My Outdoor Billboard Business Story
A Billboard Story
In 1996, I sold my outdoor billboard company to Dan Simon’s Universal Outdoor. Dan Simon had assembled an enormous number of billboards over a very short span of time. When I met him the first time, he owned about 100 billboards.
A few years later, Simon had increased the number of billboards under ownership to 1,000. Simon kept expanding exponentially. The next thing you knew, Simon’s company completed an initial public offering on the stock market. He seemed to be 100% committed to building a giant outdoor billboard company.
You can image my shock when it was suddenly announced that Simon had sold everything to Clear Channel Outdoor. I asked Dan’s number two guy what caused this sudden shift; he told me that it had always been Simon’s goal to sell the company to a bigger player.
Apparently, in Dan’s office was a ceramic pig. On that pig, Simon glued a slogan to it which said “Nobody Ever Went Broke Taking a Profit”. So his goal from the start was apparently to build the company up, go public, and sell out. Oh well, it was a shorter term goal that we had all figured, but at least he had a clear strategy and executed against it.
An Outdoor Billboard Investment Tip
Benjamin Franklin said “Diligence is the Mother of Good Luck”. That means that the best way to make a success of something is to do thorough research and really understand your deal and all its benefits and disadvantages.
If you’re going to build a sign, make sure that you have a complete understanding of rents, vacancy, potential blockage issues, potential development issues, etc. Basically, you make your own luck.
Copyright secured by Digiprove Billboard Business: What I’ve Learned Over the Years
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By Frank Rolfe
Many people ask me how I started my own outdoor billboard business. Truth be told, it all started as a resume builder for graduate school applications. Fourteen years later I sold my billboard empire to a public company. Along the way, I learned many things about what works and what doesn’t work in successful billboard deals.
When I got into this business, I thought it would all be about building cookie-cutter signs on the freeways, and then leasing the space. I had no idea how competitive it was. There were sixty billboard companies in my market! The competition was so crazy that you had to have a gimmick in order to survive.
I can’t tell you how many times I hear people ask me if there are still opportunities left. Absolutely! On average, I was able to pull of a deal each month for fifteen straight years in a competitive market. My secret was thinking “outside the box” and coming up with creative game plans.
This is also why I wrote my book, “Big Bucks from Big Signs”. In the book, I will show you the wide range of deals I completed as well as the lessons learned from each deal.
I’m a big history buff; I read mostly biographies and books on warfare. What makes it fun to read these things is to gather the lessons learned by many famous and successful people. By doing so, one can overly what worked for them and apply it to your own life plan.
After you’ve read a lot of these books, you start to see certain patterns emerge that seem to show signs that an idea or action is going to be successful. SImilarly, you’ll see what actions do not appear to be good ideas if you want to win.
I wrote my book to give real-life examples of what seems to be the pattern for success in building a billboard company. All of the case studies are true stories; all of the lessons learned happened to me. I know I’m not the only guy who has made money in this business. However, I know I’m the only one who seems to want to write about it and share this knowledge openly!
My formula will give you a much greater chance for success than any other avenue. I believe that if you study the deals in my book carefully, you may identify a deal in your market that meets the same criteria.
About Frank Rolfe
Frank Rolfe became the one of the largest private billboard operators in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He eventually sold his billboard empire to a public company 14 years later. Rolfe is sharing his expertise to anyone interested in getting involved with outdoor billboards. He is the author of the book, “Big Bucks from Big Signs”, which contains everything you need to know in order to get started.
Copyright secured by Digiprove Profiting with Outdoor Advertisement – How to Make a Fortune in Small Town Billboards
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By Frank Rolfe
Many people think that only big cities can support the launch of a profitable outdoor advertisement business. This is a misconception. Some of the finest, most profitable billboards in the U.S. are located in small towns. As long as you adjust the economics of your billboards to meet the realities of advertiser budgets in towns as small as 1,000 population, then there is no reason you cannot attain financial security and independence as a small town billboard owner/operator.
Assume Lower Advertising Rents
Most small town advertisers do not have huge budgets, since a smaller population means lower sales volume. In smaller markets, advertisers will be unwilling to pay more than $200 to $300 per month for a billboard. Don’t argue with them. Use that budget as your roadmap to success. Once you have established the going rate in that small market, the new target revenue will influence all of your other strategies.
Do Not Allow Ground Rents To Exceed 20% of Revenue
Going back to our example of $200 per month advertising rents, then you cannot pay more than $40 per month in ground rent, which equals about $500 per year. While that may sound embarrassing to a big city dweller, remember that the property owner in a small town pays greatly reduced costs as well, such as property tax. So $500, in relative terms, may mean as much to that property owner as $5,000 would in the city.
Build Only What The Economics Dictates
In some small towns, the income and expense numbers will limit you to a wooden sign that’s 8’ x 24’ in size (six sheets of plywood across on three wooden telephone poles). There is nothing wrong with that. Hopefully, the economics will allow for the billboard construction of 12’ x 24’ “30 sheet” structures – which are a standardized size of the large billboard companies. Never build a sign structure that does not cash flow based on the lower ad revenues. Sometimes, development never catches up and the ad rents may remain at those levels for decades.
Remember That You Can’t Burn Any Bridges
Small towns have fewer advertisers than big cities. So you cannot afford to alienate anyone. Listen to what advertisers have to say, and always remain pleasant and thoughtful. If they turn you down today, that does not mean they’ll do so tomorrow. If there are 50 advertisers in your town, then you need all of them as potential customers. And when you do get one up on the sign, be sure to make sure the lights are working and that they are 100% happy. Remember about small town gossip. You want your reviews to always be favorable.
Like All Outdoor, It’s All In Volume
If you assume that one double-sided structure at $200 per month ad rents yields $3,000 per year of net income, then 30 of them would earn you around $100,000 per year. I know of a man who started building billboards in his retirement over in rural Illinois. He now has 100 of them, which net him around $300,000 per year in income. He told me that it was funny that he slaved away at a job he hated his entire life, and then struck it rich after he retired, doing something he enjoyed.
If you only had 10 double-sided signs, in this example, that would be $30,000 per year to you. Think of how $30,000 per year could affect your life, and improve your family’s financial security.
Use Big City Tricks To Rent Signs
In the big city, where signs cost much more, advertisers have labored over creative ideas to rent them in recessions. Use that knowledge in your small town. For example, find out which stores in town have access to matching “co-operative” dollars. For example, many western wear stores have access to up to 50% of the sign cost if they display the logos of such manufacturers as Levi and Stetson. And the same is true of grocery stores, sporting goods, and many other categories.
Another trick is to “combo” a sign – share it between two or three advertisers. Let’s say that there are three stores in a strip shopping center. None can afford even $200 per month by themselves. So why not combine them into one ad and pool their money. You’d promote the exit and location, and they split the sign up three ways.
Conclusion
Many billboard investors have no idea of the success that can be found in small town America. If you know what you are doing, and focus on translating the different economic realities to your billboard operation, you can do quite well in small town USA. Just ask Sam Walton. That’s where Wal-Mart began and flourished, long before it moved into urban areas. Don’t turn up your nose to small towns – you’ll be passing up a golden opportunity.
About Frank Rolfe
Frank Rolfe became the one of the largest private billboard operators in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He eventually sold his billboard empire to a public company 14 years later. Rolfe is sharing his expertise to anyone interested in getting involved with outdoor billboards. He is the author of the book, “Big Bucks from Big Signs”, which contains everything you need to know in order to get started.
Outdoor Billboard Cost – How to Build Your Billboard Correctly
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By Frank Rolfe
There is a right way and a wrong way to build a billboard. Unfortunately, the outdoor billboard cost for not building it the right way can be crushing – from $10,000 to move the sign to total loss of your investment if property damage leads to expensive litigation. Building a billboard the correct way is essential to a successful outdoor billboard business.
The first step in building billboards is to gather all of the relevant information regarding billboard placement. You need to know the front and side setback regulations (both city and state), the exact dimensions of the structure (from the blueprints), and distance that the light fixtures stick out from the catwalks – everything that will determine sign placement.
The next step is to map out exactly where the billboard column should go. When the driller gets there to drill the billboard foundation, the only question he will ask you is where the center of the column will go. You need to map out, well ahead of time and without any pressure, where that center should exactly be. One of the best methods is to buy some wooden stakes and a hammer, and map out where all the corners of the sign will be. This will help you to visualize all of the setbacks and their relation to the real sign.
Once you have figured out exactly where the center of the column should go, give yourself a break and increase the front and side setback by an extra foot or two. I learned this from experience, since you never really know 100% where the property lines are. If there is ever a dispute on the property boundary, you will have to hire a surveyor to find the exact property line, and it may be a foot or so different than where you assumed it is. Even if the property owner tells you with great authority exactly where their property begins, don’t count on it. I once had a land owner show me where the easements and underground pipes on his property were, and then I dug down and hit an 18” water main. The cost to move a billboard is extremely high – around $10,000 or so. However, nobody will ever notice a 2’ additional setback. It’s a simple case of risk vs. reward.
Before you start building the sign make sure that you have removed any obstruction to the sign that it is within your power to do. If you have permission from the neighbor to trim his tree, then trim it before the sign goes in. It always works best to do your trimming and removing before the sign calls a lot of attention to what you are doing. You never know what impact the actual sign may have on the agreeable neighbor – they may change their mind when they see the huge size of the sign they will be staring out forever.
Now that you have a mastery of the sign’s location, it’s time to get ready for the steel to arrive and the construction to begin. Prior to the arrival of the heavy equipment and some huge pieces of steel, it is important to obtain complete permission and cooperation from the landowner (and tenant) for the dislocation that will occur at his property on the day of construction. You should also make that you have all of the necessary permits and that none have expired. Remember that in some cities, you must commence construction within so many days of the permit issuance, or it terminates. You cannot take the risk of building a sign that has no legal permit. You should also scout out all of the access issues – how will the big trucks get in? Hopefully, your sign erector has already walked the site with you.
Once the sign erector and foundation driller show up, you should never leave the job site. There are many problems that can come up during construction, and you need to be there to help make the choices on how to remedy them. The first potential risk is the possibility of hitting water or rock when drilling the foundation. While the driller should have a solution ready in the event that either should occur, you will have to give on-the-spot approval for the additional cost to fix the problem. Other reasons to stay on-site the entire time is to help resolve any problems with the property owner or neighbors (noise issues, etc.), and to make sure that the exact location you marked for the center of the pole is utilized.
Once the driller is at work, he may get lazy and not drill quite as deep as the plans recommend. This compromises the safety of the sign, as well as throwing off your height limit. Make sure that the hole is the correct depth. Even a 6” difference can be a huge problem. Watch him measure the depth, and make sure that he does not cheat.
Once the pole is in the hole, it is time to choose the “V” – the angles of the sign faces in relation to the traffic. This is something you never want to leave up to the installer. It’s not their sign, they will not be saddled with renting the ad space, so they get lazy and don’t do nearly as good as job as you can do yourself. The correct way to choose the “V” angles is from the road it is seen from. It sounds awkward, but you have to normally spot the angles from the middle of the road or highway. I normally use a cell phone to do this as the sign installer cannot hear you from 100 yards away.
When the pole is in the hole and aligned, it is time for the concrete truck. This is the final step that requires your presence. With the concrete, your focus is to make sure that they do not over-fill the hole, or make a big mess on the property. The concrete should stop about 2” from ground level, so that you can put dirt and grass back over the hole. And the biggest mess you can make on the property is a bunch of concrete dumped on the property. Often, just your presence makes the concrete guy more careful.
Once the concrete has been poured, you no longer have to be on-site through the end of the construction process. However, you still have some additional duties to build a sign properly. Make sure that the permit is clearly affixed to the billboard pole, so that the city inspector knows you have one and that you are following it. Also, take some sort of thank-you gift to the landowner or tenant to show your appreciation for letting you tear up their property for a few days. It makes a great first impression.
You should make a lot of money with your first billboard. So it is important that you do not waste any money on having to fix the setback, height, angle, and visibility that you could have easily prevented through informed thinking and attention to detail. Follow these directions, and your billboard should go smoothly and successfully.
About Frank Rolfe
Frank Rolfe became the one of the largest private billboard operators in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He eventually sold his billboard empire to a public company 14 years later. Rolfe is sharing his expertise to anyone interested in getting involved with outdoor billboards. He is the author of the book, “Big Bucks from Big Signs”, which contains everything you need to know in order to get started.
The Outdoor Billboard Business – How to Make a Fortune Working in Your Spare Time
Home > Outdoor Billboard Articles > Outdoor Billboard Business
By Frank Rolfe
Even though you pass by outdoor billboards every day, if you’re like most people, you probably never think much about them. However, did you know that those same billboards could change your life? If you own just a few billboards, you might be collecting checks in the mail every month rather than worrying about how to pay the bills next month. And starting an outdoor billboard business is not as hard to do as you think.
The billboard business is a very easy business model. The primary goal is secure the rights to build and operate the sign from the land owner. You pay the land owner rent to use his space. Then, you build the sign and rent the billboard to an advertiser. After paying a few bills, you keep the difference. The “difference” is where your fortune lies. It can range from a few thousand dollars per year to over $100,000 per sign.
Although most of the prime locations in the major metropolitan cities have been gobbled up, there is still significant opportunity in the outdoor advertising industry. Every time a property is rezoned, or a highway built, there may be a new opportunity to introduce a billboard. I also look for opportunity outside the city or underperforming signs in the big cities.
Here’s another secret industry insiders don’t want you to know. One of the best opportunities right now is small wooden billboards in smaller to mid-size cities. You can generally build these billboards for $4,000 to $8,000. They should cash flow about $3,000 per year each. If you owned just four of these signs, you’d have an extra $1,000 per month in your pocket. Ten would give you $30,000 in additional cash flow. There are some individuals out there that have 100 signs or more, yielding over $300,000 in cash flow per year!
Is it hard to break into this industry? Not really! The billboard business is a game of strategy, not of who has the biggest checking account. It’s also a business in which the big, public companies have no advantage over the individual. There are no scale issues or barrier to entry. In fact, often the small guy has a distinct advantage over the big company, as the small guy can move faster in negotiations and may bond with the land owner better.
The billboard business is something that can easily be done in the evenings or even just on the weekends. This isn’t meant to be a full-time job as it is not really time intensive. When you build a sign, you do it once. When you rent the advertising space on a sign, you only do that one time per year. It’s a business that revolves around thought and strategy, and not a whole lot of time in the field. Many people manage their billboard empire by putting in only a couple hours a week.
The billboard business is very enjoyable and rewarding. It is a true win/win business because you help advertisers sell their goods and services, and at the same time, help land owners maximize their income from their property. If you don’t enjoy sitting at a desk for hours on end, this is the perfect business for you. It requires that you get out of the office and into the field.
Your spare time, properly focused, can yield great financial and satisfaction rewards through outdoor billboards. Just a hand full of these things can dramatically change your life for the better. So don’t ignore those billboards you see along the highways every day. Instead, think about how this business can change your life. You’ll be glad you did.
About Frank Rolfe
Frank Rolfe became the one of the largest private billboard operators in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He eventually sold his billboard empire to a public company 14 years later. Rolfe is sharing his expertise to anyone interested in getting involved with outdoor billboards. He is the author of the book, “Big Bucks from Big Signs”, which contains everything you need to know in order to get started.
