Oct
23
Her story is one of chance, determination and perseverance. Kerry McCoy, who owns the Arkansas’ FlagAndBanner.com with her husband Grady, began selling American flags door to door in 1975. McCoy who used to wait tables at night just to make ends meet, today owns a company that took in $2 million last year. Her path began after she graduated from fashion merchandising school in Dallas. The country was in a recession and jobs were hard to come by. She found herself at an employment agency who sent her to work for a Dallas company selling flags.
A home sick McCoy returned to Little Rock with no job and no prospects since there was no flag companies in the Little Rock area at the time. She decided to sell American flags herself and start her own company. With $400 in savings, McCoy pringed business cards and order pads and got her city permit. Soon, she was going door to door, selling flags. With her supplier Betsy Ross Flag manufacturing, McCoy began selling flags and building up her stock. For nine years, she worked tow jobs, waiting tables at night to stay afloat. Business eventually picked up and soon McCoy was trying to keep up with her industry.
As the flag industry changes, so did the company’s way of doing things. She began custom making banners and flags, then she went to computer-cut vinyl banners before screen-printing took over the industry during the high demand produced by the Desert Storm. Screen-printing brought sales, more income and a desire for a new location. The company is now located at Taborian hall, a vintage building on Ninth Street in downtown Little Rock.
Utilizing the Internet was also a revolutionary step for McCoy. She purchased www.flagandbanner.com in 1995, and now offers more than 8,000 products on the web. Today, Arkansas’ FlagAndBanner.com appliqués and silk screens flags. They can also computer-cut or even print photograph-quality reprints hundreds of feet wide on vinyl banners.
The public can visits the Arkansas FlagAndBanner.com showroom where they can browse through the selection of flags, poles, home decor, garden accents, apparel, jewelry and gifts.
Arkansas Democrat Gazette/ October 23, 2003