Need advise, feel stuck, next level?

[Signsforwhile]

Looking for next step advise - feel stuck!

Shop Stats:


Located on major roadway. Easily accessible.

2k sq/f sign shop, w/ bay.
Full color printing and laminating capabilities. Capable of vehicle lettering and wraps, banners, posters etc.
Channel letters built in house. We use knockdown kits for cabinets.
Experience with servicing and installing neon. Access to good local neon bender.
Fabricate and install staple system awnings. Illuminated and non.
Good relationship with a local CNC owner (non sign shop), so have access to well priced dimensional signs.
Can paint in house.
Installations are not subbed out, everything is installed by me. Anytime buckets are needed we rent a towable unit.
Estimate software.




We are just into our 4th year with our business. My wife and I started this business. She has a full time job now so I run a majority of it. She helps with the financial aspects but has no experience in the industry. We have no full time employees. One part time employee that has been with us for a majority of the time and has been on an on-call basis. On average I am alone 3 days of the week working on projects, trying to get new projects, answering phones and taking care of day to day book keeping.


My problem:


In the past year or so I have felt stuck. We have been getting larger and more profitable projects. But it seems like the bigger the project the more detrimental it can be to business overall. First of all I am not undercutting, projects are priced at an appropriate level. We are making the money we should be. Typically a large project will come in. Materials are ordered. We do not order on account, everything is payed for with deposit money. Once I get working on the project I notice that I begin to slip on smaller stuff because of my deadline, which is already a little longer than a full sized full service company. Typically by the end of a project, say 3 weeks in, I'm days away from a deadline and spending late nights finishing them up. At the same time worried about cash flow because I've neglected to follow up on other work, or set up new work following this project. Basically the bigger the numbers, the less money I feel like I'm making.


I think that we could use two things. Full time labor, and a secretary receptionist to have phones always answered during business hours and field calls. But we are hesitant because of the cost. Currently that could cost $1000 a week and we can't see being able to afford that right now. I'd like to say that would solve everything, projects would finish faster and there would be work ready and more happy customers. But am I right? When do you take that leap? If I haven't made it yet is it going to work.


Hopefully this is enough for some advice!!!

 

[BigfishDM]

So is the problem not enough work or not enough people to do the work the right way?

 

[wetgravy]

Sometimes you have to take that leap, if the "secretary" also knew how to do graphics you could use him/her as a sales person to generate proofs and get the ball rolling on the smaller jobs. That always helps. As for the full time shop person ... if they get the smaller stuff done and can still help you on the bigger jobs ... all the better.

 

[Mosh]

At one time I had 11 employees, I am down to me and LOVE EVERY MINUTE!
I turn down stuff I can't get done, pick and choose jobs. Don't be scared to turn work away, and just make more on the stuff you do decide to do.

 

[Rick]

Sounds like you are doing too much of the work, just because you can do most of it, it does not mean you should. Have you looked into subcontracting more of it?

 

[Signsforwhile]

So is the problem not enough work or not enough people to do the work the right way?

I guess it's both, they just flip flop. Seems like I get highs with a lot of work, and since I don't have a lot of labor help loose focus fielding new projects and in doing that get less work once large projects are completed.

Sort of a vicious cycle I've gotten myself into.

 

[Signsforwhile]

Sounds like you are doing too much of the work, just because you can do most of it, it does not mean you should. Have you looked into subcontracting more of it?

I can subcontract, that's how I started. But I've been trying to bring more and more in house because of a better profit margin.

 

[wetgravy]

If you want to keep your shop work steady but reduce your paperwork ... just keep note of when the phones ring the most and try to see if it fits a schedule. For example in the shop I am working in right now, after 1pm there are tons of calls and customers come flooding in all at the same time. If there was going to be a secretary or someone to help funnel the calls, paperwork, invoicing, payment and the such to help reduce that burden It would probably be part time help from 1pm-6pm And like mosh said .. working as the only person is a blessing at times ... no man hours you need to keep someone working during, can pick and choose jobs for best management of time and profits, and I think most importantly you can set your work load.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

Sooner or later something is going to have to give. To grow you need to increase your capacity. You need additional shop labor to help meet deadlines and make sure you are capable of actually producing the work you bring in in a timely manner. You need office help to help answer phones and do other menial business related tasks that take your eye off of the bigger ball. You're in a tough spot, we've all been there. You can't grow the business because you're too busy in the trenches, but because you can't grow you can't afford the additional manpower to help get you out of the trenches. You're between a rock and a hard place.

The best advice I can offer is to scrounge up some money and either hire staff to do production (which may mean you'll have to outsource some things as well) so you can get out and sell more, or hire a sales person to bring in additional money so you can afford to hire more labor.

We were where you are a few years ago too, it's tough. We ended up hiring a good all-around person to help with office work and production. That freed me up to focus on growing the business and handling the "high profile" production work. We worked like that for a while until sales were boosted enough that we could hire a full time sales person, which led to another full time production employee, which led to a full time office manager and so on. If you play your cards right it will snowball and take off, but it's a very tricky balancing act and one wrong move can be devastating.

Figure out what you are really best at and hire someone to do what you're not good at. If you are really good at selling and growing the business, do that and pay someone to do the other stuff. If you're really good at production, hire a sales person so you can focus on making the product. Either way, by freeing yourself up to do what you're good at, you're going to be able to grow. But it's an investment and one that should be made very very carefully. This is where you take that leap away from a one man operation, and if you jump the wrong way you may never recover from it.

 

[Signsforwhile]

I have two large projects coming up. I might sub out the fab and handle the install. See what that does. Makes sense I guess. Maybe I jumped into full service a little too soon?

 

[SignManiac]

You either delegate or scale back and minimize your overhead. One man can only produce x amount of dollars.

 

[Mosh]

You either delegate or scale back and minimize your overhead. One man can only produce x amount of dollars.

Exactly! Less people, less to worry about! I made ALOT more money with more "employees" but there were so many more things to worry about. (INS, ect..)

You need to decide if you want to make signs or manage morons....eerr employees. I would rather make signs anyday than have to worry about what 11 other people are doing. And the fact they are representing my name out in the world, I have a reputation to uphold.

 

[iSign]

Exactly! Less people, less to worry about! I made ALOT more money with more "employees" but there were so many more things to worry about. (INS, ect..)

You need to decide if you want to make signs or manage morons....eerr employees. I would rather make signs anyday than have to worry about what 11 other people are doing. And the fact they are representing my name out in the world, I have a reputation to uphold.

yep... and next thing ya know, ya got light weight tea tottelers, PC illegal alien-huggers, vegetarian varmit lovers, gun haters & all kinds of other scoundrels fouling up a hard earned reputation!!

 

[CheapVehicleWrap]

yep... and next thing ya know, ya got light weight tea tottelers, PC illegal alien-huggers, vegetarian varmit lovers, gun haters & all kinds of other scoundrels fouling up a hard earned reputation!!

:U Rock:

 

[Visionary Printing]

yep... and next thing ya know, ya got light weight tea tottelers, PC illegal alien-huggers, vegetarian varmit lovers, gun haters & all kinds of other scoundrels fouling up a hard earned reputation!!

 

[SqueeGee]

I'd recommend talking to Jon Aston. He's a member here. iSign would probably back me up on this recommendation also.

 

[klemgraphics]

Sounds exactly like the situation I'm in right now. I have the space to grow and feel the need to grow but having a hard time making that leap. Just as you say, those small projects just pile up and get pushed to the side, not a good way to make satisfied customers. On one side I am thinking hire someone good(if you can really find someone good) and make a name for yourself, and then I have my dad(body shop owner) telling me I don't want any employees. I have some part time help and that works out sometimes but other time it just creates more work for me. Then some weeks after several late nights of trying to meet deadlines I think maybe I should just put the whole place up for sale and work for someone else.

Rock and a hard place for sure, let me know if you figure it all out.

 

[Fatboy]

Follow your heart,make sure you have fun everyday in the business and all seems to fall into place. Ask yourself....what do you want it to be.......?That will be the answer to your problems

 

[Letterbox Mike]

I have two large projects coming up. I might sub out the fab and handle the install. See what that does. Makes sense I guess. Maybe I jumped into full service a little too soon?

You may have, not that it's necessarily a bad thing, but when you're bogged down with the mundane details of producing signs it's hard to be an effective business owner. To grow you have to start delegating tasks to the people that are going to be the most effective at doing them. While you may be the best at every single task in your shop, you cannot physically do them all and you will soon (or may already have) hit a wall that you cannot climb by yourself.

 

[Wes Phifer]

Ease into it. Work your part timer another day a week. Outsource a few jobs that you could do in house but you can still make money on outsourced. Once you realize you are doing enough outsourcing to bring in another guy do it.

Or RAISE PRICES! More profit from less work. It is kind of like turning down work except you pricing yourself out of some work. Making money on what you do get.