DynamicVinyl
New Member
Hi, I started my First Sign Studio this year, with my 8+ yrs of experience, and my college/trade school background of commercial printing.
Within 3 months, i had absorbed the shop manager's job functions along with my own as lead application/weed/installation man. I eliminated his position, saving my new employer thousands a year, and organized a new filing and job tracking systems that they still use. I was teaching a guy with 20+ yrs of experience, how to be better, cheaper, and faster, without sacrificing quality. And after a year had saved the owner $50,000 a yr in expenses, and raised their average profit from $185,000 a yr (based on the 10 yrs prior to my hire date) to well over $325,0000 a yr in profits
I got my experience in the sign business under 2 local shops. The first, I worked at for 2, almost 3 years exclusively. I stared at $150 bucks a week, an dmostly just hungout all the time. within a year I had surpassed his knowledge in the business and was running all of the business' operations, except for pricing and quotes. And built it from a kitchen-run hobby to a full-time shop with its own building, sponsored race car etc. and never got a raise once, just kept being told i would get the shop when he passed away. (I was young and dumb)
Then I began a full-time position for his only other competitor, for $10/hr. All the while-still working for my old employer on an as needed basis, and told the later, that i would be doing so when i was hired. Within 3 months, i had absorbed the shop manager's job functions along with my own as lead application/weed/installation man. I eliminated his position, saving my new employer thousands a year, and organized a new filing and job tracking systems that they still use. I was teaching a guy with 20+ yrs of experience, how to be better, cheaper, and faster, without sacrificing quality. And after a year had saved the owner $50,000 a yr in expenses, and raised their average profit from $185,000 a yr (based on the 10 yrs prior to my hire date) to well over $325,0000 a yr in profits
After 3 yrs there, with no raise at all since hire, I was asked to also take on the Web-Design work that he payed a local company $5,000 a year to maintian, update etc. And i also eliminated that expense, then i was suddenly asked to sign a do not compete agreement, which wouldve ended my other employment. I refused, with the basis that i was still being told it would be mine someday, and also given the fact that he had not given me a raise in 3 yrs.
Needless to say, i parted ways with both employers a few years ago, and started my own this spring. Since then, My first employer merged with my second, and are both approaching my customers saying i stole their estimating programs (I designed and coded them myself from the ground up), their design program (signlab7 which i dont even use!), and saying that i'm stealing their customers. And often they are refusing to forward designs that they created and sold to their customers, just because im working on their new stuff.
I only say great thing about them to my customers, i merely explain that i have less overhead, and can produce work for far less, with the same process' and materials. But its getting to a point where theyre telling people ive never approached, and now when i try to bring in new customers, im always forced to defend myself from these allegations. should i sue for slander? they are the only company for 50 miles besides myself, there's plenty of room for both of us, but not enough for their slander...
