I inherited a sign shop that I want to keep.

[strypguy]

I've had good luck outsourcing some of my jobs to www.signs2trade.com. John

 

[chester215]

Another plug for Signs2Trade, they have always been great.

 

[spectrum maine]

probably the easiest to get the ball rolling would be storefront window graphics & commercial truck lettering. word of advice.... strive to be a good designer. offer your product in 3 tier pricing. so the customer can see first hand what the $400 job vs. a $600 job.you would be suprised who chooses the more expensive options. get a signwriters pricing guide & be no more than 20% below that. i have been making signs for 30 years & every year it seems to get more competitive & cut throat. usually the cheapest shop around produces crap work which fails quickly, looks horrible & goes quickly out of business. learn to do beautiful dimensional signs which will seperate you from the cookie cutter quick stick franchise sticker jockeys.

 

[Jamie Levey]

In short, my fiancé had worked designing and making signs since he was a teenager. It was really his first love. He worked 2 jobs for year trying to get the money together so he could have his very own shop. He finally did it but was only open a week before he unexpectedly passed away in September 2016.

I locked the doors on the sign shop until the beginning of November because I just wasn't in a place to go up there. Well, I pulled myself together and decided that I wanted to do this for him and for me. I wasn't going to let the sign shop go that easily. I do enjoy what little bit I know and he had really hoped that one day our boys would have an interest in it.

So, fast forward to almost February, I have somehow kept the sign shop open. I have made a lot of mistakes and wasted a lot of vinyl but I have made it. haha.

In truth, the shop has saved me from sitting at home and feeling down. It has given me something to do and look forward to so I am determined to keep it open. No amount of anything will talk me out of it, trust me, people have tried. haha

So here is where I need advice:

question number one- Where do ya'll find help? I posted an ad on craigslist and got zero hits.

question number two- Are vinyl signs going out? Another sign shop in town is slowly trying to get out of doing them because they think they are on there way out. They are trying to do more design for websites.

question number three- What are some resources for learning more about application? I do need help in that area. I don't need as much help in the design area but did buy the veraworks dvd and flexisign dvd to learn more. I don't feel comfortable asking the sign shop that I mentioned above for any help. We do have another shop in town that I would love to learn more from as they're the best. I offered to come work without pay and he wasn't interested at all.

question number four- how do you advertise for your shop?

****Any other advice is welcomed and appreciated. ****

Congratulations on what you've done so far! It can be very difficult to find "good" help, but I think that's the key for you. There's nothing wrong with hiring someone with lots of experience to help train you, the employer. Regarding the other sign shop, if they turned you down for help, they certainly are NOT "the best." Any true sign professional would be more than happy to help. I have been in this industry for 25 years, owned 2 successful sign companies and a consulting business. My area is very competitive and I am friend with most of the local guys. It's how you get business done right!

Find a good employee, pay them well, and explain what you're looking for. Learn as fast as you can, but understand that even after 25 years, you'll learn something new every day. Don't try to do everything...start small and be the best at it! Advertise on Facebook...you can pay $50 and hit an audience of 3000 people or more. Keep it real, let people know what you're trying to do, and stay true to your word. You'll do great! Honestly, if you just call people back, you'll be better than 50% of the companies out there!

Good luck and please feel free to call me if I can be of any help. Us vinyl jockeys gotta stick together!

Peace, Love, & Plotters!

Jamie
386.281.5164

 

[JStein]

I've been at a sign shop for just over 2 years now. I was hired through a friend at the art center that is located here in town. It is a small city and the art center is the best place to find people with artistic ability.

I'd search and see what your local art center says when you tell them what you are looking for.

Even if they don't know someone with experience they will know someone that can learn at least the application part.

Hope you find what you are looking for.

 

[Rick Magley]

In short, my fiancé had worked designing and making signs since he was a teenager. It was really his first love. He worked 2 jobs for year trying to get the money together so he could have his very own shop. He finally did it but was only open a week before he unexpectedly passed away in September 2016.

I locked the doors on the sign shop until the beginning of November because I just wasn't in a place to go up there. Well, I pulled myself together and decided that I wanted to do this for him and for me. I wasn't going to let the sign shop go that easily. I do enjoy what little bit I know and he had really hoped that one day our boys would have an interest in it.

So, fast forward to almost February, I have somehow kept the sign shop open. I have made a lot of mistakes and wasted a lot of vinyl but I have made it. haha.

In truth, the shop has saved me from sitting at home and feeling down. It has given me something to do and look forward to so I am determined to keep it open. No amount of anything will talk me out of it, trust me, people have tried. haha

So here is where I need advice:

question number one- Where do ya'll find help? I posted an ad on craigslist and got zero hits.

question number two- Are vinyl signs going out? Another sign shop in town is slowly trying to get out of doing them because they think they are on there way out. They are trying to do more design for websites.

question number three- What are some resources for learning more about application? I do need help in that area. I don't need as much help in the design area but did buy the veraworks dvd and flexisign dvd to learn more. I don't feel comfortable asking the sign shop that I mentioned above for any help. We do have another shop in town that I would love to learn more from as they're the best. I offered to come work without pay and he wasn't interested at all.

question number four- how do you advertise for your shop?

****Any other advice is welcomed and appreciated. ****

I appreciate your story and your pain of wasting lots of vinyl.
I think the web is the new money maker and its a lot easier, but signs won't go away.
I'm a designer for a subsidiary of Hallmark and recently bought a closed sign shop because I wanted my own business. I've never worked with any of this before and I'm sure I've wasted at least as much vinyl as you have. I would like to find someone to ask questions, too. I think although this sign shop is known for large signs, I have to step away from it because I just don't have the equipment to install or maintain them. My 54" vinyl cutter quit after 3 jobs on it and Sign Warehouse (where it came from) offered no help at all except that I needed to send it back to them for a new $1000 part (plus labor) that may or may not fix it. Can you imagine the expense? Anyway, why don't you form a network for people in our spot? Put me on the list! I need advice too.

 

[savannah08]

That's a

I appreciate your story and your pain of wasting lots of vinyl.
I think the web is the new money maker and its a lot easier, but signs won't go away.
I'm a designer for a subsidiary of Hallmark and recently bought a closed sign shop because I wanted my own business. I've never worked with any of this before and I'm sure I've wasted at least as much vinyl as you have. I would like to find someone to ask questions, too. I think although this sign shop is known for large signs, I have to step away from it because I just don't have the equipment to install or maintain them. My 54" vinyl cutter quit after 3 jobs on it and Sign Warehouse (where it came from) offered no help at all except that I needed to send it back to them for a new $1000 part (plus labor) that may or may not fix it. Can you imagine the expense? Anyway, why don't you form a network for people in our spot? Put me on the list! I need advice too.

That's a really great idea!! I'll send you a message.