Charlie MacIntyre of Bullfrog Outdoor recently sold his Indiana out of home company after 28 years in the out of home business. Billboard Insider will run a series in which Charlie discusses his career and what he’s learned. Today he talks about getting into the out of home business.
How did you get into the out of home business
I had an internship with 3M while I was in college. I worked with a sales rep. I worked from 1 to 5 Monday to Friday during spring semester. I also went on real estate calls and I became friends with the real estate rep for 3M…Bob Stapleton…
You went to work for 3M’s outdoor group out of college.
They hired me to manage 400 billboards in Fort Wayne and I said I’ve never heard of Fort Wayne. They moved me there and I managed Fort Wayne and after seven years I started thinking that I could put in my own billboards and manage them better and I’d be an owner. So I went out on my own.
Why did you want to work for yourself?
I wanted to have control. I wanted to be my own boss.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start their own out of home company
Go out and work for an out of home company and get trained. Leave on good terms and you’re always welcome to come back. Learn sales and creative before you go out on your own. When I started, I was figuring out the leasing side as I went. I got lucky—I was in a right-to-work state, so I didn’t need stamped engineering drawings. An 8½ × 11 sheet of paper with a north arrow and “not to scale” in the corner was enough to get a permit. That saved me thousands of dollars early on that I couldn’t afford to spend. Save your money. Have a little capital, but protect it. And make sure your customers are going to pay—we’ve all had the ones who don’t, and it’s not fun.
What’s your management style?
Ready, fire, aim. I’m still fighting. I’m always in a hurry. Sometimes too much of a hurry.
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