As pointed out in Ray-A-Way I had painted myself a sign to advertise that service and received a huge responce from people who wanted me to make signs for them.

Most of the people who wanted signs also wanted me to post them in a high traffic location. This led to leasing a site from a local real estate developer and building a pylon to hold (6) 4'x8' panels. Thus, I advanced into the outdoor advertising segment of the sign business as well.

This led to some larger billboard painting contracts coming particularly from real estate developers and builders for whom I also was subcontracting siding & cornise work.

Each new sign job required new techniques and different materials. From hand painted wood signs to silk screened wood to extruded plastic to lighted plastic and so on. . .

The capital requirement associated with tooling and materials was overwhelming. With the wood working tools that I owned, and the contacts I had developed in the building business, I went full time into residential construction sub-contracting.

By this time (1975) I had realized I wanted to be a real estate developer. Given my education, experience and credit, I believed that my best path to that goal would be through becoming a general contractor. So . . . into the construction business I go. . .