"We went to a franchise show in Baltimore, and met Signarama," said Steve. "We were hooked. Beverly decided that's what she wanted to do and I was going to go to work for her for a little while. Eighteen years later, I'm still here."

Beverly runs the show and oversees all of the day-to-day operations at Signarama Catonsville, and Steve works wherever he's needed.

"Beverly handles the sales and marketing, making sure we've got projects to work on," said Steve. "Most of my work is making sure everything gets built, making sure we have enough staff, talking to customers, and arranging installations. Whatever Beverly needs me to do, I get it done."

In their 3,500 square foot Signarama store near Baltimore, Beverly and Steve work with one other employee. They do a lot of digital printing for posters, large banners, and even backdrops for commercials and photo shoots. They also install a lot of vehicle graphics.

"I could live on that," said Steve. "I like to sell them because I can feel good about it. I always make sure we use great materials, because I want to see these people, but I don't want to see them when they're unhappy. I make sure it's done right the first time, and they'll stay satisfied."

Steve recalled one notable project they almost worked on, but were glad to miss:

"After last year's Super Bowl, there was a promotional project for a big sign and other materials that said, 'Sorry you lost the Super Bowl, here's your pudding.' We didn't know about it until right before the game. I called the project coordinator, and said, 'Do you expect the Ravens to lose?' She said, 'no, we're doing it for both teams, and we want it to be ready to roll out right after the game.' So they did everything twice. Once in San Francisco, and once here. The 49ers lost, so they got their pudding. I'm kind of glad we didn't get to do it."

Steve and Beverly's store also specializes in street banners for the city of Baltimore. These banners have to be made to a certain set of specifications, so Signarama Catonsville has become the regular supplier of these banners.

Steve attributes a lot of their success to working together with other Signarama stores.

"When I came to Signarama, we started meeting together, having dinner together, and discussing different issues," said Steve. "A lot of times, if we get a job that's a little different or new for us, we can talk with the other franchisees to get some help. We do the same for them. One of my favorite things is to get together with other Signarama owners and just talk turkey."

Steve says they continue to meet together as well as help new area stores as well.

"We always invite new Signarama stores to our discussions and meetings, so we can coach and help them however we can," said Steve.

For more information on owning your own Signarama franchise, you can visit our website. You can also use our online store locator to find the Signarama store closest to you.