Meet Emerson Hernandez

We were lucky to catch up with Emerson Hernandez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Emerson , looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

Work ethic is something I learned from my dad at an early age. My parents immigrated to California in the late 70’s as Civil War started to break out in El Salvador. My dad came to San Francisco where he worked at a restaurant washing dishes and one day while working, there was a raid which resulted in his deportation. Shortly after his deportation he made his way back to California with my mother and established himself in Los Angeles. Leaving me behind with an aunt for about a year, as they worked to save money to pay for my transportation to the US. I remember being brought to the US at the age of 4 and by that time my dad worked as a body man at a local body shop. This is a trade he learned and mastered while in El Salvador. I would watch my dad wake up every morning, never missing a day of work, leave the house and return dirty from a days work at the Body Shop. On the weekends I would go to work with him, and I would spend the day at Budget Body shop near the LAX. To watch him pay attention to detail, make sure a car is taken apart and reassembled precisely without cutting corners while managing a clients expectation is where I get my work ethic from and is what I deliver to my clients.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Born 1974 in the capital of El Salvador, San Salvador and a time when rumbles of Civil war could be heard in the city and small towns. 1978 at the age of 4 i was brought to Los Angeles, Ca where my parents waited for me to arrive and be handed over to my parents by coyotes. By now my parents had been out in Los Angeles establishing and securing a stable environment to call home. Living in the Pico Magnolia area better know Pico Alvarado area thats where my life in the concrete jungle of Los Angeles began. A time when small kids would be out in the streets playing ball day and night well at least the older kids i had to be indoor when my dad got home from work. He drove a pontiac firebird trans am actually i wish he would have kept that car looking back now. Growing up we always ate home cook meals and the only day/s i would have fast food was Saturday or Sundays Mc Donalds being the best treat and we would go out to dinner at Sizzlers loved the garlic bread. This is how we enjoyed the hard earned money. Around 1984 the crack pandemic hit the streets of Los Angeles and it swept the streets of Magnolia i would look out the window and see individuals strung out crack heads feaming for the next hit under cover cops storming out of their unmarked cars and onto a foot chase. As the crack pandemic exploded my parents had decided It was time to look into becoming homeowners the American dream, my parents made that dream come true with hard work and many hrs saving money. As we transitioned from apartment life in to becoming home owners.

As time went by and teenage years were in full affect The pressure of being asked
“So have you thought of what you will do after you graduate school” came from every angle and i never had an answer. I Had no clue what i wanted to do career wise, kind of felt like maybe i was the only one that had no clue as to what i would do after high school. As a non motivated high schooler i floated thru school only taking the minimum level classes required basic of the basic. I have a step sister 10 years older and be it she’s a girl we had nothing in common growing up so i basically consider myself and only child. The type of personality i have is im quiet, serious used to be shy and unemotional. I didn’t like to share and would hide my candy and popsicles deep in the freezer so my cousins would not eat them. Graduation time came around and although i passed all my clases barely i didn’t pass my city math test that was required. How i found this out is i got summons to see my counselor as i walked in i sat and he gave me the bad news keep in mind that i had never seen or talked to my counselor thru out high school so that was my first time meeting him when he gave me the bad news. May be he was an unmotivated high school counselor non the less i had to tell my parents that the one big dream they had which was to see me graduate on stage would not be happening. A sense of disappointment and a let down was felt thru out the house and for days after. The graduation came and went. I did go to community college SMC where i actually retained a 4.0 gpa and was part of school club C.L.U.E Club Latino United for Education our focus was reaching out to high schoolers and attending high schools to talk to students in general but target latinos since they were usually the ones un informed as to what maybe available in finacial help for them after high school. Although i was doing great in school i just never really enjoyed it. and i stopped and decided to work instead.

My first job was working at the AVCO my best friend worked there and help put in a word for me so i filled out my first job application and i got hired as movie Usher getting paid $4.25 an hr. This meant i was to collect tickets and greet customers great position for and individual that was quiet shy and unemotional. I soon moved to work behind the concession stand which was a step up same pay this is where i first learned about customer service and how, the way you present yourself is a representation of the company you work for. I didn’t realized that then but later in life i did, as a full time employee and this being one of the few theaters that used to pop their own popcorn in large batches up stairs in a room. I had this task and one Saturday morning i showed up to start my shift early around 7am with the task to start popping popcorn so i made my way up to the room turned on the poppers (not sure what they are called) to allow them to warm up prior to releasing the oil in and begin the popping process in between this time i went downstairs to socialize and didn’t realize how much time i had spent downstairs when i realized i had to get back to start popping bags of popcorn for the day. I pressed the button to release oil into the popper and bam! what was supposed to be and uneventful moment it really got exciting as the oil lands inside the popper and flares up into a fire i was frozen in shock as this was not covered in the employee handbook how to deal with an oil fire. So i did what any reasonable person would do RUN i ran out the door downstairs to let them know theres was a fire so a co worker who was older and apparently knew how to deal with a oil fire ran up and i was behind him he grabbed the salt and as he opened the popper the flame got larger he used up all the salt but there was too much oil i guess i should have only pressed the button once instead of twice which released a lot of oil. As we dealt with this the owner ran up and noticed the flame had not been put out so he grabbed the fire extinguisher and put the fire out leaving a huge mess to be cleaned as he set the extinguisher down he looks at me and shakes his head like a father catching his son sneaking back in thru the window. My job was to pop popcorn so i moved to the other popper turned it on and stayed there once warm i pressed the button once oil released no flame so i started my day popping. One thing i knew was i was not going to clean that mess till this day i never knew who did.
After working there for a year or 2 and getting a 25cent raise after the year i decided i was moving on next job was canvassing for the Sierra Club and getting memberships old school door to door canvassing. This was different for me a lot of walking and really hot days this taught me how to take rejection and how to process this i didn’t know it then but later on i realized. Nothing harder than to knock on a strangers door to see them open it and you having to go into your practiced speech and hope that they were environmentally friendly people. Rejections and rude people is what i came across not all but a lot specially in Saugus, Ca Since i was not getting enough people to enroll i was let go another lesson for me to deal with being told that i basically was not doing a good job and i would need to go look for a new job. As i searched for my next job i found it Working as a promotion team for 97.1 KLSX the street team we would go to events and promote the radio station this was a fun job always on the go fast pace. in this position i learned to continue improving on my customer service skills, organizational skills, time management and team leading. As our promotion manager left she took me with her to work and launch the indoor arena football team in los Angeles The Avengers same skills as it entailed same job tasks.
At this point my jobs had allowed me to be exposed to skills that i now use. One thing about me is i get bored easily and need to constantly be learning something new so i decided to move on to a new challenge and since the motivation was the need for more money i decided to look into being a driver when i came across a company called Copymat in Hollywood Ca looking for a driver i inquired and was tested primarily in being able to read a Thomas Guide this i new how to do bit this position required that you really knew so i faked it and i made it. Honestly minimal knowledge was needed. What this job entailed was delivering and picking up boxes of copied or of material needing to be copied so lifting up to 50lbs boxes loading and unloading. Time management, being responsible and professional appearance was required for this position and this job is what introduced me to the printing and copying industry. Since i tend to pick things up quick and get bored of repeated tasks i inquired within about working on the floor and since this facility offered a self service area as well as a full Color and B/W dept i saw the potential to be able and move up within plus i could also be used as a driver if needed so i was a versatile employee for the company. I was given the opportunity and i made the best of it. Primarily consist in sharpening my Customer Service skills and problem solving. As i learned as much as i could in operating the small self service copy machines i noticed i was not going to be given additional responsibilities and opportunities to learn in operating the larger production machines which is what i had set my eyes on. I decide to move on it was time. By now i was the type of worker that needed to constantly be learning this is when i realized to continue to grow within and in carrers no matter what i did i had to always be a sponge.

Set to stay within the copy industry i got a new job with a company in DTLA Copysolution. This was a litigation house so we would receive legal boxes that required us to sometimes Copy, Label, Copy so what this means is legal paper for court use required that they be numbered so we would need to make copies of everything I mean everything then print numbered labels that needed to be placed on each piece of copied material then those needed to be copied. So to retain the original documents in their original stage and the copies used for court proceedings. Very detailed oriented, tidiest repetitive organized and focused was required. Growth was what i still seek and moved within the company into a supervisor position overseeing a staff of 4-7 this was new to me and not easy this was not a time i could fake it till i made it so i didn’t do it for long. Although i had had customer service experience dealing with fellow employees was an entire different experience required. Not given the teaching required and support needed but i had at least gain new experience. Growing up in Los Angeles and being comfortable i made the decision to relocate from LA to NY. It was time for a hard reset I went out for a week to search and lock in an apartment for rent. That week there was my first tine in NY my search took to Yonkers, Queens, Brooklyn, Harlem and Staten Island. All week long searching and no luck until my last day I got a call from Staten Island about an apartment that was available I quickly made my way to staten Island to lock in the apartment which i did. The following day i flew back to and was going to be time to Let my parents, family and friends know.

The age of 27 i decided to move to NY and drive cross country with nothing more than the boxes that fit in my 2001 Lexus Is 300. This was a new beginning for me, a time for growth, confidence building and this would also be my first time living on my own. Staten Island NY was now a new beginning for me No family, No friends, New Place.
My first job in Staten Island was working at the Great kills Recycling Center. This is where all the sanitation trucks would pull in to dump the trash and recycles I would have to go thru the trash dumped and pull out any non recycle items. As got myself set in a new apartment and and new state i knew i had to get back into the print industry so i went to a print shop in Staten Island called The Royal Press this was a mom and pop print shop which consist of Off Set Printing Specializing in perfect bound catalogs where they use production Black/White printers and mix with Offset printing. So decided to drop off my resume and met the Owner Carmine DeSantis. 2 months went by and i received a call from Carmine saying he would like for me to meet with me and have me do a walk thru. During the walk thru we discussed the work flow and how they wanted to start implementing the use of Digitally printed black/white sections of journals and catalogs that also consisted of full color offset printed sections.
At the same time the person running the black/white printers was going to be relocating to Florida and it was great timing for me. Some would say good luck i like to think that things happen for a reason good and bad. The conversation went well and when asked when i could start i said tomorrow. I knew this was the opportunity i was looking for and in life you make things happen. 2001 was when i was given the opportunity that would set me in the path to learning and becoming a team player with the work ethic, self motivating mentality a team leader i learned has to have always wanting more responsibility and taking on challenges that most avoid. This was a fast pace environment that required you to be a multitasker. I took on the responsibility in being the go to guy in the B/W printing dept and finishing running a 2 tower 20 bin collator that required i load in correct sequence the pages to be collated and then taken to a perfect bound machine where it got bound with hot glue into a finished book that then was taken for a face trim. Being a sponge to learn to run the machines and have multiple machines running while working on other responsibilities kept me motivated and excited i had no time to get bored. I was also given the responsibility of brewing the 2pm coffee for the shop and since i was the youngest and full of energy the last thing i wanted to do was let them know that i was tired or didn’t want to do it. Didn’t help that i was form LA amongst all this Puerto Rican, Dominican and Italian staff. Besides I knew i brew a mean Coffee they all loved it.
I worked there my entire stay in NY which was about 5 years by then the older staff had gotten older and tired so i was the un official foreman and i was trained with the idea that i would take over for the aging foreman. This was a press shop like no other people spoke what was on their mind yelling, cursing, blaming, not an environment for the sensitive. in my time their i saw one of the brothers Carmine DeSantis pass away then his Brother Bobby DeSantis leaving the Sister Lucille and Bobbys son (Jr) who didn’t have the desire to continue improving and developing the company in fast changing times. The time came that i needed to return to LA and it was the hardest and most difficult decision i had to make to leave a place that was home to me where i lived and was depended on by the staff. A foreman to be is something i would never see an accomplishment that for me would have been the highest complement for an LA kid that took on challenges that most wouldn’t have cared to specially when the pay was not determined by the skill level one had. None the less being a sponge and given the opportunity i was given by the DeSantis Family gave me a blue print to what i needed in laying out part of my foundation that would continue on the path to becoming a business owner. My time in Staten Island NY was a time for grow professionally, and as a human being i was taught empathy when 9/11 happened. Alone and seeing how this affected everyone in NY was hard seeing funerals for the following 2-3 years as bodies and pieces were identified.
Making the decision to return to LA was hard, in the 5 years i worked at the Royal Press and about to become the foreman was hard to leave behind. Once back in LA i got a Job at Blair Graphics in Santa Monica as an Operator in the Black and White dept. Picking up where i left off in NY minus the pay i had and the position i had. Best described would be having to take 2 steps back. A new start and beginning in my time at Blair i worked on the production floor Starting with being the Xerox Docutech operator, Being the sponge i was and wanting to continue to learn i moved on within the company to learn and be certified in operating a large color production machine the Xerox Igen. A machine the company had but not the work flow ideal for that machine. As the company started to offer more services and bringing in new machines i jumped at the opportunity in learning to operate a Oce UV Flatbed Printer this was a all hand on Printers handling heavy substrates from Acrylic to PVC and Wood Panels great for custom and personalized work. Part of this responsibility was learning the operate a cutting machine for the material being print on once my stay at Blair Graphics was done i moved into the sales aspect of the industry.

I started to search for a sales position but needed to be a position that would pay an hourly rate with the possibility of commission higher emphasis on hourly rate. I found the employer with this ideal position and starting working at FASTSIGNS in Culver City was there for years then transferred to work at FASTSIGNS Los Angeles ( west hollywood ) as a inside sales rep. I was already familiar with the material used the methods use in printing to achieve certain looks. Now it was time for me to learn how to set customers expectations and meet them, This environment was fast pace that required multi tasking like answering phones, greeting walk ins, replying to emails and working up quotes on the spot. Inside sales also consist of speaking with fabricators scheduling installations and maintaining timelines.

8 years of inside sales in a fast pace environment gave me the last of the skills and knowledge i needed as well as the confidence required to be able and take chances. All my previous jobs instilled the need for work ethics and accountability. I was ready to take a chance and the fear that kept me for me from the unknown was not going to be a factor in me deciding to take that chance in starting my own business.

2017 I started my Business under the DBA Above All Signs ( Los Angeles ) My goal was to offer the same services as a the franchises and local sign shops but with the emphasis on convenience. One thing i learned working inside sales is how busy people are and how difficult and complicated it can be for customer to have to take time out of their day to stop at a brick and mortar sign shop. So what i offer is convenience theres no need for clients to have to take time out of their day because i will go to see them and discuss options for what they may need. At ABOVE ALL SIGNS we offfer a wide range of services like printing from Banners, Business cards, Flyers, Wall vinyls, Wall Graphics, Window Graphics, Interior and Exterior Signage. We also offer full custom Interior and exterior sign fabrication, Full Electrical work, Silk Screening and For 2025 I will be offering shirt printing Heat transfer DTF In house production No minimum Need 1 shirt i will do it need 100 i can do that too. No Job is too small and i have always though a small job from a client can lead to a large job in the future.
I handle being in contact with new client emailing, local site surveys at co charge. Face to face conversations with customers and understanding what will be cost effective for them receiving files making sure i set the expectation and that is met upon completion. No cutting corners using premium materials and quality work what most people think they get with known name sign shops but don’t. For me its not a numbers game its about the one on one with a client i make it a personal experience. I have a full-time Designer with extensive experience in signage set up and art creations form scratch. don’t know what you want just tel me the purpose colors and we start the process to allow you to get a visual with full range of creation

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Qualities i possess and that have helped me out are

~Self Discipline; Is key in me being able to Organize myself with my daily tasks and to stay on schedule being self employed and self managed, one needs to be able to not get sidetracked since there will be downtime between projects

~Patience; this has been important in allowing me to not be discouraged in the lack of approved jobs and in allowing myself to learn the process in establishing trust with a client. As well as making sure i fully set the expectation. To do this one need to make sure you listen to a clients needs being inpatient and rushing thru this process will end in a client feeling like they were mis led.

~Authenticity; to be genuine and true to myself in what my attainable goals are.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

My number one obstacle and challenge is maintaining a consistent amount of work coming thru. There are periods where i can go 2 month with no projects and its a constant struggle to maintain the estimate funnel constantly moving. I offer the same services a Franchise does even better because i use quality material since i don’t cut corners and im mindful that in using quality material it assures my installer can do the job correctly on the first try. Cheaper materials can complicate and installation. In working to resolve this im looking into introducing the service of Garment printing Heat press shirts with the focus on short runs but with the ability to fulfill a large run if it presented itself. To launch a small and targeted marketing plan as well as offering specialty frames like Canvas Wraps (Gallery Style) Hidden Frames displays Classic Black Frames. I will be targeting New business since i can offer the needed signage that a new company needed at a reasonable cost Tight budgets are not a problem for me to work with.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.aboveallsignsla.com
• Instagram: above_all_signs_la
• Facebook: Above All Signs L.A
• Linkedin: Emerson Hernandez Owner at Above All Signs
• Other: Tik Tok @Aboveallsignsla

Image Credits

ABOVE ALL SIGNS LA