So I'm In Charge Now?

[cgordon]

Hi Everyone,
New to the Forum and I Figured I would post here and share my background before I go asking a ton of questions. My father has worked in the sign industry since he was about 18. He has owned his own home based business for my entire life and I have been helping him (part-time and full-time), off and on since I was 12. Well his health has gone to the wayside and the business has been limping along for the last 2-3 years. In the last 6 months I have taken on all the production and installation duties while he does what he can from the house.
Now that your up to date with the past and current, here the outcast for the future.
I am 24, I have a full time job in an completely unrelated field that is more or less a deadend. I get off work and head to the shop 4-5 days a week to keep up with the sign work. I am eager willing and found new motivation with the new responsibilities. But, eventually, I would love to grow the business and eventually quit my day job.
I'm hoping this community can help us through this transitional period with some equipment and general business advice. We have a Mutoh VJ 1204 that is in need of some maintenance that I will post about in the appropriate sub forum. Also, I will be taking on all the administrative duties, I so I curious to know, how do you run your business day to day? When do you find the time for invoicing? how many of you are homebased and who has taken the punge to a building and employees? What do you wish you could tell your young entrepreneurial self?

Thanks in Advance!

 

[WrapYourCar]

If your day job is a dead-end. You should take over the sign business asap.. put time/money into building more clients... my wife does all website and invoice/accounts work so it helps a lot, her seo knowledge has helped improve our weekly orders by atleast 150%.. I started at your age I'm now 36.. not making a ton of money but it's stable and I can see it running for many more years to come.. I only operated from home for a short moment... if you can find the right office location it can help increase your exposure and clientele a great deal too.

 

[JJGraphics]

Find the right mix of equipment, customers, services and prices that allows you to still work from home. If my particular field allowed the work from home, I would do it in a heartbeat. The incremental increase in profit vs the exponential increase in stuff to think and worry about... It's just not worth it.

Mo Money, Mo People, Mo Buildings, Mo Bills, Mo Problems.

 

[ExecuPrintGS]

Welcome, Little different situation here, but we are a small business. The advice i can give is, find time to invoice immediately! Do not let product walk out the door without a bill/ bill being paid.

Since i started here, we got our receivables down 70% because the newer (younger) staff invoices everything when a job is finished, we used to bill monthly and wouldn't see payment for 100+ days sometimes. Get a bill done with the product, get it in hands. People tend to pay their bills when they pick up now since we have switched.

Good luck!

 

[cgordon]

Thanks for all the tips.

Invoicing has always been iffy for us, so I am going to make that an initiative to stay on top of it, before it leaves the building.

"More money, more problems" seem to be the general concensus. Anyone disagree?

 

[Gino]

Thanks for all the tips.

Invoicing has always been iffy for us, so I am going to make that an initiative to stay on top of it, before it leaves the building.

"More money, more problems" seem to be the general consensus. Anyone disagree?

Don't recall anyone in business ever saying I'd like to make less money..... gross or net. If you're making too much money, then start buying things and making write-offs for your business.

Perhaps take an evening class on accounting, get the right software and create an invoice from a quote and have it also make work orders or other kinda statements. It can all be done in one software with just the click of a mouse. We use QuickBooks..... the Premier package, the big one. You can literally do anything with it.

 

[jfiscus]

Where are you at in KY? Get out there and network and get some more business in. The sooner you get more in, the sooner you can get out of your other job.
Make invoicing and networking (new business/customers) your first priority, and start thinking about who you know that is trustworthy enough to start helping you soon.

 

[cgordon]

Where are you at in KY? Get out there and network and get some more business in. The sooner you get more in, the sooner you can get out of your other job.
Make invoicing and networking (new business/customers) your first priority, and start thinking about who you know that is trustworthy enough to start helping you soon.

I am in Louisville. What type of networking has yielded the best results for you guys?

 

[JJGraphics]

I was reading some other thread a long time ago asking about "how to get new clients for your wrap business" and someone mentioned that they would go to a certain gas station that lots of commercial vans used and just sit and watch to see who had a vehicle that looked like it needed a new wrap. He would then call those companies and propose a new wrap.

Could you drive around and look for beat up banners that need replacing?
Could you look for yard signs around town and contact those companies to try and get the work?

Here is our rule when it comes to invoicing: "In God we trust, all others pay first." Ask people to pull out their credit card when they pick up a job and be done with it. Amazon doesn't bill. The gas station doesn't bill. Why should you?

There comes a point where you have to balance the extra income with the extra time and mental energy you have to put in to get it. Do you want to coach your kids baseball team and build a relationship with them or make a little bit extra with that one extra sign tonight? Do you want to come home and have engaging conversations with your wife and kids, or be so mentally (not physically) drained that you struggle to participate in family conversations? Even if you don't have to put in more hours, having a bigger company can take a mental toll on you. Go read about the symptoms and consequences of suffering burnout and decide if the potential for burnout is worth the extra income.

Can the business supply a level of income that lets you live at a reasonable, appropriate level and still have more free time then your buddies to do things with the family or in the community?

You're not going to look back 40 years from now and wish you made a few more banners.

 

[ExecuPrintGS]

Here is our rule when it comes to invoicing: "In God we trust, all others pay first." Ask people to pull out their credit card when they pick up a job and be done with it. Amazon doesn't bill. The gas station doesn't bill. Why should you?

Glad I'm not the only one like this. I say it all the time... These guys go and get gas on company cards, they can pay on pick up. Boss doesn't go for it.... I'm just happy we are finally billing in a timely manner.

 

[printhog]

On the west coast most shops charge 50% deposit, have a minimum order of at least one hour labor, and invoice at the time of the order so the client has " skin in the game". This locks in the price, the work, and eliminates changes that don't get paid for.

Many shops use a contract with the invoice if over a certain amount. For me I charge up front for orders under $700 and the deposit model for all others.
This gives the shop a certainty that material we convert to custom product isn't lost to a bad debt. It also removes the need to fund the projects fully on our side. Most contractors and litho printers operate this way.

As for marketing, locally, join your chamber of commerce. Attend every meeting. Participate. Do not donate work to the chamber. They'll pay for it. We boosted one shops sales by a solid 10k monthly with a rep at the chamber meetings and mixers.


its only a freaking sign!

 

[Megagrafix]

Thanks for all the tips.

Invoicing has always been iffy for us, so I am going to make that an initiative to stay on top of it, before it leaves the building.

"More money, more problems" seem to be the general concensus. Anyone disagree?

 

[Megagrafix]

I don't necessarily disagree. But if you want to stay single person shop and do all the work yourself then worry about more money more people more worries. To me that's small thinking if you like running a business. For some people that works and I admire the decisions they made because that takes courage. But if you have passion and you are creative and are competitive and like the industry and the people that you work with or for then quit your dead end day job and go after the business with all the energy you can muster work all the hours you have to work and Hown your skills being an entrepreneur. There are no rules you can do it anyway you desire or want. Good luck from someone who started at 20 years old and is now 70 years old and still doing it and loving it.