HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009! Hello and a Very Happy New Year to you.. I hope you had a fantastic break- I know I did. We took the kiddies to Merimbula for 7 nights, right out the front door of our cabin was the beach- so divine to wake up to each morning. Oh and my little munchkin Toby has his first tooth and crawling everywhere.

So here we are in 2009 and what a year it will be. It is only January and already I have had journalist from all over wanting to do a story on the back ground of Signs’n’Banners, after reading my story in a very well known magazine. I have managed to do a magazine spread based on how Signs’n’banners has become so successful, also the Age Newspaper ran a story based on a similar story and now we are in the process of running a segment on A Current Affairs.

The segment will be targeting how you can “overcome great obstacles and become a success”. I will keep you posted on this one. I am so excited about my year ahead. We have more exciting news, we have employed a new business development manager. His name is John Sawyers
Please read below for an introduction on our newest employee- JOHN!!!

Drum Roll.... Welcome John Sawyers Hello and please let me introduce our newest team member John Sawyers. John has come from a back ground in screen printing, sales, and business development.

After meeting with John we knew he would work fantastic within our team as he incorporates many of our values in himself; honesty, friendly, genuine, can have a great laugh, and a go getter...
What are your hobbies? I build Model Aircraft. I am Interested in motor sport. I enjoy camping and Bush Walking. I like fishing and Boating.
If you were an animal what would you be and why? I would be an Orang Utang, They are smart and resourceful. They are gentle animals and are happy to live alone.
What football team do you follow? I have been an Essendon supporter all my life.
Who do you admire most in the business world and why? I admire Bill Gates. He Had a huge Dream. Despite all the odds he never gave up on Microsoft.
What are your plans with Signs’n’Banners? To be part of the future success of the company. To use all my skills to achieve great success.

If you need Johns assistance with your next project please ring John on 0409 530 822 -
I promise you will not be disappointed.

Nothing Great Is Easy
Whatever you want in life you must give up something to get it.
The greater the value, the greater the sacrifice required of you.
There are no shortcuts to success.
There's a price to pay if you want to make things better and a price
To pay for just leaving things as they are.
When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is quit.
Nothing great ever comes easily. Work, continuous work and hard work is the
ONLY WAY to accomplish results that last.
Use your imagination more than your memory to achieve success.
The highway to success is a toll road. There is no success at bargain prices.
Nothing great is easy.

Shelley Taylor-Smith

There are many factors that influence the growth and success of a business. One of the most important is determination. Without the will to succeed, many business owners find it hard to deal with the many obstacles that litter the road to success. For the team at Signs'n'Banners in Victoria, that 'True Grit' spirit has seen a hobby grown into a vibrant business that's firing with all guns blazing.

Partners Stacey and David are the duo behind Signs'n'Banners. For David, creating signage was really a backyard business/ weekend hobby. Already friends, I approached David with the idea of turning Signs'n'Banners into a fully functioning, successful signage shop. We both agreed. “As this was just a newly established business I was excited about the challenge”. I started being involved in the business in February 2007, by September 2007, Signs'n'Banners was a 'Business Achiever' 2007 finalist in our local paper.”

David's background is in mechanical engineering. However, he later went on to study marketing, real estate and quality control. Before Signs'n'Banners, David's work experience included a diverse range of fields such as quality control, sales of capital equipment and printed goods, and working in the field of real estate.

For myself, the road that led to Signs'n'Banners' has been an incredibly hard but inspiring one. I have lived life without my mum, was abused at age nine, fell pregnant at age fifteen, had a second child at age nineteen, and at one point when my son was three and my daughter was four months old, I was homeless and sleeping on a friends floor. For me, the hard years continued as I suffered a life of domestic violence. “Now you may be thinking this is a sad and sorry story, however these are my lessons I have learnt in life that are now my gifts to give and share with others”. “I discovered my higher purpose in life and that is to help other young mums gain back their self-esteem, discover their passions in life and to take action to achieve them.” I now have four delightful children Josh 13, Tahlia 10, Jack 8 and my little bub Toby 9 weeks. My life is finally where I have visualised it to be for many years.