Discussion Is it possible to succeed as a one man (woman) shop?

[Rosa La Rumorosa]

Hi folks! I'd like to hear what you think about this ideia, I don't have much experience, so there may be lots of issues that I'm not considering.
I live in a small town in Brazil and I sell custom decor products and outsource the jobs. Nobody in the town knows what I do, because I only sell online to people all over the country. The thing is besides the troubles I have sometimes with bad quality material, and errors in printing that delays the projects, sales have been decreasing in the last 5 months and I'm not sure this decoration thing is a good idea anymore

On the other hand, there's only a couple of sign shops in the town, they're always busy, and so are the dozens of sign shops in the near cities, where I outsource, they take about 4-5 days to deliver the jobs. This makes me think there may be room for a third sign shop in the town - me - and that signage market has infinite demands (sign shops are always busy plus I didn't see any of them closing the doors around here)

I can buy a machine (used, maybe brand new) and basic stuff to start with. But I don't wanna create a big company with employees, I'd like to do things all by myself (maybe have someone to do stuff like weeding and finishing) and limit my services to printing vinyl and banners, I still need to elaborate the idea and how to differentiate. I think merely having a brick and mortar studio, with a nice front signage will attract lots of potential costumers, because apparently, the other signs business don't market at all, their front and word of mouth keep a flow of clients.

What do you think? Do you all market your services? Or customers just keep coming out of word-of-mouth publicity and of seeing your front signage? Can one be successful in this business thinking small?

 

[ikarasu]

One man shops can succeed.

3-5 days turn around isn't bad, it's normal. We strive for 5, sometimes were quicker... Sometimes were later.

A lot of our customers can buy certain labels off uline for 1/10 the price we sell it for.. but they don't because they want a one stop shop. Just doing vinyl and banners limits you and your customer base because of that.

Cut vinyl you'd also need a cutter... 90% of what you print should be laminated... So you also need a laminator.

It's not as simple as buying a printing and pumping out money unfortunately! Doable, yes... But why not outsource "banners and vinyl" for awhile and see if the customer base is there for you.

 

[gnubler]

Why not more replies on this one? There's several one-person shops on the forum, I am one of them. Can one succeed? Still not sure yet, I'm only in 1 1/2 years and things seem to be getting harder as the business grows. My biggest challenge right now is having outgrown my tiny shop and being unable to find larger quarters, which is also preventing me from hiring someone part time.

 

[Z SIGNS]

Yes you can make it as a one man operation if....
Your design work outshines anyone near you. If your the best people will seek you out and line up at your door.
If you can provide a level of service that no one can compete with.

No you can't make it as a one man operation if....
Your just a replicator.
You can't make if you base your pricing on the cost of ink and substrate.

 

[The Hobbyist]

In order to have a one-person business, you must be all things at all times. You need to watch costs. You need to pay yourself a salary. You need to cover overhead costs. You need to have your finger on the pulse of society.

I have a nice home hobby workshop that is bigger and better equipped than most. STILL, I missed the boat when it came to the covid hoax. I have a 5x10 foot CNC router table. If I could have imagined that this "two weeks to slow the curve B.S." would turn into the monstrosity it is today, I could have made a bloody fortune creating the clear acrylic "feel good" sneeze guards that everyone erected in front of their cash registers all across 'Merica. I did not see that coming, so I did not prepare for it, and now I am offering to buy them from people who are taking them down, because I can use the material for other projects. Covid proved that you really CAN fool SOME of the people ALL of the time.

There is an old expression: "Why work for someone else 8 hours per day, when you can be your own boss and work 16 hours per day?" If you have all of your ducks in a row, and you know what you are doing, then you can make it as a self-employed sole proprietorship. Even with all of my tools and machines, I am failing, and I only have myself to blame. Well, I am not really failing. I am just not applying myself. I am not using the talents God gave me, to produce things. I am just not motivated to work for ME. I just don't care a lot about whether or not I am wealthy. I get by, and that is enough for me. If I had a wife, and kids, and a dog, etc., I would be motivated to be more productive and successful. As it stands, it doesn't matter on any given day, if I even get out of bed. I can still pay my bills.

Joe

 

[PatriotWorks]

What do you think? Do you all market your services? Or customers just keep coming out of word-of-mouth publicity and of seeing your front signage? Can one be successful in this business thinking small?

Never wondered if I would be successful.
We do zero marketing. All word of mouth.
We have no signage.
We live near a town with 1100 people.
We live in the biggest county in our state ... it has three traffic lights.
I started in the sign biz after retiring at 63.
No employees. My wife assists on installs, and special projects.
I do vinyl signs, banners and stickers.
From the day I started I've had money in my wallet and money in the bank.
If I was any busier, I'd need employees, hence my price goes up so my volume goes down.
I don't compete with any product that can be bought on line.
I loved the career I lived but the sign biz is nothing to sneeze at.
It's giving us financial freedom and it's flat fun.

Z Signs wrote: "If....Your design work outshines anyone near you. If you're the best people will seek you out and line up at your door."
100%
I think about the following every day:
• DO THE WORK!
• Return phone calls promptly.
• Keep your customer informed.
• Do what you say you are gonna do.
• When your customers don't do what they say they are gonna do, put them at the bottom of the list or fire them.
• Show up. On time. Clean. Prepared.
• Prior to going into business do at least one thing every day towards that business...next thing you know...you are in business.
• To me, the most important skill for any endeavor is using the tool between your ears.
You must eat, sleep and breath sign work.
I dream in Illustrator and Photoshop.
My neck gets sore looking at signs while driving.
My idea of fun is learning more about Photoshop and Illustrator.
Oh....and buy a full version of Astute Graphics.

 

[printhog]

40 years of being in this trade, long before computers did the work. My first decade was hand lettering for myself and commercial shops, several of the best shops in the US. 3 decades of self-employment since. So yes, a one-person shop can succeed. IF you love the work, truly love it, and IF you're willing to put in the time to learn and constantly improve. You will need to invest in the newer better tech and skills to put you ahead of other shops. The baseline I've seen for successful sign shops is a simple ratio of full-service sign shops to the local population. The ratio is one shop for every 25,000 people in a balanced economy (a county, city, or town with a vibrant commercial district, some warehousing, and growth from construction). Bedroom communities in suburbs are very different.. one shop for every 100,000.

Put another way - you want to have no less than 500 businesses within 5 miles of your shop, and you want to be at least 5 miles from any other shop. In the US, each business spends about $100 annual average over 5 years. Embroidery, wearables, and ad novelties (cups, mugs, fobs, pens, etc) can be an entirely second operation that equals the sign operation and compliments it at the time of sale, and that can soften the ratios in your favor if you cant find a location that meets the 1:25,000 ratio.

 

[printhog]

Never wondered if I would be successful.
We do zero marketing. All word of mouth.
We have no signage.
We live near a town with 1100 people.
We live in the biggest county in our state ... it has three traffic lights.
I started in the sign biz after retiring at 63.
No employees. My wife assists on installs, and special projects.
I do vinyl signs, banners and stickers.
From the day I started I've had money in my wallet and money in the bank.
If I was any busier, I'd need employees, hence my price goes up so my volume goes down.
I don't compete with any product that can be bought on line.
I loved the career I lived but the sign biz is nothing to sneeze at.
It's giving us financial freedom and it's flat fun.

Z Signs wrote: "If....Your design work outshines anyone near you. If you're the best people will seek you out and line up at your door."
100%
I think about the following every day:
• DO THE WORK!
• Return phone calls promptly.
• Keep your customer informed.
• Do what you say you are gonna do.
• When your customers don't do what they say they are gonna do, put them at the bottom of the list or fire them.
• Show up. On time. Clean. Prepared.
• Prior to going into business do at least one thing every day towards that business...next thing you know...you are in business.
• To me, the most important skill for any endeavor is using the tool between your ears.
You must eat, sleep and breath sign work.
I dream in Illustrator and Photoshop.
My neck gets sore looking at signs while driving.
My idea of fun is learning more about Photoshop and Illustrator.
Oh....and buy a full version of Astute Graphics

Never wondered if I would be successful.
We do zero marketing. All word of mouth.
We have no signage.
We live near a town with 1100 people.
We live in the biggest county in our state ... it has three traffic lights.
I started in the sign biz after retiring at 63.
No employees. My wife assists on installs, and special projects.
I do vinyl signs, banners and stickers.
From the day I started I've had money in my wallet and money in the bank.
If I was any busier, I'd need employees, hence my price goes up so my volume goes down.
I don't compete with any product that can be bought on line.
I loved the career I lived but the sign biz is nothing to sneeze at.
It's giving us financial freedom and it's flat fun.

Z Signs wrote: "If....Your design work outshines anyone near you. If you're the best people will seek you out and line up at your door."
100%
I think about the following every day:
• DO THE WORK!
• Return phone calls promptly.
• Keep your customer informed.
• Do what you say you are gonna do.
• When your customers don't do what they say they are gonna do, put them at the bottom of the list or fire them.
• Show up. On time. Clean. Prepared.
• Prior to going into business do at least one thing every day towards that business...next thing you know...you are in business.
• To me, the most important skill for any endeavor is using the tool between your ears.
You must eat, sleep and breath sign work.
I dream in Illustrator and Photoshop.
My neck gets sore looking at signs while driving.
My idea of fun is learning more about Photoshop and Illustrator.
Oh....and buy a full version of Astute Graphics.

^^TRUTH! Too many people dont love the trade, its justa machine that cuts stuff.. and few look at the signs to figure out how theyre made, or why they look good.

 

[Vassago]

You can succeed as a one man/woman band, but there are issues..

You'll end up running around and not necessarily focusing on what needs to be done, rather one what you think is next.

For signs you might get asked for installation - so that then becomes another issue.

It all depends on how much you want to work.. 8hrs a day or 16hrs a day.

Focus on simple things you can do without thinking about, with readily available material with a good market.. Then go from there.

Read a few books about Lean Six Sigma - It gives you great pointers about how to make things easier (process wise) . Work smarter.. Not harder.

But as always.. Ask questions - there will always be someone who's encountered the same issues.. Lol

 

[kcollinsdesign]

I did it for a number of years. It worked out fine, but that was before you could get free layouts and discount prices by shopping on the internet.

I am a nationally known sign designer with multiple awards. I have a degree in fine art from the University of Illinois. I have helped hundreds of businesses create their brand identity during the thirty-five years I have been doing this professionally. I came up using brushes for lettering, pinstriping, and using an airbrush. In addition, I have been using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop since they came out. People came to me for the unique art.

Bottom line, unless you were a multi-million dollar electric shop, being a good artist was a requirement to be in the sign business.

Today, not so much. Anybody with a computer can cobble together a decent looking sign. Maybe not to my standards, but it satisfies their standards, gives them a chance to be somewhat creative, and avoids the expense of a professional artist. In addition, vinyl signs, banners, and stickers can be found dirt cheap on the internet (most vendors thave their own free online design tool).

You can still make it as a graphic designer, but your best success for that would be joining a studio with a strong support staff and a deep portfolio. I wouldn't want to go it alone these days. As far as the sign business, I think it would be even harder to go it alone. There is hardly a market for stuff that I could do by myself back in the day. I make the bulk of my money from installation, maintenance and repair. The occasional chance to exercise my creative chops comes up, but not nearly as often as it used to. If you really want to be an artist, look into screen printing or decorative murals. If you want to be in the sign business, buy a crane.

 

[CanuckSigns]

One of the things I love about this industry is it is so different, being a "sign shop" means any number of things. There are shops pumping out banners and coroplast all day long, and there are shops making works of art, and everything in between.

We specialise in a few niche markets of the sign industry and as a result we do quite a bit of work for other sign shops looking to outsource these products, as a result we see quite a few sign shops and interact with their owners, I'm always interested in seeing how they setup their shops and businesses, no 2 are ever alike.

You can be successful on your own, if you learn to avoid the time wasting traps like quotes that go nowhere, installs that take you away from more profitable work etc.

 

[PatriotWorks]

Today, not so much. Anybody with a computer can cobble together a decent looking sign.

I learned basics from somebody like you. A good friend and a real live Norman Rockwell quality artist. He can paint anything lights out fast in unbelievable quality.
He spent his career in the sign biz. Health issues compelled him to give me his 30" Sign Warehouse cutter/plotter and a very old windows box and awful monitor.
He hated doing cut vinyl signs much preferring paint. It wasn't long before I hated doing one color cut vinyl signs too. I had 20 years prior experience in Photoshop.....just a hobby, something I enjoyed doing and for me, at least, it was the perfect segue into the sign biz.
I invested in machines and product.
As a former maritime sailor & tug skipper, paint and I don't get along.
What I found odd was my gifted sign friend was a virtual Luddite when it came to digital design.
He calls on me frequently to turn his sketches into something digital.
Where I had none of his skills mixing paint, he had none of my skills in the digital realm.
Regardless....He warned about the new sign guy's downfall who attempts to make every sign a Rembrandt.
He was right. I made it past that stage.
He also warned customers will want bad signs. They do!
He also said customers won't know why a sign is not effective but they won't come back.
What I like best about sign buying on the internet is many of my customers have ordered 4x8' banners using their business card or 5x7' jpegs as artwork only to unroll their banner and find a perfect 3.5"x2" dead center or a banner full of wonderful colored squares. They got a bargain! Something they can't use at a price they can't refuse.
;-)

 

[bob]

Back in the pre-vinyl days the saying went "Inside of a one man sign shop is a starving sign painter". True at the time and perhaps even more so today. Not only must you become an all-around vinyl wrangler but a digital pressman as well. The latter is far more art than science and usually takes someone upwards of a year to get a usable handle on it. Along with lots of wasted ink and media. All that and still produce sufficient work to keep you out of debtor's prison. In the old days all you had to master was a box of paints and brushes and you accomplished that via apprenticeships. Common to both ages, you have to be able to lay out a sign. Signs are laid out, not designed. Those that claim to 'design' signs are, for the most part, affected dilettantes.

To sum up; you have to master your tools and produce work. If you can do that then you can make a modest living. Seldom anything more than that. Some do, most do not.