How many one man shops are there? How many things do you do?

[Ronda]

I am interested in how other one man shops account for their time on jobs. I do embroidery, screen print (actually heat transfer now, much easier and cleaner) cut vinyl and digital printing. I make signs, banners and offer promo products. I did have a store front from 1999 until 2020, and employees for about 1/2 of that. Then I moved, many of my customers followed me and I just ship to them.

All that being said I am terrible at accounting for my time, I often multi task and embroider while I am cutting vinyl etc. I am now also kind of starting over, if you will, because I moved 350 miles from where I was. So I am finding all kinds of new customers but you know how the first time customer orders take a lot of extra time in setting up doing proofs etc.

I am curious how others do this, I know there has to be better than the winging it that I am doing.

Thanks for any input!

 

[Pauly]

By having systems and processes in place.
People may laugh at this for a 1 man show, but if you follow a system, it helps. if you ever hire again, you have something in place already.

have workflows set up for each product you do. follow those workflows.
Don't be afraid to invest in software, that's where a lot of time is saved.

Could even be setting up your email inbox with folders / tags (gmail) with rules.
For example if the subject has "Proof" in it, it'll go to the "proofs" folder/tag
Id probably write : Proof : with special characters in case people email you irrelevant stuff with proof in the subject. but anyway.

you should spend a day or so calculating all your product pricing so it's consistent. or come up with a pricing calculator using excel. this one helps us the most.
We dont quote with the calculator, but we use it to create products on our website or compare pricing with new stocks.

That's all i can think of right now, but theres heaps!
Hopefully this is the info you're after.

 

[Ronda]

By having systems and processes in place.
People may laugh at this for a 1 man show, but if you follow a system, it helps. if you ever hire again, you have something in place already.

have workflows set up for each product you do. follow those workflows.
Don't be afraid to invest in software, that's where a lot of time is saved.

Could even be setting up your email inbox with folders / tags (gmail) with rules.
For example if the subject has "Proof" in it, it'll go to the "proofs" folder/tag
Id probably write : Proof : with special characters in case people email you irrelevant stuff with proof in the subject. but anyway.

you should spend a day or so calculating all your product pricing so it's consistent. or come up with a pricing calculator using excel. this one helps us the most.
We dont quote with the calculator, but we use it to create products on our website or compare pricing with new stocks.

That's all i can think of right now, but theres heaps!
Hopefully this is the info you're after.

Give me an example of a process

 

[Ronda]

Oops, can you give me an example of a system or process with say production of cut vinyl, or something you do. I have a tendency to "put out fires" so I jump from this to that. It all gets done but it could be smoother...
Thanks!

 

[somcalmetim]

Two words...Astral Projection, lol
When time to do a quote my spirit leaves my body and flys around doing the job in another dimension while I watch from my mind palace and estimate how long it takes that fatass to complete the job. When done I return to my mortal coil with a gasp like the tail end of a near death experience and record my hours in a custom pricing spread sheet that calcs hourly rate and adds it to material and supply cost with markup.

 

[ProSignTN]

One Man shops don't do quotes. One Man shops live by referral. I turn down more than I do.

 

[Aunt LuLu]

I also am a one-person shop. Focus is embroidery, but also heat press vinyl and digital printing. 4 years ago, I moved 150 miles from NY to PA. Both were small towns. Yes, I have had to start all over getting new customers and several old customers still have me decorate items and I ship them.

Very Interesting with what "Pro Sign TN" said. I have given quotes before, and never did I receive the order.

As setting up systems to get everything done.......Some days, I wing it. One email can change the day. Most days, hubby and & make a plan of what needs to be done - we also have an extensive garden and sell produce. Just knowing what has to be done each day or each week, things are easier.

Laura

 

[Ronda]

One Man shops don't do quotes. One Man shops live by referral. I turn down more than I do.

I totally agree with you, until I moved. New customers don't know me or how I do things. So I am having to give a few quotes. Once I do one, they haven't asked for more they just order. In fact before I moved, I had a lot of my customers just tell me what they wanted and " do what you do". I hope to get back to that point fairly soon.

 

[JasonMizeSTS-Inks]

I've worked with a lot of one man shops for close to a decade in this industry and I give so much credit to all of you. It is no easy task to handle everything in your shop as well as run a business. One thing that holds true for most is it is best to use the limited space you most likely have wisely and keep things running as efficiently as possible. Less down time on your machines, good printer and ink partners, etc.

I work for a US based ink manufacturer and would love to talk to anyone interested in exploring various solutions for their business. We doing everything from supplying complete printer solutions for DTF printing and I've been specializing personally in water based and eco solvent inks for signage and everything in between.

Best,
Jason Meisner
561-445-6694

 

[Ronda]

Two words...Astral Projection, lol
When time to do a quote my spirit leaves my body and flys around doing the job in another dimension while I watch from my mind palace and estimate how long it takes that fatass to complete the job. When done I return to my mortal coil with a gasp like the tail end of a near death experience and record my hours in a custom pricing spread sheet that calcs hourly rate and adds it to material and supply cost with markup.

Sounds like me except for the spreadsheet part.

 

[Stacey K]

I do the exact same thing you do minus the embroidery. It would be a complete waste of time to do one order at a time so you can track each minute. Most days, I have files printing, vinyl or HTV cutting and I'm working on artwork - all at the same time. I write down times for artwork but it's nearly impossible to track due to the interruptions. I have customers coming in, the phone rings and there's nobody else here to so it falls on me. Anyone who says they can track each minute is lying. It's impossible when you work alone and have a storefront. Last week we had our high school basketball go to state. I had about 50 people in within 3 days for apparel and signs/banners. I On the third day I posted I was out of materials, I parked down the road and locked the door. I was not out of materials but I can't get my normal work done with 17 people popping in all day.

The one thing that has helped is I use SignTracker. I have certain things set up mostly as "reminders" and I try to fill in the times as I go. I know my printer takes about 15 minutes to print 4' so I can use that to account for print time. The Production Manager states what time the printer and cutter starts so that is helpful also.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

There are many ways to go about it, get an estimate program or spreadsheet or learn how to sell with ballpark pricing. I prefer the latter because it runs off the people that aren't serious. Sometimes people are only daydreaming and ask for prices because they might want to do something sometime in the next 10 years. You have to run through them quickly. Constantly pricing out jobs is a huge time suck. Also, track each and every job you do then utilize that data to determine pricing on common items.

 

[Ronda]

I do the exact same thing you do minus the embroidery. It would be a complete waste of time to do one order at a time so you can track each minute. Most days, I have files printing, vinyl or HTV cutting and I'm working on artwork - all at the same time. I write down times for artwork but it's nearly impossible to track due to the interruptions. I have customers coming in, the phone rings and there's nobody else here to so it falls on me. Anyone who says they can track each minute is lying. It's impossible when you work alone and have a storefront. Last week we had our high school basketball go to state. I had about 50 people in within 3 days for apparel and signs/banners. I On the third day I posted I was out of materials, I parked down the road and locked the door. I was not out of materials but I can't get my normal work done with 17 people popping in all day.

The one thing that has helped is I use SignTracker. I have certain things set up mostly as "reminders" and I try to fill in the times as I go. I know my printer takes about 15 minutes to print 4' so I can use that to account for print time. The Production Manager states what time the printer and cutter starts so that is helpful also.

View attachment 170221 View attachment 170222

I'll look into sign tracker. I am also dealing with massive price increases as I moved a ton of material with me. Now I am having to buy more and the prices have gone up substantially since 2019.

I guess I get frustrated because I'm not making money if the machines aren't running. But at some point you have to run invoices, pay sales taxes etc. The stuff that takes more time than it should, but that's called running a business.

I also have hay fields I have to water, cut and bale along with the critters that need to be taken care of.

I just get a little overwhelmed. I feel better knowing there are others like me!!!

 

[Stacey K]

I'll look into sign tracker. I am also dealing with massive price increases as I moved a ton of material with me. Now I am having to buy more and the prices have gone up substantially since 2019.

I guess I get frustrated because I'm not making money if the machines aren't running. But at some point you have to run invoices, pay sales taxes etc. The stuff that takes more time than it should, but that's called running a business.

I also have hay fields I have to water, cut and bale along with the critters that need to be taken care of.

I just get a little overwhelmed. I feel better knowing there are others like me!!!

One thing I've done is cut out as many small jobs as possible. Having a minimum order amount. I try not to schedule anything for Fridays, I use it to catch up, invoice, clean up the shop, "reset" for the next week.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I'll look into sign tracker. I am also dealing with massive price increases as I moved a ton of material with me. Now I am having to buy more and the prices have gone up substantially since 2019.

I guess I get frustrated because I'm not making money if the machines aren't running. But at some point you have to run invoices, pay sales taxes etc. The stuff that takes more time than it should, but that's called running a business.

I also have hay fields I have to water, cut and bale along with the critters that need to be taken care of.

I just get a little overwhelmed. I feel better knowing there are others like me!!!

You're not alone. At all.

 

[Humble PM]

One Man shops don't do quotes. One Man shops live by referral. I turn down more than I do.

I'm currently a one man shop in a larger (still small) organisation. I send quotes, using a home brewed FileMaker solution. For the last year, I've been trying to find time to update the system, so that I can take the quote>active>complete>invoice>payment>accounting software to an automated one click.

At the moment, we're using PayPal for invoiceing, and online order payments, but next month we shift our accounting software to Xero, and I'm hoping to be able to populate final invoice from FM to populate fields in Xero, to send a payment link to customers. This should simplify, and remove impediment to get the paperwork sent.

I keep a cheat sheet based on A1 sizing*, based on the prices on the database, of most common products/combinations we produce, and mentally add a PITA% after first communications, so I can offer a ballpark figure, while discussing orders. I send the quote straight away (unless further research needed), so I know what we talked about.

My son's setting up in business, and I was looking at QB for his accounts, but Xero seems to offer all he needs. He needs to be able to send quotes for jobs, track time for editing, send invoices, and pay taxes at end of year.

*A1 is 0.5m^2, fits on a 24" roll; A0 is 1.0m^2, fits on a 42" roll. I can comfortably get 4 A1s or 2A0's on an 8x4' sheet. Metric sizing is so much simpler for the mental arithmatic, but most sheet goods in UK come in 1220x2440, or 1250x2500, if you're lucky.

 

[Pauly]

Oops, can you give me an example of a system or process with say production of cut vinyl, or something you do. I have a tendency to "put out fires" so I jump from this to that. It all gets done but it could be smoother...
Thanks!

Workflows for specific tasks can be like
Always use these tools, we should do this task during these times, because of this reason.

Here's a general layout of a process for your whole day (keeping in mind, this is very general)

Get to work, switch all machines, let warm up.
check emails, get yesterdays work on the machines printing, etc.
now you'll have 30 min, 1 hour or more of "free time" because your equipment is running.
In this time you'll be hand finishing off other work, or attending a machine that needs constant human interaction.
Printers finish, load next jobs, or that's all for the day.
Start working on the unloaded jobs.
Get back to your emails, prepare files for the next day, send customer proofs, etc.
It's just an order of doing things where you can get the most out of your day.

For example, we put jobs right on the printer as soon as they're approved, they go on the next day.

Your workflow will be different, it's just maximizing what your shop can do.

 

[ddarlak]

I had processes and excel spreadsheets to quote/price jobs but I've been doing this so long I just look at it for a minute or a day and barf out a number that seems too high. Then I mull it over for a minute or another day and make it higher.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

You have billable time, and non billable time. Billable is when you are producing an order. Non billable is cleaning, paperwork, accounting etc. Take the total number of hours you work in a week and figure how much you're making an hour. If you're not happy with that number, raise your overall prices.

 

[Stacey K]

I changed my hours to 8-4 by appointment and I put window perf on the windows and door so nobody can see in - BEST THING I EVER DID.

I typically do not lock my door when I'm here but when I do, it's because I'm behind and I'm getting interrupted too much. A couple times a month I will lock the door, turn the music on, silence my phone and email and get working for a couple hours. Interruptions are terrible, they say it can take 23 minutes to get back on task. If I come in on a Saturday or Sunday I also lock the door. I've never had any commercial work come from a weekend, only people looking for a sticker or just being nosey.