Times are tough, or are they?

[john1]

Hey everyone, Just wanted to drop in to see how everyone is doing these days. Busy, Slow etc?

I know around my area businesses are folding left and right. Nothing but for rent and lease signs in malls, plazas and the whole nine.

I'll have to admit, for some reason I'm almost emotionless to realizing how tough things are anymore. I'm not sure what to really do.

Just the other day a guy down the street about 50 yards hung himself because the pizza shop wasn't doing well, he was 5 months behind on rent and another pizza shops opening directly across the street.

I went to a fundraiser held in a local plaza outlet center last weekend and they have maybe 20 stores and only about 8 are filled with businesses. The rest they rent to fundraisers for weekend events because they can't get any businesses to stay in there. at $100 sq ft i was told for rent no wonder.

Times seem crazy from what i see anyway, I'm not so sure anymore how being self employed is going to pan out. Kinda scary.

I hope all is well for everyone and for petes sake, Don't do anything like the guy up the street did. That's insane and didn't solve nothing.

 

[HulkSmash]

Sorry to hear that john. We have been so busy. Looks like we're going to be hiring 2 more people this summer.

this is what my bay looks like right now.

we also installed another one of the under armor.

-Adam

 

[Pat Whatley]

Things bottomed out last summer for us but we managed okay. This spring is FRIGGIN' BOOMING and it looks like it's going to continue.

 

[john1]

Glad to hear you guys are doing well it seems.

Being you guys have actual retail locations i think is the key. Myself being home based has always been a struggle no matter what i try to do to stir up business.

 

[Border]

Last year was great for me, this year has been totally crazy busy since January and getting busier. I think it boils down to what you specialize in and how you market yourself. There's plenty of advertising demand out there!

Edit, to say that the 2 years previous to 2010 were terrible for me. That's when I decide to change my approach and it worked!
-and I don't have a retail location either. not yet.

 

[2972renfro]

Maybe you should start another thread directed at home based sign shops and ask how they have made it work out for them

I think that a home based shop might do ok in a rural setting but I cannot imagine how it would do well in larger cities and towns. Personally I would not shop for signs at someone who worked out of their home. I would wonder how committed that person was to their business. You may be a professional but I think most customers are expecting either a retail or commercial setting and have an opposing view of a basement/garage shop as being less professional. What happens when they want to visit you? Do they sit in your dining room and have a sales discussion? If you never have anyone visit you at a shop then you already limiting your potential greatly and having to spend alot more time looking for the business yourself. How else are they going to find you? I assume you cannot have a sign in your yard saying so? Many neighborhoods have rules against it

I think the larger companies that you want to do business with are going to only want to work with what they "perceive" as the professional sign or graphics shop. Otherwise you are mostly doing work for the "small fry" types that won't bring in the serious workload you are hoping for.

 

[TheSnowman]

We were totally dead from Thanksgiving till about the first warmer day in March. I think that's normal, but I forget how dead it is. I had other opportunities to make money, so I would just be available by phone, until things were rolling again. We're steady now...about normal probably.

As far as a home based sign shop...I'd never do business with someone "in their home", but I'd have no problem with it if it was in a separate shop area in another building on their property. There's nothing wrong w/ being in your home, I just probably am not going to sit on your couch to discuss my project.

I have a lot of customers call me from their cell phones and there's kids screaming in the background, and it's like all hell has let loose. That is NOT the way to run a business, and no way would I even refer people to anyone that "does business" in that form.

I think living in a "virtual world" the way we do business is going to change, and eventually, there may not be a huge difference between work & home, because you'll be able to do everything from home. That still is no excuse for not acting professional though.

 

[Gino]

For us, things were slow back around 2005 and 6. 2007 we saw some increases and last year we had our biggest year in business.... ever !!

I agree with Border..... it's all in how you market yourself and present yourself. Although we have a retail facility, very little work comes in through the door, but one major factor for our retail success is this......

When someone calls, I tell them to make sure they know all about the shops they are pricing out. I go on that.... we're a full service sign company and produce about 95% of our work in-house. We don't farm anything out, where many of the local guys are doing just that. I then tell them that we manufacture signs for some of the locals, but I won't mention names. My last part is the killer..... I tell them that when they narrow it down to three shops, to go visit them all and see what they are really capable of doing. When they come into our shop, they generally say something like..... wow, this is really a sign shop.

I'm not putting any competitors down, in fact, I encourage people to price things out. ​

We just landed a job earlier this week where the girl is opening a dog park and training center. She actually told me I was not the cheapest, but in talking and visiting with the other people, she felt we were her best bet, hands down.

I'm not putting down a home-based operation, but there just are some things you can't do in that situation.....

At our shop, when she came in, one guy is hand-lettering a 12' x 39' sign. That alone is quite impressive.
Jeremy is running a flatbed while the other printer is printing digital vinyl and Kasey is working on a truck in the back bay. We literally have signs scattered all over the shop. They see who we're doing work for and we don't have to brag or try to sell a thing..... our shop and its atmosphere sells the stuff for us.

 

[Jillbeans]

While I do run a home based shop, I have an office at the back of the house which is where I greet my customers.
(used to be my back porch and you enter at the back of my house, I have directional signs and hours posted)
It has a counter and sample signs on the walls, and I have a big sign out front. I live on a 4 lane highway on commercial property.

My business died after Katrina from September 2005 till May 2006. I even had to get a real job while my son was in school.
After that it's been steady.

I don't really like having to work out of my house but it is my only option. Luckily I have been here 22 years so everyone knows me and I have a really good client base.
I am also one of the only two shops in my area which still offers hand painting.
Signs have always been like running a Dairy Queen or farm market, I boom all spring then slow down towards fall. December-February have always been lean months for me.
But you learn to adapt to this and try to make the best of things. In the slow months you may want to focus on cleaning your shop, lettering your own vehicle, etc.

Being self employed can be scary...it's a lot of work for very little money, a lot of responsibility.
You have to do things right (tax ID number sales tax number liability insurance etc)
The pay is never regular, and health insurance is hard to come by.
If I was not a single parent I would get a real job somewhere but I keep on keeping on, it'a all I know and I'm getting long in the tooth.
Love.....Jill

 

[HulkSmash]

When someone calls, I tell them to make sure they know all about the shops they are pricing out. I go on that.... we're a full service sign company and produce about 95% of our work in-house. We don't farm anything out, where many of the local guys are doing just that. I then tell them that we manufacture signs for some of the locals, but I won't mention names. My last part is the killer..... I tell them that when they narrow it down to three shops, to go visit them all and see what they are really capable of doing. When they come into our shop, they generally say something like..... wow, this is really a sign shop.

I'm not putting any competitors down, in fact, I encourage people to price things out. ​

We just landed a job earlier this week where the girl is opening a dog park and training center. She actually told me I was not the cheapest, but in talking and visiting with the other people, she felt we were her best bet, hands down.

I'm not putting down a home-based operation, but there just are some things you can't do in that situation.....

At our shop, when she came in, one guy is hand-lettering a 12' x 39' sign. That alone is quite impressive.
Jeremy is running a flatbed while the other printer is printing digital vinyl and Kasey is working on a truck in the back bay. We literally have signs scattered all over the shop. They see who we're doing work for and we don't have to brag or try to sell a thing..... our shop and its atmosphere sells the stuff for us.

this exactly. I recently got told, you were far from the cheapest, but it seems you guys are on par with things, and are possibly the nicest people we've come across!!

 

[2972renfro]

While I do run a home based shop, I have an office at the back of the house which is where I greet my customers.
(used to be my back porch and you enter at the back of my house, I have directional signs and hours posted)
It has a counter and sample signs on the walls, and I have a big sign out front. I live on a 4 lane highway on commercial property.

My business died after Katrina from September 2005 till May 2006. I even had to get a real job while my son was in school.
After that it's been steady.

I don't really like having to work out of my house but it is my only option. Luckily I have been here 22 years so everyone knows me and I have a really good client base.
I am also one of the only two shops in my area which still offers hand painting.
Signs have always been like running a Dairy Queen or farm market, I boom all spring then slow down towards fall. December-February have always been lean months for me.
But you learn to adapt to this and try to make the best of things. In the slow months you may want to focus on cleaning your shop, lettering your own vehicle, etc.

Being self employed can be scary...it's a lot of work for very little money, a lot of responsibility.
You have to do things right (tax ID number sales tax number liability insurance etc)
The pay is never regular, and health insurance is hard to come by.
If I was not a single parent I would get a real job somewhere but I keep on keeping on, it'a all I know and I'm getting long in the tooth.
Love.....Jill

Jill's business and anyone like her's is probably the perfect example of how it can work. The hand lettered style and methods of sign making fit with this. If you wanted hand made furniture you don't go to the shop at the strip mall.

If you are a big corporation or retail establishment you would be less inclined to visit Jill's but more likely to go to a large shop that has all the equipment. No offense to you Jill, but I don't picture your house having wide format printers and laminators and a large crew

 

[Jillbeans]

No offense taken.
Believe it or not I do sometimes get print jobs...I sub em out.
I also do a lot of work for factories, some as far as 3 hours away.
They've never seen my shop and have no clue what I do, they are referrals from other customers.
I'd never want to have big machines, I'm too clumsy, they are too expensive, and I'm too old to learn.
But I think people come to me because (I like to think) I have a good reputation for getting the job done. And I'm not the cheapest shop in town by any means.
I like my little niche.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Times seem crazy from what i see anyway, I'm not so sure anymore how being self employed is going to pan out. Kinda scary.

I hate to say this, but even being employed by someone isn't as secure as you would like to think. Or anymore secure than being self-employed.

One thing that my dad always thought during his generation was that lawyers and CPAs are always needed and therefore, had job security. He has both degrees (and advanced ones at that), survived quite well and is retired now. However, my better half is a CPA for a national parking company and this is her last day for the job that she was first hired for as they are bringing everything to corporate. Good news is that she was re-hired for an analyst position at corporate as it was only 5 miles further from the city office that she works (last day today). While she was re-hired, there was no promise of that. She had her resume out there, unfortunately, the only bites out there now were from temp places and they will rim you if you take a job from them when it comes to you paying that "pound of flesh". It actually might be better if it was literally a pound of flesh.

On a positive end, business for me seems to be going on the upswing, so I am by no means going to complain. I won't lie, it has been rough, but thankfully, it seems like I have more and more people coming in and leaving with something than without. I'm also in talks with getting a couple of big contracts with a couple of other business. Both are small, but based on our talks and the contracts that are being drafted, it will be reoccurring.

Being self-employed is scary, anybody that says it isn't is full of it, especially if the business is still "young". I think the rewards are far better then the scary parts, but that maybe just be me.

 

[btropical.com]

We are pretty diversified so we can make scratch in a couple of different ways , window film is gonna come on strong with summer coming we did a big ass house this week and i have tinted 10 cars so far , junk cars are allways fun and junk weight at the $cales and parts are skyrocketing , paint protection is coming on also , we tow for the sheriff just picked up a bike last night for him , our taco truck is getting a steady bunch coming up to it , just came off the best season of racing tearoffs .............................. hmmm tired TGIF gonna go hunting this weekend to kill some free Hog meat

PS and the sign shop is humming along just fine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lspjLG9nHXk

 

[SignManiac]

I'm really busy and home based also. I think I'm busy because I've been around a little while.

 

[marcsitkin]

Sales are double last years (which was a bad 1/2 year) so we are back to normal. Trying to move to our new facility, twice the size, and are in the 10th week of permit approvals for AC upgrade and electrical. Real headaches for no apparent reasons.

 

[James Burke]

Looks like NASA is coming to Hillsdale. The appear to be occupying quite a few retail stores downtown.


Oh...the name of their franchise is....."Space Available".


JB

 

[Border]

Looks like NASA is coming to Hillsdale. The appear to be occupying quite a few retail stores in downtown.


Oh...the name of their franchise is....."Space Available".


JB

Now that's funny! In a way.....

 

[btropical.com]

Looks like NASA is coming to Hillsdale. The appear to be occupying quite a few retail stores in downtown.


Oh...the name of their franchise is....."Space Available".


JB

"""sound of cricketts ""

 

[James Burke]

This may be after the fact, but try to run on your own cash as much as possible and avoid debt.

I actually had an insurance agent tell me I was crazy for not "embracing" debt, and that my business could grow larger and faster with it. Yeah, that might be the case. But it's not a good thing when the crap comes down in a slow economy and your banker knows your telephone number by heart.

A part time job is always handy.

JB