How do you grow a billboard business when you’re up against companies many times your size?

Dan Franklin of Franklin Outdoor joins Neil Bell on the Bell Board Podcast to share what three generations in outdoor advertising have taught his family about land, acquisitions and running a lean operation.

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With roughly 500 billboard sites, Franklin Outdoor grew through strategic land ownership, smart acquisitions, operational efficiency and long-term landowner relationships. Dan explains how he evaluates underperforming billboard assets, why owning the land and easements matters, and how to navigate local ordinances and permits. He also covers running an in-house print shop, managing install crews, upgrading to LED lighting with remote monitoring, and what traffic counts and programmatic advertising mean for independent operators.

If you’re an independent billboard operator, an outdoor advertising investor or thinking about starting a billboard business, this conversation is a practical playbook.

GUEST BIO & LINKS
About Dan Franklin: Third-generation operator at Franklin Outdoor Advertising, Minnesota’s billboard partner for 50+ years, serving Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.
Franklin Outdoor: https://franklinoutdoor.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-franklin-4b4123148

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Owning the land under your billboards protects your business for the long term.
• Underperforming billboards can be your best acquisitions.
• LED lighting and remote monitoring cut costs and downtime.
• A print shop and install crew add revenue and control.
• Independent operators win on relationships, not size.

TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 Intro
00:00:36 Meet Dan Franklin of Franklin Outdoor
00:03:03 Owning Billboard Land and Easements
00:09:17 Growing a Billboard Company
00:10:21 Evaluating Billboard Acquisitions
00:15:09 LED Lighting and Remote Monitoring
00:20:14 Managing Billboard Operations
00:23:06 Billboard Printing and Extra Revenue
00:30:13 Competing With Larger Billboard Companies
00:32:35 Traffic Counts and Programmatic Advertising
00:39:25 Billboard Construction and Real Estate Stories
00:45:11 Landowner Relationships and Leasing
00:50:26 Advice for New Billboard Operators
00:52:49 Navigating Billboard Ordinances and Permits

YOUTUBE TAGS
billboard business, how to start a billboard business, billboard investing, billboard acquisitions, buying billboards, billboard easements, billboard real estate, billboard land lease, outdoor advertising, out of home advertising, OOH advertising, independent billboard operators, billboard permits, billboard ordinances, billboard revenue, digital billboards, LED billboard lighting, programmatic advertising, Franklin Outdoor, Dan Franklin, Neil Bell, Bell Board Podcast, SignDash

HASHTAGS
#BillboardBusiness #OutdoorAdvertising #BillboardInvesting