INTERVIEWS

Joe Dannis
San Diego, California
joed@dawnsign.com

1 Q: What us DawnSignPress?

 

A: D. S. P. stands for Dawn Sign Press, and that is a publishing company specializing in textbooks, books, and educational materials for Deaf and hearing children and adults who are learning American Sign Language, Deaf culture, and Deaf history. The word dawn isn’t from an individual’s name but it represents the dawning of a new era, one in which we recognize American Sign Language and Deaf culture.

 

 

 

2 Q: Did your degree from Gallaudet University help prepare you for the business world?

 

A: For my degree, I majored in sociology and minored in business. I hate to admit it, but I didn’t learn much about running a business from the courses, but learned a great deal from working at the Gallaudet bookstore, and at the Rathskeller, or the pizza place, or the tutoring center. From those working experiences, I realize what I wanted to get into, and the experiences taught me all lot more than the books could.

 

 

 

3 Q: Who would you identify as your professional role model?

 

A: I didn’t have a professional role model because I have a Deaf family. My parents signed fluently and my father explained to me about business and encouraged me. My father told me that all of his relatives, his aunts, uncles, cousins, owned businesses but he thought he couldn’t because he was deaf. He was determined to prove them wrong. He knew that I could do it even if he had not. He impressed upon me the fact that I could do it, so maybe it was my father.

 

 

 

4 Q: Do you think times are different now than during your father's era?

 

A: That era, during the fifties and sixties, was a time when Deaf people were looked down upon and given the message that they couldn’t succeed. The next generation had a more positive attitude. They experienced the protest at Gallaudet during the eighties, and Deaf Way, all of that inspired us and we realized what we can do. It was a matter of self esteem and positive attitude. I can, with encouragement. If by father had told me that I couldn’t, I would have believed it.

 

 

 

5 Q: Did you always want to own a business?

 

Yes, it began when I was small, because my relatives, my aunts and uncles and cousins all owned businesses except for my father. He was told he couldn’t. He wanted to, but was not given the opportunity. Instead he was told no by everyone. But my father knew that I could do it and he took it upon himself to teach me by taking me to play such as hotels and ice cream shops and McDonald’s. We explored the many ways the businesses are set up and how they’re run. Those experiences taught me how to become involved and I knew that the dream was different from the reality of working.

 

 

 

6 Q: What was one of many thoughts your father instilled in you?

 

A: My father always signed "can’t" by moving his hands in the opposite direction, so the negative meaning of the sign was changed to a positive one he taught me never say "can’t." Always say you can.

 

 

 

7 Q: How did you decide on publishing as a business?

 

A: The way I decided to get into publishing was because publishing allowed me to start small whereas other kinds of businesses require large amounts of upfront investment -- I would’ve had to take a loan. I didn’t want to get into that. Publishing allowed me to start small, was just $1,000 investment, which came from a college graduation gift, I started from there.

 

 

 

8 Q: Did you use the intial money to start up a business?

 

A: When I graduated from Gallaudet University, my father gave me $1,000 I invested in my business to make t-shirt designs. I bought the hot press and the t-shirts and I hired Deaf artists to draw Deaf motifs for the shirts, and then I sold them at various Deaf-related events. The money earned from t-shirt sales was immediately reinvested in the business group and gradually the business grew. I started small, and that allowed me to move forward, because you need money to make money. You know, you can’t make money when you don’t have any money.

 

 

 

9 Q: Where did your support come from?

 

A: The support I got in 1979 when I first established the business was minimal because in those days people still held the belief that Deaf people couldn’t run businesses. There weren’t any Deaf people around who had their own businesses, and people were skeptical. Once I got set up, my family and my Deaf friends provided a great deal of encouragement. My relatives were very upset however. They couldn’t believe it, but they left me alone and let me take the chance to see if I could succeed or not. Really, most of the support was from the Deaf community, not from hearing people.

 

 

 

10 Q: What did your hearing relatives think of your business efforts?

 

A: My hearing relatives were not keen on supporting businesses because the thinking was in those days was people were raised with the idea that Deaf people can’t, the blind people couldn’t, that people in wheelchairs or with any kind of handicap couldn’t. In that era, people’s thinking was different than it is today. I don’t see it as their fault, but they were raised to think in those ways. Today, since that time, society has come to realize that deaf people can, that blind people can, people's ways of thinking have changed.

 

 

 

11 Q: What do your hearing relatives think of your success now?

 

A: All my hearing relatives are very proud of me and thrilled with my success. Now I find that they are more encouraging of their own children who want to set up businesses. They were initially resistant to the idea of one of my cousins starting a law firm. It would be better for him to work for a company, but he went forward on his own and he is very successful. So, I think they had no choice but to keep silent and leave us alone. Now they’re more encouraging of new ideas than they were twenty or 30 years ago.

 

 

 

12 Q: Do you think a hearing person could set up a business like DSP?

 

A: I doubt it would present the same opportunities if hearing and Deaf people were in the same kind of business. I think it would be different. The end result would be vastly different. It’s because I have my fingertips on the pulse of the Deaf community. I grew up with them, meeting them, talking with them. I’m aware of their discoveries. I know the right people to work with. Would a hearing person know these things?

 

 

 

13 Q: What makes you a "different" publisher in your field?

 

A: What makes me different is that I work with Deaf people, I know what is lacking in the educational fields and I have my fingertips on the pulse of the Deaf community. I know how to look for the right people to work with. I know what it takes in terms of having the ability to look at drawings or knowing the right angle to shoot. I question whether a hearing person would know those things.

 

 

 

14 Q: What are some of the most essential things that sets DSP apart from your competitors?

 

A: Would it be the same? I grew up in the Deaf world, so I’ve met the people. I’ve had the opportunity to see what is lacking in the educational fields. I’ve pulled together the right people who have a keen eye. We know we’re looking for, which is a clear presentation of ASL, with the right shots, and the right illuminations. We know because we are in the field, coming from inside the deaf community. In contrast, hearing persons are approaching this from the outside, so I would question their knowledge of the subject matter.

 

 

 

15 Q: Talk about the early days of the company and some of the struggles you went through.

 

A: Yes, I did face obstacles during the early days of the business. The obstacles I faced were mostly related to communication. I didn’t know who to ask if I was in need of certain information. I had to figure out who I could ask, and I was frustrated because I could not use the telephone. That was before the days of relay services. There was no email in those days, so I had to drive to various locations. I would look up the addresses of the phone book, and then drive to a specific location to meet a person there and make inquiries. Once they found out that I was Deaf, most vendors were more than happy to do business with me, and once I got the information about where to go and who to contact, things moved forward more quickly. It got easier. But in the beginning I didn’t know where to go over to ask, and it was hard. Now it’s easier. With relay services, I can make two or three phone calls and get an answer. In the old days I had to drive to each location.

 

 

 

16 Q: What were some of your personal sacrifices you made?

 

A: In the early days, it was quite a struggle. I just barely got by. in fact, I had to exist on peanut butter sandwiches every day. I had to eat the same thing every day, and sometimes even skip lunch because I had no time to eat. I was scraping by because I poured all my money into the business. I reinvested the money instead of taking the profits for myself. I didn’t have a salary for many years.

 

 

 

17 Q: As president of a successful company, what is your most important role?

 

With 30 employees, my most important role is management, and to see that they work efficiently and that they are effective. I make sure that they communicate with each other to prevent duplication of work effort. There’s a lot of interdepartmental communication.

 

 

 

18 Q:  How do you keep your staff current with technical skills?

 

A: We offer training and workshops. We will hire the trainer to come to Dawn Sign Press and we use interpreting services in order to give employees training in new skills.

 

 

 

19 Q: How do you keep yourself on the competitive edge?

 

A: I have realized over the years that if I don’t change or learn new skills, I become obsolete. Technology changes so quickly. I have to be open to changes in looking toward what is new on the scene. If I can’t go to a workshop, I will hire the trainer to come here. We are always also looking for journal articles to read and we are always listening for whatever new discoveries there are which might be of benefit to us.

 

 

 

20 Q: What types of professional support do you use?

 

A: Back then it was just Ben and me, and we would talk about things ourselves, but as the businesses expanded we have a team of people. One group focuses on new technologies, another group keeps me informed of new authors or new books that have been published. Another group keeps me informed of publications. I use my best instincts to make decisions and if I don’t know, then I will ask my consultants.

 

 

 

21 Q: Are your consultants solely from the Deaf culture?

 

A: Yes, my consultants are hearing, and others are Deaf. I have both. It depends on this type of information I need, really.

 

 

 

22 Q: Why do you seek consultation?

 

A: Just because I’m president and owner of the company does not mean that I know everything. I have learned that if I don’t know, I need to ask. It’s important to know who to ask to find the right consultant and once I do that I can ask all the questions and get all the answers. That is the point where I can move forward with confidence. I always rely on that to make the right decisions.

 

 

 

23 Q: Has the ADA law impacted your business?

 

A: In the past if I wanted to go to workshops to get training, interpreters were not provided. I had to pay for them myself. Now, with the ADA law, things are terrific. The law forces the provision of interpreting services, so I feel like I’m on equal footing. As for other ways in which the ADA impacts on my business, I would have to say that it was indirect. The ADA made the public aware of Deaf people’s rights, and as a result of that increased awareness, more people were interested in taking sign language classes and they had better attitudes towards Deaf people.

 

 

 

24 Q: Did you do a loan from S.B.A.?

 

A: The small business administration does not typically make financial loans for publication or for establishing services, so I used family money and reinvested profits. However, when my building lease expired, I was looking for new location. The SBA let me know that I could buy a building through them. That was great news for me, and that is how I ended up purchasing a 17,000 square foot warehouse. I used SBA funding.

 

 

 

25 Q: Does S.B.A. have a special program for Deaf businesspeople?

 

A: I had to go and apply just like anyone else in business. They looked over my financial record, and just like any other business, I followed their guidelines and qualified.

 

 

 

26 Q: Is it important to read and write?

 

A: Should deaf people be able to read and write well in order to run a business? I would say yes. If a person doesn’t have those skills, it does not mean that he can’t run a business. He could, but again, he would have to find people who could help him and give him advice and provide him with corrections so he would learn how to write the correct way. If I write something, I can’t be afraid to show it to someone for editing I thank them for their assistance and then the next time it is easier.

 

 

 

27 Q: What advice do you have for someone starting out in business?

 

A: My 2¢ worth of advice is to think big and start small.

 

 

 

28 Q:  Final Comments.

 

A: My final remark would be, I love to dream. Dreams are what I think makes business successful. If you stop dreaming, you die.

 

 

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