sign shop from home

[Mikeifg]

Home base works if your business is in a seperate building on your property. But if your doing it out of your house I guess it depends on your clients. I have a shop to go to so I get more done more professional. Do any of your clients work from their home? If your goal is to be a professional in the biz then after a year or 2 you should have had the money to move onto a business location. If your just making ends meet then re-evaluate your pricing. I like being able to go home and leave it at the shop. I just don't take the home based business owner that serious. imo

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

We are home based... We have grown so much that I'm actually looking at moving to more land so I can build a bigger shop. Ideally I'd avoid going into a commercial/retail space unless we are so large that it requires it.

 

[TheSnowman]

I posted in this earlier, but I don't think I'd be able to handle "home based" unless I had a few acres and the shop was further away from my house. I remember when my grandparents had my current business at their house as a kid. We would be sitting around eating supper at 7PM and there would be people stopping by all the time, and they had a separate shop far from the house. To pick things up, I KIND of understand that, but people stopping by that late to talk about a new project, and didn't call ahead...that's disrespectful to me. They would just stand out there and look around until someone came out.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

I posted in this earlier, but I don't think I'd be able to handle "home based" unless I had a few acres and the shop was further away from my house. I remember when my grandparents had my current business at their house as a kid. We would be sitting around eating supper at 7PM and there would be people stopping by all the time, and they had a separate shop far from the house. To pick things up, I KIND of understand that, but people stopping by that late to talk about a new project, and didn't call ahead...that's disrespectful to me. They would just stand out there and look around until someone came out.

I think this is precisely why around here, in order to be legit, you cannot have customers come to your home if you have a home occupation permit for business. Steep fines here and most of the time CCRs in the sub-divisions around here have something in there on that as well.

Before the oil price crash in the mid 80s I think it was, my grandparents had a home based oil machinery hauling business. Not one visitor came by, all done by the phone to set up a time and then they met the customer. They had that business for a long time before the prices went down that's when they got out of it. Hadn't been for that, probably would have done it for much longer.

 

[Gino]

Around here, the law tries to protect your neighbors by not having trucks pull up for lettering or delivery trucks bottle-necking a residential area or most of all from someone putting up some hideous shingle advertising their business.

How would you like if your neighbor opened an adult store and had a nice big sign out there and all kinds of perverts coming and going all hours of the day and night ?? I'm sure you'd complain about that. Well, that same law pertains to you, too.

Nothing wrong working out of your house, bedroom or garden, but like so many mentioned, why do you really want that hassle ??

Even if you get a garage or store front for very low rent, at least you'd be legal and could probably expend your business better.

 

[Branded Signs]

Nothing wrong working out of your house, bedroom or garden, but like so many mentioned, why do you really want that hassle ??

I have 12 years in the business in graphic design, production and sales (split pretty much evenly across the 12 years). I just officially went into business for myself in May of 2012 and I couldn't be happier.

When you talk about the hassle, isn't that the beauty of owning your own business? Hassle is controllable to a certain degree, and what you make of it.

 

[L Town Graphics]

Home based here as well. This is a part time gig for me. I've been at it for two years. I have kicked around the idea of a storefront but between all of the expenses it's not worth it for something I only do part time. If I was spending 30 hours a week regularly doing this I would strongly consider however its more like 10-15 hours a week now (I work a consistent 50 hours a week between two other jobs).

 

[L Town Graphics]

To those of you home-based, so to speak...... nothing wrong with it and more power to ya, but why is it.... you're always trying to hide the fact you are working out of your home/garage/bedroom by meeting people at their place or Starbucks and acting as if you have some facility as to where this stuff is being manufactured ??

Why the disguise ??

Gino, no disguise here... Bottom line is if its someone I'm meeting for the first time I'd rather meet them in a public place just based on the trust factor. There's a lot of people in my area who are either a.) shady so to speak or b.) confused on what they want anyway to so have a sit down with someone in my kitchen over coffee with those type of people isn't my idea of doing business. Once I know a client it's different.

 

[Z SIGNS]

I worked out of my house when I first went out out on my own in the year BC.The home shop lasted about 3 months.
Falling asleep to the aroma of bulletin enamel grew old very quick.
If your just putting stickers on plastic and can make a good living at it doing it out of your garage I'd say working at home is great.You will be one notch above a cricket owner and in competition with all the other garage sign companies.
If that makes you happy and earns you a living that's great
But what if you want to move onto bigger sign work.You'll need space to build your signs and conduct your practice.

 

[HulkSmash]

Gino, no disguise here... Bottom line is if its someone I'm meeting for the first time I'd rather meet them in a public place just based on the trust factor. There's a lot of people in my area who are either a.) shady so to speak or b.) confused on what they want anyway to so have a sit down with someone in my kitchen over coffee with those type of people isn't my idea of doing business. Once I know a client it's different.

So you're saying if you had a place of business ( not your home ) you wouldn't allow a client meet you there for a first meeting?

 

[mgcustomgraphics]

there are pros and cons to working home based,

the good things:
-save on gas
-you can just go to bed if you feel tired
-you have your family around you all the time (sometimes not a good thing)
-less expenses
-long vacations

the cons:
-some clients feel like its not profesional (i disagree completely)
-no space for big equipment, big vehicles (fleets, trailers rv's etc) and thats where the big money is i.m.o.
-very limited space to work.

unfortunately i like money and as a consequence i need a bigger space to work but i definitely wish i could work at home...

 

[HulkSmash]

there are pros and cons to working home based,

the good things:
-save on gas
-you can just go to bed if you feel tired
-you have your family around you all the time (sometimes not a good thing)
-less expenses
-long vacations

the cons:
-some clients feel like its not profesional (i disagree completely)
-no space for big equipment, big vehicles (fleets, trailers rv's etc) and thats where the big money is i.m.o.
-very limited space to work.

unfortunately i like money and as a consequence i need a bigger space to work but i definitely wish i could work at home...

Go to bed and long vacations? how is that good....
Less expensive, but also less business.

 

[mgcustomgraphics]

Go to bed and long vacations? how is that good....
Less expensive, but also less business.

come on colorado wouldn't you like to take a week or two vaca and forget that primer 94 smell?

and thats exactly my point less expensive but less money in the bank

 

[Mosh]

you either have a business or you have a hobby at home, no way of getting around that....what can you say to be any different? you are at home "playing" sign shop..Us real sign shoop will win every time!!!@

 

[SignosaurusRex]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6DSu3IfRlo

...and with this console, I can create a sign for myself and friends too...all I have to do is turn this knob and push this button........

 

[Mosh]

Ii ran into this today..pretty much anyone with a computer can in fact be a sign-shop. So many ways to sub out stuff. So if you don't have a commercial shop you are in fact a person doing this at home...no way around it....some lady with a cri-cut might in fact have more equipment and more know how!!!
So seriously what is the difference??? NONE! Home=home...business=business! WAIT...WAIT, so I live on my farm and that is what I do??? crap sorry, I am A hipocrat....disgeegard this post!!!! ( I ido have a commercial property for my sign shop BTW)

 

[GAC05]

Isn't this member homebased?
http://imaginationcorporation.com/

I think his house and shop are on the same property.

wayne k
guam usa

 

[401Graphics]

So if my sign shop is in a commercial space below my apartment (which has all residential to the left and all industrial to the right and rear of the property, it is also off of a main road), and I sometimes use the large garage in back (that used to be a body shop a long time ago)... Does that mean I have a real sign shop, or I'm playing sign shop, or is it somewhere in the middle? http://goo.gl/maps/TzfVR

 

[Border]

Isn't this member homebased?
http://imaginationcorporation.com/

I think his house and shop are on the same property.

wayne k
guam usa

Good way to show that there are two sides to every argument. But they are also on a commercial property. So maybe they are a family based on a commercial property rather than a business based on a residential property, if ya wanna get down to the legalities

Either way,very envious of Dan's setup, for sure! -and they are making it better all the time.

 

[anotherdog]

8th year running the business from my home. This is the third house I have done it from and the result of a decision not to grow the business beyond a certain point. This house was chosen for it's size and shape to be perfect for the business with nearly 3000 sq feet I can dedicate just to the business.
The benefits are countless; No drive to work, Tax write-off, makes late night and weekend working a lot easier, and on occasion when business slows my fixed costs don't have me breaking out in a sweat.

In this last recession there is no way I would have survived if I had to pay my mortgage as well as rent on a sign shop.