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What to learn before opening my own shop?

boxerbay

boxerbay

New Member
Me being a wrapper and also design graphics it is hard for the regular Joe to understand how difficult it is to do the hood on that pickup truck. Your measurements must be perfect and the install must be perfect for the rust to line up with the ridges in the hood perfectly. Very hard. Very Nice.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Yeah, ya got some talent there, if you designed all these. You'll go places.


Here's one we did a little bit ago. It used to be an old Chevy station wagon, but we wrapped it to look like our shop truck. we have practically everything you could ever need. Too bad it's a wrap and not the real McCoy.........



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Other than the slide missing off the trombone, I think it has some realness appeal to it......... :Big Laugh​
 

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BIG EASY DOES IT

New Member
LEGEND said:
I see, but like any other business, I suppose if I find a niche, it could work. For example, I could focus on vehicle wraps or vehicle graphics in general since I run an Instagram page with 150K followers who love classic cars... Just looking for any ideas and tips from learning certain techniques to the way a shop should look and run...
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Classic Car Lovers are not the people that are going to buy wraps. Classic Car guys like paint. Original paint and painted decals and pin stripping. I know in some shows you even get deducted points if it's a decal and not hand painted. THere are plenty that will want decals but if your going to start a wrap shop, classic car guys are not the mass you should be going after. I would be going after race teams. They need stuff wrapped immediately and all the time since the vehicles constantly get beat up.
 
LEGEND

LEGEND

New Member
BIG EASY DOES IT said:
Classic Car Lovers are not the people that are going to buy wraps. Classic Car guys like paint. Original paint and painted decals and pin stripping. I know in some shows you even get deducted points if it's a decal and not hand painted. THere are plenty that will want decals but if your going to start a wrap shop, classic car guys are not the mass you should be going after. I would be going after race teams. They need stuff wrapped immediately and all the time since the vehicles constantly get beat up.
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True. car guys in general would be a niche within itself.
 
LEGEND

LEGEND

New Member
Rick said:
How many times have we said a person interested in doing this should get trained on the job?
2 years in a full service shop can be quite a bit of training for the right person.

I agree with a lot of what is being said about being careful what to buy, saving cash, requiring yourself to being profitable.

The thing I really try to stress to people - designers especially is: are you really good at it? Don't ask friends and family... of you'll end up on American Idol getting laughed at because they all said you are great. Digital print is not that hard once you got the hang of it... in time you might be too busy to design. Is that what you want?

Being in California, you really can't do much more than promotional stuff or sign fab and install under 500 bucks or you would need a contractors license. You are kinda close to having enough experience to get a contractors license if you are managing jobs. Maybe you can't afford the tools, but a contractors license - or at least qualifying for one - is a good strategic move. I just design signs, wayfinding systems and branding. Maybe you can be a hybrid of design and some print/install services.

You have some stiff competition where you are at. Maybe not in town, but close enough where getting your foot in the door might make it harder to get clients that could keep you busy to make a decent go of it. Study your competition well. Prepare your marketing to go after company with larger fleets. Get a list of local installers in case you have too much work.
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I'll look into the contractors license just to see what the requirements are, to stay informed if i deiced to go that route.
A hybrid of design and some print/install services is where i was planning on going...
Study your competition well is also a thing i had written down, at least within a 30 mile radius or so...

Great advice.
 
Rick

Rick

Certified Enneadecagon Designer
LEGEND said:
I'll look into the contractors license just to see what the requirements are, to stay informed if i deiced to go that route.
A hybrid of design and some print/install services is where i was planning on going...
Study your competition well is also a thing i had written down, at least within a 30 mile radius or so...

Great advice.
Click to expand...

I'd look at a larger radius since you are just starting out... if I had a fleet, and wanted someone competent, I'd go farther to get the job done right... plus you want to see how these guys are marketing themselves.... ProWraps, OMG Wraps, Vehicle Wraps Inc. are who I would look at.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Uh-oh...... we found your Achilles Tendon. Math. You need to take some night courses. What happened to the other 10% ??
 
LEGEND

LEGEND

New Member
Rick said:
I'd look at a larger radius since you are just starting out... if I had a fleet, and wanted someone competent, I'd go farther to get the job done right... plus you want to see how these guys are marketing themselves.... ProWraps, OMG Wraps, Vehicle Wraps Inc. are who I would look at.
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Definitely, i've been following OMGwraps on social media, they're more into the Bay Area, i'm about 2-3 hrs away...
 
T

TimToad

Active Member
LEGEND said:
I'll look into the contractors license just to see what the requirements are, to stay informed if i deiced to go that route.
A hybrid of design and some print/install services is where i was planning on going...
Study your competition well is also a thing i had written down, at least within a 30 mile radius or so...

Great advice.
Click to expand...

You've really gotten a good start on filling in the blanks.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
TimToad said:
You've really gotten a good start on filling in the blanks.

As long as you use a C-45 licensed and insured installer for any installs requiring a permit, you can exist indefinitely without obtaining one. You would be putting a whole team of Clydesdales in front of the cart if you thought you couldn't establish your business without one. Our business is almost nine years old and we don't have one and for the cost, extra insurance, etc. to have one, it isn't worth it for the types of work that we mostly do.

In that vein, my advice is get to know your local sign hangers, electricians, etc. who will be an invaluable part of your being able to sell more than just banners, cut vinyl, coroplast signs, simple dibond signs, etc.

My other advice is establish some core values you want others to recognize you for. Ours are Integrity, Experience, Quality and Service. They come into play every single day and as soon as you treat them like cliches, you will begin losing the trust of your customers and they will view as just another typical business and not the unique and committed professional you hopefully are striving to become.

As the years go by in your business, those fundamental values are as important in the eyes of customers as how many rad photoshop effects you can cram into one wrap.
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Rick said:
You CAN do it, but is it legal...

If you as a company, contract more that 500 bucks, your are illegally contracting even if your subs have a license. Plan and simple... though I can see the lure of it, but it may compromise one's core values.

I would ask Fred to remove this post.
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Why remove it ??

It's a good lesson for MANY to learn and obey. I know you've been saying this for a long time and I figured you'd pick up on it. Wrong or right, it needs to be something from which others can learn, regardless of what some do. So many people do illegal things, because they can...... it's always easiest skirting around the law and making excuses for why it's alright for me to do it, but not the next guy. As you said, compromising one's core value or one's own integrity is what takes place. However, like a bad haircut, it goes away in two weeks and all's forgotten.
 
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