-
I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...
Would your business survive?
- Thread starter round man
- Start date
Mosh
New Member
SO I take it you will not be heading my way then. This is a total Mad max thread!!!!
If this happens people in cities are going to be screwed, all of us out here in the "fly-over" part of the country are going to thrive! Everyone around here would love it. Most people have gardens, their own water wells, know how to hunt. I would love it.
GAC05
Quit buggin' me
Pat is right, the need for signs would be very low on the list of things needed if the grid went away and no generators could be brought up.
We've been hit here on island hard enough to knock the power out for over 3 months - no power was not so bad with the help of our backup generators. Without power to the wells having no water was much worse.
The last big storm we had caused the fuel farm at our one and only port to burn.
Fuel became critical within a very short time.
We are still here today without having to hand paint much - now we just need to see if we can survive health care reform.
wayne k
guam usa
We've been hit here on island hard enough to knock the power out for over 3 months - no power was not so bad with the help of our backup generators. Without power to the wells having no water was much worse.
The last big storm we had caused the fuel farm at our one and only port to burn.
Fuel became critical within a very short time.
We are still here today without having to hand paint much - now we just need to see if we can survive health care reform.
wayne k
guam usa
SurfaceSigns
New Member
Oddly enough, I own another company that services the fuel for emergency generators, so this thread got my attention.
I can tell you that if the grid went down for an extended period of time, you'd have more to be concerned about than whether or not your sign business survived. While much of big business and government have generator systems that are supposed to kick in in the event of failure, most overlook the need to maintain the fuel that feeds those generators. Further, under such circumstances as a prolonged grid failure, everyone overlooks the fact that the ability to refuel will also be effected. Much of the problem is caused by the reformulation of fuels in the past few years that make the fuels far less tolerant to long term storage.
For those of you with the belief insurance will cover our losses, you need to take a better look at your policy. Most insurance policies have clauses that limit claims caused by Acts of God, Terrorism, or other lame excuse to not pay out.
Like Pat said, the need for signage would be minimal under such circumstances, and since ATM's, POS terminals, and such would also be down, how would you get paid for the work anyways? Who carries cash anymore?
I can tell you that if the grid went down for an extended period of time, you'd have more to be concerned about than whether or not your sign business survived. While much of big business and government have generator systems that are supposed to kick in in the event of failure, most overlook the need to maintain the fuel that feeds those generators. Further, under such circumstances as a prolonged grid failure, everyone overlooks the fact that the ability to refuel will also be effected. Much of the problem is caused by the reformulation of fuels in the past few years that make the fuels far less tolerant to long term storage.
For those of you with the belief insurance will cover our losses, you need to take a better look at your policy. Most insurance policies have clauses that limit claims caused by Acts of God, Terrorism, or other lame excuse to not pay out.
Like Pat said, the need for signage would be minimal under such circumstances, and since ATM's, POS terminals, and such would also be down, how would you get paid for the work anyways? Who carries cash anymore?
Craig Sjoquist
New Member
since most of my work is hand painted yes
but since everybody else does not have power supply's would be hard to find
also I do alot of temporary signage so any paint will work or anything else can dream up
I've survived doing my work on roller skates for 3 months before I got transportation going again
also can survive at present and have for long periods just using my bicycle since I have a trailer that can haul scaffold and all supply's needed
plus I do not depend on anything any more
but since everybody else does not have power supply's would be hard to find
also I do alot of temporary signage so any paint will work or anything else can dream up
I've survived doing my work on roller skates for 3 months before I got transportation going again
also can survive at present and have for long periods just using my bicycle since I have a trailer that can haul scaffold and all supply's needed
plus I do not depend on anything any more
weaselboogie
New Member
I'd finally get a chance to use that sniper rifle and belltower that I've been saving up for...
Pat Whatley
New Member
No Roundman, nobody asked but being the judgemental sumbitch I am I thought I'd offer it up anyway.
My point is I'm not ready for a meteor strike, I'm not ready for an alien invasion, I'm not prepared for the dam 2 miles from my house to collapse, I'm not prepared to have an arm amputated tomorrow, and I'm not prepared to be taken hostage by the Laker Girls.
We could all spend the months, even years, it would take to become proficient at hand lettering, gold leafing, and carving signs so that we'd be prepared in the even a huge demand for signs popped up in the middle of a power outage.
Or we could spend that time working on our businesses, making them as efficient and profitable as possible, sock away some of that extra money we'll make so that in the "NEVER GONNA HAPPEN" chance that the grid shuts down for an extended sign we won't have to bother opening the shop...we can deal with bigger, more pressing problems.
Seems to me that on the trips I made to the gulf coast right after Katrina most of the "signs" were spray painted onto whatever was available and seemed to be doing their jobs just fine. Maybe Techman or Dan Striker will chime in since they both lived through the destruction but I don't remember them saying much about signs being a big priority
My point is I'm not ready for a meteor strike, I'm not ready for an alien invasion, I'm not prepared for the dam 2 miles from my house to collapse, I'm not prepared to have an arm amputated tomorrow, and I'm not prepared to be taken hostage by the Laker Girls.
We could all spend the months, even years, it would take to become proficient at hand lettering, gold leafing, and carving signs so that we'd be prepared in the even a huge demand for signs popped up in the middle of a power outage.
Or we could spend that time working on our businesses, making them as efficient and profitable as possible, sock away some of that extra money we'll make so that in the "NEVER GONNA HAPPEN" chance that the grid shuts down for an extended sign we won't have to bother opening the shop...we can deal with bigger, more pressing problems.
Seems to me that on the trips I made to the gulf coast right after Katrina most of the "signs" were spray painted onto whatever was available and seemed to be doing their jobs just fine. Maybe Techman or Dan Striker will chime in since they both lived through the destruction but I don't remember them saying much about signs being a big priority
Malkin
New Member
When your supplies run out will you be able to obtain more?
The ability to make your own from nature would be useful.
While the discussion is interesting on an academic level, I have to agree with Pat. It is impossible to adequately prepare for any and all possible scenarios. It is more productive to spend your time preparing for what is most likely.
The ability to make your own from nature would be useful.
While the discussion is interesting on an academic level, I have to agree with Pat. It is impossible to adequately prepare for any and all possible scenarios. It is more productive to spend your time preparing for what is most likely.
round man
New Member
I cannot understand why some one in the sign trade would not at the very least want to understand the basics of lettering,..signs are messages and messages are made up of words,...Words are made of letters and that my young friends is the very basic fundamental element of the trade you have chosen to practice,....Lettering is taught to children at an elementary level. It is not some art form that only a few can learn,... it is possible for anyone who knows his abc's and ten numbers. Yet as I see it this is the only trade where folks seem to neglect the need to learn the very basics needed to practice it,....Thank God the medical ,legal and law enforcment proffessions havn't chosen to cop such an idiotic approach to their craft,...Now I would like to hear why this topic is so self serving and why so many took offense at it,...do I detect some personal insecurity complexes out there? what exactly was so offensive in my question???????
Pat Whatley
New Member
So let me ask you Round Man, if suddenly paint and brushes weren't available tomorrow do you have a giant field of flax planted somewhere so you can make your own linseed oil? Got your semi-precious stones and other items stored so you'll be able to grind your own pigments? Got Russian squirrels for brushes?
Sorry man, you're just coming across as yet another disgruntled old man who is pissed (and rightly so to an extent) that technology has put a beating on the demand for the skill set you worked a lifetime to acquire.
Sorry man, you're just coming across as yet another disgruntled old man who is pissed (and rightly so to an extent) that technology has put a beating on the demand for the skill set you worked a lifetime to acquire.
round man
New Member
I am not pissed,..I am not disgruntled,.I have profited vastly over the years from this trade. I also cut vinyl and sell wraps and install digital prints,.. I was just trying to present a scenario that would emphacize the validity of my point,and start an intelligent discussion,.... seems to me some took offense at the scenario I presented for that I appologize ,....Still I cannot for the life of me understand why some would take offense at the thought of being able to hand letter in this trade.
As for your scenario Pat I am ready with supplies put back in storage,... as good brushes are getting hard to find and good old lead base paint is no longer out there,....got my guns clean and loaded with plenty of extra ammo and candles and batteries also,....
and finally Pat while I may not have a field of flax I know where one is,and I do know how to grind my own pigments and know most of the formulas needed to make paints and mediums needed to practice my trade,.....
As for your scenario Pat I am ready with supplies put back in storage,... as good brushes are getting hard to find and good old lead base paint is no longer out there,....got my guns clean and loaded with plenty of extra ammo and candles and batteries also,....
and finally Pat while I may not have a field of flax I know where one is,and I do know how to grind my own pigments and know most of the formulas needed to make paints and mediums needed to practice my trade,.....
Last edited:
Pat Whatley
New Member
Yep, I see a whole lot of doctors out there getting adept at bleeding out patients, cutting off limbs with rusty saws, and prescribing heroin and cocaine for everything. Doctors are the typically very up to date on technological advances out there. Come a long way since they used to cut hair.
Has the judicial system really changed enough to even be relevant here?
Roundman, I don't even consider hand lettering part of this trade anymore. Almost everytime someone has asked me about handlettering something it's been because they thought it would be cheaper. Good hand lettering is a rare thing to find these days and is more an art form than a commercial talent. There is still a market for it, like there is for hand blown glass or hand set type but technology has long since passed those by as the preferred way of doing things. If you combined every bit of the glue chipped glass, gold leafing, hand lettering, and smalts work in this town you might be able to keep one person busy.
weaselboogie
New Member
Maybe it was because you came across as an arrogant holier-than-art-ya'll
signmeup
New Member
If I press the buttons on my keyboard I get lettering. If I press the buttons in the correct sequence I get words. I use words and pictures to make signs not lettering.
Your "question" is self serving because it attempts to make you look superior to people who don't possess the same skills you do. Furthermore, the question is ill conceved as no one will be looking to buy signs during a disaster. Do you really believe someone would pay for "No Looting" signs? As someone else mentioned the only signs I've seen in disaster zones have been spray painted on cardboard. They usually read "HELP".
What you really seem to want to do is make people feel bad because they can't hand letter. I've been in this trade for 6 years and no one has ever asked me if I could hand letter anything. Why on earth would I want to learn that skill?