kcollinsdesign
Old member
In most towns and cities I would worry more about breaking the law than breaking the bank. You probably won't be able to run any kind of retail business that requires parking for customers nor will you be able to accept or schedule commercial deliveries. Other restrictions will likely apply, including any exterior ventilation. You may not be able to park commercial vehicles in the street, and perhaps not even in your driveway. Check your zoning laws!
If you are out in the country, zoning laws are usually more relaxed.
After 35 years in the sign business, the number one thing to consider is installation. Anybody can order banners for 89¢ sq. ft., corrugated plastic signs for $1.25 a square foot, and digital printing on vinyl for for $2.00/sq.ft. ($3.00 sq. ft. laminated). The trick to getting the sales is being able to provide installation services.
Also consider you will need to be selling at least $10k/month to pay for your equipment and make enough money to be worth the time. Equipment costs and cost of goods sold will be half of that. Before I would consider investing in a large format printing plant, I would consider adding at least two employees for installation and another to help around the shop. That will bring your minimum sales projections closer to $30k/month, and you will likely feel a little cramped working out of your home (again, if you are out in the country you can just set up in the barn). Although apparently not essential, I would advise having at least one talented artist on the team (the availability of clip art and un-discerning clients may render that less important, but most successful shops are dependant on their design staff).
I already have a commercial shop, aerial service equipment, and trained installers. I currently outsource my digital printing. I would need to be doing at minimum $20k/month in digital printing alone (on top of all my other business) before I would consider investing in a digital printing plant. It's totally do-able, I wish you great success (although I would wait and see how the economy is doing before I spent a nickel)!
If you are out in the country, zoning laws are usually more relaxed.
After 35 years in the sign business, the number one thing to consider is installation. Anybody can order banners for 89¢ sq. ft., corrugated plastic signs for $1.25 a square foot, and digital printing on vinyl for for $2.00/sq.ft. ($3.00 sq. ft. laminated). The trick to getting the sales is being able to provide installation services.
Also consider you will need to be selling at least $10k/month to pay for your equipment and make enough money to be worth the time. Equipment costs and cost of goods sold will be half of that. Before I would consider investing in a large format printing plant, I would consider adding at least two employees for installation and another to help around the shop. That will bring your minimum sales projections closer to $30k/month, and you will likely feel a little cramped working out of your home (again, if you are out in the country you can just set up in the barn). Although apparently not essential, I would advise having at least one talented artist on the team (the availability of clip art and un-discerning clients may render that less important, but most successful shops are dependant on their design staff).
I already have a commercial shop, aerial service equipment, and trained installers. I currently outsource my digital printing. I would need to be doing at minimum $20k/month in digital printing alone (on top of all my other business) before I would consider investing in a digital printing plant. It's totally do-able, I wish you great success (although I would wait and see how the economy is doing before I spent a nickel)!
