I avoided work like the plague for almost 20 years, (got some good stories though... often get told I should write a book ) anyway, after a narrow miss with the DEA, I decided to join the ol' work force & make something of myself & after a 2 year architectural drafting education I found work at the largest Architectural Sign franchise (ASI)in the country & discovered sign oriented computer graphics as a new career choice.
After 8 years of jumping between 5 sign companies in 3 states... I bought a screenprint shop with no computer or plotter & turned it from a one-man shop that hit 80K as a best year out of 20 into my outlet for catching up on all those unproductive years by throwing my heart & soul into it. With no business experience and literally zero capital, I bought the business for $1000 a month & over the first two or 3 years of working 80 - 100 hr. weeks, I paid of the business & 15 years of back taxes & unpaid student loans plus 8K in other assorted debt & began to salvage what once was the absolute worst credit history you can imagine. By that time I had hit 100K in gross sales as a 1 man shop & continued to land within a few thousand of that mark for the next 5 years. During that time I got married & bought a house. My wife & I both got new trucks last December & have had limited health insurance for the first time in either of our middle aged lives as of about 3 years ago. I don't show much profit & don't have much of a retirement plan yet, but we do live comfortable & that is also a first for both of us in all our years. (well, I mean financially comfortable... I was comfortable hitchin around the country penniless when I was younger)
This year, thanks in part to 3 months with my first ever full time employee, I am currently at $97,000.00 for the year. (last year was the first year breaking the 100k mark)
So, I can say that I did not raise a family on my sign business... although I did several years of 50/50 custody & paid for private school while living the good life in Hawaii... but roughin' it off the grid to match my lower earning potential back then.
posted
I make a good living as a sort of one-man/one-woman sign shop. Our 22 year old son gets $350 a week for coming in about 4-5 hours a day and doing hardly any work but whatchagonnado? Ten years ago I didn't have a pot to pee in hardly. I know that I really rubbed a lot of Letterheads the wrong way when I "sold out" and joined the dark side (franchise) but now I have over $1,000,000 in assets. I didn't get all of that from making signs. Like I've said on here before, the sign business is a good business to make money *from*. The key is what Mike O'Neil said, not sacrificing your future for present wants. My advice? Buy cheap cars and expensive houses; keep your credit absolutely spotless and manage your money wisely. Read books on money and learn how to use it; it really is a science, not just something you instinctively know.
I'll be at the water cooler with Doug.
-------------------- Ricky Jackson Signs Now 614 Russell Parkway Warner Robins, GA (478) 923-7722 signpimp50@hotmail.com
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Issac Newton Posts: 3528 | From: Warner Robins, GA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Jeff, There are lots of things I do to make this happen. I'll touch on a few things to get started. If you have specific questions, Let me know.
First, we got organized. I used to try to do sales calls and production in the same day. Now it's sales calls, measurements, meetings on Mondays & Wednesdays only. E-mail and faxes are responded to in the afternoon.
We sub out 30 percent of our work that we don't do. Light boxes, channel letters, etc. We do the layouts, pull permits and collect the mark-up.
We set a goal of 12K (gross)a month without the sub work. It means doing $1,000 for each production day. We use Estimate and the recent Signcraft Pricelist to keep our prices on track to meet those numbers. We use the red catagory in the guide to yeild the $85/hr labor rate. I realize that the 3 days of production is 24 hours and at $85/hr that only comes to $2040. I capture the other $1000 (11 hrs) the other 2 days after the "run-around days" If my wife can make these calls (she ususally does), it's no problem.
If we don't hit the mark with our own production, the subbed work pushes us over most of the time. It's the subbed work that kept us from doing it in the first place.
We order everything cut, primed and painted, ready to letter from our supplier (harbor).
We concentrate on fleets. One design, many repetitions.
We concentrate on realtors. One design, many repetitions.
We concentrate on digital prints. Set it, and forget it.
We concentrate on new businesses that need lots of signs (golf centers), not the ones that need one single sign.
We do not advertise. The only time our phone rings is beacause we are getting a response back from a customer we want, or someone has referred them to us.
Thanks for asking, If you have other questions, let me know. I do not spend alot of time on the web anymore. I find it Unprofitable.
Mike
-------------------- Mike Duncan Lettercraft Signs Posts: 1328 | From: Centreville, VA | Registered: Oct 2000
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Yes it can be done - I've been full time 'bout 6 yrs. now - but I have been establishing contacts all through my life - 15 yrs. in the Printing Business - I support my little family of 4 - girls 13 & 6 - new baby on the way - pretty much except the Blue Cross; which my wife gets through her work - - Blue Cross aint all it's cracked up to be, by the way, go on vacation to Gulf Coast twice a year minimun, eat whatever we want - Sign Truck paid for - Wife's ride financed at 3.5% - -forgot to say her income is our "blow" - havin fun - money. Having very little debt certainly helps (ask me how I know) we don't do Credit Cards. I can't complain - it's a comfortable living - but don't let nobody fool ya - the sign business is tough - Real Tough - I got a new MEGA-SIGN store fixin to open up by me - I can't wait though - maybe it will take some of the pressure off me - I'm booked solid for the Summer - Carl
[ June 23, 2005, 02:03 AM: Message edited by: Carl Wood ]
-------------------- Carl Wood Olive Branch, Ms Posts: 1392 | From: Olive Branch,MS USA | Registered: Nov 1999
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At first I did signs "part-time" until the business grew enough so I could quit my job. I don't make a lot but enough to support the few bills I have. I've always had my hands in many areas - pet sitting, rental income & doing taxes to insure $$ coming in during the slow times - those things have helped - but I always paid cash for things so not incur debt. I think that has been key for me.
-------------------- signs Posts: 535 | From: pa | Registered: Dec 1998
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Jeff you can make it and do quite well as a 1or2 person shop.It takes alot of hard work and marketing to get the right kind of customers.Keep your overhead under control and most of all get the MONEY!!!!! I have been very fortunate as a pinstriper in that ther is such a high profit margin,however even when I do signs or banners or walls if I don't get the dough I just dont show.It is not easy to do in a 1 or 2 person shop,you have to be very careful about prodution time versus all the other things we have to do as sign people.Stop and anilize how you spend your day and it becomes apparent why we all have trouble making money sometimes.Not knowing what kinds of signs you are doing it is difficult to say what it is you need to do.Hell yes you can make it don't give up,If I made you can too because I,m not that smart.GOOD LUCK
posted
Sheila, I know what you're talking about. I think folks are right about the difficulty or it would have been in place by now. I know the Merck company does offer a very low cost insurance for folks that are self employed. You may have to call them since I am not sure where they stand these days. But, you could try Medco Health.
Noticeably, a very important factor to all when you are self employed is the bottom line of what to do about health insurance. I personally think it is wise to always have something in place. You never know when you are going to need an MRI or someone in the family may need something ridiculously priced by the AMA or good old pharmaceutical companies who are overpricing our meds.
Some posts above didn't mention the insurance, so I was not sure how they handled that. Through the years it's been back and forth from two parent, two income household to one parent, one income household, and for the most part, I have kept it that way for 8 years.
If I am not insured, I use a sliding scale program for the Kids or ask about the hospital sliding scale programs. I did let the sign biz slide for the last year and a half, and took a day job to establish excellent insurance for myself and my son, and have that steady income.
But, when I decide it is time to sign stop paying $200 a month for a great package, I will go back to the sliding scale programs. They can still be expensive. Maybe I'll finally move to Canada or the UK.
While raising the family I always tried to provide fresh food and don't waste. Actually, it's a bit of work and planning, but, our future health also, which cuts down on medical bills in the long run. Our kids are pretty healthy and fiesty, so I guess I'm doing okay.
I'm guilty of not taking the kids on vacations, except to see relatives, so I guess it's time this year, as my son only has one year left at home. I would love to give him an experience, but can't get him to come to the meets, as that's what I love to do. But, it's time, as we ate a lot of breakfasts for dinner too.
[ June 23, 2005, 09:35 PM: Message edited by: Deb Fowler ]
-------------------- Deb Fowler
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible - Walt Disney (1901-1966) Posts: 5373 | From: Loves Park, Illinois | Registered: Aug 1999
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![[Smile]](smile.gif)
) anyway, after a narrow miss with the DEA, I decided to join the ol' work force & make something of myself & after a 2 year architectural drafting education I found work at the largest Architectural Sign franchise (ASI)in the country & discovered sign oriented computer graphics as a new career choice. 
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