know you're going to get to put your hands on a brand-new piece of equipment and also receive support from that equipment manufacturer. That’s definitely a benefit of financing.
Fixed Expenses
The additional expense of paying for a new piece of equipment vs. a used piece of equipment is a measurable item at the end of the equipment’s life.
To explain that a little further: If we buy a used piece of equipment and we're constantly making repairs on that equipment, it's a black hole. It's a guessing game of “how much is this equipment going to cost over its lifetime” vs. knowing “I've purchased a brand-new piece of equipment and I know that equipment is going to cost X amount of dollars.”
Any repairs that are going to be involved in that equipment are going to be covered by a warranty and that equipment’s downtime is going to be significantly shorter.
I've made the mistake of doing it the opposite way (I’ve done the numbers) and it does not save any money at all by purchasing used equipment.
What Challenges Did Additional Equipment Help Your Business Solve?
Business Expansion
Thinking directly about our most recent equipment, some of the challenges that we solved were we were able to add a new paint booth to our facility. This paint booth enabled us to paint larger projects in less amount of time and in fewer pieces because the area of the paint booth was significantly larger.
Lower Operational Costs
Also, with some of our printing equipment we've financed with Beacon Funding, this printing equipment is far more efficient. It has a lower operational cost in regards to the material and inks that it is using and the output rate is significantly faster than some of the models before that.
And then to trickle down the line out to our installation team – we've financed some equipment with Beacon Funding for that department as well and broadened our installation department. Therefore, lightening the workload for some of our installation team members and making it a more comfortable day for them.
Instead of having ten stops in one day, they have five stops in one day, which results in a better quality of work versus quantity. Having the ability to finance and fund those assets has been very, very helpful for our company.
What Equipment Did You Acquire with Beacon Funding and How Did It Help Your Business?
Beacon funding has done everything from installation trucks to a paint booth, printing equipment, and air compressed air systems. They've really helped us with a lot of different equipment for our business and it's been nice to have a source that's so flexible.
Flexibility About Financing Equipment
A lot of the financing done in the market right now is specific to one component. For example, you may have a finance company that only finances printing equipment but may not finance automobiles.
Beacon Funding’s flexibility on what they're able to finance is huge – it makes the process much easier because we're working with a team member who's familiar with our business, our operation, our process, and how we do things here.
So, if we have to pivot and say, “Today, we need to talk about installation vehicles. Tomorrow, we need to talk about production equipment,” it's definitely an efficient move to be working with somebody who's familiar with our business and has done deals with us in the past.
What Do You Imagine Your Business Will Look Like in the Future with Beacon Funding’s Ongoing Financing Support?
Obviously, we are very passionate about putting the newest proven technology into the hands of our team members to make sure we have a competitive edge both in the finished product, but also in team member acquisition and retention.
Having new equipment for the team members is a deal-breaker in most cases. It makes a better work environment, which is the #1 priority for us here at Global, but it also helps that team members can produce a better-quality product regardless of whether it’s in the production or the installation department. Getting to use the newest, latest, and functioning equipment makes the day a whole lot more exciting.
So, how do I picture our business in the future? A state-of-the-art facility with cutting-edge machinery and equipment all being operated by a happy team of coworkers.
What Is It about Beacon Funding That Makes Us Your Preferred Financing Partner?
Dedicated Support from Beacon Funding’s Financing Consultants
It really is the relationship that we have specifically with Bob Dubow.
I'm sure there are other Bobs inside of Beacon Funding’s organization, but we've established our relationship with Bob directly and it has been great regardless of what product we're talking about.
Transparency, Equipment Expertise, and Friendly Professionalism
Bob’s requirements, performance, and requests are always consistent across the board. It's very rare that he asks for anything different.
There's a level of transparency there that helps make the financing process very easy. We feel very comfortable with saying, “Hey what can we do, Bob? Can you provide us with three different options? We want to make sure we're budgeting ourselves appropriately.” And we never ever feel pressured to move in a certain direction when we are working with Beacon Funding or Bob Dubow.
He will give us all three options, four options, five options. I like to explore all of the options sometimes and he will give us his professional opinion, but regardless of our decision we never feel swayed or pressured in any way. That's really what makes Beacon Funding our preferred financing partner.
This is the end of Wicks’s follow-up video since 2016. If you’re interested in learning more about Global Sign and Awning’s journey, click here to watch Part I of Wicks’s success story and see how he grew his company with equipment financing.
Launch Your Own Success Story with Beacon Funding’s Equipment Financing
Interested in finding growth like Global Sign and Awning? With the right equipment financing option tailored to your business, you too can build a success story. You don’t have to work at it by yourself.
Just like Wicks, you can establish your company and build upon its next level with an option that supports your long-term goals. Have questions? Schedule a call with me today and get fast answers about equipment financing today.
Congratulations, Chris Wicks!
Chris, from everyone here at Beacon Funding: We want to congratulate you on your continued success. You truly are a success story, and we are honored to have earned your business.
Thank you for participating in the Success Spotlight program. We wish you and everyone at Global Sign and Awning the best and we can’t wait to see how much your company has grown in the future.
My Final Words
One of the best parts of this job is seeing customers like Chris profitably grow their business with equipment financing and leasing. I work to understand a customer’s unique credit profile with the goal of establishing a mutually beneficial relationship with them for the long term. Chris has always been a pleasure to work with and I truly appreciate his loyalty and testimonial, thank you Chris!
If you’re ready to find success with your business like Chris did, apply today for an equipment financing application.