Small shop looking for employee management advice

[Warmoth]

Hey all,

My family and I run a sign shop that averages about 90 orders a week. Orders that range from small walk-in window stickers to large chemical plant warehouse signage. Though we've been at it for 30+ years, we've never had any formal training. We’re pretty sure we're doing a lot of things “wrong”. I know we could take strides to turn our family business into something more. And hopefully into something less stressful.

As it stands right now we are a 5 person team, and It's almost as if we're each our own company. 4 of us take and process orders almost entirely from start to finish. And we have 1 dedicated “grunt” who fills in the gaps (weeding/masking and sign assembly). We have a fairly simple “menu” of items. Stickers/decals, banners, magnets, and ordinary flat panel signs (mostly aluminum, sintra, coroplast). Besides lots and lots of vehicle graphics and occasional storefront windows, we don't do installations. I think the “hands-on” care that is taken for each order has been good for us thus far, but it needs to change if retirement is to ever be considered.

I know there’s a lot of one man shops on here, but for you shops with employees, how do you delegate work? Do you have employees with a singular focus (dedicated designers, plotter operators, weeders, and so forth), and each order has everyone's hands on it? Or are your employees expected to “wear many hats”? (John answers the phone and takes out the trash in between designing yard signs and installing diesel truck graphics).

Some opinions/input would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[brdesign]

I'm currently reading this book, it has some good tips about how a small business should be able to function without the owner doing everything. Work on the business as an owner rather than working in the business as an employee.

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It​

Michael E. Gerber

Amazon.com

 

[myront]

We have 10 employees on our team.
1 Owner/Operator, customer service, community relations etc.
3 Primary sales/customer service personnel. Take in orders, pricing, invoicing, money handling, phones, front desk, workorders, etc.
2 Designers - generate designs & proofs, prep print files, aid in production as needed.
2 Production personnel for onsite/offsite installs, banners, application of vinyls etc., also aid in printing
1 Primary Print Tech/Network Admin
1 Accountant - payroll, taxes, inventory orders etc., aid in sales/front desk

 

[victor bogdanov]

I usually have around 5 people working including me.

I do all design work, customers service and run the printers/cutters, anything and everything else that's needed to run the business

3 people weed, mask, trim, package etc
1 person manages and quality checks the 3 people and assists me with running the cutters


I'm the only one that knows all tasks
the manager knows how to cut ready files and everything that follows (but doesn't know how to print)
everyone else only knows how to weed and apply masking, with experience they are trusted to package an order

Most of the stuff we do are online orders shipped out.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Hey all,

My family and I run a sign shop that averages about 90 orders a week. Orders that range from small walk-in window stickers to large chemical plant warehouse signage. Though we've been at it for 30+ years, we've never had any formal training. We’re pretty sure we're doing a lot of things “wrong”. I know we could take strides to turn our family business into something more. And hopefully into something less stressful.

As it stands right now we are a 5 person team, and It's almost as if we're each our own company. 4 of us take and process orders almost entirely from start to finish. And we have 1 dedicated “grunt” who fills in the gaps (weeding/masking and sign assembly). We have a fairly simple “menu” of items. Stickers/decals, banners, magnets, and ordinary flat panel signs (mostly aluminum, sintra, coroplast). Besides lots and lots of vehicle graphics and occasional storefront windows, we don't do installations. I think the “hands-on” care that is taken for each order has been good for us thus far, but it needs to change if retirement is to ever be considered.

I know there’s a lot of one man shops on here, but for you shops with employees, how do you delegate work? Do you have employees with a singular focus (dedicated designers, plotter operators, weeders, and so forth), and each order has everyone's hands on it? Or are your employees expected to “wear many hats”? (John answers the phone and takes out the trash in between designing yard signs and installing diesel truck graphics).

Some opinions/input would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Sounds pretty good having everyone handle their own task from start to finish.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I used to try to fill "roles." About a year ago my main guy, the painter, got in a fight with his promiscuous wife, flipped out and went to Mexico. It backed me in a corner so now everyone in the shop can pretty much do any role. Signs, decals, paint, tape, sandblasting....whatever. It works much better. I think doing different things everyday helps minimize burnout too. We don't have much turnover

 

[Zendavor Signs]

As long as your business is reasonably profitable, it sounds like it is doing OK. Don’t look to retirement as finding a new owner, handing over the keys and bolting. If you plan ahead to stick around for a couple of years to transition it, that will probably make it sell much easier. Also, don’t look to cash out this huge amount on the sale, unless your business is insanely profitable (not too likely in the sign biz).

 

[ewded]

I'm the production manager at our company and I can do stuff much much faster focusing only on design and production, I can print everything together, laminate everything together, can't imagine people standing in queue doing a little bit of this and that wasting print material/ lam material

 

[FireSprint.com]

We have quite specialized roles here, but that's generally how businesses grow. You start off with everyone wearing tons of hats, but as your business grows and full time positions become available for more specific job functions, you'll find it easier to hire people that fill those specific roles.

We started out as a graphic screen printing shop. Our first and second full time hire was a press operator/screen burner. They didn't do any front office functions and didn't handle shipping. (There are 3 owners, so this was our 4th and 5th person). We're at 33 today.

Every business needs a few people that can handle it all. They understand 50% or more of the processes that are critical to the business and keep it running. These are the people you don't want tied to a piece of equipment or a desk all day. They need a little headspace. Everyone else should have pretty specific roles they focus on.

You'll find that as you grow your business it will be nearly impossible to hire people who can handle work from start to finish and afford to pay them what they are worth. The more quickly you can define your full time roles, the more quickly you can hire, train, and grow.

 

[RMarshall]

Hey all,

My family and I run a sign shop that averages about 90 orders a week. Orders that range from small walk-in window stickers to large chemical plant warehouse signage. Though we've been at it for 30+ years, we've never had any formal training. We’re pretty sure we're doing a lot of things “wrong”. I know we could take strides to turn our family business into something more. And hopefully into something less stressful.

As it stands right now we are a 5 person team, and It's almost as if we're each our own company. 4 of us take and process orders almost entirely from start to finish. And we have 1 dedicated “grunt” who fills in the gaps (weeding/masking and sign assembly). We have a fairly simple “menu” of items. Stickers/decals, banners, magnets, and ordinary flat panel signs (mostly aluminum, sintra, coroplast). Besides lots and lots of vehicle graphics and occasional storefront windows, we don't do installations. I think the “hands-on” care that is taken for each order has been good for us thus far, but it needs to change if retirement is to ever be considered.

I know there’s a lot of one man shops on here, but for you shops with employees, how do you delegate work? Do you have employees with a singular focus (dedicated designers, plotter operators, weeders, and so forth), and each order has everyone's hands on it? Or are your employees expected to “wear many hats”? (John answers the phone and takes out the trash in between designing yard signs and installing diesel truck graphics).

Some opinions/input would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

The shop Im at is in a very similar position so Im curious to see what people respond with.

While it isn't a family business, it started off as a single owner with a couple digital copiers slowly adding on different equipment and employees.
We had around 10 employees pre-covid, but now are 5 full time and 1 part time.
We do digital sheetfed, offset, full service mailing, and basic large format in house – which in my opinion/experience is way too large a variety for such a small group.
Our main issue is there is too much disparity between project scopes and job roles so there is very little opportunity to focus on a single task and actually master the process.
We're in a pretty large space so everyone is somewhat isolated and responsible for being self-directed which in reality means that everyone is constantly switching tasks based on deadlines, not efficiency.

I'm currently reading this book, it has some good tips about how a small business should be able to function without the owner doing everything. Work on the business as an owner rather than working in the business as an employee.

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It​

Michael E. Gerber

Amazon.com

You couldn't have said it better. It's one of the big reasons why Im not planning on sticking around too much longer – the owner seems insistent on 'working in the business' and letting the business dictate his decisions rather than acting as the owner of the business and making decisions as a director. Its like the captain of a ship letting go of the wheel and tying himself to the rudder and complaining when the ship doesn't go the direction they want it to.

 

[Warmoth]

We have 10 employees on our team.
1 Owner/Operator, customer service, community relations etc.
3 Primary sales/customer service personnel. Take in orders, pricing, invoicing, money handling, phones, front desk, workorders, etc.
2 Designers - generate designs & proofs, prep print files, aid in production as needed.
2 Production personnel for onsite/offsite installs, banners, application of vinyls etc., also aid in printing
1 Primary Print Tech/Network Admin
1 Accountant - payroll, taxes, inventory orders etc., aid in sales/front desk

This is definitely the sort of setup I've been thinking about. Though I'm a little worried of the tedium that may occur having a salesperson, who maybe isn't experienced in design, relaying customer requests back and forth to a designer. Does that result in slower than necessary turnaround? I guess my real question is, is it typical for a designer to directly interact with customers, or are customers solely handled by sales reps?

Sounds pretty good having everyone handle their own task from start to finish.

It is great at times. But it does make it difficult to jump in and help each other out. It seems we're each more and more overwhelmed with orders and I wonder if a more team-like approach would speed things up overall.

I used to try to fill "roles." About a year ago my main guy, the painter, got in a fight with his promiscuous wife, flipped out and went to Mexico. It backed me in a corner so now everyone in the shop can pretty much do any role. Signs, decals, paint, tape, sandblasting....whatever. It works much better. I think doing different things everyday helps minimize burnout too. We don't have much turnover

That does make a team approach sound risky. Maybe singular roles is more suitable for larger staffs. Being able to have more than one "specialist" available.

 

[Solventinkjet]

I think it's better to have defined roles but with the flexibility to help out where needed when it comes down to it. For example, it's hard to find a good designer let alone 5. I'm willing to bet out of the 5 of you, 1 or 2 are better designers and maybe even enjoy it more. I bet 1 or 2 of you are better sales people etc. Identifying what everyone is good at and enjoys doing would be a good idea to see where you might specialize and streamline things. I'm imagining a shop of 5 people all needing the printer at the same time and it getting a log jam. If you had one guy who's responsible for it, they could better prioritize jobs and manage the que much better. And if there are no designs to be made or no prints to be printed, then you could help out in the other areas. Giving more defined roles also allows people to take ownership of their position.

 

[Warmoth]

As long as your business is reasonably profitable, it sounds like it is doing OK. Don’t look to retirement as finding a new owner, handing over the keys and bolting. If you plan ahead to stick around for a couple of years to transition it, that will probably make it sell much easier. Also, don’t look to cash out this huge amount on the sale, unless your business is insanely profitable (not too likely in the sign biz).

That makes sense, but let me give a few more details,

My parents started this business, and I've been helping since I was 11 (20 years logged). My parents are nearing retirement and if they both decide to leave, I'll be expected keep up the current volume of orders without them. I will need to hire replacements, while simultaneously buying the business. They do plan to be here for the transition, but I'm a little worried about the new bottom line.

I'm the production manager at our company and I can do stuff much much faster focusing only on design and production, I can print everything together, laminate everything together, can't imagine people standing in queue doing a little bit of this and that wasting print material/ lam material

Yes! My father seems to think that waste is a worthy trade for speed. Certain instances I can understand, but most orders just aren't that pressing. I think a dedicated printer operator would be great. Our current problem is how to properly indicate print/order details (media/lam, etc.) to be interpreted by that one person, without error. It will require better and more detailed order/file preparation - preparation that goes beyond graphic design and into the realm of clerical.
I've been developing a pretty thorough, and hopefully easy system to help with this, with the hopes of making this transition possible.

We have quite specialized roles here, but that's generally how businesses grow. You start off with everyone wearing tons of hats, but as your business grows and full time positions become available for more specific job functions, you'll find it easier to hire people that fill those specific roles.

We started out as a graphic screen printing shop. Our first and second full time hire was a press operator/screen burner. They didn't do any front office functions and didn't handle shipping. (There are 3 owners, so this was our 4th and 5th person). We're at 33 today.

Every business needs a few people that can handle it all. They understand 50% or more of the processes that are critical to the business and keep it running. These are the people you don't want tied to a piece of equipment or a desk all day. They need a little headspace. Everyone else should have pretty specific roles they focus on.

You'll find that as you grow your business it will be nearly impossible to hire people who can handle work from start to finish and afford to pay them what they are worth. The more quickly you can define your full time roles, the more quickly you can hire, train, and grow.

Great advice. It's good to hear from someone who's made the transition, and that it's possible. lol.

I think it's better to have defined roles but with the flexibility to help out where needed when it comes down to it. For example, it's hard to find a good designer let alone 5. I'm willing to bet out of the 5 of you, 1 or 2 are better designers and maybe even enjoy it more. I bet 1 or 2 of you are better sales people etc. Identifying what everyone is good at and enjoys doing would be a good idea to see where you might specialize and streamline things. I'm imagining a shop of 5 people all needing the printer at the same time and it getting a log jam. If you had one guy who's responsible for it, they could better prioritize jobs and manage the que much better. And if there are no designs to be made or no prints to be printed, then you could help out in the other areas. Giving more defined roles also allows people to take ownership of their position.

You're absolutely right. And there are times when all 3 of our printers are being used by just my myself. It's sometimes a fight for usage.

Great posts by all so far. I appreciate the discussion

 

[myront]

I guess my real question is, is it typical for a designer to directly interact with customers...

Our designers do, on occasion, work with customers. Sometimes it's less time consuming to interact and get the particulars from a customer rather than "too many cooks in the kitchen". But if they say "love it, how much would that be?" I'll have to turn it over to our sales staff for review. They in turn add any additional art time etc.
Designers also aid in production, weeding, hemming/grommeting, cutting substrates, plotting etc. Also help unload shipments or handle walk-ins.
We all know a little about each position. Anyone who is not a designer still has a hard time understanding the difference between raster and vector though. They don't have any software loaded on there workstation to check files. They'll still need designers for that. Just like I know nothing about invoicing, sales orders, or pricing.

 

[Billct2]

There are 4 of us full time Each has a specific though flexible role. I take the orders, design & quote, order materials and outsourced stuff and produce the vinyl.
One guy is the fabricator, installer, applies vehicle graphics etc. One guy is his assistant and is also handles cutting and packing our large paper sign orders.
The last guy runs the paper sign design/production. Also have a part timer who does billing/books.

 

[RabidOne]

This shop I am in is a little bigger than most listed , about 20 people. All 7 designers perform multiple functions including customer interaction, estimating and quoting.
Depending on what part of the business they specialize in they also help out in that area: 2 of them do all the vehicle wraps so they are often in the vehicle bays helping with installs.
Having them deal directly with the customers means way less chance for miscommunication with job specs.

 

[Solventinkjet]

All this talk about about people designing and also dealing with customers is reminding me of this gem.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I'm currently reading this book, it has some good tips about how a small business should be able to function without the owner doing everything. Work on the business as an owner rather than working in the business as an employee.

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It​

Michael E. Gerber

Amazon.com

I like the concept and it's correct, almost obvious. The thing that it ignores (along with other small business books) is that many small business owners do not want to grow and find the work itself enjoyable. You can't lose sight of the things that make you enjoy your business because of this notion that you have to grow and make every dollar that you can. Some people are motivated by the growth and money but many are not. It's just something to keep in mind. It also does not factor in the cost of growth. Do you dump money into staff and equipment to possibly double your business in a 10 year span or just lay low, be happy and retire 10 years early?

 

[RMarshall]

Our current problem is how to properly indicate print/order details (media/lam, etc.) to be interpreted by that one person, without error. It will require better and more detailed order/file preparation - preparation that goes beyond graphic design and into the realm of clerical.
I've been developing a pretty thorough, and hopefully easy system to help with this, with the hopes of making this transition possible.

How are you all currently tracking/managing orders?

This problem might be a somewhat simple fix by looking at how the order details are communicated (i.e. if there's a job ticket with all of the order details so that any employee can see the job instructions)

 

[ewded]

That makes sense, but let me give a few more details,

My parents started this business, and I've been helping since I was 11 (20 years logged). My parents are nearing retirement and if they both decide to leave, I'll be expected keep up the current volume of orders without them. I will need to hire replacements, while simultaneously buying the business. They do plan to be here for the transition, but I'm a little worried about the new bottom line.


Yes! My father seems to think that waste is a worthy trade for speed. Certain instances I can understand, but most orders just aren't that pressing. I think a dedicated printer operator would be great. Our current problem is how to properly indicate print/order details (media/lam, etc.) to be interpreted by that one person, without error. It will require better and more detailed order/file preparation - preparation that goes beyond graphic design and into the realm of clerical.
I've been developing a pretty thorough, and hopefully easy system to help with this, with the hopes of making this transition possible.


Great advice. It's good to hear from someone who's made the transition, and that it's possible. lol.


You're absolutely right. And there are times when all 3 of our printers are being used by just my myself. It's sometimes a fight for usage.

Great posts by all so far. I appreciate the discussion

We have a sales person, md and another lady, when anyone is done with the client having all the required info they make a jobsheet for me to do a visual/ arrange fine details with the client, I do the visual, print and prep, installer guy help if he has time, if not I do the panels/cutting/weeding and he installs it