A Family Tradition

Family owned-and-operated businesses are treasured icons, especially in these days of superstores and generic service centers. Small business owners exude a pride in craftsmanship and commitment to personal service. They also work hard at staying true to their founders’ visions, while striving to keep current with changing trends. Successful family-run businesses tend to balance integrity and innovation, offering their customers the best of both worlds.

The sign industry is perhaps unique in its proportion of family businesses that cross generations. Such is the case with John Parker Sr. and his son, John Jr. Together, they own and operate Indianola, IA-based Parker Signs and Graphics Inc., which is in the process of moving to a new location within three miles of the modest garage where John Sr. began his career nearly 20 years ago.

Early on, John Sr. worked in construction alongside his father. However, his interests strayed because building homes did little to indulge his artistic abilities. Thus, to capitalize on his eye for design, he began painting signs. As his work attracted an increasing number of clients, John Sr. permanently set aside his hammer for an artist’s brush.

After he and his wife Paula built a home, John Sr. added a small building on their acreage to house his growing business. By the late 1970s, the business had grown enough to justify finding a location away from home, where he could build a larger office. At this point, John Sr. had 11 employees under his management. This latter development, however, was not his idea of progress. John Sr. was an artist at heart and, therefore, would rather spend his time painting than managing.

The economy’s downturn in the late ’70s and early ’80s ironically proved more a blessing than a curse. Many of John Sr.’s customers no longer desired or had budgets for sign applications. And eventually, he realized he was working solely to pay for his employees and office space. As a result, he decided to relieve his employees and sell the building. Working independently, John Sr. supported his family with his direct labors and regained his joy for his work.

"I didn’t get into this business to do business. I got into this business to make pretty signs," John Jr. recalls his father saying.

Intrigued by new trends in signmaking, John Sr. purchased his first computer in the early ’80s and worked his magic on Gerber Scientific Products’s Signmaker III