attributes being a bored kid growing up in Cameron Parish as
the stimulus for his creativity. He says when he was young he
delayed outside all the time—built and created things. Good
experience for a young Co-Owner/President of a digital sign
business.
Because the digital and sign industry is rapidly growing and continues to flourish, Eakin and his partner Jobe Johnson,
after much research, felt the time was right to expand their
design firm into something more—and SignStar was born.
SignStar is a digital printing sign company located at 3118
Ryan Street in Lake Charles. The talented staff can do all
types of signs: construction, banners, tradeshow and exhibit
graphics, posters, and much more. If customers can’t quite
grasp what they want or need to best advertise their business,
the creative SignStar crew will be happy to brainstorm with
them until the idea is fully hatched. Business owners,
marketing agencies and individuals utilize all methods of
advertising to communicate their business, various events,
political agendas, and SignStar offers a myriad of products
and services.
“Traditional media such as TV ads can get quite
expensive for small businesses; this is a less expensive
medium. People always need signs,” Eakin points out. Within
three months he was proved right. SignStar actually tripled
their expectations.
While it’s true, all businesses need signs and advertising,
much of the credit goes to the good-natured team who pull the
projects together: Burn Rourk is a multi-talented graphic
designer, Jason Gillen is the Production Manager, and Adam
Burleigh is Production Coordinator. These men work together
like a well-oiled machine. Eakin’s business philosophies plays
a huge part in the creative process too. “Get up early, work
hard, and hopefully go home before six.” Eakin laughs and
elaborates: “You get out of it what you put into it. I believe
in serving our customer, offering them good quality products
at a reasonable price. My philosophy is work hard, be
respectful to our clients and people in the industry, be
humble, and do a good job.”
David Eaken’s clean-cut appearance reflects the nice-guy
image, and ensures trust from whomever he talks to. He looks
like a good, generous family man who takes pride in his work.
He admits to watching and learning from local people in the
industry and forming relationships with them. One man in the
industry that Eakin looked up to while in school was Peter O’
Carroll of the O’Carroll Group. Today O’Carroll is president
of the American Advertising Federation—Lake Charles chapter.
Eaken and Johnson have long range plans for SignStar. “We hope
to franchise some day. Maybe open another SignStar in another
location altogether. We’ll see how it goes. That’s something
we haven’t really discussed.” They may not have discussed it,
but the idea is dancing around in the back of Eaken’s mind.
A graduate of McNeese University with a degree in graphic
design, Eakin claims his favorite thing to do within the
business is Sales and Design. On second thought, he says, “I
enjoy all aspects of it.” He gets around as if he’s on speed
dial—this is a man with a lot of positive energy—and when
asked what a typical day is like, he responds, “Cranking out
projects as quickly as possible.”
An interesting project they do for customers is vehicle wrap.
They design the wrap to fit a particular car using a template
and they have software to cut it into panels. “We design,
print, and install it on the vehicle. . . sort of like
wallpaper. We have to get real creative with it.” Eakin says
it can be removed with heat guns and it doesn’t damage the
paint on the car. “It’s a niche market that will get more
popular in the future,” he says.
When asked the personality of the perfect customer, Eaken
doesn’t hesitate to provide an answer. ”Someone who
understands that what we do takes time, effort, and
creativity. The perfect customer will give us the time we need
to do our job and do it well.” He pauses to think before he
continues. “You know, there’s not a button you push for
creativity.”
Eakin is raising his children to be creative too. He tries his
best to get thirteen year old Megan and two and a half year
old Lilah away from the television and participating in
projects that will challenge their young minds. Eakins’ wife,
Sherrie, is a registered nurse who works in Labor and Delivery
at Memorial Hospital. “I used to have a lot of hobbies before
marriage and business,” he says. “Now my kids, my family are
my full-time hobby.”
After one visit with David Eakin and the SignStar team,
customers come away totally assured that they know their
business well, and will do the best possible job for each
customer. Push a button for creativity? If ever there was
one, it’s called SignStar.
