AirheadGarage
New Member
Hi Guys and Gals!
I am so glad I found this forum, from what I've read so far this will be an invaluable resource to me in pursuing my goals. You see, I've been working in the corporate world for the past 6 years. I started fresh right out of College where I graduated with a degree in graphic design. I was fortunate during my education to have a teacher who very much pushed traditional design practices and hand techniques. I have supplemented this in the past 6 years working at a large ecommerce network of sites, so I feel I have a great range of techniques and skills. Also during my time in college I worked at a local sign shop that was second generation and had been in town for decades.
I remember every day going to work thinking "don't loose a finger today..." Well I didn't and the experiences with new media and tools is something I will carry with me forever. In a funny turn of events the owner sold the business to the parents of one of my coworkers. I took that opportunity to discuss with them and it brought back a ton of good memories. They wanted me to come aboard as like the main manager and I could see they would eventually want to sell me the business. I declined as I saw this as really just making them money, deciding if I was going to do this I would do it on my own terms.
Some time has passed, but I've gotten the entrepreneurial bug and am thinking more seriously about quitting my nice, well-paid, cushy job in cubicle land to sweat it out with ink and transfer tape. I'm half excited, half terrified. Really looking forward to digging in more here to see if this is really something I want to do.
One question I had was in purchasing equipment. I know there are a ton of options, but in general is it a good idea to buy an entire shop worth of equipment if available in my area? Seems like a good way to save money on all the odds and ends and get a set of equipment already working as a system, albeit not my own system. The alternative being buying pieces one-by-one, either new or used. But my first thought in buying new equipment is to get something cheap at first and upgrade. That seems a bit risky too as I might waste my time fooling with inferior stuff, only holding back my company's momentum.
Any good threads to read at this point about the above?
I am so glad I found this forum, from what I've read so far this will be an invaluable resource to me in pursuing my goals. You see, I've been working in the corporate world for the past 6 years. I started fresh right out of College where I graduated with a degree in graphic design. I was fortunate during my education to have a teacher who very much pushed traditional design practices and hand techniques. I have supplemented this in the past 6 years working at a large ecommerce network of sites, so I feel I have a great range of techniques and skills. Also during my time in college I worked at a local sign shop that was second generation and had been in town for decades.
I remember every day going to work thinking "don't loose a finger today..." Well I didn't and the experiences with new media and tools is something I will carry with me forever. In a funny turn of events the owner sold the business to the parents of one of my coworkers. I took that opportunity to discuss with them and it brought back a ton of good memories. They wanted me to come aboard as like the main manager and I could see they would eventually want to sell me the business. I declined as I saw this as really just making them money, deciding if I was going to do this I would do it on my own terms.
Some time has passed, but I've gotten the entrepreneurial bug and am thinking more seriously about quitting my nice, well-paid, cushy job in cubicle land to sweat it out with ink and transfer tape. I'm half excited, half terrified. Really looking forward to digging in more here to see if this is really something I want to do.
One question I had was in purchasing equipment. I know there are a ton of options, but in general is it a good idea to buy an entire shop worth of equipment if available in my area? Seems like a good way to save money on all the odds and ends and get a set of equipment already working as a system, albeit not my own system. The alternative being buying pieces one-by-one, either new or used. But my first thought in buying new equipment is to get something cheap at first and upgrade. That seems a bit risky too as I might waste my time fooling with inferior stuff, only holding back my company's momentum.
Any good threads to read at this point about the above?
