It is a compelling option to have your business where you live. You will need adequate parking for service vehicles, employees and visitors, a compliant building code (business use, ventilation, light manufacturing, paint booth), probably a loading dock (or a skid-steer with a fork) and semi-truck access for deliveries, storage and staging area, etc. If you have business zoned or rural property, you can likely make this work. You will need this full-service capability because you will need to doing the equivalent of 5 to 6 (4' x 8') signs per day to pay for all this (figuring initial cost of pricing and CAM equipment amortized over a five year lifespan and a reasonable "rent" for the land and building investment – or opportunity cost if you already own it). The numbers are entirely do-able if you make a full-scale commitment. If you have the space and equipment, you will likely also being doing other types of sign work, including installation and maintenance which will be another stream of revenue with its own costs and liabilities.
For some people, this will work out well. Others will have issues with people at their home at all times, and the constant pressure of always being at work.
I know several businesses who have set up large format printing operations without committing to installation and maintenance capabilities. Much of their business came from local sign shops without large format printing capability, or they concentrated on vehicle graphics or trade show and display graphics. This may still be viable in a metro area, but intense competitive pressure from large-scale printing operations (multiple printers, multiple shifts, national advertising, distribution contracts, etc.) has caused a lot of these businesses to re-think their business model or close up shop. All of the commercial and electric sign shops in my area are now ordering large format printing and almost all fabrication from wholesalers. Their ten year old printers are collecting dust. A few companies specializing in display graphics and vehicle wraps are still in business, but new businesses are sprouting up that offer the same services and are outsourcing printing and fabrication, and without the overhead are able to offer much more competitive pricing. The national chains have for years relied on huge production companies with significant economies of scale (although there is still a strong and stable market for installation and maintenance).
