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I have read on this bullboard that it is good to have a niche. Mine isn't creative, but it is a decent money maker. I have a heat press, and use my vinyl cutter to cut out lettering to heat press names on the back of the t-shirts of our towns' youth sports programs. One of these kids has a father that goes around to the schools and towns and gets the orders for the sports jerseys. He has them screen printed and them brings them to me for putting names and numbers on them. If he only needs a few of the shirts, he will ask me if I can use the cad-cut material from Stahls to do the design on the front. Frequently I can. He provides vectorized art work, ready to cut. Me being home based, he can drop off/pick up shirts during non-work hours. (this is his partime job besides his fulltime job) He has given me thousands of dollars worth of work each year for the last 3 years.
Diane
-------------------- Balch Signs 1045 Raymond Rd Malta, NY 12020 518 885-9899 signs@balchsigns.com http://www.balchsigns.com Posts: 1695 | From: MaltaNY | Registered: Jan 2000
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I've had different ones at different times- I started airbrushing t-shirts in the mid 80's and have done that off and on for the past 25 years- it's kind of like golf for me, I don't do it enough to be as good as I expect to be or even used to be (or when I was doing it 10 hours a day, 7 days a week)
This past summer I started drawing pet caricatures, which brought back my cartooning days, but I put it back down after a couple of events... maybe I can do more of that kind of art
I've been trying to get my new office set up more like a studio, brought out the old light table, easel, markers and pens, etc.- maybe I can get back to doing more hands on art, drawing, and cartooning- I would love for that to be my "niche"
-------------------- Michael Clanton Clanton Graphics/ Blackberry 19 Studio 1933 Blackberry Conway AR 72034 501-505-6794 clantongraphics@yahoo.com Posts: 1735 | From: Conway Arkansas | Registered: Oct 2001
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My thing is straight line pinstriping, I'm good at what I do and I get to pick my work, even after retiring I feel the need to put my brushes to work. While I'm working I get to dream, talk to myself and figure things yet to come.
-------------------- HotLines Joey Madden - pinstriping since 1952 'Perfection, its what I look for and what I live for'
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For awhile it was fast, decent looking truck lettering at half the price of the competition.
I still do very well in that "niche," but a lot of my customers have gone under thanx to the economy.
-------------------- Michael Gene Adkins The Fontry 1576 S Hwy 59 Watts OK 74964 Posts: 845 | From: Watts, OK USA | Registered: Jun 1999
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Mostly just showroom windows for new car dealers, although I still paint many windshields. Both are a great diversion from each other. In 22 years, I have developed a following and a nice group of some 250 stores in Kansas and Missouri. The niche is primarily that no one else seems to want to actually go out there and sell. Rejection really is a great advantage being able to overwhelm with professional negotiators like the Car Dogs.
-------------------- Preston McCall 112 Rim Road Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 text: 5056607370 Posts: 1552 | From: Santa Fe, New Mexico | Registered: Nov 1998
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My most recent niche landed on my lap due of poverty. I wanted to decorate my home without a dime left to my name so I started collecting junk off the curb, and created furnishings for my home.
Aside from my time, thus far I've decorated my entire home for nearly free. NEVER underestimate the power of junk.
I was doing it at half the competition's price because they were literally raking their customers over the coals for nothing more than a little block lettering and white or black vinyl.
At half price I was still making VERY good money, and for a long time money was good. It was the most profitable thing I had going. And for two colors I doubled the price and was still well under my competitions one-color job.
Now everyone has opened a sign shop, everyone has dropped their prices to my level .... and even lower .... siggghhhhh.....
see ... youse guys got excited over nothing!!! I don't build signs as a hobby, ya know. I do it to earn a living.
-------------------- Michael Gene Adkins The Fontry 1576 S Hwy 59 Watts OK 74964 Posts: 845 | From: Watts, OK USA | Registered: Jun 1999
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I "lucked" into the sign business after encouragement by a friend. It was a business I never thought about nor aspired to. I waded in with no idea of what I was doing. It was just going to be a "sideline" offering to my customers in my body shop business.
All I brought in was many years of failure and success experience in being a business owner.
At first, I again, lucked out to be introduced to some businesses who needed a reliable, prompt supplier for their needs.
I guess I was that person.
Like Diane aluded to originally...astounding creative skills played no part in my doing well. Just hard work, long hours and a lot of driving to remote worksites.
And the long hard job of learning how to vectorize crappy tiny business card logo scans into something usable!!!!
Along the way I came to understand a bit about decent design too.
But the bottom line for me was always....treat this as a business and always strive to make a decent profit, not a decent "wage", but a decent "PROFIT" too.
(edited to add, regrding the original question)
My niche was fleet truck lettering and boat lettering for boat repair/refubishing facilities. All due to references and friends.
[ October 12, 2011, 07:01 PM: Message edited by: Dave Grundy ]
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
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My niche is I work on weekends and I don't penalize you for being late or not showing up. Plus I just about always pick up the phone and give the caller a pleasent and cheerful "Hello".
-------------------- Signs by Alicia Jennings (Mudflap Girl) Tacoma, WA Since 1987 Have Lipstick, will travel. Posts: 3812 | From: Tacoma, WA. U.S.A. | Registered: Dec 1999
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Our niche has been truck lettering. I always thought that was the most profitable part of the sign business . A lot less aggravation too. No digging holes and no permits to get. I got my start by doing custom paint on race cars in the early 70s and alot of those guys wanted lettering done too. I found out I loved hand lettering better than airbrushing and it eventually led to truck lettering. I was inspired by many of the race car lettering guys from that era, Glen Weisgerber, Mr. J, Kenny Youngblood and of coure Big Daddy Ed Roth.
We were working out of a small shop for 15 years . When we built our new shop in 95 we had 2 bays 40' deep with a 14'x14' door on one and a 10'x10' door on the other. Mainly I wanted to be able to fit anything in no matter what the weather was. Other guys were lettering outside or had to cancel jobs because of rain or cold. We never cancel a job and the rain usually brings some customers in that can't work because of the weather.
Another small niche we have is lettering vintage race cars. Since I got my start lettering race cars it seems I have come full circle. We have done old dragsters, early Formula One and Trans Am cars, old midgets and stock cars. We reproduce alot of the period decals on the Edge and we can also provide hand lettering which is almost extinct around here.
-------------------- Lou Pascuzzi www.economysigns.com Fine Hand Lettering since 1973 Danbury, Ct 203-748-4580 "IOAFS" Posts: 341 | From: Danbury, Ct | Registered: Feb 2000
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Everything can be a niche and the better you do it the more of a niche it is! Funny how old-timers can be amazed at my computer skills and the young folks are fascinated by my hand-lettering skills. Computer skills are moderately common, though, even with good design ability. However, hand painted lettering is increasingly scarce. The hand lettering is my latest niche and is increasingly appreciated (finally after 30+ years!) by more and more people. Last week I got paid well enough to justify a 2½ hour daily train commute to NYC. And the work was enjoyable and much appreciated and complimented by all concerned. What a niche!
-------------------- Frank Smith Frank Smith Signs Albany, NY www.franksmithsigns.com Posts: 807 | From: Albany, NY USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I'm a big fan of working in a niche market. Our business definitely falls into that category and it has paid off well.
We have always purposely taken that track. I see something I like/want to do, then kick things into gear. First off I do our own work... designs and samples to both learn the business and use as a selling tool.
These days I believe it is easier than ever to get into a niche market. With the benefit of the web we can show exactly the type of niche market we want to engage in.
Passion will take us far.
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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