The WrapOps Podcast

What Modern Wrap Shops Do to Stay Booked (It’s Not Just Wrapping) | Ray Padilla (Media Tune)

A lot of wrap shops rely on word of mouth. It works… until it doesn’t. When things slow down, there’s no pipeline. No consistency. No control. In this episode, Ray Padilla breaks down why marketing is no longer optional for wrap shops and what actually works if you want steady, predictable growth. In this episode 00:00:00 You Don't Own a Wrap Shop, You Own a Media Company! 00:02:00 How the Most Profitable Wrap Shops Scaled Their Empires 00:06:18 Digital Ads vs. Master Classes: What Actually Grows a Shop? 00:09:13 The Secret Weapon Supplier Your Wrap Shop Needs 00:10:08 $0 Marketing Budget? Do THIS Every Single Morning 00:15:00 The Exact Moment Your Shop is Ready to Hire an Agency 00:18:00 Predict Your Sales & Stop the Slow Season Panic With a CRM 00:26:00 The 5% Budget Rule Every Wrap Shop Needs to Follow 00:29:19 AI Generated Ads vs. Real Videographers: What Actually Converts? 00:31:22 Is TikTok Actually a Massive Waste of Time for Installers? 00:33:15 How Small Wrap Shops Can CRUSH Giant Corporate Franchises 00:35:54 Stop Chasing Supercars! Find the Clients That Actually Pay 00:38:25 Dominate Local SEO & Make Google Bring You Leads 00:43:10 Don't Get Scammed: Ask These 3 Questions Before Hiring a Marketer 00:46:10 Game-Changing Mentorship for 7-Figure Wrap Shop Owner If your pipeline depends on referrals, you’re exposed. Build a simple, consistent marketing system. Show your work. Educate your audience. Stay in front of people. Because the shops that market… don’t slow down when others do. Resources Media Tune: https://themediatune.com/ Follow Ray: https://www.instagram.com/raympadilla/ This episode is sponsored by Wrap Fam Unleashed: https://www.thewrapfam.com/subscribe Get 15% off the Wrap Institute - https://www.wrapinstitute.com/join PROMO CODE: WRAPOPS15 Grimco: Use code is WRAPOPS5 for a one-time 5% discount on all Grimco Items (excluding MRP items). Visit: https://go.grimco.com/3Mzt7eS Connect with WrapOps: http://www.wrapops.com http://Instagram.com/wrap.ops http://facebook.com/share/1VQgsUHygh/?mibextid=wwXIfr Produced in partnership with http://www.podlad.com

Inside The Wrap Institute: Justin Pate’s Approach to Growth

Most people think getting better in the wrap industry comes down to skill alone. Better installs. Faster installs. Fewer mistakes. But the people who grow fastest usually do something different.  They collaborate. They stay curious. They keep learning long after they “should” be good enough. In this episode, Justin Pate shares his perspective from working with installers and shops all over the world, and what separates the ones who stay stuck from the ones who keep improving. 00:00 - Out of Debt & Into the Trenches (Coming up on this episode) 01:52 - Skipping the NFL for NYC: Justin Pate’s Unorthodox Path to Vinyl 03:12 - Chinatown Sweatshops & Bounced Checks: Surviving His First Wrap Job 05:19 - A Transatlantic Love Story: Moving to Amsterdam & Starting a Family 06:43 - Breaking the 4-Minute Mile of Wrapping: The Legendary 2-Hour Van Wrap 08:08 - American Speed vs. European Precision: A Humbling Lesson in Quality 10:25 - From Outdated DVDs to The Wrap Institute: Building the UGIS Framework 14:11 - Why Collaboration Beats Competition 16:32 - Finding Your Lane: Advice for the Next Generation of Wrappers 17:39 - Why Professionalism is Your Greatest Asset 21:10 - Prove Your Worth: Earning Your Spot at the Manufacturer's Table If you want to grow faster in this industry: Stop trying to figure everything out alone. Find people who are ahead of you. Learn from them. And stay curious even when you think you have it figured out. Follow Justin on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinpatewrapper This episode is sponsored by Wrap Fam Unleashed: https://www.thewrapfam.com/subscribe Get 15% off the Wrap Institute - https://www.wrapinstitute.com/join PROMO CODE: WRAPOPS15 Grimco: Use code is WRAPOPS5 for a one-time 5% discount on all Grimco Items (excluding MRP items). Visit: https://go.grimco.com/3Mzt7eS Connect with WrapOps: http://www.wrapops.com http://Instagram.com/wrap.ops http://facebook.com/share/1VQgsUHygh/?mibextid=wwXIfr Produced in partnership with http://www.podlad.com

Why I Walked Away From My Own Wrap Shop | Kado Serri-Charette (Tint Wiz)

What if the path everyone tells you to take… isn’t the one that actually leads to freedom? For years, owning a wrap shop has been seen as the goal. More jobs. More clients. More growth. But what if that path leads to burnout instead? In this episode, Kado Serri-Charette (Head of Brand and Growth at Tint Wiz) shares his journey from running a full-service wrap shop to walking away and stepping into a completely different role within the industry. A move that gave him more clarity, more alignment, and a different kind of growth. In this episode 0:00 — "Being your own boss" isn't what you think 1:03 — Meet Kado from Tint Wiz 2:01 — From the oil fields to vinyl wrapping 3:21 — Opening his own shop: wraps, PPF, tint, everything 4:05 — Three months in: why he needed a system 4:24 — The call that changed everything 5:16 — How posting content opened unexpected doors 7:11 — Getting sponsored to compete: first class, fully paid 10:19 — Two years of adding value before any job offer 11:26 — "Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?" 12:03 — Why knowing what you hate matters as much as knowing what you want 13:42 — His role: Head of Brand and Growth at Tint Wiz 17:00 — Why every shop needs a CRM 20:18 — Stop selling. Start solving problems. 20:43 — How to stop losing good employees 24:42 — How to get noticed without asking for anything 28:05 — Why tagging brands builds real relationships 29:44 — The honest truth about owning a shop 33:53 — Chase happiness, not money Owning a wrap shop is one path. Not the path. There are multiple ways to succeed in this industry. And sometimes the smartest move… is stepping away from what you thought you were supposed to build. “If you want weekends off and time with your family… don’t start a business.” A blunt truth, but one that every shop owner eventually feels. Check out Tint Wiz on socials: https://www.youtube.com/tintwiz https://www.instagram.com/tintwizapp This episode is sponsored by Wrap Fam Unleashed: https://www.thewrapfam.com/subscribe Get 15% off the Wrap Institute - https://www.wrapinstitute.com/join PROMO CODE: WRAPOPS15 Grimco: Use code is WRAPOPS5 for a one-time 5% discount on all Grimco Items (excluding MRP items). Visit: https://go.grimco.com/3Mzt7eS Connect with WrapOps: http://www.wrapops.com http://Instagram.com/wrap.ops http://facebook.com/share/1VQgsUHygh/?mibextid=wwXIfr Produced in partnership with http://www.podlad.com

How I Went from Wrap Shop Chaos to Global Clients | Preston Jordan (Digital Precision)

From the outside, the shop looked successful. Plenty of work. Busy schedule. Jobs constantly coming through the door. But behind the scenes, everything depended on Preston. Every decision. Every problem. Every job. And that’s when it became clear. This wasn’t a scalable business. It was controlled chaos. In this episode, Preston shares the shift that changed everything. From being stuck in the day to day… to building a shop that could handle bigger, more demanding corporate clients. In this episode 0:00 — No Business Plan, Just Hustle — And Why That Breaks You 2:12 — Growing Up in the Industry: Print Shops, Silk Screens, and Finding Vinyl 4:38 — The Color Change Era: Getting Hooked on the Limelight 13:36 — The Wake-Up Call: "The Second I Stopped, The Money Stopped" 15:32 — Burnout Was Self-Inflicted — No Boundaries, No Business Plan 18:04 — Burning It Down and Starting Over With Commercial Work 24:37 — Landing Delta Airlines Without Spending a Cent on Marketing 25:41 — COVID, a New Partner, and Finally Building a Real Business 27:45 — All the Systems Were in His Head — And Why That Kills Growth 33:53 — Firing a Client and Getting Clear on the Business You Actually Want 38:05 — What It Looks Like When the Shop Finally Runs Without You 39:33 — One Piece of Advice: Have a Plan. It Can Change. Just Have One. You don’t go from chaos to corporate by working harder. You get there by building a business that can operate without you at the center of everything. Find out more about Preston and Digital Precision: https://www.digitalprecision.com/ [https://www.digitalprecision.com/] This episode is sponsored by Wrap Fam Unleashed: https://www.thewrapfam.com/subscribe Get 15% off the Wrap Institute - https://www.wrapinstitute.com/join PROMO CODE: WRAPOPS15 Grimco: Use code is WRAPOPS5 for a one-time 5% discount on all Grimco Items (excluding MRP items). Visit: https://go.grimco.com/3Mzt7eS Connect with WrapOps: http://www.wrapops.com http://Instagram.com/wrap.ops http://facebook.com/share/1VQgsUHygh/?mibextid=wwXIfr Produced in partnership with http://www.podlad.com

Why the Best Wrap Shops Never Stop Experimenting | Jay Kroll (General Formulations)

Most wrap shops look for the “right way” to do things. The right material. The right process. The right system. But the best shops do something different. They test. Constantly. In this episode, recorded live with Jay Kroll from General Formulations, the conversation centers around experimentation and why the shops that grow fastest are the ones willing to try, fail, and adjust in real time. In this episode: • Why waiting for the perfect process slows most shops down • How top shops use testing to improve installs, materials, and workflow • What suppliers see from shops that consistently perform at a high level • Why material choice is less important than how you work with it • The role of curiosity in becoming a better installer and operator • How small adjustments lead to big long term gains • Why feedback loops between shop and supplier matter • The difference between guessing and intentional testing There is no final version of your process. The best wrap shops are always experimenting. Always refining. Always improving. They do not wait until they have every answer. They take action, learn fast, and adjust. If you want to grow your shop, stop looking for certainty. Start testing. Connect with Jay Kroll and General Formulations:  generalformulations.com https://www.instagram.com/general_formulations —--------------------------------------------------------------- This episode is sponsored by Wrap Fam Unleashed: https://www.thewrapfam.com/subscribe Get 15% off the Wrap Institute - https://www.wrapinstitute.com/join PROMO CODE: WRAPOPS15 Grimco: Use code is WRAPOPS5 for a one-time 5% discount on all Grimco Items (excluding MRP items). Visit: https://go.grimco.com/3Mzt7eS Connect with WrapOps: http://www.wrapops.com http://Instagram.com/wrap.ops http://facebook.com/share/1VQgsUHygh/?mibextid=wwXIfr Produced in partnership with http://www.podlad.com [0:00] Introduction: The Power of Curiosity Andrew kicks off the episode live from the International Sign Association (ISA) expo, gives a shoutout to The Wrap Institute, and introduces Jay Cruel from General Formulations. [1:55] Jay’s Background: From Medical Devices to Vinyl Wraps Jay shares his unique origin story, transitioning from engineering life-saving medical bandages for gunshot wounds to designing and developing adhesive films for the graphics industry. [10:05] Educating the Customer & Mastering the Discovery Call Andrew and Jay discuss the reality of dealing with first-time wrap customers. They cover how to set proper expectations, why you should make customers bring their vehicles to your shop, and using your space as a visual tour. [15:24] The 70-Year History of General Formulations (GF) A deep dive into GF’s roots starting in 1953 as "General Assembly." Jay explains how the company evolved from building screen printing equipment to engineering cross-platform vinyl materials. [19:04] Navigating Distributors & Choosing the Right Material How exactly do you buy General Formulations products? Jay breaks down their vast network of distributors and explains the importance of asking the ultimate question: “What are we sticking this to?” [24:14] Inventory Strategies & COVID Supply Chain Lessons Andrew shares how his shop built a $20,000 inventory closet to survive supply chain crashes, and Jay explains why material scarcity is actually the perfect excuse to test out newer, more cost-effective films. [30:03] How to Partner with Your Manufacturer Beyond just buying rolls of vinyl, Jay explains how wrap shops can leverage their relationship with manufacturers for tech support, product education, and utilizing their shop as a physical demo space. [35:03] Vetting Materials & Turning Failures into Lifelong Customers How to spot cheap, unreliable materials (like films using permanent construction adhesive). Andrew also shares a shop horror story of failing a Chevy Express van wrap twice—and how owning the mistake built a customer for life. [42:15] Beyond the Squeegee: GF’s Training & Certification Jay details General Formulations' upcoming training programs. It’s not just about how to hold a squeegee; it’s about understanding surface science, material behavior, and high-level installation troubleshooting. [48:30] Final Thoughts: Stay Curious & Outro Jay leaves the audience with one final, powerful piece of advice for growing a wrap shop: always stay curious.