Company: Comstor Outdoor
Markets: Indiana and Ohio.
Headquarters: 9016 St Route 117, Box 151 Huntsville, Ohio 43324-0151.
Phone: 888-354-2591
Email: office@comstoroutdoor.com
Jason Duff is a classic entrepreneur. He’s grown Comstor Outdoor to 450 faces since starting the business in 2001. In addition to Comstor, Duff owns a community storage business and the Small Nation community economic development company. We are running an interview series in which Jason talks about what he’s learned in 24 years in the out of home business. Today he talks about getting started.
How did you get involved without a home
When I grew up both my parents were small business owners. My dad owned a business selling construction materials and stone and my mom owned the hallmark gift shop. Growing up in the 80s and 90s working on Main Street around small businesses was a a special experience. Our town of Bellfountaine, Ohio had 14,000 people. My mom in put me in charge of helping her market her small business. We tried things like Yellow Pages and radio and newspaper but there was something really special about signs that caught my attention from a very early age. So we called a phone number for someone in the big city in Columbus trying to get information to advertise on the signs on the highway and it was very hard to get a return phone call. I met Tom Geisken. At that time Tom was a salesperson for a very large billboard company and he sat in my office and told me the benefits of billboards. Then got introduced to Bill Lockridge and Lockridge Outdoor. Bill came and approached my family about building a billboard on our property and and he kind of took an interest in me. We signed a lease for several signs on one of our properties and he gave me a the chance to earn a commission selling outdoor…When Bill sold his company I hired some of his employees – Web Beecher and Cecil Smith. I was just surrounded with these veterans that you know took me under their wing and coached me and mentored me.
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I remember meeting Jason for the first time at his grandpas office. He had a 100 questions about how to build billboards at 16 years old!!!!!! He has always been an entrepeneur at heart!!!