Local Family Franchise of Card My Yard Brings Socially Distanced Smiles
More often than ever before, local families have woken up to discover that they had some overnight yard visitors: in their front yards or courtyards, brightly colored greeting signs sprang up, installed under cover of darkness.
Card My Yard is a 24-hour-sign-rental business that started in Austin, Texas, which has grown to have more than 200 franchises that cover specific geographic zones around the United States.
Local speech therapist Erin Herman heard from a friend who owns the franchise in a neighboring area that there was increased interest in these yard signs three years ago, and she interviewed and was accepted to cover the zip codes that include Hamilton, Ohio.
Herman enjoys the way that the signs offer opportunities for creativity and bring big smiles to the faces of those who see a larger-than-life message spelled out in 3D.
While the business was steady before the rise of social distancing in March 2020, there was no way to anticipate the increase in demand starting earlier this year.
“We went from doing 6 to 7 signs a week to 6 to 7 signs a night, so we hired some employees,” says Herman. “There’s a learning curve; it’s dark at night, and at least once, a sign ended up in a neighbor’s yard, not the one where it was supposed to be.”
Even with the challenges of this year, Herman is grateful to have been able to participate in positive messages on days that could otherwise have been challenging.
“We had a client recently for a 100th birthday celebration, and she wouldn’t have celebrated much otherwise. She was able to see a sign, and people drove by and beeped horns. It added a lot to the celebration,” says Herman. “We did a ton of graduations and milestone birthdays, since people couldn’t have parties but still wanted to share their joys.”
The sign ordering process is fairly simple, and goes even more smoothly if you order in advance. People start by selecting from the options on the website, and they can get quite creative with the phrases they use.
“There are plenty of options for inspiration,” says Herman. “There are also lots of fonts and images that can be included. When we get special requests, we can often order inventory to accommodate them if we have plenty of notice.”
The signs are installed the night before the celebration and removed the following night, and they are made of sturdy plastic and metal, so they stand up to the elements and can be reused, usually up to 100 times – that’s a lot of happy birthdays!
Herman has three children, and she has enjoyed having a side job that gets them involved.
“Putting up the signs has been something our family can do together,” says Herman. “One of my daughter’s teachers was impressed that she could spell ‘birthday’ so well!”
While adding a few signs to a yard may seem like a simple act, it brings a moment of happiness to both those who see the signs and those who install them.
“We love being part of people’s life milestones,” says Herman. “We love getting pictures from the families and hearing ‘this was the best part of my birthday!’”
Visit Cardmyyard.com/hamilton to see the options available for customized yard signs.