.....into other related fields - screen printing, specialty advertising, web design, and so on?
I'm curious about what got you to do it and what obstacles if any did you run into? What would you have done differently and how successful has it been for you?
Posted by Tony Broussard (Member # 935) on :
When I started my biz in 2000, I was strictly signs. I then ventured into creating business cards. (kind of how I got started in the biz)
When I first saw Dan Antonelli on here and saw how he focused on giving the client the convienence of one stop shopping, I knew that's what I wanted to do. When you can catch someone who's starting a new business, you can literally sell them just about every thing from the logo design to everything that it goes on. Clients really like to deal with one person for all there needs, after all, they've got a lot going on with the biz and don't have lots of time. You're selling them image and convienence.
Now I rarely do signs, although you wouldn't think it with the 5 - 4 x 8's ready to deliver (got that from the same co. I just launched a website for) and I'm about to wrap up a huge job at a hospital (2 - 16' x 9' x 4' monuments and several post & panel signs)
Websites are all I do with 4 color business cards coming in a close second. I've doing some dvd video work for a client and invested in a Panasonic DVX100A digital video camera, the same kind you see used on the reality shows on Discovery, MTV etc. So I'll be doing product shoots, safety vids etc.
Diversification? Got that. It pays to do more than one thing.
Good topic
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
I was almost going to say no, 'cause I didn't think my inkjet qualified as a diversification from the previous edge printing & cut vinyl work... but then I remembered I can claim the original diversification. I bought Island Sign when it was a screenprint-only business with no computer & no vinyl. I printed signs & vinyl decals, so it was easy to sell the existing clients on cut vinyl & later edge prints whenever they wanted a shorter run that allowed me to match pricing they were used to & with less messy toxic effort on my part. I have also subbed out printing owrk on 50 or 60 business cards I designed for my clients in the last few years, & about half of them in the last year. I also began offering logo design, & probably have 25-30 under my belt & again, half in the last year.
[ January 29, 2006, 11:25 PM: Message edited by: Doug Allan ]
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
I started out doing a lot of striping, and handling paint + necessity got me into signwriting (+ need for $$$) + enjoyment & appreciation of fancy alphabets & their execution helped spur me on.
Stubbornness to not go the computer way eventually failed and I got a portable 286 (with a 2-colour screen).
Economies of scale eventually got me a plotter 5 years later.
Curiousity got me into screen printing in a small way, and I'm happy with that. Difficluties were the whole education category associated with screening- differing substrates, differing inks, differing drying methods, and differing screen coatings from film to emulsion & flat tones to half tones.
Determination and goal setting recently got me into airbrushing better that I used to be able to, and I'm happy with that process, and its progress so far.
Do anything any differently? No! I'm not a risk taker in some senses, I like to feel my way into an area slowly, and develop what I can!(no double entendre meant there, but I can see I'm going to cop some strife over that!)
Difficulties: information acquisition
Solutions: attend letterheads meets!
Website design: I'd love to get into that, but have to fix my own aged, dated sloppy one first!
[ January 29, 2006, 11:28 PM: Message edited by: Ian Stewart-Koster ]
Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
Me? Diverse? Buwahahahaha!
I think a better question is, what *haven't* I tried?
Websites: havin' a hard time finding companies willing to spend the $$$ to get anything exceptional. Basically all I've done aside from my own site (which is worth some seriously big fat $$$) are "buddy deals"/simple stuff that's not all that profitable. I haven't put a whole lot of effort into promoting the service though.
Biz cards: doing OK with these. I've received pretty good feedback from customers, they all tell me other people look at their cards and go "WOW!"
Poster design: By far some of my best recent work although I have just a few under my belt. I have more "in the works" right now, some customers that want to get stuff done and asking about pricing so they can budget for it - not cheap at all.
Photography is my biggest diversion. Spent a wad on gear in the first half of 2005 and it's paid for itself a few times over. It has also allowed me to sell more of the above mentioned posters and biz cards because I can package photography services with design and printing. I can sell photos to companies for their ads in magazines and I can sell the photos to magazines as well.
I plan to continue using photography to sell more advertising design.
Posted by Dave Draper (Member # 102) on :
Glen, Since the 1980s, startring old school:
Hand Painted signs, murals , wall signs computer graphics (4B was the first) printed graphics (Gerber Edge) Then the CNC router
Now we have added wholesale signs, in that we build signs for other shops less qualified in theme park type signs and EIFS monumetns.
Why? Too much competition in local markets for the quick and easy signs, and not much market for the "theme park type signs" in the local market.
The learning curve to market wholesale products to other shops is ongoing and challenging. Many sign shops are not "go-getters" or "self starters" in that they wait for business to come in the door. Thus we have to adapt to provide POP indoor displays to help them sell the product. This takes time, and money and creative thinking not to take up very much floor space.
We are going to add 4-color process T-SHIRT printing for black and dark colored shirts. We will offer these locally and also offer these wholesale to our dealer sign shops as well(might as well try)
Black shirts can be printed 4C instantly at 720 DPI on the equipment we are looking to buy.
Why? To diversify. We already have the clients logos, its a short step to provide them with work/advertising garmets. Learning curve: not sure ( was going to ask you! hahahahah!
later
[ January 30, 2006, 04:50 PM: Message edited by: Dave Draper ]
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
Dave,
Concerning digital printing on dark garments, be careful. I've held off on purchasing until the equipment until they've done a better job of working the bugs out. Right now, looking at the prints side by side on dark shirts the T-Jet has the better print so far. And the machine ain't cheap by a long shot.
Posted by Rene Giroux (Member # 4980) on :
There is always a second side to a coin...
I started with full service signshop. Had a 65' truck, +/- 15 guys, did backlit boxes and awnings, commercial and dimentional signs, truck lettering, vinyl signs and banners, logo design, business cards designs, service and installation for the trade, etc, etc, etc...
Then I think I got smart ( I like to think that anyways...), sold everything but the AXYZ CNC table, no more employees, absolutely no overhead, I have a 20x30 shop behind the house with an office in the basement and concentrate on the one type of sign that makes me a happy man... 3D carved signs.
I don't loose money anymore, I never focus on competition, I have time for myself, I know exactly how much I make on each project, I LIVE WITHOUT STRESS and I actually make a better living with fewer hours invested. I can spend more time with the kids a play the odd round of golf...
All this to say that bigger is not always better. Focus on what you love to do and instead of trying more stuff, just get better at what you already have.
May not be THE way to go....but it works for me !!! Posted by Dave Draper (Member # 102) on :
Glen, Yep that's the one!
Posted by Scott Baker (Member # 12) on :
Dye Sublimation! Cool, fairly new ad marketing type process. Just did a batch of 68 15oz mugs wrapped with photo and logo design, on a background of red's and oranges, with gold leaf striping and corner fluers. We do plaques, ID tags, b-card, lettereads, tickets, posters, as well as all types of signs.
Renee, still have my bucket truck too.
Posted by Rich Stebbing (Member # 368) on :
Full circle here. Started out Hand Lettering, worked in a shop environment, subbed myself out to alot of different shops, and worked out of a small car, just me and a Signkit. Then it went into garage, house,yard and finally Industrial Shop location. Then came some screen-printing,...I actually partnered in selling Race Car Numbers nationwide thru mail-order. Some of that "onestop-shopping" entered my mind and I started doing T-shirts etc.After going thru my screenprinting phase I then even did Heat Transfers with an early Fargo Printer. The shop got bigger (2000sq ft) and then I went into a partnership and bought a Sign Franchise. Once into the franchise I got more into the Marketing/Sales ends of things as we did have employees to "ka-chunk out" the signs. Having the Franchise was quite an adventure, as we did get into more digital work,more trade-show displays, a production mode. I even worked tradeshows to sell(convert) franchises. When in a franchise you sell ADA signs, Ad specialties, everything. You have resource books or local contacts that allows you to "sell it all". We had a successful start, already being sign-people, but the big "P"(partnership) element reared it's ugly head and it was all disolved. It was quite a ride and I learned alot and it was all positive except for the $$$ I lost (that's another story). After that experience I came home to regroup and remembered all of the good things that I love about my work and what attracted me to it in the first place. I love wielding a brush. I love pushing around paint. Yeah, I do some designing of bus-cards,logo's etc., but put me in front of of window on a nice day and I am content. So for the past 9-10yrs I have been doing only what I like to do,....although it could change any minute.
Posted by Dan Antonelli (Member # 86) on :
Nice thread-
Yes, I started mainly with truck lettering, and then thought to promote logos agressively, and then everything that went along with it - the stationery, brochures, printing as well. Then back in 98 or so, we started on a web as sort of a gimmick - the usualy drill - doing my own site first, then a few clients. Today, we've probably got 200 or more site done.
Today, we have 4 employees, plus myself, and the business is comprised of probably 55% web, 10% logo, and 35% layout, design and printing.
We're growing exponentially - and the biggest challenge is meeting the demand. We currently have 21 web sites in-house at the moment, a half dozen logos and stationery packages, bunch of brochures and God only knows what else. I've hired great people to work for me - and that has made us a more well-rounded company, which each person bringing to the table a high level skill-set in a different arena of marketing and design expertise.
Raising the prices has not deterred most. We sell great design, and people will pay greatly for great design. We still do occassional trucks, but we have been sending most of our truck work to Rich Dombey, who is one of the few people I trust enough to take care of my clients.
I will say the biggest asset we have with clients is our logos. That really gets them in the door - and after that, they're usually ours for the rest of the package - web, stationery, brochure, etc.
I say it probably too many times - but I strongly believe that once you believe you're selling advertising instead of 'signs' you will make a better living for yourself.
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