Billboard Insider has been running a series with out of home legend Charlie MacIntyre who recently sold his out of home plant to Adams Outdoor.  Charlie has talked about getting started in out of home, sales and marketing and managing through the great recession.  Today he talks about bootstrapping growth and the time he met Artie Moreno.

You built 100 signs without ever taking a partner. Was that intentional?

Completely. When I was just starting out, a mentor introduced me to my fabricator and helped me get my first bank relationship. I asked him if a certain guy would be a good partner and he said, “I’ve had 18 partners. Two have been good.” That stuck with me. He explained how it plays out: three partners, everything is going great, and then one of them gets divorced. Suddenly you have to buy him out, get the ex-spouse off the title—it becomes a mess. I was never trying to build 1,000 signs in three years. I wanted to grow slow. Every 90 days for years, I’d build another 12×25. That pace worked for me.  It meant I didn’t need partners.

How did you finance the growth?

I started with $80,000 from a bank. Built four 12×25s and a 14×48—all occupied. Went back to the same bank for more money and they said, pay this off first. Went to two other banks.  They said they didn’t want to be second-lien behind my first lender. So I moved to credit cards for a while. Then my accountant connected me to a local bank and I clicked with their lender. I built with their money, and then sixty days later they leased several of my signs for Q4—a strong quarter—and that really helped cement the relationship. 

You once ran into Artie Moreno at a cocktail hour. Tell that story.

This was about nine years ago in Scottsdale. I’m sitting at a table with John Arnold and a few younger reps and two guys walk in dressed to the nines. I tell John, “I think that’s Artie Moreno.” Half the table didn’t know who he was, so we had to fill them in. I figured—he’s a legend, I should at least say hello. I go over and he’s mid-story, animated, everybody’s laughing. I stood there for five minutes waiting for a break. Finally he turns around, sticks out his hand: “Artie Moreno.” I said, “Charlie McIntyre.” He asked what I did. I told him I was an independent operator. Fist pump. “How many signs?” I said a hundred. Another fist pump. “Any employees?” None. A third fist pump and a laugh. We had a great conversation. Then I mentioned the fall conference in Saint Louis—September 29th, I told him, we’d love to have you. He goes, “That’s my wife’s birthday. After everything I’ve put her through, I cannot miss that.” Fair enough, Artie. Fair enough.

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