What is your shop rate?
How much time did you spend on this job including sales time, job setup and production time, travel time, installation time and miscellaneous time?
For me:
Discussing with the client: .25-.5 hours
Code research. Layout, Send, Modify, Approve: .75-1.25
Cut, Weed, Mask:.5
Material Costs: 20-30.00 (retail price for materials, not what you paid for them)
Drive and install: .75-1.25 (10 minute drive)
Misc Admin cost (like getting it in the books, ordering materials): .25
at $65.00 an hour (in my opinion: the lowest your rate should be to be profitable) it's between $182.00 - $241.25
My lowest rate for chump signage is $75.00 an hour and I'm at $217.50 - $276.25
On the layout you are getting all kinds of ideas on what you did wrong.
A few things I would have done was up-sell to a logo.
Did they have a typeface already or did you "logo-ize" this layout?
AVOID OUTLINING COPY TO MAKE IT LEGIBLE: In my opinion, in most cases, it makes it harder
to read and it's not attractive.
You have other options.
Now normally you use white copy on glass but with the blinds closed, it may not work.
Would like to see this with the blinds closed to see if those colors work. I imagine it
would still need more to make it pop
One way is to use a solid color background and add your copy to that. and get your copy closer together.