Founded in 2012 by Daniel Smith, big D's vinyl started in a small town, in Clementon, New Jersey.

Dan was introduced to graphic design at the young age of 14 by his high school computer teacher. Dan showed interest in learning more, so Dan's computer teacher provided him with a copy of Photoshop and specialty filters for Dan to use at home. During this time, Myspace became world phenomenon. Dan would continue to practice and experiment with photoshop, while learning HTML through editing his myspace, and be mentored by his computer teacher throughout high school.

Dan developed an interest in signs and printing / marketing. This aspect of graphic design was a materialistic realm of graphic design that took art work from a computer screen to a physical dimension. The world is subconsciously saturated with signs and printed marketing material. While driving down the street, people are constantly passing by signs from every establishment. Every time someone goes into a business, they are greeted by printed brochures and catalogs.

After high school, Dan went to trade school for graphic design. This is where Dan learned more animated skills in graphic design such as Adobe Flash animations and 3D animations. Unfortunately Dan was forced to drop out of school due to the 2008 Recession. It wasn't until 4 years later that Dan invested in his first vinyl cutter and started his own sign business. He would name this business 'big D's vinyl'.

The business name was obviously in relation to Dan's name, and because Dan wanted to sell larger than average sized decals, or Premium sized decals. Dan would spend hours making decal designs and putting the decals into a large binder. It wasn't long before Dan would bring his vinyl cutter and frequent local craft shows, making decals on demand. Dan's business philosophy of great customer service and high quality decals at competitive prices made big D's vinyl a success at the craft shows.

While Dan was running his decal business, he was also going to school for Veterinary medicine and became a veterinary technician. Dan would fall on hard times and have to change his focus to working full time in the veterinary field, but Dan always kept graphic design and sign making as a hobby.

In 2019, Dan moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. Dan needed some extra income while getting settled into his new home. Dan decided to upload his decal designs to ebay and make decals. At first it was just a few orders here and there, but eventually it grew to numerous orders every week. Dan wasn't putting too much effort into reviving and growing big D's vinyl. It was always more of a hobby and a source of extra income, but with the increase in business over the course  2 years, Dan decided to put more effort in and give it another try.

Dan eventually expanded from personal car decals to commercial vehicle and storefront window graphics. big D's vinyl continues to grow and serve southern Nevada.

This short story is to serve as a reminder - You do not have to get it right the first time, or even the second or third time. Success isn't instant. Success happens from being relentless and never quitting, learning from your mistakes and trying again. and again. and again. Don't let dreams fade away. Take baby steps, not big leaps. Set goals, make a plan, take action, execute and achieve.