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Unless you have assets to put up for collateral you can not get a commercial loan to start a business. I spent the first five years living off my wife's income and renting an apartment. Things were tight but I was dumb and we were in love. It was five years of living and breathing the business...

A "date range" is fine when you are a few weeks out, but customers will want a firm drop-off and pick-up time when they schedule to deliver their vehicle. If it is taking longer than planned contact them ASAP and work something out.

Just as important as having decent tools is storage and organization. I carry several tool boxes (or heavy duty tool bags), each organized and stocked with tools for different applications. I also keep my power tools in their original cases, stocked with bits, blades, and attachments (and extra...

The 3M PA-1 (Gold and Blue) hand applicators are by far the best value in professional squeegees. The cost is negligible in comparison to the performance gains. There is no practical reason to sharpen them unless you need to do so for an emergency (then throw it away). I use the golds for...

I add the design and set-up costs to the invoice. I can outsource the printing and fabrication for less money than it costs me to do it in-house. I can be very competitive with my prices without production and fabrication equipment overhead. We do have significant overhead costs for service and...

$1 sq.ft. is reasonable if you have the space and material handling equipment to use bulk rolls and enough jobs to gang together print jobs. You will also need an efficient way to process orders and package and ship final products. Small shops (say under $1M annual sales) that serve local...

It will take forever and never look good. The gold leaf will need to be removed, and the sharpness of the "engraving" will be gone after sanding. So much easier with far better outcome to route a new one. If you decide to outsource this probably around $300 plus shipping (less than $700 for a...

The same qualities that makes polycarbonate tough and flexible are also the cause of reduced adhesion (plasticizers added to the formulation migrating to the surface). Adhesive vinyl sticks to it remarkably well, but is relatively easy to pull it off (until its been outside for a few years and...

Gemini

The replies here have been interesting. In the interest of full disclosure, the example in my reply is for installation only. Truck measurements and photos have already been taken, and a scale layout has been prepared. I take "straight-on" photos using a long lens (to minimize parallax...

If the graphics are already printed, cut and masked with guidelines in place (and assuming they are the right size), the installation process would proceed as follows: 1. Clean truck (time dependent on how dirty it is and if other graphics need to be removed). Estimate 15 minutes for a fairly...

In my market that would be a tall order. An installer will need to be bonded, fully insured, and licensed to do that kind of work (and secure the necessary permits). By the a business has outfitted themselves to be a legal sign installer, why wouldn't they just order the signs from wholesalers...

By being a pagen symbol of hatred it is exempt from the considerations of legality.

I live in a small metro area in central Illinois (under 120,000 population, surrounded by corn and soybean farms). There are dozens of large format printers, but only a handful of sign businesses that have the equipment and personal needed for installation. We do installations for many of these...

No permit but a judge temporarily removed a restraining order to display it. Pisses me off! That sign violates multiple laws. Who the hell is this judge?! It's like, "oh, it's wrong to murder people in cold blood but it's okee-dokee this time"! There is a chance, however, a decision was made...

The National Electric Code (NEC Section 411) requires low voltage lighting must have a NRTL listing. Light fixtures need to meet UL standards (or be approved by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory) and display the Laboratory's sticker. Most coding authorities subscribe to NEC standards...

No rush fees. If I can accommodate the client (and I want to), I'll take the job and price it appropriately. Advertising rush fees may be fine if you specialize in instant signs, but for most of us taking on rush jobs jeopardizes work flow and leads to being considered over-priced (especially...

(total income - non-labor expenses) divided by hours worked.

$2 - $4 for unlaminated UV printing on adhesive vinyl, depending on the cost of the vinyl. I have about twenty large format printers in my town and all but the copy shops are charging in that range. For sheer volume pricing it is impossible for a small shop (under $1M annual sales) to even...

UV flatbed. You cannot be competitive doing it any other way. If you don't have one, sub the job out and drop ship the panels.