If I may have a say about your methods and the word "greedy" you have used so lightly. Keep in mind that the word "Greedy" is a word that is commonly used by many within the labor driven industry vying for a bid that often do not necessarily recognize the value of the combined labor and products they produce. Approximately 80% of the nations sign companies under value the products they produce and every year and approximately 50% open and close their doors the first year in business due to this cut rate pricing and lack of a basic understanding of the burden rate of labor and value pricing of the products produced. This practice undermines and hurts the entire sign industry in every market. A staggering 80% of all new manufacturing businesses close their doors the first year (according the federal government) due to the lack of basic business boost economics. The cost of goods within the sign/graphics industry do not allow for traditional cost+ pricing when providing estimations for a particular market. There are many factors that go into pricing the various items/signs offered from a sign manufacturer that are in addition to cost+ pricing, including valuation. Quality, design force (skilled designers and engineers), permit runners, acquired asset growth, advertising with the last to any fixed and variable expenses.
The economic boost from the manufacturing industry diminishes when the we undervalue our products due to the fact that your labor force shrinks and then your production rate per hour declines.
For the manufacturing industry (including the sign industry which manufacture products using raw and simifinished goods), every $1.00 spent in manufacturing, another $1.81 is added to the economy. With that said, there is new research suggesting that manufacturing’s impacts on the economy are even larger than that if we take into consideration the entire manufacturing value chain plus manufacturing for other industries’ supply chains. That approach estimates that manufacturing could account for one-third of GDP and employment. Along those lines, it also estimated the total multiplier effect for manufacturing to be $3.60 for every $1.00 of value-added output, with one manufacturing employee generating another 3.4 workers elsewhere.
(Source: Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation).
It's not about greed, it's about fair market value and added value within a very, very specialized custom manufacturing industry. With all due respect, undervaluing your products does nothing good for the sign industry, it only offers the gives the appearance that "greed" is a part of exercising the practice cutting the value of the products and installation by a huge amount, therefore the garage style pricing strategies practiced, hurt the economy and the integrity of the sign industry in whole. Before you use the word "greedy" and celebrate landing a single job that may or may not be long-term, take a look at the bigger picture that surrounds the sign industry as a whole. After all, if a car dealership began selling their brand new cars at a rate below market pricing, every customer would be full of joy, but the economy and the other dealerships suffer the consequences from their actions and the dealership would most likely have to close its doors.
Sign Industry Magazine -
Pricing Approaches and Accuracy - Is Close, Close Enough?
The National Association of Manufacturers -
Top 20 Facts About Manufacturing | NAM
The National Signwriters Publishing Co. Pricing Guides -
ST Media Bookstore
Warm regards.
The business is self-contained and has a router, printer, etc. We only sub out the braille.
