The annual question...how was business this year?

[Stacey K]

One-person + one helper in Wisconsin:

Started the year normally. March 15-Oct busier than any other year. November was slower than years past. December is definitely slower so far. Maybe it's because of the election? My friend with an apparel shop said the same, slower this Nov/Dec than years past. Overall income increased, but profit was up quite a bit, which is more important. I contribute some of that to time management thanks to SignTracker. I stayed more organized, so I wasn't haphazardly ordering things last minute, I turned down a lot of small jobs - it all helps a little bit. l have a lot of room for improvement in both departments (as some of you know from my past stories LOL)

I have no opinion for 2025. I do see some of my business friends buying more equipment, etc. so I assume they expect things to continue in a positive direction.

Thoughts?

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

One person, two helpers here. My year was pretty much flat. Little lower on my national accounts... little higher on my TX business, which is surprising because I thought it would take a hit only being there 1/3 of the time. I looked at my P&L last week and my numbers are almost dead on compared to same time last year. Most of this year has been steady... no real slow periods. Still getting calls and putting bids out there.

 

[Boudica]

Record year. Had several monthly records broken. October was one of them. End of November really got quiet. So far this week it's pretty quiet compared to how slammed we were all spring and summer. Then about the middle of November I hear crickets. It's weird, but I guess people have exhausted budgets and waiting for a new fiscal year. Our city seems to be facing a budget crisis, but one couldn't tell with all of the signage they've been ordering.

 

[rydods]

Fellow Wisconsinite here! 3 full time and me.

After losing our biggest client last year around this time this year was going to be the real test. Overall, typical small sales ($100 to $10,000) were very good and I saw a lot of new customers, more than usual. Larger sales ($10,000 up) were pretty much non-existent. Normally, we record 3-5 larger orders (companies rebranding completely or updating their larger signage). We didn't have a single one this year.

November was the slowest and I'm expecting December to be the same although I have had a couple of initial calls for quotes that look promising and could change that.

End of year tax run will probably kick in soon so that helps. We did win areas best sign shop again for the 3rd year in a row so most of my focus has been on providing excellent quality and service and it's really paid off with those new customers, I believe.

 

[visual800]

believe it or not this was the best year since the economy crahsed in 08, think of all the money that was missed all those years. 16 damn years

 

[White Haus]

Me + 1 other person here. Lost our main production person this year (to another better paying job) and have managed to keep our head above water. Our year end is September so we're already into our "new year", but last year was almost to the dollar the same as year before, with a huge jump in profits. As much as I'm disappointed we didn't quite reach my goal, it made for some good apples to apples comparisons between the 2 years in terms of expenses, COGS, profit etc.

Have some more aggressive targets for this year and so far tracking around 90% completion to date. That's with doing absolutely no marketing or actively looking for business, but that's gonna change. Going to start throwing some shit at the wall and seeing what sticks.

Glad to hear some/most of y'all are having good years! Hope 2025 is profitable and prosperous for you all.

 

[Pauly]

We had great growth this year
Invested into more Equipment. New Summas & Colex was installed this year.
Improved our automation and moved to caldera RIP.

Big plans for next year

 

[MarkSnelling]

I'm a distributor....we had a great year....BUT....it was successful year due to winning some massive jobs. It seems like the everyday "three rolls of matte vinyl" business has really slowed down in the last few months. I'd rather have a record year full of that easy consistent business than winning the big bids as you can't count on those year after year.

New technology and films from Drytac have been hugely important and impactful to us. Their innovation has really helped us grow our consumable business. If you aren't familiar with their range of products, do yourself a favor and reach out to me or other Drytac distributors (other than the plastics guys who don't know what the stuff is) to learn what they've got in their bag of goods. Even if you aren't in our back yard, I'll gladly spend some time on the phone or email about their products.

The Canon Colorado continues to grow in sales and interest. The new unit with white ink and the magnetic kit have really improved the platform...as well as going to 4 or 5 bigger print heads instead of 8.....and adding the 2nd year warranty really punctuated their confidence in the product. I love that.

Fluid Color has done very well, too. We sell their flatbed and hybrid units. The team at Fluid Color are the BEST in this industry. These guys are top notch and are incredible partners of ours.

This year we partnered with Colex after screwing around with Asian routers and that has been really well received. The Colex people are real professionals and know their craft.

I've enjoyed this platform this year....I learn a TON from your comments. Hopefully I repaid the favor a few times.

 

[Goatshaver]

One person shop here. My business was pretty much flat this year with a slow start to the year and a busier November helped.
Bought a new Mimaki UV machine this year but I need to work on marketing and advertising this winter, which I'm terrible at, but I have to do it if I want to remain open.

 

[Graphic Extremes]

I have had a banner year adding multiple printers, and a new laminator and after the first of the year will be adding another printer to my lineup. Will be looking for a flat bed cutter also..

Also going to focus some more at advertising also to bring more work in.. We all hate this part..

 

[d fleming]

Still just me and the Mrs. Maybe a few more years for her but I'm pretty much the cranky supervisor any more, lol. Still we kept the bills paid and had a good time.

 

[unclebun]

Had a good year this year and have partially recovered from the bad 2023 we had (first year in the red since the startup years--and by a large amount). Last year business was down and we got killed by inflation. Still paying off the debt we took on last year, and will be for probably a couple more years.

This year business has been brisk until mid-October. However, starting about 2 days after the election we've had a big surge in orders. So it seems that confidence in the next year's business landscape is buoying our business now.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Had a good year this year and have partially recovered from the bad 2023 we had (first year in the red since the startup years--and by a large amount). Last year business was down and we got killed by inflation. Still paying off the debt we took on last year, and will be for probably a couple more years.

This year business has been brisk until mid-October. However, starting about 2 days after the election we've had a big surge in orders. So it seems that confidence in the next year's business landscape is buoying our business now.

What was the debt? Equipment?

 

[unclebun]

What was the debt? Equipment?

Money borrowed to cover operating costs. Business completely fell off starting in September through the entirety of Q4 2023. At the same time we had a significant increase in rent, insurance of all kinds, etc. Gross income for the year was down 22% compared to normal. This year we are already about 10% over historic average for a year with a month still to go.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

what happened the business fell off?

 

[unclebun]

what happened the business fell off?

If I had to guess it was the realization of how bad inflation really was. Being a resort area, I think the summer season masked how bad it was. Once Labor Day came and the high cashflow stopped, I believe businesses (and individuals) realized they didn't have enough to make it through to the next spring. Or something like that.

 

[Signstein]

One person internal shop here. Our city almost entirely revolves around tourism as well, and the drop in attendance has shuttered a few local mainstays. Our company did a reorg and made some other cost-saving changes. But the shop workload has steadily increased all year. It's only my second full year here and after adding equipment last year, this year we've grown the shop's capabilities, added tools and software, and have increased productivity. This week has been quiet but I already have a few big projects lined up for Jan/Feb. Once the 2025 budgets are released it will be full speed ahead.

 

[JBurton]

I'm so slammed that I haven't been on the forum. Overall it's been a great year, even though we turned over half the shop this year. We did also raise payroll by about 20% at the beginning of the year, which was a pretty scary undertaking, but it's all panned out. Now if I can just get all this other stuff taken care of so I can have a day or two off before xmas...
Also, biggest change of 2024, suspenders. God it's been a good year for my back!

 

[FireSprint.com]

We've had a good year here at FireSprint. Every month has been our best version of that month except March I believe. 36 of us here currently. All full time.

I expect next year to be even better. We have alot of ground to make up with less election work next year, but I know we can do it. There's a ton of work out there. We're going to help our clients win more work, and we'll grow by doing so.

 

[GAC05]

It's slow on the sign side. I'm busy on the commercial vehicle side, with equipment sales and installations. Learning new skills and relearning things I used to know.