Tales of women from different walks of life – both fictional and nonfictional – whom I have classified as either intelligent, independent, successful, or perhaps all three, have been woven into milestones that dot my journey to this very moment. Ten years ago, I came upon one of life’s many crossroads that was inspired by their stories, and I chose a path that would change the course of my career. In the summer of 2008, during the height of the recession, I decided it was the perfect time to start my own company in the fleet and retail graphics industry. It was my first overt action to personal and financial independence and, since that moment, I’ve never looked back.
Prior to making this decision, I’d been indirectly exposed to this field through my former career in General Electric’s logistics division. I noticed both the positive and negative trends in our line of work and identified what I felt was a gap that needed to be filled. I wanted to change the way graphic installation companies were viewed at the time – which was not always in a favorable light – and create a more efficient and policy-driven structure with a group of trained wrappers who are proficient at every type of installation.
By my third year in business, I was contracted to install extensive fleet graphic conversions that were provided by some of the biggest printers in the graphics industry. It did not happen by chance or luck. It was achieved by building a stellar reputation through consistently delivering fast, quality-controlled service for vinyl work that exceeds customers’ expectations. I am a vinyl wrapper and CEO in equal measure, and not in the conventional sense, because I was a woman entering a mostly male-dominated field. There’s always been inequality embedded in an occupation like ours, but I’ve come to believe that the gender lines are blurring based on my very own example, which gives way to the rise of a female wrapper becoming the norm instead of the exception.