The walls of Diskey Architectural Signage on Brackenridge Street in Fort Wayne are lined with signs in all shapes, sizes and colors.  They convey a sense of familiarity that stems from the signs that guide us in and around buildings every day.  Indeed, local hospitals, museums, arenas, schools, libraries and countless other business display signs created by Diskey, an 84 year-old company that recently celebrated its tenth year under the stewardship of President Mike Butler and his wife, Cathy.  Since purchasing the business in 1998, the Butlers have taken the once financially ailing Diskey and grown the business 600%.  Though Diskey may have looked like a risky investment, with the Butlers at the helm, this thriving business became the vessel for the couple to realize their professional dreams.

For years, Butler says he excelled at being second-in-command at other people’s companies, helping each of those businesses reach success.  Though he dreamt of owning his own business, he admits he was afraid to make the leap.  Finally, with the encouragement from Cathy, he decided to begin the process of becoming a business owner.  So he and Cathy looked for a business they could grow and run together – a goal based in part on a piece of advice he had received years earlier. 

“I was in a business class during my freshman year of college,” he recalls.  “The professor told us the best life insurance policy we could leave for our spouses is a career.  I knew I wanted to provide that for Cathy.”

That opportunity came in the unlikely package that was Diskey Signs, a seventy five year old sign company that had once enjoyed success but had begun to falter.  The business was nearly bankrupt and low on credibility when the Butlers decided to make their move.  While some doubted that the business could be turned around, Butler knew better.  As an experienced businessman whose resume boasted high ranking positions since college, he didn’t see a money pit; he saw potential.

“I looked at this business and knew we could make it grow,” he says.   “We could take projects and do them better and faster.”
So, with just five employees, he set out to do just that.  But with no background in architectural signage, a little improvisation became necessary in the beginning.

“I remember my first sales call,” Butler says with a grin.  “The clients asked me how long I had been in the sign business.  At that point it had been about three weeks, but I wasn’t going to tell them that.  So, I simply replied “I’ve been looking at signs for over 40 years.”

His strategy worked.  Columbia University in Manhattan bought more than $450,000 worth of Diskey signs over the next four years.

Both Diskey and the Butlers have come a long way since then.  Quick thinking, combined with well-honed business savvy and highly competitive products, have helped Diskey make the transition from cautionary tale to success story.  Today it manufactures a full line of interior and exterior signage products sold both retail and wholesale throughout the United States.  It also has independent representatives in Indiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Texas, North Carolina, New York and New Jersey.  Projects range from complete indoor and outdoor signage systems for schools and hospitals to small orders for offices, such as the local Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts.  When asked why he thinks his business has been so successful, Butler has an easy explanation.

“We don’t just deliver customer service,” he says.  “We go overboard with the customer service.”

Translation: do whatever it takes to make the client happy.  In fact, it only takes a quick look at the process and products Butler has produced over the last decade to see that his customers are his first priority.

“It’s not just about producing cheap plastic signs that clients can toss up in their buildings,” Butler says.  “We strive to create a design scheme that interplays with who and what that business is.  It’s a type of internal branding, and we take the importance of that seriously.”  As Butler describes the process he and his team go through with each client, it becomes clear that the progression is a detailed one.

“Initially, we meet with the client at their location,” Butler says.  “If they have blueprints, we want to look at them.  Then we decide which types of signs are needed and the locations for the signs.  Next, we brainstorm ideas to present to the client – this includes shapes, colors and designs.  We meet with the client again, get their feedback and modify our styles for their needs.  We don’t stop until they’re happy.  If they need a full sample set, we’ll make it for them.  We do whatever it takes to get their business.”

“It’s all free,” Butler says.

Once the client’s business is secured, the task of creating the custom-designed signs begins, and it is a process in which the Butlers and their staff take great pride.  With up-to-the minute technology and attention to detail, the Diskey team strives to produce an ideal product for their clients.

Butler admits this is quite a contrast to his competitor’s methods, which usually involves sending out a catalog and asking the client to pick from a standard design scheme.  So, why does he go to the trouble of doing it his way when it could be easier?

“I guess I figure if we’re going to make the signs, we want them to be as good as they can possibly be,” he says.  “We think of it like this – how would Leonardo da Vinci respond if you asked him to paint your bathroom blue?”

To the Butler’s credit, their mentality certainly seems to be the recipe for success in their field, and with their business now rock solid, they have their eyes on the future.

“We’re working on interactive signage now,” Butler says.  “Signs that can guide people with visual and audio aids.”

With such innovative goals, Butler is also making plans to expand his staff, which is currently 15 full-time employees with a type of franchise program that will allow signage businesses all over the nation to access Diskey’s state-of-the-art technology and systems.  It is a jump that exhibits the growth potential that the Butlers always knew Diskey possessed.

Today in retrospect, Butler says he wishes he had become a business owner earlier in his life.  While he knows it can be an intimidating prospect, he offers this advice to potential entrepreneurs:

“I have a modified Nike slogan,” he says with a chuckle.  “Do some homework, and then just do it!”