Finally! (didnt have to purchase any media)

[WCSign]

So after 4-6 months of "friends and family" word of mouth promotion and having to purchase media and supplies in bulk for every single job it seems like..

I can finally say that I am invoicing a decent sized job for a local small business that I actually had ALL supplies neccessary in stock!! LOL

Vinyl
Laminate
Perf
Banner

and I had just refilled two of the ink cartridges in my roland so I didnt have to buy ink either LOL


I know its dumb, but I bet you guys can remember when it seemed like you had to buy media for every single job you did.. when I realized that I had everything in stock, it felt good

 

[Scott Reynolds]

 

[g&eprinting]

I like being ready too.

Sometimes I just buy the max amount of material if the job pays for it all and I am ready for more.

You don't want too much hanging around though if it's not a common material.

 

[Fatboy]

Well done

 

[WCSign]

Yeah, I basicallyt let a roll of matte 6mil get crappy because it sat around (heat in garage)

didnt lose any $ on it.. used it for some art reprints to tag nightclubs and did a friends reception counter in his new business.. but I was dealing with sick bubble wrinkles while printing

the last piece of the puzzle with this latest job was the perf... and I got that roll because I bartered a windshield for my SUV for a rear window perf job for the glass company... so it was sitting here and this new business wanted thier van done

 

[anotherdog]

Congrats, you are on your way to having 20 rolls of various materials hanging around in the space behind your printer. Not to mention the 20 more "end-of-the-rolls" with a couple of feet on that will be perfect for a little job.

I just threw out almost an entire roll of mesh because it had aged beyond use, then two weeks later had to buy another roll of mesh for a job that came in.

 

[James Burke]

Yep...there's a lot of money in this business....but, unfortunately it flows the wrong way during the early years.

It's a great feeling when the business begins to mature and the cash flow becomes positive.

JB

 

[iSign]

congrats on your milestone! I do remember when the topic of inventory first became "money in the bank" ...instead of a direct "expense"...

...now, so you can feel it again, better go replace it

 

[skyhigh]

wow that was a blast to the past. I remenber that time.

Today i prob stock too much material. I must have 60 sheets of various substrait in the shop. Everything from duraply to dibond.....HDU to coro.......PVC to Lexan

 

[iSign]

wow that was a blast to the past. I remenber that time.

Today i prob stock too much material. I must have 60 sheets of various substrait in the shop. Everything from duraply to dibond.....HDU to coro.......PVC to Lexan

yep, between Aluminum, dibond, coro, MDO, PVC, HDU, clear, white & non-glare acrylic or polycarbonite... I'm right about there too...

how do you store yours skyhigh?

 

[skyhigh]

Doug, I have a couple racks with dividers, unfortunately they are not equipped to handle as much as I have (especially when you throw in 1.5" HDU & 3x4 duraply). The rest is divided up and stacked against the wall.

It ain't pretty some weeks.

Ohhhhhh and to add to the clutter..... a good many years ago, I started saving signs that I replaced from the more "prominent" establishments in my area (pretty cool actually), in hopes that someday when I get that new building up, I could start my own little "Sign Museum", and display these from the walls. Unfortunately some of the most fantastic signs from my early days (before I got this brilliant idea) got disposed of. That would be the the neon & clocks & porcelain stuff.

Sick when I think of a few that I pitched.

 

[Suz]

WCS,

Nope, not dumb at all! That is very very nice! Having the materials for a job makes you feel so much better, doesn't it? I know the feeling, have been suffering through that pain myself. I feel like all I've done is shell out dough for my wide format printing, oh... because I have!!!!! Yesterday though, I made the comment that I think that even though I seem to have dumped a lot of money into our new Latex printer, I think it has paid for itself and paid a few bills too.

So, congrats & enjoy!!

 

[thesignexpert]

Congrats! That means you are doing something right and steadily working your way into a profitable business. Just continue to stay vigilant on those media purchases and control the inventory. Nice job!

 

[mark in tx]

Sometimes its kind of nice when you get a phone call at 4pm and they need 20 4'x8' banners by 8 am, and you can say no problem, I have the material in stock!

Don't forget the rush fee in that situation though.

 

[Gino]

It's a lot different today from when I started.

Today, it's literally $1,000's of dollars until you've got a nice inventory going, but like I said..... when I stated, I bought a few quills and two or three 1-Shots and started lettering and making money immediately. Every truck had either a white lettering job, black or fire red or somewhere in between.

I still remember saying.... holy cow........ I just spent almost $50 bucks to do this job on my own. But when I got paid $100 at the end, I was in heaven. Back then, working for the sign shop I started in, my take-home was like $35, so side jobs were just fantastic. After ten years of that, I went out on my own.

Well done WCS.

 

[TopFliteGraphics]

Congrats! I know the feeling - just got back into the biz about a year ago and those first few jobs with virtually zero profit hurt but I also decided to "over purchase" the colors that i knew I'd be using frequently