Photo courtesy of JoLeigh Payne.
Summer Payne, left, and her mother JoLeigh Payne, of Card my Yard, with a yard decoration.
If you’ve seen customizable signs popping up in yards around the Birmingham area this summer, it’s the work of the mother-daughter team of JoLeigh and Summer Payne, who have brought a Card My Yard franchise to Birmingham.
The company was created in October 2014, when two moms, Amy Arnold and Jessica Stanley, in Austin, Texas, decided to team up and spread some cheer to their friends and neighbors through yard signs. As word spread about their new business, the growth became exponential. Currently, Card My Yard has over 500 franchise locations nationwide.
JoLeigh Payne, who works full time as a health care sales executive, said she first saw Card My Yard signs while living in Franklin, Tennessee, but there was already a franchise owner there. Then, she relocated to Birmingham two years ago for her husband to open his business, a franchise of Manduu Fitness, in Homewood.
“We were meeting a lot of people due to Manduu, and I just thought a Card My Yard franchise would do well here in Birmingham. We just love it here,” she said.
Her daughter, Summer Payne, is a 19-year-old student at UAB and co-owner of the franchise with her mom. JoLeigh Payne said that she believed it would be a good opportunity for her daughter to learn business skills and to get to know more people in the Birmingham community.
“It’s been really fun [working with my daughter],” JoLeigh Payne said. “She’s taking care of all of the technology and accounting, and I’m working on marketing and getting us clients, and we work together reallywell,”
So how does this mother-daughter team fit an extra business into their full-time work and student life?
“One thing that’s really great about this franchise is that it is very flexible on when you can do things. We just work it out with our schedules,” JoLeigh Payne said.
They serve the areas around the south end of Birmingham, including Homewood, Vestavia, Mountain Brook, and areas around U.S. 280. The next closest Card My Yard businesses are in Decatur and Huntsville.
“We signed up [to open a franchise] about two months ago, and we were ready to roll in about three weeks. They ship you your first letters and graphics, and they go through a lot of great training, teaching you how to do the signs,” JoLeigh Payne said.
According to the Card My Yard website, their “yard greetings” are not just for birthdays, but also for events, schools and businesses. Custom signs can be requested to fit a particular theme, color scheme or anyother request.
“We are really loving getting to know the community. It’s been really fun meeting a variety of people,” JoLeigh Payne said.
“Hopefully this [the business] will also help Summer get through school. I think she wants to be a vet, so we’ve got about seven more years,” she added.
To learn more about Card My Yard and their services, go to cardmyyard.com/birminghamsouth-al.
