Garage Celebration creator Bill Webster Jr. is one of those people who likes decorating for the holidays. He enjoyed it when his kids were little and he wanted to carry on once they were grown and gone. One day after pondering about this and looking at his garage door, he has an epiphany of sorts. As his website says: “As a lifelong entrepreneur retirement didn’t sound like much fun. One day while looking at my house I thought to myself how much I enjoyed decorating for the holidays when my boys were small. How could I recapture those feelings and share them with others quickly and easily—that’s when it hit me…Turn your garage door into a, ‘Garage Celebration!'”
He envisioned a large sign on his garage door, but he didn’t want to just glue a sign on the door. Bill wanted a sign that would be festive and reusable, yet still allow the door to function. He searched the web for what he wanted and couldn’t find anything, so he turned to his son, Bill Webster III, who is a design professional. Bill created what they call their attachment collars, which are patent pending. The collars fit around the corners of the door and tighten with a zipper. Once installed, the signs for snugly to the door, yet still allow it to open and close. It took the two Bills two years to perfect the design.
Once the holiday is over, simply take the sign down and wash it. The signs are designed to last. The fabric is durable and they resist fading because they use a sublimation printing process which basically embeds the colors into the fabric. A one car garage sign costs $99 and a two car is $159 and they’ll do custom signs as well. That’s no terribly expensive when you consider they’re designed to last for years. Bill Jr. says their warehouse is busting at the seams, they likely want a Shark’s cash to expand their space.
My Take on Garage Celebration
I think these signs are pretty cool, but I don’t have a garage, so I won’t be a customer. I like that they have Christmas signs, patriotic signs and signs for other holidays (Halloween is a big seller apparently). I also like some of the custom signs. Their Facebook page has pictures of a custom USC sign. I think that could be a good angle for the business.
Here in Florida, a lot of people come from somewhere else in the country. Whenever I drive around, I se people flying flags of their favorite sports team in their yard. Those people would put one of these Garage Celebration signs up in a heartbeat. I think licensing should be a big part of their business plan. That would extend sales throughout the year, not just during holidays.
Will Sharks Sign a Deal?
I’m not sure on this one. Bill Jr. strikes me as the type of guy who started this business to stay busy. If he comes across as a “hobby not a business” type of guy, he could be in trouble. I think he’ll field an offer or two. Barvbara could be interested if she see’s a real estate application. I don’t think this is a Lori product, so she’ll go out.
I’m not sure Mark or Robert make offers either. That leaves Mr. Wonderful. This is a good candidate for a royalty offer as I’m sure the margins are good and the prices could support a royalty so I fully expect this to happen. Whether the two Bills accept is another story.
