Making any money working for someone?

[Zx360]

half the time I'm always looking at an employee and saying gee wouldn't it be great to be an employee leave work and you leave it there. Working for yourself is a lifestyle choice.

I don't necessarily agree with this statement. Not every employee walks out at the end of the day and leaves it at wor.
im strictly an employee of the small shop I work at. I often bring work home with me to help get the job done. I don't work my "hours" meaning, 8-4 m-f and leave. I often come in early and am the last one to leave. I work holidays and weekends to get work done for our customers. Im always researching new products and equipment on my own time in order to help the shop advance and grow.

Not all employees are just around to collect a paycheck and leave.

 

[FS-Keith]

I don't necessarily agree with this statement. Not every employee walks out at the end of the day and leaves it at wor.
im strictly an employee of the small shop I work at. I often bring work home with me to help get the job done. I don't work my "hours" meaning, 8-4 m-f and leave. I often come in early and am the last one to leave. I work holidays and weekends to get work done for our customers. Im always researching new products and equipment on my own time in order to help the shop advance and grow.

Not all employees are just around to collect a paycheck and leave.

Not every one but the good majority are as he described. I applaud you though, and anyone who is an employee and on this site. It shows that you actually give a **** enough to try and better yourselves in this trade.

 

[fresh]

this thread makes me feel much better about how little we make as sign shop owners. at one point we were paying someone more than we pay ourselves, but she made WAY too many mistakes to keep around, and we'll probably never hire anyone at that rate again.

$70K is a lot for an average sized shop because I feel like there just isn't that many opportunities for the huge profit margins needed to maintain that salary. The big jobs we get are time consuming, and even though we get a nice fat check at the end of the project, very little of it goes into our (or our employee's) pockets.

 

[Jwalk]

I don't necessarily agree with this statement. Not every employee walks out at the end of the day and leaves it at wor.
im strictly an employee of the small shop I work at. I often bring work home with me to help get the job done. I don't work my "hours" meaning, 8-4 m-f and leave. I often come in early and am the last one to leave. I work holidays and weekends to get work done for our customers. Im always researching new products and equipment on my own time in order to help the shop advance and grow.

Not all employees are just around to collect a paycheck and leave.

Good on you for your tenacity.

Do you get paid for your extra time, when you come in early and leave late. If not come work for me.

Some where there is a line. For instance Im out of pocket 7k for a job outstanding if you were my employee would you take that hit if we dont get paid. ( by the way I am getting paid just a question ). No you wouldn't, and you shouldn't. All I'm saying is there are pluses and minuses. Simple.

Or you can look at it like this .. ( this might get some blood boiling and or might get quoted on this)

Two young people making their way in the world. One from a dirt poor family , one from a middle class well to do. Both are doing exactly the same in job and income and situation. Paying their "own" way, no suckling of the teat, no help from mammy and pappy. Both fall on hard times and run out of money, zero zilch. No opportunities. One ends up in a homeless shelter one ends up in pappies basement. There is a difference.
I know theres a lot of holes in this but going for dramatic effect

On another topic there is nothing like a great and reliable employee who knows what hes doing

 

[Billct2]

I think that salary is out of reach for most sign shops. (I'm leaving out the big electric & outdoor companies).
But if you are skilled and find a shop where you can make a decent paycheck in 40 hours, along with some benefits you can always do a little freelance for some extra cash. (I'll get slammed by some shop owners here who think this is a conflict of interest). When I was an employee it was nice to have a few side jobs on the weekend for cash, only jobs I felt like doing that were fun, like race cars and boats. Of course that was when all you needed was a sign kit to make a living.
Or you can go out on your own and work 60-80 hours a week for about the same money,at least for the first few years, if you're lucky, and that is is you actually survive...

 

[lgroth]

Aside from the usual suspects (doctors, lawyers, etc...) there aren't many, if any jobs you can make that much where I'm at, no sign or graphics shops big enough for that. I sometimes make more as a weekend musician than I do here at work... Yes, I could almost go make more flippin' burgers, but I love what I do

 

[J Hill Designs]

There are quite a few occasions where I wish I worked at a gas station so that I could just leave and be done. I always bring worries home with me, especially right before a big install etc.

But there have been many times when I woke up to an 'aha' moment, concerning a worry I was having, because I bring it home with me.

 

[Jwalk]

I also thought of another analogy. This by no means is a comparison, but to highlight the difference between employees and owners.

A general and his troops, they all fight will valor. The general takes his decision home with him.

I alway notice a difference between a owner and employee. By that I mean people not in my circle. Owners always seem to have many things in common and employees have the same.

This is only a personal experience every employee I have had in some form always falls short of the glory. I suppose I do too.

 

[Gino]

It's all relative. No difference between owners, employees, delivery people, ditch diggers or anyone else, unless you collect from the government and just take a check for nothing.

The only difference is how many commas are in front of the decimal point. The more commas, the more headaches, more taxes, more burdens compared to to the other people. Y'all have the same problems to deal with, just on different levels.

 

[CanuckSigns]

This is not an industry where you are going to get rich, either as an owner or an employee. However I have noticed that quite a few of my friends and acquaintances absolutely HATE their job.

I can honestly say that I really enjoy my job, sure there are times I wish certain clients would leave me alone, or that they would all listen to my professional opinion, but I really do enjoy what I do and enjoy coming in every day.

The nice thing about this industry is that every day is something new, unless you are a strictly a vinyl only shop, just this last week I made:

- A custom donor recognition wall with maple wood, tempered glass and brushed aluminum
- A hanging sign on the side of a microbrewery, which we were given a fair amount of creative control over
- Wrapped the walls of a children's playroom in a hospital with a colourful mural
- Currently making about 500 ADA wayfinding signs for an apartment complex

On top of the day to day stuff, This type of work really helps to recharge the batteries and keep you motivated, you can't put a price on that!

 

[Bogie1of8]

Whether you're an owner or employee neither one is going to make much unless you have a great team. As a sole proprietor you may make more but as stated above more head ache and more risk. But then you're really just building a job. If you want to build a successful company it's going to take really good employees with good systems utilizing good equipment. If you can MANAGE that you will make some coin. My goal is to get where the company makes me money and I'm not here. That will require some dedicated employees that make more than 70K.

Also, the dollar amount will be relative to the market. In our small city the median house is $150k vs 300 miles away in Seattle where the median house is $500k.