Perminder Thind’s Journey from IT to Billboards: How He’s Helping Businesses Get the Attention They Deserve

When you meet Perminder Thind, you might never guess the unique path that led him to where he is today. With a background spanning 15 years in IT and 18 years in hospitality—a tough gig by any measure—Perminder stumbled onto something that transformed his business and career trajectory.

Back in 2019, a national billboard company approached Perminder with an offer: they wanted to place a billboard on his land. However, after negotiations fell through, Perminder’s curiosity was piqued. He decided to explore how to set up his own billboard, and just six months later, there it stood—a towering advertising space with no client. At first, it felt like a missed opportunity. But with a restaurant to promote, Perminder decided to advertise his own business. The result? A remarkable 30% boost in sales (29.6%, to be precise). The numbers spoke for themselves, and Perminder triple-checked them just to be sure.

This success led to a significant realization: billboards work. They command attention in a way that digital ads can’t. People can’t skip, pause, or block them. Whether they want to or not, drivers on the road see the message, and it lodges itself in their minds, waiting to be recalled later. It was a penny-drop moment for Perminder, who now believes that billboards are one of the most enduring forms of advertising.

In fact, Perminder often shares the story of how billboards date back to the 1800s. The first known billboard in the U.S. was created by Jared Bell to advertise Barnum & Bailey’s Circus in 1835. However, the roots of outdoor advertising can be traced back even further—to the ancient Egyptians, who etched large public notices in stone.

So, what kind of businesses use billboards today? Large corporations, for one. Even companies as massive as Coca-Cola still invest in billboard advertising, and for good reason. When Coca-Cola scaled back their advertising, their sales began to decline. The lesson is clear: attention leads to sales. If your business isn’t top of mind for your customers, you’re losing opportunities.

Perminder is passionate about sharing this knowledge, particularly with small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). He emphasizes that many business owners don’t realize they’re doing their customers a disservice by not putting themselves out there. Without attention, there are no leads. And without leads, there are no sales.

He often recalls a story about one of his restaurant’s landlords. After not visiting for six months, the landlord suddenly appeared for dinner with his family. Why? That same morning, he’d seen the restaurant’s billboard go up on his property—front of mind, top of mind. That’s the power of outdoor advertising.

Perminder likes to challenge people with this question: When asked to name a toothpaste or social media network, what comes to mind first? Whatever the answer, that’s the power of being top of mind. If your business isn’t recalled in your category, your competitors are getting the attention you deserve.

So, does the best product sell the most? According to Perminder, no. The product that garners the most attention is the one that sells the most. In Australia, where the population has grown by 20.4% over the last decade, the Out-of-Home (OOH) audience has grown by 31%. Last year alone, OOH saw 27.2% growth, and 93% of Australians see outdoor advertising every day. These stats don’t lie.

After the success of his first billboard, Perminder decided to make a major shift. He left the hospitality industry and became the Managing Director of Big Sign Company—a boutique billboard business that is agile, responsive, and laser-focused on providing excellent customer service. Today, Big Sign Company has eight billboard faces along major roads, with plans to add three more by year’s end.

Perminder is selective about the clients he works with. He’s not in the business of selling billboard space unless he truly believes it will benefit the business. As he puts it, “It worked for me, and it has worked for every business that’s used our services.”
If you’re interested in seeing how billboard advertising could work for your business, Perminder invites you to get in touch. His billboards are often booked months in advance, so if you’ve ever considered giving it a try, now’s the time to talk.