question for Nelson?

[Cadmn]

so Nelson are you getting rich as promissed?last future super signman claimed $2400 in three weeks? Hope your making at least that good. guess I should go out in 100+ heat a bang on doors huh? never mind heat stroke or such. Just the other day we cooked hamburger & fries on the sidewalk Tasty:Big Laugh

 

[Nelson Newbie]

Well hey CADMN. It's really nice you should ask.

I finally got the plotter all up and running. Got the son of the owner of the local Chinese carryout to help out. He had done it before, in fact, and said it was turning into quite a good second income ... hooking up Chinese plotters for new sign guys.

The FlexiSign Pro installed just fine and is quite a program although it seems kind of pricey at $200, but what do I know. LOL

Anyway, I joined the Chamber of Commerce and went to a breakfast where I wrote my first order. It's for redoing all the interior signs at a group of four hospitals in our area that just came under new ownership. All told it's about 18,000 signs give or take 500 signs.

I had to buy this really kewl program called SignCalc just to figure out the prices and I may have been a little high - $375,000 but the purchasing agent said it was not a problem.

Whew, I gotta get back to work though so you take care. :U Rock:

 

[MAB SIGNS]

ROFL!!!!

 

[gvgraphics]

Hold on................................................................................................................................................................................................................Had to go get my waders, the sh*t is getting too deep. Well Cadman, I guess that answers all of our questions, lol!

 

[Whit]

Excuse me,,, I'm new here,,,,,,,
Did I just step in somthing ?????

 

[Bradster941]

All told it's about 18,000 signs give or take 500 signs.

'Oh Sure Nelson, that's all fine and good for your first job, but what jobs do you have lined up for next week when you finish this one?

:: : : :

 

[Nelson Newbie]

'Oh Sure Nelson, that's all fine and good for your first job, but what jobs do you have lined up for next week when you finish this one?

:: : : :

Well I know I can't exactly retire on the hospital job and I'm pretty much tied up knocking it out for the next week or so Bradster but I got the okay just a few minutes ago to do a custom striping job down at the Chevy store. It's for only 50 pickups but they said if I did a good job there'd be more. It should be pretty quick what with the Chinese kid working fulltime for me now. He picked up laying down vinyls real good off a video we bought from this company that makes them in Tampa Florida or someplace like that.

Gotta go though ... my new Mimeomamaki printer just arrived and I gotta order some special clipart that has all them flaming skulls and racing flags.

 

[JMDigital]

:Big Laugh :Big Laugh :Big Laugh

 

[Bradster941]

Nelson, no offence but your prices are way to low. Some people will be quick to call you a “Low Baller”.

You need to price your work competitively with your counterparts, not lower the bar and under sell them and yourself. Your time and talents are worth money, so don’t be afraid to charge for that.

Here’s a good example that just happened to me;

Phone Rings, ( ring ring ring )

Me: Bradsters Sign Shop, No Job Too Big, No Job To Small, Can I Help You?.

Customer: Hello, we need a Rush Job to be installed this weekend replacing our name on both sides of our vehicle. We have a Big Event this weekend with lots of Media and the such and the old lettering looks pretty bad. We want them in black, and they measure 196” x 804”

Me: Do you have a logo and a font file in a eps or ai format?

Customer: yes, our techy people here assured me they can provide that.

Me: Well, I normally don’t work weekends so there is an extra charge for that. And because I now have to put you in front of other customers for a Rush job, our price is a little bit higher.

Customer: That’s not a problem, we have plenty of money in the budget. There is one more thing though.

Me: ‘Oh, What’s that?

Customer: this job is out of town. We will pay you for your travel and will even send you there on a shuttle if you can do it this weekend !

After getting a little more information, I was able to give a reasonable price of $1.4 million dollars to do a weekend rush job out of town..!..

The customer is sending a driver and shuttle to take me to the job, ( we leave at 3:49 pm. Saturday). I’ll replace two door panels, then relax for the trip home.

Never sell yourself or your product short just to get work !

Attached is a picture of their vehicle they want me to letter out.
Damnest looking Pick Up Truck I ever saw.!!!..



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[Nelson Newbie]

Wow Bradster! Thats great.

I wanna be like you someday.

 

[vid]

Hey Nelson ---

Congrats on the Hospital(s) job!

Maybe the reason you think SignCALC is pricing it high is because those signs are ADA. Are they ADA Signs? ...and is the $375k installed? Those types of signs are tough for me to understand, but I know they can be pricey.

Then too, I'm not familiar enough with SignCALC to know how it's estimating your job. I did a search for it, but all I could find was GraphixCALC. Is that the same thing?

G'Luck on the Job! Don't forget your tape measure and level at the shop!



Bradster. ooooooooooooo, it'd be a real bummer if you forgot your tape measure and level at the shop. ...level ...yeah, don't forget that.

 

[Cadmn]

Bradster never seen no pickup like that one but good luck dude & dont get stranded as them shuttle drivers dont always know their way home LOL

Whit is that whats smelling ? please go clean your booys & get that stuff off sir thank you

 

[Pro Image]

Hey Newbie Nelson...................just a tip For ya on all those signs you have to do..........if you have to install them, Make you a jig out of a wood...... It will look like a T-square...........make it so that you lay it against the dooR jam and the cross member will bE at the hight of the bottom of the signs.......use the jig and you want have to measuer each one over and over and over and Oh well you get the point...............Don't you?


your :Welcome:

 

[Nelson Newbie]

Hey Nelson ---

Congrats on the Hospital(s) job!

Maybe the reason you think SignCALC is pricing it high is because those signs are ADA. Are they ADA Signs? ...and is the $375k installed? Those types of signs are tough for me to understand, but I know they can be pricey.

Then too, I'm not familiar enough with SignCALC to know how it's estimating your job. I did a search for it, but all I could find was GraphixCALC. Is that the same thing?

G'Luck on the Job! Don't forget your tape measure and level at the shop!



Bradster. ooooooooooooo, it'd be a real bummer if you forgot your tape measure and level at the shop. ...level ...yeah, don't forget that.

Hi Vid.

I got the SignCalc from GraphixTreme here at Signs 101 and it's really kewl. I wisht I'd have found you guy sooner cause this forum is great and man if I'd a known there was so much money to be made I'd have sure got into this a lot sooner.

And yes, a lot of the signs are ADA style but I got them all ordered for a really good price from a guy on ebay who says he knows how to make them.

 

[Nelson Newbie]

Hey Newbie Nelson...................just a tip For ya on all those signs you have to do..........if you have to install them, Make you a jig out of a wood...... It will look like a T-square...........make it so that you lay it against the dooR jam and the cross member will bE at the hight of the bottom of the signs.......use the jig and you want have to measuer each one over and over and over and Oh well you get the point...............Don't you?


your :Welcome:

Hey Justin that's a greaT suggstion. erA you dyslexic oot? I'd be happy to try it out but the Chinese kid is real good at eyeballing things on and can get done a lot quicker that way.

We got the Mimeomomaki printer all unpacked and installed. The Chinese kid couldn't handle it though cause he don't read or speak no Japanese. So I went down to the local sushi bar and got the owner's son to help me out. He says he's done it before for other new sign guys and, in fact, it has become a nice second income for him.

Anyway I hired him on fulltime too and he says he would like to do the striping job at the Chevy store and thinks it should be real easy and that he can knock them all out tomorrow.

Just want to say that you guys are great. I can really feel a lot of love here.

 

[Cadmn]

Hi Vid.


And yes, a lot of the signs are ADA style but I got them all ordered for a really good price from a guy on ebay who says he knows how to make them.

Nelson you might be careful buying off Ebay as ADA rules are pretty tough & if you deliver them & ada doesn't pass its your behind not the ebay guys, you'll be the one coughing up the cash to replace all the non-compliant signage.

 

[vid]

...but the Chinese kid is real good at eyeballing things on and can get done a lot quicker that way.

He's gonna wing it? I hope he doesn't do one wong.

 

[ENTDesign]

Hey Bradster, I think you might have trouble getting the adhesive to stick due to temperature being below normal range. Better take your heat gun along. Better use Avery A8 to make sure the install is good.....

 

[SAS]

Thanks guys you have just wasted 5 minutes of my life that I can never get back.

 

[Ogriv]

reading this thread was like watching 5 minutes of my wife's Soap Opera..........................<head still spinning>................