I need to turn my "business" around

[john1]

Hey guys, I just finished up my state taxes from the past 3 months and decided to rough guesstimate my yearly taxes. Not looking too good

Reason being, it looks like i'll owe literally a few hundred under what i have to my name.

This is really frustrating and i don't really know what to do anymore. It's like you "make" money, then when it comes time to pay taxes it's barely there. I'm honestly in $800 worth of debt and that's because i bought a laptop earlier this year on a no interest for 18 months best buy card so it's not like i'm pissing it away.

I need to turn this stuff around or get out of it. I don't know what to do guys

 

[R08]

I guess it's all relative but $800 worth of debt is actually not bad. Are you getting enough work or are you just not charging enough?

 

[iSign]

John, I've watched your posts for the last few months & every time i see your name, no matter what you are writing about, I think of your first thread about turning things around, or getting out...

I've known a lot of signs101 people here for 5 to 10 years... but in your thread, although I don't know you from Adam, I poured out my own harshest truths, detailing my own suffering after 15 years in business...

...and i did it to help you first, by letting you know you are not alone, and second to let you know I"m no stranger to teetering on the edge...

if you don't have extreme overhead & you are still not making your monthly nut.. clear and simple, you are not working enough... and you have time to get a job. Go get one.

What else do you think the answer could be? Established business are going under water now, like my own, with a 14 year history at the same address, offering the same (ever increasing) services, under the same number & business name... AND MY SALES HAVE BEEN DOWN 35% FOR 3 PHUQIN' YEARS IN A ROW!!!

So, the answer is not going to be a better logo, or more passion to try to emulate the masters we all read about & drool over... the answer is to find a steady income doing ANYTHING, and build up the sign business, or just build up the sign making skills AS A SIDE GIG!!!

like I said before.. sounds to me like it's a little late for the bailing can... jump out & swim & quit hanging on the the entrepreneurial dream right now... now ain't the time to take a zero cash flow operation, with minimal experience and capital, and become a success.. it's not any reflection on you.. it's a reflection on the times we live in.

 

[john1]

I know $800 isn't alot at all that was what i meant by stating that cause one would assume i was in debt i would think.

I honestly am charging enough, It's really that i'm not getting enough work. Being home based really sucks sometimes it seems.

 

[Craig Sjoquist]

Welcome to the real world..
or instead of customers coming in the front door have come in the back door lol turned around no just kidding

Do you put moneys away for taxes
providing everything else is in good order

This why the Fair tax would be better we would all be on the same page with taxes paid taxes owed would have been collected.

 

[john1]

It's very hard to put money away for taxes when your doing all you can to get by period.

I really appreciate all you guys on here with the information you have shared and to those making it well i have the up most respect for you.

I have all the tools but am having major issues with getting enough work coming in.

I have a place i was doing some wholesale work for but they sent me 2 jobs, said they looked great and blah blah then told me they got a Roland machine and are now doing their own.

There is NOBODY around my area who i could approach about doing wholesale. Everything literally has print/cutters and vinyl plotters. It's pretty nuts how all shops seem the same anymore.

Maybe i'm stupid for ordering those logo design books to help improve my skill, I don't even have business coming in for anyone to give two you know what's about.

.....better days i hope come.

 

[ddarlak]

things are turning around. you just have to wait it out.

 

[Locals Find!]

How many days a week are you actively out searching for business or cold calling?

Maybe the business is out there and they just don't know you exist or don't even know they need your services yet. I started this business with next to nothing and I have built it up to covering my bills + in less than a year in a bad economy. I did it by getting out there and finding the work. I found clients that needed my products and streamlined the process for them. I don't wait till they come to me I am out there networking, facebooking, cold calling and door knocking. Sometime its as simple as asking for the sale.

Don't give up you may just need a change in approach. It may not be as bad as you think when you take another look.

 

[Farmboy]

John, this year will mark my 10th year, 6 years in the same spot. We still have people that come in from only a few miles away that "didn't know we were there". So...let people know about you, even if they ain't buying they will at least know about you. One word of advice, do NOT run sales right now to try and get jobs. In this business people don't buy because it's on sale, they buy because they need it. There's a shop down the road from me selling shirts 2 bucks under what we're selling. I would have to say that 90% of the people that they sell to while they're running their sale would have bought from them anyway, meaning...they are losing out. I know it's tempting, but don't do it.

 

[R08]

What about knocking on doors. . Just going into established businesses and introducing yourself or re-introducing yourself and stir up some orders.

Even if they're small. Sometimes a lot of small orders can add up to quite a bit of cash

 

[Rick]

Kinda adding to Dougs words, I have to ask...

Are you any good at this?

Did you have any good experience in graphic design and/or signs prior to starting your business?

What are your strengths in this business, and can you use them to make money?

If "good" sign companies are having a hard time making it, if you have marginal design, fabrication, sales and business skills, how are you gonna do it?

 

[jiarby]

how would a NEW customer find out about you?

If someone moves to your town from out of state and has no idea who to call for a sign job what will the find when they search??

Are you in the yellow pages?
Have you got a website?
Do you have good SEO?
How do you come up in Google searches for any of dozens of search criteria?
Do you have an online shopping cart?
Are you in the local Chamber of Commerce?
Are you a member of any local business networking groups (BNS)?
Do you know the names of all the school admin assistants within 25 miles?
Athletic Directors? Head Coaches? PTA/PTO leaders? Scout Troops? Etc...
Do you maintain a list of all the following within 50 miles:
Medical Professional Offices (Doctors, Dentists, Chiropractors, Clinics, etc...)
Restaurants
Small Retail stores
Lawyers, Tax Weenies, CPA, Accountants?
Electricians
Plumbers
Handymen
Landscape Guys
Pest Control Guys

You can go on and on...

I find it hard to believe that you cannot be as busy as you want to if you do a bunch of those things.

Next time you are out on an errand try to count all the signs, vinyl storefronts, vehicle door decals/magnetics, a-frames, coro signs, and banners that you see.... even in within just ONE MILE. How many of those did you make? Why did all those potential customers use someone else instead of you. How many hand scribbled signs do you see? Call them up! A hand painted sign is the same thing as a FSBO to a Realtor!

For me there are more than 5000 signs/banners/coros within 1 mile of my house. I probably made 50 of them. That is a big potential market.

People are out there buying signs and banners.... They are trying to build their businesses too, just like you. You are selling the answer to their problems: Marketing, Advertising, Visibility. They NEED what you sell to stay alive themselves!

Working out of your house is a handicap because people are not just popping in to your house like they would if you had a retail storefront. With a store you get customers just walking in.

Now you have to HUNT THEM DOWN. They are not going to walk up to your front door!

So, take a good honest look in the mirror (like I am doing myself!) and ask what you could be doing to increase sales.

 

[Foghorn12]

6 months ago I made the move from my house to a storefront. Business has been incredible since the move and is growing by the week. If you can find an affordable spot in a decently busy part of town, I would make that your number 1 goal for the next year.

 

[Fred Weiss]

Some points and suggestions ...

The beginning stages of any business are the hardest. When clients go looking for contractors, one of their first concerns is have you been around awhile. Under most conditions you will find that your revenues will increase each year for the first several years. People either don't know of you yet or they don't know if you're worthwhile yet. You have to find a way to develop the staying power to get to where you need to be. That might mean taking a job and running your business part-time until it will support you. In the meantime, do an exceptional job with whomever is bringing you business and let it grow for you.

Above all, be yourself. Avoid putting on a front or overdressing etc. But always work towards achieving as high a sales rate as possible. In my first years in the business, early 1980's, I used to keep track of my closing rate and discovered that there is a high benefit to providing the assurance to the client that you are the guy that will be doing the job ... not a sales rep. This related to what I wore. I started out in slacks and a business shirt and did just so-so. My closing rate was 50% and my average sale was just over $100. So I switched to jeans and a pull over shirt and my closing rate went up to 70% and an average sale of $300. I eventually shifted to shorts, flip-flops, a bit of paint splashed on my clothing and neglected to shave. My closing rate went up to 90% and my average sale was $500.

Always close a sale when you're with the client and never close on price. I found that "when" worked best in most situations but any detail or alternate of choice is always preferable to price in determining whether or not the client buys.

There is a strange phenomenon that takes place in sales. When you are truly busy, you will find more clients wanting you to do their work and also more willing to care less about your prices. I think this is mainly due to the many little subtleties that creep into one's choices of words, body language and general attitude. Basically, while giving the client every confidence in you, attention and courtesy, there will still be an underlying communication that if he or she doesn't give you the order they stand to lose much more than you will. Thus, an unspoken "fear of loss" on the part of the client will result in more and better sales for you. All you have to do is to develop a mindset that you are truly busy and in danger of getting overbooked and backed up with work ... even if you aren't.

Finally, and some may disagree, I firmly believe that there is an inverse correlation between sales efforts and the quality of the results. In other words, my business is a contracting business, not a retail business. It is built first and foremost in establishing myself or my employees as the best choice to do the job. Therefore, the more I reach out to develop sales ... to be the one who makes the first contact and pitches my wares, versus more passive advertising and word of mouth referrals, the lower will be the quality of my results. Ask yourself whether you would prefer to be handed Joe the Plumber's business card by a third party with the suggestion that you give Joe a call, or have your phone ring with Joe on the other end of the line because he heard from a friend that you were the best guy around to do his new fleet of trucks. You call him and you're a salesman looking for a sale; he calls you and you're a professional being called in to provide a solution.

Develop your staying power at any cost so your dream has time to become a reality and don't ever let them see or feel how anxious you are to get their business.

 

[Sign-Man Signs]

Well said Fred. Like me, you have been around and have taken your lumps. I've been through it all in the past 15 years. My best resourse is me. I've never spent penny one on advertising except that little thing called a business card. I never pass a new construction site without stopping by and finding the field office and handing out or posting business cards.
50% of my business are repeat customers, which advertise for me because I sell them quality and dependable service. I work seven days a week average 12 hours a day. Me, I love my job and my business. If you don't love what you're doing, get out now. My cheapest inventory item is my labor cost, me. I keep my overhead down. I beat most of the local sign shops with the fancy names and gobs of staff.
It's tuff. Economy is killing everyone. Just doing signs or have you another line that you do? After fighting screen print all my life, I'm taking the time to teach my self. Just got my first order for 400 signs and will pocket a profit of $3000.00 dollars. I usually pass on that kind of work but now I've added another tool to my shop that I can offer my customers.You just have to adjust. Hang in there my friend and you will make it.

 

[heyskull]

We had a very bad year last year and had a number of problems and what with a recession going on.
But last week our accountant came in told us our profits were down from previous years but only by about 3%.
He reckoned if you went through all his clients the average for last year was 30% down!!!
He had one client who was over 60% so I guess we are faring better than most.
$800 of debt is peanuts and to be quiet honest I wouldn't even want to work my overall debt out as I would just chuck in the towel.
If you think it is worthless get out this business and times are hard.

SC

 

[John L]

My advice is still the same. If you are going to ride it out you better become the expert at "SOMETHING". I may have missed your mention of where in MD you are but MD has a pretty wide range of oppurtunity from the city and suburbs of Baltimore to the countryside of Western MD.

You can be a reception wall feature specialist for $1000/hr law firms or "the" Poop Spreader sticker guy and make about the same amount of money. It could be the way you get the jobs (creatively uncovering your market before the others), or your being overly responsible, prompt, courteous to serve the client.

What ever you do, be licensed properly for your offering, work under permits if required, don't ever go for the false profit by being a hack.

 

[Cross Signs]

Some points and suggestions ...



There is a strange phenomenon that takes place in sales. When you are truly busy, you will find more clients wanting you to do their work and also more willing to care less about your prices. I think this is mainly due to the many little subtleties that creep into one's choices of words, body language and general attitude. Basically, while giving the client every confidence in you, attention and courtesy, there will still be an underlying communication that if he or she doesn't give you the order they stand to lose much more than you will. Thus, an unspoken "fear of loss" on the part of the client will result in more and better sales for you. All you have to do is to develop a mindset that you are truly busy and in danger of getting overbooked and backed up with work ... even if you aren't.

I've always wondered what the answer was to the "Feast or Famine" part of this business

 

[bayshorecreations]

I think I'm experiencing Déjà vu

 

[Locals Find!]

Don't forget about the Real Estate Market Home sales for Maryland are on the rise. All those properties have to have signs. I know its the lower end of the market but, its easy work and can bring in volume to keep the overhead at least covered. While you look for the jobs you really want.