Being a visionary and setting goals is how businesspeople throughout time have thrived. The many steps of following through the process of developing an idea further and nurturing it to grow takes constant tenacity. The ups and downs and bumps along the way cannot be predicted but must be, without a doubt, expected.
When we built our first 5,600 square-foot wrap shop in 2010, it was a fresh new concept. Wrap customers had been taking vehicles to sign shops or having installers come to their business location to complete the installation. Over time, we outgrew our space and realized our customers needed more.
In 2018, we found the perfect spot not far from our first location. It was three acres of raw property situated just off a major thoroughfare about a mile from Interstate 75 and about 25 minutes north of Atlanta. It’s nestled between a busy cut-through rural road and another road sprinkled with car-themed businesses: a heavy-duty engine repair shop, an auto collision repair shop, a performance motor shop, and an RV repair shop. The draw of local small business owners with one common denominator of transportation magnified our dream exponentially. Location is key.
Initially we had to deal with the county for land planning and zoning issues, then settle a title insurance claim. We hired a civil engineer and an architect. The dream of a place for all sizes of vehicles to be branded or personalized was finally coming true. Our garage-style wrap shop had served us well and taught us things to consider for the new design. The layout needed to optimize production flow, and the customer experience had to be top notch. The new 16,000 square-foot shop and property drawings were received in November of 2019. Finally, our dream was visually on paper for all to see!
The first quarter of 2020 was shaping up to be the year of expansion for Miller Decals and business was booming. The NCAA March Madness Final Four tournament was scheduled to be in Atlanta. We completed numerous extensive surveys for graphics installations throughout the city. But, as you may be able to guess, everything took a dramatic turn on March 17, 2020, when the NCAA canceled the championship games. A week later, the city of Atlanta was ordered to shelter in place due to the rising number of COVID-19 infections.
This resulted in an abrupt move of our commercial installation business model toward the personal vehicle color change and restyling market. Social media platforms and car enthusiasts at home with time on their hands amplified awareness of vehicle wraps. We gladly pivoted to assisting with the personalization of the upper crust of cool cars to the owners’ style, and to increase the tone for this growing market segment.
As the pandemic settled, our dream slowly moved forward. In September of 2021, we signed the construction loan and soon began clearing the land. The steel structure was ordered and excitement for the project was renewed. The world was forever changed from the virus and our world was about to be forever changed with new possibilities. Things were moving along, but soon winter weather slowed the progress.
The county environmental health department found issues with our soil. The previous spot tests had not disclosed the full extent of the spongy unusable depth of rotten topsoil that was hidden beneath the trees. It was determined that we would need to scrape off the upper crust of earth down to reach an acceptable compaction from a different generation of time and rebuild.
The permit process also hit a speed bump. The county sent a list of random items to be addressed, such as replacing a culvert under the road to allow for the additional runoff from our parking lot and building, adding larger trees and shrubbery to cover the metal on two sides of the building to shield it, as well as adding brick to two sides for aesthetic purposes due to a change in codes since we started the process.
Also, the architect and engineers had to revisit the plans to add in support for well over 100 mph winds. Eventually we worked through each item on the list, the structural steel was delivered to the site, the land was made construction-ready, and the county signed off on permitting our project.
Industry trade shows and large gatherings returned in 2022, including WRAPSCON. It was held in Indianapolis, Indiana in June and 13 team members from Miller Decals attended. The Wrap Olympics rolled out a new format for the competition that proved to be a wonderfully successful contest.
Our crew represented The Wrap Institute, featuring The Wrap Gym where attendees could immerse themselves in experiential learning by applying vinyl to various car parts and items stationed throughout the booth under the direction of our installers. It was great to see our wrap family together again, sharing stories of surviving the last two years and building one another up. The show was a successful sign that attitudes and motivation for the future were strongly heartfelt. We had all been through a lot.
This year, 2024, is the year for our dream to become reality. We overcame the barriers of COVID-19, regulations, the environment, the bureaucracy, the paperwork, and miscommunications. We scraped the earth to build it back. The foundation is solid, steel erected, septic with field lines set, fire suppression system installed, detention pond with filtration system is built, walls, windows, doors, paint, flooring, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, brick, parking lot concrete, punch list checks, and final touches. The final product stands ready for the last inspection. It has been five years and nine months since our closing date for raw land.
Little did I know of the prolonged perseverance we would endure. Someone recently asked me if we knew then what we know now, would we do it again. My answer is yes, absolutely we would! Building our new dream shop from a spark of an idea fulfills a sense of purpose and gives hope to others for a better future. To quote Confucius, “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”
Our journey was a nonstop progression of stones, some bigger than others. Our mountain has moved approximately 1.7 miles across the highway and now majestically stands resolute, ready for all the future possibilities. If you are considering this path, I wish you much success in developing your very own dream!
