Making a transition

[ProSignTN]

Foot traffic will step on you.

 

[GaSouthpaw]

Best of luck to you!

 

[Joe House]

You'll be fine Stacy. As one who was pushed into a transition recently, once you're on the other side, you'll be relieved.

 

[Stacey K]

Watching my MIL wait too long to get her knees replaced and now is in too frail of health to do anything about it, has been difficult. She can barely walk. Her travels are limited to her recliner, room, and the kitchen (all with a walker and has to often pause even on these short trips). While my friend's mother had both of her knees done when she was 60 and is nearly pain free (about 10 years later). The difference is startling. Although her life is somewhat limited, no more strenuous hiking, she is able to get around easily. I would caution against avoidance. Working from home will be a relief for your knees and I wish you all the best Stacey!

Yes! My mom is 75 and should have had her knees replaced at 60. She gets cortisone shots but they only work for so long.

My sister and I both have had bad knees since high school. We used to do a lot of water skiiing, knee boarding, tennis and running - none are good for the knees. We both transitioned from tennis to pickleball now LOL I am trying to hold off on getting them done as long as the shots work and I do some exercises. I'd rather get them done than not continue being active with playing pickleball, etc.

 

[thesignpost]

Yep, I am doing the same thing, I opened my shop 26 years ago and decided to grow my business and compete with the bigger shops, I did it for a while and about 8 years ago I had a scare, thought I was having a heart attack! Raced to the hospital only to find out that it was a panic attack, and it was because of friggin stress. That was a wakeup call for me. Fast forward to about a year ago, I decided to get out of my current shop space and just slow down. I turned 60 last December and thought its time to slow it down. My lease is up at the end of June. I was reluctant to do the move, thinking I needed a store front. But after a couple of you doing the same thing, I have been inspired to do so. Thank you for this post! Its time to create the ultimate side hustle, Good luck to all of you!!

 

[gnubler]

Yes I do have a garden! I'm certainly excited to be able to take a break during the day and do some gardening!

It's so important for good health, both physical and mental. Sometimes I lock up my shop in the middle of the day and go walk around the lake, or go home to take a nap. One person can only do so much. Some people are absolutely insane, like calling over and over because they're reaching voicemail, yet they don't leave a message. That happened to me recently and I sent that person on his way because of that. Not interested in working with lunatics.

I'm going to closed to the public next week, my door will be locked with a note telling people to call for an appointment.

 

[Boudica]

Gardening is also very good for you when you get your hands dirty. The nutrients in the soil are good for your skin, and with regular exposure, the nutrients and minerals seep into your body. I read that somewhere, and it makes sense.

 

[Gino]

Ya know, that happens to me later in the summer. I eat so many tomatoes, they grow like crazy down around the septic system.

 

[Stacey K]

Ya know, that happens to me later in the summer. I eat so many tomatoes, they grow like crazy down around the septic system.

I just ate the last of my tomatoes from last season! I'm going to plant this weekend...at least I'm going to try...I will need a stool since I can't bend my leg very well LOL

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Another thread that has ended in talking about taking shits. We are a predictable crowd

 

[Boudica]

Another thread that has ended in talking about taking shits. We are a predictable crowd

you started it....

 

[Gettin'By]

Consistency is a key part of quality.

 

[binki]

I've done a lot of thinking the last couple years and have wanted to transition from having a storefront to working from home and cutting way back on the products I offer. I'm 50, female and single and I own the building my shop is in. There is an attached 2 family home and storage shed which I rent out. Over the last couple years it's been getting difficult for me to work so many hours, maintain my home and maintain the rental/shop/shed. My knees now need cortisone shots so I can climb ladders and kneel down. I recently injured my leg and had to cancel a number of installations. Anyway - I have a private buyer for my shop and if that doesn't work out - which I think it will - then I will list the property. I will move my equipment to my 3 car garage - of course I'll need to make adjustments to my garage for heat/cooling/humidity etc. I've had the property 8 years and should get more than double what I paid for it, so not too bad. I didn't stick a terrible amount of money into it, mostly cosmetic. And of course the take breaks of having a rental property....I'll leave it at that LOL

I think one of the things that has become a huge point of frustration for me having a storefront is I'm in a heavy traffic area. I get many people per day stopping in looking for 1 sticker or 1 shirt and wasting a great deal of my time. Can I lock the door? Yes, and I do lock the door sometimes. With my recent injury, I've been doing everything from my couch and only going in for a couple hours a day to print, or do production work. It was a real wake up call as to how much time I have been wasting over the years having this storefront. I'm almost getting my job done in half the time. I understand there's downsides to not having a storefront but I do have a large enough client base where I'm not too worried. I also ended up by accident gaining a crap load of higher end race cars because my son started racing and the local car lettering guy is retiring this year. He was doing 100+ cars a year. I started 18 years ago lettering race cars so yes, I know how these people operate. And- I'm financially at a point where I don't need to work 80 hours a week anymore and I can turn down jobs I don't want to do and focus on the jobs that make money and the customers who are nice to work with.

So anyway - a combo of age, health and general frustration with walk ins have led me this decision and I'm excited about it! I guess it's called downsizing LOL

We did the same thing and are only keeping our biggest customers and outsourcing a lot of work. We are also selling stock products online. Our way to retirement

 

[pro-UP]

Yes! My mom is 75 and should have had her knees replaced at 60. She gets cortisone shots but they only work for so long.

My sister and I both have had bad knees since high school. We used to do a lot of water skiiing, knee boarding, tennis and running - none are good for the knees. We both transitioned from tennis to pickleball now LOL I am trying to hold off on getting them done as long as the shots work and I do some exercises. I'd rather get them done than not continue being active with playing pickleball, etc.

I have heard about pickleball, even did a sign project for a pickleball facility and I still have no idea what it is, lol. I'm glad the shots are helping and hope you are able to stay active. One thing that my friend's mother also did was made a massive change to how she ate. She has a high veggie & fruit meal plan, little to no carbs, no white sugar (honey and maple syrup for sweeteners), and very little meat (a lot of Mediterranean and Asian dishes if I recall correctly). I don't know if this is causation or correlation, but it does seem to be helping her. She even cut out dairy (which is almost every processed food I learned).

 

[Boudica]

I haven't played pickleball since gym class in highschool, but I think it's a mix between tennis and ping pong.

 

[Gettin'By]

I have RA and lost alot of weight with Mediterranean and asian style dishes. Dinner also got alot faster to make. Frozen falafel in the nuke box on a salad with tzatziki and flat bread. Sometimes some chicken. Veggie noodle bowls with napa cabbage, onions, and whatever else I want to throw in. Just boil the noodles and toss the greens in a large noodle bowl. Sometimes some chicken or pork lightly sir fried. Put the noods in and pour some of the water in, then sauce to taste. Quick, easy, low mess to clean up however you go about it. All of my joints and my back felt better. My cholesterol came down to normal as well. My doctor is quite happy as well!

 

[jdwilliams1]

Congrats Stacy. You can make a damn good living not having a storefront. I have way more business than I could handle. Do I occasionally get a call from someone that wants to stop by and sit down to draw something up, only to find out I don't have a store and they go somewhere else? Yes..... but never a real customer. Being a small shop from home is a millions times more efficient and cheaper. I have a three-car garage that is heated and a/c and it's plenty of space for a one man operation. I think you're going to like the transition. I hate hearing about people being so overworked... life's short and needs balance

I see several menton they are getting away from a walk in store front. I assume then most of you are just selling online? Or is it local? How do you market locally or only and allow the customer to see the sign material options. Was just curious

 

[Boudica]

I see several menton they are getting away from a walk in store front. I assume then most of you are just selling online? Or is it local? How do you market locally or only and allow the customer to see the sign material options. Was just curious

You quoted Tex.... his business is an anomaly to most of us. But that's a good question...

 

[DL Signs]

I think you'll enjoy it...
After I retired, even though I was just doing freelance designing after that, I loved the home working environment.
At least you don't have a spouse who got so spoiled having the house to themselves that they'll send ya' back out into the cold cruel world

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I see several menton they are getting away from a walk in store front. I assume then most of you are just selling online? Or is it local? How do you market locally or only and allow the customer to see the sign material options. Was just curious

Not selling online. Not everyone needs to come into a sign shop to make a purchase. I like the companies that e-mail me what they need, I make it / order it and install. If they need somewhere to go into, their not the fit for me. #1 is repeats. #2 would be Google. I'd say 90% of my work is repeat clients. They know what to expect and how I operate... I know what they expect, and it's all good man.