Moving on up.

[Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?]

Jan. 2012 - We started our sign and screen printing business with a cheap import vinyl cutter and a heavily used Lawson 4 color/4 station manual screen printing press. We even dried our first t-shirts using nothing more than a flash dryer.
Spring 2012 - Upgraded our vinyl cutter to a Roland GX-24. Purchased a used M&R Economax dryer for screen printing.
Fall 2012 - Fell into a good opportunity and decided to relocate our business to a small town 30 minutes away, but 15 minutes from the nearest city. Doubled our space in the process to 1700 sq. ft.
Spring 2014 - Upgraded our screen printing press to an M&R Sidewinder 6 color/4 station manual press.
As of last week - Upgraded our screen printing press to an M&R Diamondback S 8 color/10 station automatic press. Upgraded our dryer to an M&R Fusion. Adding a Mimaki CJV150-130 54" solvent printer/cutter to our production setup. More than doubled our space to 3,800 sq. ft.

It's pretty exciting and crazy to see how much our business has grown in the last 4 years. We are incorporating high speed production equipment in an attempt to keep everything a two man operation, but only time will tell how that works out. I would like to hear the pros and cons from others who have experienced this kind of growth and any advice is much appreciated.

 

[Jwalk]

Sounds like your doing real well. Congratulations. I am growing as well but at a slower rate partly by design I'm sure. One thing that really helped me so far is my vinyl cutter gcc expert 24, I couldn't live without that thing now.

Good luck on all your achievements.

 

[FatCat]

Started my business in 2009, rented a 400 s.f. corner of a print shop that wasn't being used. Had a used Roland CX-300 cutter, a mac computer, some software and built a 4x8 work table and bought a cutting mat. Spent most of my time making banners, signs and vehicle graphics using only cut vinyl. (Yeah I look back and laugh now.) Found a shop in Indiana who I sent my printing to, and after subbing out work for about 8-10 months I bought a Mutoh Valuejet 1204 in 2010, added a US Tech laminator later that year and then invested in a new Summa for contour cutting in 2011. Continued to grow, took a little more space from the print shop and another 400 s.f. and made that work by myself using a couple subs till 2012 where I brought in my first employee, added a mutoh 1604 and all kinds of hand tools and wood working stuff to start making my own "real" signs in earnest. Fired my first employee in the summer of 2013, brought in Steve (still with me today) who had a background in art and illustration, very creative person and we seemed to gel pretty good. Print shop was dying, and at this point I was paying 1/2 the rent for about 1/3 the space. Last year the print shop owner told me he was going to retire, so I hired an office manager last fall who has been nothing short of a miracle and keeps us on track and also is a book-keeper. Took over rent of the whole 2500 sq. ft. shop end of last year, and now considering adding another production employee to help keep up with demand... We currently run a Mutoh 1624 and a 1624x we bought last December, still have the Summa cutter and US Tech laminator, 5x12, 4x10 and 4x8 work tables (yes my original one) and a slew of hand and power tools to handle all sorts of installations. I use 2 different vinyl installers and another sub handles all my bucket truck/crane work and also does those installs and electrical work...

Yeah, it's been a wild ride...hard to believe 7 years has gone by so fast...I still get moments of "it would be easier to be an employee again" but if you have the drive and don't mind the stress and heartache there is nothing like holding the reigns...

 

[James Burke]

I would like to hear the pros and cons from others who have experienced this kind of growth and any advice is much appreciated.

We've been at it ten years now, and one thing I've learned is that you should always stay "hungry". In other words, keep the same attitude of doing more with less even if you can afford the latest and greatest piece of equipment.

Sometimes, the innovative spirit that helped you grow (or get you through a particular job) gets lost when you acquire the means to accumulate more.

Most importantly, know where you're going: More money = more stuff = more room needed = more stress = more headaches if not managed properly...and even bigger headaches if that wasn't where you wanted to be in the first place.

I can't remember which author it is, but they make a valid point for staying "small" and agile.

If you wish to remain a two-man show, then I would encourage you to re-visit the part of your business plan that addresses growth. Uncontrolled growth can be just as bad, if not worse, than stagnation. Also, be aware of the concept of diminishing and negative returns.

Other than that....knock yourself out and have fun.



JB

 

[inkfrog]

Congratulations on your success so far.

Trying to keep everything to a two man setup will take you so far, there is only so much you can achieve. Eventually, should you want to, you will need more people. I don't understand your production methods, but I would imagine that the work done by your machinery will reach a limit to what is possible with 2 people.(and also your machinery's production capacity)
If I were in your position, and was looking to continue to grow I would factor in additional expenses to cover future staff production costs.

I have 7 employees BTW and although I could reduce my labour costs slightly I have extra labour resources to maintain future and current growth. I wont take on another employee until I have reached my next turnover target.

IMO If you can free yourself from day to day production, then it will open up much more potential for gaining more/new business.