Ron Fisher of Fisher Signs & Shirts Wants to Bring Gay Leadership to Southampton

When heading east on County Road 39, drivers are likely to notice the bright orange signage of Fisher Signs & Shirts in the Tuckahoe area of Southampton Town. This signage points the way to more than a full-service sign company; it’s likely to lead to an encounter with the affable Ron Fisher, a gay Southampton-based businessman who is every bit as passionate about serving his community as he is about running his business. And he’s looking to expand in both areas this year.

Throughout his life on the East End, Fisher has worked with many nonprofits and community groups, utilizing the Spanish and business administration expertise he learned at St. Joseph’s University for the benefit of others. He has served on the Southampton Housing Authority, the Southampton Democratic Party Executive Committee, the Flanders Northampton Volunteer Ambulance Board of Directors and the Riverhead Central School District Board of Education, the same district he graduated from years prior.

As president of the Flanders, Riverside & Northampton Community Association (FRNCA), Fisher helped secure over $1 million in grants encouraging environmentally conscious, socially responsible development, and as current membership chair at LeTip of Bridgehampton, a local chapter of the international business networking group, he plays a big part in strengthening the area’s business community. Most recently, Fisher was appointed to the position of board chair at SEPA Mujer Inc., a Patchogue-based nonprofit organization offering leadership training, legal representation and other services to Latin immigrant women. In a similar vein, he has also worked with the Riverhead-based Butterfly Effect Project, which creates “safe spaces for girls to dream and succeed.”

Fisher founded Fisher Signs & Shirts at 1691 County Road 39 in Tuckahoe in 2015, later opening his second official location down the road (77 County Road 39A, Southampton), as well as a temporary Westhampton Beach space that closed during the pandemic. As the company’s owner and operator, he works with his team to create both hanging and standing signage, window and vehicle graphics, custom apparel, laser engravings, business cards and other printed goods. Fisher’s handiwork can be seen at businesses and organizations across the East End, including the Bridgehampton Childcare & Recreational Center, Hamptons Barber Lounge, Contessa Gallery, Southampton Day Care Center, Collette, Southampton Town Hall, Saaz Indian Cuisine, Bottle Hampton, Hallockville Museum Farm and the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation.

We connected with Fisher to get the 411 on his business, civic service and plans to better serve Southampton Town in elected office.

A Chat with Ron Fisher

What inspired you to open Fisher Signs & Shirts in 2015, and how did you decide on that business model?

I had worked for another small business in the area, and I loved it but knew that I wanted to be more than just an employee. I looked around and saw that there was an opportunity in the sign market. All of the local sign companies were being run by third-generation business owners who weren’t too interested in the industry. I saw an opportunity in an industry where the people operating it didn’t really want to be doing it, and I really wanted to be doing it and was looking forward to dominating. That’s what I strove for.

How did Fisher Signs & Shirts land its can’t-miss location on County Road 39, and how do you feel the showroom location has influenced the business’ success?

My brother had been renting the space I now occupy and outgrew it. He purchased a building to move to and connected me with the landlord [of his old space. I had a] lease before there was even a vacancy. If that didn’t fall into place the month I was starting my business, I would have had no plan B. There was no other location that was available. I knew that my business required the visibility that the highway offered and that we would be a lot more successful quicker if people could see where we were operating. Everything about this was fate.

When working on a commissioned design, is there any room for a creative back and forth between your team and the client?

We have a policy here that we give the customer exactly what they ask for, and then we show them what we think fits the area better and represents their company’s image well, They get to see (the designs) side by side — one is the non-professional (execution) that they asked for and thought they wanted, and then there’s one that puts together our 10 years of experience in what we think is a better representation. I have to say, 98% of the time they trust us and take our design over what they thought of.

One of the things I learned early in business was that you don’t know what you don’t know. People come to us thinking they know what they want in a sign, or thinking they know what they want in their business card. In reality they’re going to design one business card their whole life; we do 15 a week, so we just have this experience that we then use to benefit our clients.

In what ways has your business evolved over the years?

When I started, there was one graphic design program that everyone used. Now there are libraries of precedent imagery, there’s AI, which has influenced the industry incredibly, and now there’s 3D modeling that didn’t exist 10 years ago and 3D fabrication. The technology in the business has leaped forward exponentially, and we really pride ourselves on staying at the forefront of that. We do 3D modeling now. We have state-of-the-art printers capable of matching colors within a 100th of a shade. In the past it was a big impetus to changing businesses because your color was established or logo was established, and technology has removed that from being an impetus not to change companies.

How is your team making use of AI?

The fun thing about AI is that you can create imagery based on adjectives. I could put in flowers, red, orange, different colors, shapes of the weeds, flower names, and it will generate an image that can then be someone’s logo that is completely unique. It’s not in a library; it doesn’t exist in the real world. It’s completely computer generated, so our clients [can feel secure in the fact] that their logo is not going to pop up in Michigan, in Florida or in Texas just because everybody uses the same copyright-free library.

Working on the East End, has your college minor proved as useful as your major in business administration?

It has. When I was in college 20 years ago, I minored in Spanish as a foreign language. Then my first job out of college, I was leading a team of English as a second language, so I really got to hone my ability to speak Spanish and build my confidence with our clientele.

I would say more than half of our new business owners are native Spanish speakers. The other thing that we really pride ourselves on is we help them with grammar, spelling and translations, and we really help professionalize the image. Many of our competitors will just take what they’re given. They don’t help; they don’t correct. English is a funny language. Some words get “ING” at the end. Some words get an “S” while other words get “ES” when they’re made plural, and we help correct all that so that these business owners have one less thing to worry about. They’re not embarrassed out of the gate if it doesn’t have the right verb tense or plural form, and we think that’s a differentiator for us. My staff is very aware that we correct those mistakes and things.

Having owned and operated Fisher Signs & Shirts for about a decade, what excites you most about the business today?

I love the changes in the industry. There are new businesses opening today that just didn’t exist 10 years ago, and I love that. I think it’s so exciting there. We did signage for a health food store. We did signage for a water-ionizing equipment store where all they do is sell water. We have some of our biggest customers do advanced wastewater treatment systems, and they didn’t exist 10 years ago. It’s really fun for us to be on the cutting edge of business trends, basically new economies.

Having created signage and apparel for numerous local businesses, is there one commission that you’re particularly proud of?

Last year, the “Welcome to Flanders” Big Duck sign got stolen, and we got to recreate it. It’s not just what the sign meant, but it was the intricacy of the design. It was layered with different pieces of material; some of it was hand carved. The photo (of The Big Duck) was credited to a local artist who had to give us permission to Photoshop it. It’s seen by tens of thousands of people every day. It’s like a pillar of resilience and also a testament to the craft and the technicality that went into it. That’s the piece I’m most proud of.

Outside of your business, you have a long record of working for nonprofits and community groups. Why has community service been such a priority to you?

I’m super comfortable in my skin, and I know what skills I’m good enough at to help other people develop. That’s how I choose where I want to volunteer. I learned early on that I’m pretty good at community building. I’ve learned how to value different opinions, how to gather feedback and come to consensus, how to mediate between rather different people with different opinions, so that led me into civic work.

And with the nonprofit work, I have a strong business sense, and I have a lot of confidence in that. I know how to budget; I know all about compliance. Typically, what I’ve noticed in nonprofits is that there’s this desire to help and do good, but they lack a sustainability plan from a business perspective. Oftentimes, what I’m learning in the nonprofit world is that people think “nonprofit” means a non-revenue [organization] that doesn’t need money to sustain itself, and that’s not the case. I love bringing that business sense to help nonprofits expand.

Business is very head-driven, and nonprofits tend to be heart-driven. You need a balance of both to be successful.

Does your tenure at any one organization stand out as especially rewarding and impactful?

When I started at SEPA Mujer six years ago, there were two-and-a-half employees with a budget of about $180,000 a year. Three years ago, we bought a building, and this year we are up to 28 full-time employees with a budget of over $7 million.

The organization has grown so substantially that it has allowed the impact to magnify by the hundreds. Our legal department is serving so many people — victims of domestic violence, asylum seekers, permanent residents. It’s just incredible the impact that the organization is having on the community, and I’m so proud to have been a part of it.

Last month I became board chair. They elevated me (from treasurer) to the leader of the board, and it was unanimous. It was through consensus that we all evaluated our skills and how best we wanted to serve, and it’s just wonderful, the synergy that exists in that organization.

Are you currently involved with any other nonprofits or community organizations?

I’m involved with a business networking group called LeTip. It is a nonprofit, but the design is to connect business owners, and I’m really proud of that. I’m the membership chair responsible for growing the businesses in the organization. In eight months, we’re up to 40 members that meet regularly once a month. We discuss business, learn about each other’s businesses, welcome other people to join us as guests, and what we really highlight is consistency and accountability.

The beautiful thing about this group is that it has business owners that run $15 million companies and business owners that run $65,000-a-year companies, and we’re all in one room, all equal. We all learn from each other; we all help each other. I’m a huge believer that collaboration is better than competition, and this group really drives that point home.

To what degree do you feel your LGBTQ+ identity has shaped or influenced the journey you’ve taken to get to this point?

I learned early on that the way to be successful is to build community, and the first community that I felt accepted by and a part of was the gay community. Among my first customers were gay business owners. There was this desire to support, and I bring that into my work. When I can choose vendors that are minority-owned, be it by national origin or sexual identity, I put them first.

I’ve also found myself mentoring other gay business owners in a whole host of industries — people in their young 20s and certain teenagers that are exploring fashion lines, retail stores and online stores, and I’ve made myself available to help them be more successful quicker. It always feels special when it’s a member of the LGBT community. There’s a soft spot in my heart for helping minority communities.

What is one business or personal goal that you’re striving toward?

My professional goal is to open a third location in East Hampton so we can better serve the further-east business community. My personal goal is to better serve the East End community in elected office. That’s the goal this year.

I served on a school board when I lived in Riverhead, managing a $130 million budget. It was crazy. I’ve served on ambulance boards, learning about town services that are funded by taxing districts. And I was on the housing authority board for five years, learning about what the town was doing for affordable housing, about how the grants and the system work, and about density. I think I’m ready to serve in elected office. I did run for trustee a few years ago and did very well, and I think with the current makeup of the town board, there’s an opportunity for a businessperson under 60 to serve in the Town of Southampton.

I think it’s really important to have “out” representation. There is no gay representation in leadership in the Town of Southampton. There was one gay department head who no longer works for the town, and I think it’s an important voice to have at the table, particularly in the Hamptons.

For information on Fisher Signs & Shirts, visit the showroom at 1691 County Road 39, Southampton or online at anicesign.com.