Best Money Saving Tips

[Jake Howard]

Hi Guys,

Just interested to hear everyone's unique and best money saving tips. Doesn't necessarily have to be massive savings, just something.

When Eyeleting Corflute, we use to use both the Eyelet and the Rear Washer. Until one day we ran out of washers, and realised that we didnt really need them. Cut our Eyelet cost down by 50%, as the Washers were the same price as the Eyelet.

Interested to hear everyone's tips that they may have picked up over the years.

 

[J Hill Designs]

don't walk over dollars to save pennies. charge enough so that the extra quarter of a penny for the 'rear washer of an eyelet' is negligable.

 

[player]

Keep printer super clean. Manual cleanings weekly.

 

[SignosaurusRex]

Don't "Cheap Out" on product! The customer will notice the small stuff, and in turn, so will you at the end of the year ...or in time, when it's too late.

 

[bob]

Don't "Cheap Out" on product! The customer will notice the small stuff, and in turn, so will you at the end of the year ...or in time, when it's too late.

Expand that to "Don't cheap out on anything!"

Most, if not all, "money saving tips" involve either wasting far more time than whatever it is you're doing saves, or cheapening your product, which is your name and reputation. Saving a fraction of a penny by not using a grommet reeve [what most refer to as a "washer'] makes zero sense. If you look after the pennies and fractions thereof, at the end of the year you'll have a small and worthless pile of pennies.

Show some class and do whatever it is you do well and properly.

 

[TXFB.INS]

Measure EVERY multiple times before cutting.

nothing worse then doing a ******* size 39.75" x 92.5" and then realizing it is marked & cut wrong

 

[FASTSIGNS]

Years ago we started buying our grommets directly from STIMPSON. Their HQ is located close enough to us to drive to pick up. Buy knife blades direct from TechniEdge. Buy cardboard easels directly from LineCo. Most of the time you have to buy in bulk, but we have plenty of storage space and these supplies don't go bad.

 

[reQ]

Here are couple from top of my head

1) Order carbide plotter blades directly from China at around $1.00 CAD. Using them for 3 months already, no difference compare to 25-40 dollar Roland blades from Roland supplier.
2) Sub some stuff out, don't worry, you will still make money but won't waste time.
3) Don't try getting work by lowering your prices... worst idea ever.

 

[Fred Weiss]

Reconsider your priorities. Would you rather save 100 nickels a day or bring in $100 more a day in sales?

Were this my thread, I would have titled it "Best Money Making Tips". It would start with:

• Establishing and testing my hourly rates and materials markup for best return.
• Learn ways to maximize my appeal to my prospective clients.
• Become proficient in salesmanship.
• Utilize a three tier product choice system whenever possible to close more sales.
• Spend as little time with price shopping prospects as possible and as much time with quality conscious clients as possible.
• Always deliver a better sign than the client expects.

As you go through life my son,
Whatever be your goal,
Keep your eye upon the doughnut
And not upon the hole.

To be clear, there's nothing wrong with saving money so long as quality is not compromised. But making greater sales and profits is far more important.

 

[Gino]

Reconsider your priorities. Would you rather save 100 nickels a day or bring in $100 more a day in sales?

Were this my thread, I would have titled it "Best Money Making Tips". It would start with:

• Establishing and testing my hourly rates and materials markup for best return.
• Learn ways to maximize my appeal to my prospective clients.
• Become proficient in salesmanship.
• Utilize a three tier choice system whenever possible.
• Spend as little time with price shopping prospects as possible and as much time with quality conscious clients as possible.
• Always deliver a better sign than the client expects.

As you go through life my son,
Whatever be your goal,
Keep you eye upon the doughnut
And not upon the hole.

BUT Fred....... that means more work on the sign-maker's part...................

I believe they wanna save money with as little effort as possible, like brown bagging it or car pooling to work.

 

[Fred Weiss]

BUT Fred....... that means more work on the sign-makers part...................

I believe they wanna save money with as little effort as possible, like brown bagging it or car pooling to work.

sign-maker's not sign-makers

 

[Gino]

Reconsider your priorities. Would you rather save 100 nickels a day or bring in $100 more a day in sales?

Were this my thread, I would have titled it "Best Money Making Tips". It would start with:

• Establishing and testing my hourly rates and materials markup for best return.
• Learn ways to maximize my appeal to my prospective clients.
• Become proficient in salesmanship.
• Utilize a three tier product choice system whenever possible to close more sales.
• Spend as little time with price shopping prospects as possible and as much time with quality conscious clients as possible.
• Always deliver a better sign than the client expects.

As you go through life my son,
Whatever be your goal,
Keep you eye upon the doughnut
And not upon the hole.

To be clear, there's nothing wrong with saving money so long as quality is not compromised. But making greater sales and profits is far more important.

I think you mean 'your' and not you.

 

[Fred Weiss]

I think you mean 'your' and not you.

Why you're absolutely right. Thank you kind sir.

 

[Gene@mpls]

Re-evaluate your pricing and clientele yearly.

 

[Z SIGNS]

Here is a money making tip

Don't be penny wise and dollar foolish.
Use the best materials available to you.
Produce the best product possible
Seek and work for the people who know the difference.

Trying to skimp on materials is going to cost you money in the long run.

 

[Bretbyron]

If your in to screen printing, Ink knives for $1ea. here

I angle mine and soften the edges w/ 200 grit.

 

[Jake Howard]

Thanks for the responses everyone and a lot of good points.

Regarding the washers, for me, it is not so much about trying to cheap out. If I believed it compromised the product, I wouldnt do it. The benefits to me are:

1. At 7c a washer, and based on 10,000 washers a years, that is a saving of $700pa. Not massive, and you can't save your way to success. But savings like these do add up.
2. It saves us 2 extra seconds, not having to pick the washer up and place it on the base. 2 seconds x 10,000 = 20,000 Seconds = 333 Minutes = 5 hours. Once again, not massive, but it adds up.
3. Not having the washer actually provides a better finish, as the back of they eyelet curls over neatly, and doesnt purtrude, resulting in no scratches on the sign behind it. Unlike the washer which can leave scratchers.

For me it was a bit of a no brainer and just made sense. We haven't had anyone mention, question or complain about it, and we have tested it, and the eyelets arnt coming out. Unlike the washers, which can sometimes fall off.

When focusing on making money / efficiency, I like to look at both the top end and bottom end. There is no point just focusing on the bottom end, as you neglect the top end. At the same time though, if you just focus on the top end, you can experience slow leakage from the bottom end. I think it is a balancing act between the two, and it is about improving those 1 percenters.


I agree 100% with not trying to skimp on materials or compromise the product.

I like dougnuts

Fred made some good points, and his concept of a thread for "Best Money Making Tips" is a good one.

There is nothing sweeter than finding a good product / supplier in China. The problem is finding them, and not losing any potential savings in the process

Subbies depend on how you look at it, some look at it as low margin, whilst others look at it as making money for little effort

Once again everyone, thanks for your replies and looking forward to hopefully reading some more.

 

[bob]

Thanks for the responses everyone and a lot of good points.

Regarding the washers, for me, it is not so much about trying to cheap out. If I believed it compromised the product, I wouldnt do it. The benefits to me are:

1. At 7c a washer, and based on 10,000 washers a years, that is a saving of $700pa. Not massive, and you can't save your way to success. But savings like these do add up.
2. It saves us 2 extra seconds, not having to pick the washer up and place it on the base. 2 seconds x 10,000 = 20,000 Seconds = 333 Minutes = 5 hours. Once again, not massive, but it adds up.
3. Not having the washer actually provides a better finish, as the back of they eyelet curls over neatly, and doesnt purtrude, resulting in no scratches on the sign behind it. Unlike the washer which can leave scratchers....

If you're business is so brisk that you're setting 10,000 grommets a year then your number of $700.00 is or should be such a tiny fraction of your annual expenses as to be totally lost in the grass. Meaning that saving that amount or not would make no detectable difference in your business.

Not using a reeve for your reason #3 above is fine as long as it actually does produce a better product [doubtful] and is not a rationalization.

 

[Gino]

If you're business is so brisk that you're setting 10,000 grommets a year then your number of $700.00 is or should be such a tiny fraction of your annual expenses as to be totally lost in the grass. Meaning that saving that amount or not would make no detectable difference in your business.

Not using a reeve for your reason #3 above is fine as long as it actually does produce a better product [doubtful] and is not a rationalization.

Hafta agree with this. We probably go through 12,000 to 15,000 grommets a year. One store alone takes about 1,300 grommets and we do 5 or 6 of these alone. Add in the many banners, Cor-X, PVC and other signs needing grommets, the need to save pennies seems like a waste.

I'd rather save money, by saving time. Group several field trips for quoting into one morning. Make large loops when doing things. Cut out uncessary trips here and there. You save time and gas. Around the shop, do your projects in an assembly line kinda setup. Batch/group/gang like jobs together to save money. Cranking things out like that may be monotonous, but it saves more money than pinching pennies together. Another money saver is, make the employees pay for paper towels. They won't be near as wasteful as when you're footing the bill.

 

[Jake Howard]

Hi Bob and Gino,

I agree with what you are saying. At the end of the day the $700 and 5 hours time saving by itself is negligible. But if you can find several of these ways to save money and improve efficiency without compromising the product, then it all starts to add up. If you have a tiny leak in your boat, it is probably nothing to worry about. But a number of tiny leaks combined can sink a ship.

There is also that story about the airline removing its lone olive from its salad. Now removing the olive might have compromised the salad. But did any customers loose any sleep over it? Probably not. The cost of a single olive alone is negligible, in comparison to the cost of running an airline. But it still made sense to do it.

Now how you perceive the saving on eyelets, depend on how you look at it. If I was starting at the bottom, and working my way up, then I am better off focusing on more important things. However what if you are working your way from the top down?

 

[Gino]

Hi Bob and Gino,

I agree with what you are saying. At the end of the day the $700 and 5 hours time saving by itself is negligible. But if you can find several of these ways to save money and improve efficiency without compromising the product, then it all starts to add up. If you have a tiny leak in your boat, it is probably nothing to worry about. But a number of tiny leaks combined can sink a ship.

There is also that story about the airline removing its lone olive from its salad. Now removing the olive might have compromised the salad. But did any customers loose any sleep over it? Probably not. The cost of a single olive alone is negligible, in comparison to the cost of running an airline. But it still made sense to do it.

Now how you perceive the saving on eyelets, depend on how you look at it. If I was starting at the bottom, and working my way up, then I am better off focusing on more important things. However what if you are working your way from the top down?

So, if you start off by saying you agree, then backpedal and say you don't agree and want to float a boat with tiny holes in it and cut out 100's of millions of olives.... where is your focus ??

We're/you're talking about savings in the sign business, not whatever floats your boat or is in your salad.

Ya know, if you didn't go out in the boat, it could have as many holes in it ya want with no effects. And if you flew first class, you'd get champagne with as many olives as you wanted. It's all about your priorities, not endless stories about nothing.

I know a guy [in this industry] who doesn't have any machines, no employees and basically no investment. He is always complaining about deadlines, mistakes on everyone else's part, mis-information, p!ssed off customers and the list goes on. I've asked him 2 or 3 times over the years..... why don't you bring your production in-house and control your own quality ?? Always the same..... I don't want all those headaches.