Happy Anniversary to Me!! Ugh

[Farmboy]

So 2011 will mark my 10th year of making truck loads of cash in the sign and screen printing business, I'll wait for the laughter to die down. Even though I seem to have withstood the test of time for my area things are looking interesting for the coming year. A year ago a shop opened not one mile away that started doing printing and signs. While checking their facebook page yesterday I discovered that they now offer embroidery. On to the next. Also yesterday I took my bowling ball to a local trophy shop to get some new grips in it, now I know that they did a little stitching for some of their customers. I was surprised when I walked in to see printed clothes all over for one of the local schools. As I walked through and peeked in an open door I spied a dryer and exposure unit for making screens. While chatting with the owner, whom I had printed for in the past, he said that they had jumped into it awhile back. So we chatted some more and he ask me if I heard about the new place opening that has a 6 head machine (stitching) and a DTG printer. Oh...my day just keeps getting better. Wait...not done yet. He then ask if I heard that one of the other sign shops in town just took on a partner, prob to help revive the business and dump some cash into it. So needless to saw, I would not be surprised at all if on my way to work this morning I saw a new shop built someplace over night.

 

[Gino]

It could be worse..... you could be knocking on their door for a job.


Don't worry what's going on around you or you'll get all worked up and do something stupid like jumping off the milk box.

Better yet, go to all of them, find out what they do and offer your services in the areas where they are lacking. Ask questions and then get your ducks lined up and do a campaign they can't match.

 

[jiarby]

Congrats on surviving 10 years! Even though you are lamenting not being a bazillionaire by now you should not diminish the accomplishemnt of running a business for a decade. Many have tried, failed, and lost lots of money for the effort.

Maybe it is time to redo a new business plan... as if you were starting new. That might freshen things up. It is easy to keep doing what you have always done, but the market moves like a school of fish and you have to be constantly making course corrections to stay where the fish are.

Competition is like wild mushrooms. They pop up wherever there is food (dead log) and mositure. If competition is popping up around you that means they percieve a viable market that is not being serviced.

If you want to kill the competition you have to deprive them of food and moisture by winning back your old customers and putting together an aggressive marketing effort to get you in front of the buyers faces.

Don't get depressed.... get moving!

 

[Farmboy]

Thank Gino and Jiarby. Not so much depressed. Just seems never ending. Trust me, I know it's not easy or everyone would be doing it even though some days it feels like it. Way ahead of you on a marketing campaign. Just gotta stay on top of it. Once you get "fat and happy" you forget what it's like to be hungry, but if you don't stay hungry you might starve.

 

[Bannerday]

Congrats on your 10th Anniversary. The new competition might hurt a bit, but you can use your anniversary as the cornerstone of you advertising all year.

Put it on everything. Send postcards to your customers for a 10% off their next order.

If you have a store, you could do a banner or signage there too.

The ramped up advertising won't look like your worried about the competition, your just reminding people of all the good work over the decade.

Best of luck.