Texas_Signmaker
Very Active Signmaker
Lot of that stuff can be bought online. Tough market to be in. Sell something that people can't easily buy online.
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Threat of Closing this year...
- Thread starter amcswain
- Start date
John Miller
New Member
Contact Google. Decide how much $ per month you are comfortable spending on getting clicks to your web site. You can say $100. They promote you and charge per click. When the money for that month is used up the promotion stops till next month. I tried it and get jobs from all over the country, even a few from overseas.
Notarealsignguy
Arial - it's almost helvetica
Not saying google ads don't work but from my experience, they'll take every dollar you allow and get nothing in return. They seem to manipulate the keyword pricing and are not transparent about their algorithms. It always felt like I was competing against myself and gave it up. Just my 2 cents
MarkSnelling
Mark Snelling - Hasco Graphics
I'll reach out before my next trip to Chicago. I'll show you some materials you'll be able to sell for a lot more than banners and make more margin!
gnubler
Active Member
Yes. Like larger, rigid signs and cut vinyl decals. I do a lot of custom cut vinyl because it's something people can't get anywhere else with their crappy files. I can create clean artwork and cut files (for a fee) and everybody's happy.
kcreeley87
New Member
I would HIGHLY suggest getting involved with your local Chamber of Commerce, not only for the network nights/events that they have, but also for the orders and contacts.
All locations are different I know, however the company I work for not only has a huge word of mouth from just being involved in the Chamber events but our chamber also buys a vast majority of the sign/vinyl needs from us.
Quick&Easy Marketing -
We were also able to get a contact list from our chamber that gave us an easy way to send out our catalog, if you have a catalog this is a very easy way to get it out to potential customers!
We also do send out an email blast monthly (we use constant contact, though there are many) that does not take much time at all to get made and sent out to all the contacts we have!
Awesome! Looking forward to it!
I didn't lose clients. My first latex is at least 7 or 8 years old, so I got an upgrade. I got an entry level flatbed, which actually saves me money on labor and supply cost because i'm not having to buy vinyl rolls or spending time mounting boards. Just like any other small business, I've taken out a few loans and while they helped at the moment, in the long run it made my situation worse by adding to my overhead.
Eforcer
Sign Up!
Networking is the least expensive way to get your name out there. But don't be fooled. Many go once or twice and figured that nothing has materialized and give up. I did a chamber that was no where near my location. I surfaced for almost two years. I won business man of the month and landed 3 accounts. One is still with us. NY Health and Hospital. If you hear stories in these meetings of hardship...offer a free banner here and there. Inexpensive, but goes a long way to getting a bite. Left that organization and helped start our own. Throggs Neck Business Association.
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ADASignLady
New Member
That and the racist comment about "browning billions." Do you people here understand that if we don't continue to have immigrants here -- (after all, even my family who came in 1638 were immigrants) -- we will run out of people who are needed to keep our economy strong and vibrant. We benefit constantly from new people coming in. Some of them bring new ideas and inventions, and others wash our dishes, make our beds, pick our food, take care of our disabled and elderly. The birth rate of what was our majority white population is low. We are not replacing ourselves, and so we need others who are still having children.
The Blind Signman
New Member
During the 80's and mid 90's when I was Hand Lettering the sign business was a gold mine ..one shot and a quill
Boudica
I'm here for Educational Purposes
That was a typo in that stupid article. I think they meant "borrowing of trillions".
If those are your main markets, sell your equipment, let your employees go and broker from your house. The large wholesalers can probably produce this stuff cheaper then you can when you add in your overhead.
Printing has always been a race to the bottom. Cost of entry is low and competition is fierce. We are all suffering an economic hangover. The government pumped 5 trillion dollars into the economy after covid. At the time that was 25% of our GDP. Every dollar the government pumps into the economy creates $6 in economic activity. So, after covid, of course we had a bump in economic activity & inflation. That is the equivalent of last year's total GDP. Lots of folk, including us, had money to invest and spend. That has dried up now and we are in the "new normal". Our shop has seen the larger orders shrink dramatically and get replaced with more, but smaller jobs. Work that used to be our "filler" work is now our bread and butter.
To anyone going in to business, I always ask how are your marketing skills? Getting customers is the hardest part of any business. Producing the work is the easy part. If you have capital resources, marketing and advertising is key, but it may not pay off for 6-12 months so you have to be able to invest and weather the storm and consistently test. But, don't forget the marketing saying: "Half the money spent on marketing is wasted money. The problem is no one knows which half".
Unfortunately there is no magic bullet or catch all solution to magically get business. It takes a lot of trial an error and a bit of wasted time and money. Most folks completely underestimate what they will need to spend to quire new clients. If you aren't a natural sales person, online advertising can work, but it can be expensive. Don't fall for all the scammers and SEO companies that promise to get you to the top of google. Find a good, reputable company who spends the time to understand your business and your market. They can create and manage a "pay per click" advertising campaign for you. Get micro focused on your target audience so your spend won't break the bank. Google, as consultants are great at getting clicks, but they maximize the campaigns to get clicks/revenue for them with out worrying about how many of those click turn into sales.
Hang in there. You are the one in control of your success. It may be uncomfortable to step out of the box and become an aggressive sales person or a marketing person but it will make a difference. Good luck and keep us updated.
Notarealsignguy
Arial - it's almost helvetica
It's only a race to the bottom if you position yourself as a commodity and the cost of entry is not low if you are trying to be a "print shop". It's actually quite the opposite, you have to spend a lot of money in order to make money in that segment. Basic economies of scale. This is why they preach to have a solid business plan and follow it, otherwise you can end up like this guy with a bunch of stuff and no idea what to do with it. It seems like there are a lot of people that do not have a firm grasp on the industry they are in and the dynamics of it all. That is really step 1 before you ever enter into any venture or expansion.
premiercolour
Merchant Member
Work with local sign shops. It sounds stupid but one sign shop can't do all. See what they do. Do something else different. Sell that something else different to these local sign shops. Maybe vehicle wraps? Floor wraps? Wall wraps?
Advertise on yelp, It always works in S. California. Not sure about your location.
fiverr.com. Hire someone cheap there and make a website, marketing.
If any cannabis business is allowed in your area. Print for these businesses. Boy, our customers print 10s of thousnads of stickers every month for them.
Advertise on yelp, It always works in S. California. Not sure about your location.
fiverr.com. Hire someone cheap there and make a website, marketing.
If any cannabis business is allowed in your area. Print for these businesses. Boy, our customers print 10s of thousnads of stickers every month for them.
signdudegraphix
New Member
When I first started out I had a plotter and decided to go mobile. One version of my mobile shop was a 24’ box truck. It was a beautiful billboard going down the road. My very first call from that billboard was from someone trying to sell me a yellow page ad. I informed him that my billboard would reach the people that I needed. When I got my first printer in 2008, I stayed mobile. Now I have a niche market and lots of word of mouth advertising. We don’t have much for a website and went off social media. Business is very good. We keep our expenses low to keep our profits high. We make exceptional products that our customers love and we are usually booked a year in advance.
njkreger
The Swiss-Army Knife for Sign Shops
You've been doing this for 10 years and it hasn't seemed to be a problem up until this point... What's changed? Everyone has chimed in with some good ideas of what you could do, but what do you actually want to do, what are you willing to do? The best idea tends to be the one you actually DO...
Notarealsignguy
Arial - it's almost helvetica
spent too much money
Stacey K
I like making signs
I like advertising on FB - I post my jobs with cheesy music, people like it. I go to other small businesses and patronize them and this drums up business. The school systems have lots of money to spend. Maybe you have too much equipment. I started with a plotter and ordering prints from Signs365. I upgraded to a printer and have a cheap cold laminator. Very little overhead, it's great.
I wasn't advocating participating in the race, but the reality is that if you develop a niche or there is a lucrative market segment, others will jump in and try to gain market share by undercutting pricing and driving the market value down. Developing strong relationships is the key to earning and keeping customers and maintaining sustaining profit margins.