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Interview a few internet marketing companies and hire a company that best aligns with your expectations and needs. If you are grossing $500,000 to $1M annually (I suspect a lot of us with small commercial and electric shops are in that range), $2500 to $4000/month is realistic (that amounts to...

The best design you don't notice.

I would powder coat it. "Chrome" vinyl is not like cast vinyl. It has the finish applied to the top surface and is both thicker and more rigid. Compound curves are difficult, and the chrome surface does not react well to stretching or heat. Knifeless tape leaves a ragged edge; you will need to...

I have a small shop down the street where we keep our service equipment. The guys work from there, and I can meet customers there. There's an office, a tool room, bathroom, small kitchen, and an efficient flexible space for light assembly (we out source our fabricated structural assemblies) and...

Why bother trying to keep printers running? I out source all my production. Here's ten reasons why (I could only think of three "cons"). Pros: 1. Any type of print at any size at any time. 2. Frees up my time to do sales and design 3. No investment in printing technology, repairs, inks and...

You mean you didn't follow the margin specs in the corporate style guide that was written by the intern? You'll never make it through the punch list. I would be looking at another line of work. Remember, the bigger the letters, the more perceived value to the customer. It's far easier to sell...

My comment probably didn't apply twenty years ago. Funny!

Building a plant to make UL certified appliances is a major undertaking. Unless you are planning on selling at least 30 – 40 channel letter sets a month to the trade (and can be competitive with the over-abundance of large fabrication facilities that already do this), you will be better off...

There is something about AI (artificial intelligence) used for generating images that literally nauseates me. "Uncanny Valley" for the illustration profession. Thankfully, I am old enough (and have an established reputation) to ignore it. I expect there will be a backlash to this once the...

I'm willing to take the $5 discount and move on. I've used Illustrator, Acrobat, and Photoshop since they came out and I am not inclined to learn new software. The monthly cost is inconsequential (about a half hour of work per month pays for it). Thanks for the heads up though! It seems those...

Not a bad idea, and worth exploring, but may not yield the expected results. I have worked with most of the large companies in my area (mostly on custom, specialized products that will be used for commemorations and trade show use where the volume is small, often just one piece). Even though I...

The correct way to do this would be to hire a professional internet marketing team and partner with somebody (or a company) who has deep knowledge of how to run a manufacturing business. Or wait until a game-changing new technology emerges and be agile (and wealthy) enough to capitalize on it...

Thus it always was, and will forever be (unless we move into an authoritarian state). Celebrate the differences, and explore different points of view. That's what college is for!

Remove the letters, patch the holes (depending on the stud material, you might have to remove the studs from the wall to prevent rust stains), mount the letters on a panel with the plaques, install the finished sign (which now has adequate margins on all four sides) in a more appropriate...

Buy a digital sign, then start measuring. You are not going to get a good answer here. We make and sell signs; it is up to the customer to decide what they want to use it for. If there were some algorithm that predicted profitability everybody would plug into it and the whole matrix would...

That's not true in my case. I have used most of the software available over the years, and just prefer using the Adobe suite for the quality of their programs and the seamless and efficient integration (I mostly use Illustrator for vector art and layout, photoshop for bitmap image manipulation...

It depends. Outdoor Image has a good selection and are easy to work with. I would at least check them out! I would recommend Formetco for ratchet straps and some info on how billboards work (mechanically, not advertising – that's a whole 'nother topic).

Geneva Olson: My example was labor only, based on your example of "(2) 8 hour days = 16 hours. charging by the hour, $125/ hour, thats $2000" vs. "I've got 3200 sf of material. The going rate is anywhere between $3sf and $7sf.". I agree with your point of charging more for a dedicated time slot...

Charging by the hour makes more sense. I'll sometimes use "square footage rates" as a reference, but relying on that for an accurate estimate is a bad idea. Too many variables and costs enter into the equation. All of my materials and fabrication are outsourced. I use a standard markup (ample...

The Adobe Creative Suite is the industry standard for a reason. Powerful, professional grade programs with universal compatibility. The creative possibilities are endless. Matches well with every printer driver made (you might also like to complement the Adobe software with SAi FlexiComplete if...