'Our signs make people happy': Manasquan HS friends build business with yard signs

After growing up in Manasquan and Spring Lake Heights, respectively, high school friends Tara Collinson and Michelle Honauer both ended up starting families in Monmouth County and pursuing careers in the retail industry. But in 2020, they channeled their creativity and love of celebrations into Yippee! Yard Cards, a Manasquan-based provider of custom yard signs with an emphasis on fun.

After graduating from Manasquan High School, Collinson and Honauer both attended Brookdale Community College in the Lincroft section of Middletown and climbed the retail ladder, with Collinson ultimately managing a variety of local toy stores and Honauer managing several jewelry stores and then becoming an East Coast district manager for a jewelry designer.

For Collinson, however, the pandemic opened a new door.

Working at a toy store in Shrewsbury at the time, “we closed in March 2020 like many other businesses and I wasn’t sure when we would reopen,” said Collinson, a Manasquan resident. “My kids were in high school and college and I was looking for something to do.”

A chance visit to a relative’s home presented an unexpected opportunity.

“During the pandemic, my husband and I went to Massachusetts for a family party and my sister-in-law had a large yard sign on her lawn comprised of different cards,” Collinson said. “She told me that it was her new business and I thought it was amazing. Each card/letter was 24 inches high and the whole sign was 15 to 20 feet long. It was so unique and something I’d never seen before in New Jersey,” she said. “I immediately took pictures and texted them to Michelle to see if she’d be interested in launching that kind of business with me in our area.”

“Tara has a real eye for that type of thing and we’d never seen anything like that around us,” agreed Honauer, a Spring Lake Heights resident. “They’re beautiful signs of high-end quality and the prospect of going into business with Tara worked for me because I’m a part-time preschool teacher and my schedule during the pandemic was more flexible.”

With Collinson’s sister-in-law helping to connect them with the right wholesalers, “we launched Yippee! Yard Cards — a name we picked because it sounded happy — in August 2020 and started with a small investment in an inventory of cards representing each letter of the alphabet in order to make our signs custom,” Collinson said.

“In addition to positive word-of-mouth,” Collinson continued, “we advertised on Facebook and Instagram and the pictures sold themselves. When we first launched, we were doing 20 signs a week and business grew rapidly from there.”

'No two are ever alike'

Two and a half years later, demand for the duo’s cheerful custom creations has been stronger than ever.

Rented to customers for a 24-hour period or longer, “each letter of our signs is on a metal stake in the ground and the entire sign is a whole display of individual letters,” Honauer explained of the yard signs, which can share any of a range of messages, from ‘happy birthday’ or ‘congratulations’ to ‘happy retirement,’ ‘welcome home’ and many more, along with the celebrant’s name, if desired.

“We’ve done yard signs for birthdays, proms, baby showers, gender reveals, anniversaries, welcome home celebrations, and many ‘welcome back’ signs at schools when classes resumed after the pandemic,” she said.

“We offer eight different colors of alphabet letters, 18 different ‘happy birthday’ signs/styles, and a lot of different graphics to reflect the celebrant’s favorite things, whether it’s sports, unicorns, mermaids, etc.,” Collinson noted. “Our signs are artistic and we spend a lot of time personalizing them for each customer, such that no two are ever alike.”

“We have different-sized and custom signs, but our smallest ones — such as a ‘happy birthday’ sign featuring the person’s name, age and graphics plus delivery/set-up and pick-up within a 10-mile radius — start at $120,” said Honauer, who added that more-involved signs involving custom-cut and printed graphics can cost up to $250.

“The average cost of one of our signs is about $150 and after the rental period, we return to the property to pick it up, clean it and reset it for the next job,” Honauer said.

Collinson credited society’s desire to celebrate others, especially during and since the pandemic, for the strong demand they’ve seen for their service. “People like to publicly acknowledge achievement and celebrate milestones for people they love,” she explained. “It’s a show of love, support, admiration, and/or appreciation.”

'Shocked by the size of our signs'

With nearly three annual business cycles under their belts, “graduation time in May/June is one of our busiest seasons,” Collinson said, “and summer weekends and other times when there are a lot of outdoor parties and people are outside more are also busy.

"Since it gets dark earlier in the wintertime and people aren’t outside as much to see yard signs, we ratchet down in January/February and reopen for business in early March,” she continued. “However, though we’re not setting up signs during the heart of the winter, we’re available to take orders for the spring and can absolutely reserve our customers’ dates now.”

While sourcing supplies hasn’t been an issue — all of their products are cut and printed in the U.S. — Collinson said that rain, wind and hard or rocky terrain are among their biggest challenges.

“If the weather is bad, we may choose not to put a sign out there because we want it to look a certain way and a windy day can affect the appearance of the sign,” she said.

As they gear up for the new year, Collinson and Honauer are grateful for the opportunity to spread cheer.

“People are shocked by the size of our signs, how pretty and unique they are, and what they say,” Collinson said. “They bring joy to both the recipient and the giver, as well as to spectators, many of whom honk in support as we’re putting the signs up! Ultimately, our signs make people smile.”

“Tara and I love what we do as well as the opportunity to work together, because you don’t always get to work with such a close friend,” Honauer added. “Ultimately, we truly enjoy that our signs make people happy.”

Yippee! Yard Cards

Location: Manasquan

Phone: 732-894-6332

Owners: Tara Collinson and Michelle Honauer

Launched: August 2020

Website: www.yippeeyardcards.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Yippee! Yard Cards founded by Manasquan HS friends