posted
I feel like I am going three different ways all day long. I spin my wheels and at times get nothing done. In the last 14 years I have tried many way to keep my orders, quotes, appointments organized. I have tried a dry erase board, post-it notes (remember Bruce Almighty?), I bought a palm pilot, I have used a computer date book, and even writing everything down on a desk top calander pad thingy. The desk top thing works alright but I seem to rely on memory for too many things. As I approach the ripe age of 36 my memory seems to be pretty clouded with auto paint overspray. Today I received a call from a customer asking how his 14' long carved, guilded urethane sign was coming. I completely forgot about him. I told him we should be ready to install in a couple of weeks. I need to get busy!!!!!
What do you guys (and gals) use for your 'system'?
-------------------- Jerry VanHorn, Pres. Pure Sports Designs, LLC Pro Sign Design / United Wholesale Signs www.prosigndesign.comwww.unitedwholesalesigns.com West Liberty, OH 937-465-0595 866-942-3990 Since 1990 Posts: 925 | From: West :Liberty, OH | Registered: May 2004
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But occasionally I do write things on the backs of envelopes too! THEY last a long time but I can never find the one I want before Shirl tosses em out!
Seriously, I do use a dry erase board that is right in front of my face every morning when I am eating breakfast..it works well...as long as I remembered to write stuff on it!!!!!!!
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
posted
Outlook express "task manager" and a work master customer file for name and phone number. Red name is urgent. changed to blue when job is done. black is the dead list of jobs that dont pan out. Continuous list for two years running. Customer calls up, I do Ctrl+F for find and out of the entire list their name comes up with number and other info. They now get cut and pasted back up to the top and color changed to red or black.
Outlook express also has a nice calandar feature where you can have a bell reminder set for times and dates.
Discipline is the real key. Make organizion your number one priority. Get anal about it. Get compulsive about it. Never procrastinate. If you can do it now then do it now. Tomorrow needs to be left for production.
Get use to doing everyone elses job. When you call in an order, call back and make damn sure the person you spoke with is doing their job.
Its about managing, taking full responsibility even for other persons jobs. No excuses, no passing the buck.
If you want to take control of you life then do so but expect to bust your ass. Work hard, work smart, become successful.
Excuses dont fly with me. If you have an excuse I dont feel sorry for you. Do your job and make damn sure everyone else does there's or else fire them, find another supplier, or kill someone if you have to.
Its all really quite easy once you get into the right mindset.
-------------------- Bob Stephens Skywatch Signs Zephyrhills, FL
posted
What I do and what I *want* to do are two completely different things!
Right now I just print an invoice as soon as the order is finalized then put it on my taping/weeding table. I pick up an invoice, sit down at the computer and get it plotting. When the job is done I use push-pins and stick it to the wall until it needs to be packed up for shipping. Doing just vinyl stuff this process works pretty well for me. I can check the invoice against the shipping box contents to make sure the job is done and when it checks out OK the invoice is the last thing to go into the box before it's sealed up.
Now, keeping the phone calls and emails straight is a whole other issue. I've got a stack of pink paper for phone calls that need to be made, and emails.. well, I get to them when I get to them, in the order of highest dollar amount first unless I see something from a regular customer then they get "dibs".
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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I had to laugh a few times reading your post. When I call in an order it goes to my wife. she does most of the vinyl. I do all the woodwork, 90% of the designs, router table setup, digital printing, and most of the installs. I have been know to procrastinate now and then, but I usually don't let any grass grow under me. If I fired someone it could only be her or myself. If I fire her I may have to learn how to cook.
We have been at that break point of needing an extra employee or giving up some of the workload. My wife doesn't want employees so I try to make my shoulders a little wider and try to keep up. My wife and I own and manage 11 rental properties too so I feel I am aging twice as fast as the normal person.
AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
that helped
-------------------- Jerry VanHorn, Pres. Pure Sports Designs, LLC Pro Sign Design / United Wholesale Signs www.prosigndesign.comwww.unitedwholesalesigns.com West Liberty, OH 937-465-0595 866-942-3990 Since 1990 Posts: 925 | From: West :Liberty, OH | Registered: May 2004
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posted
I have a lot of room for improvement, but I do get things written down. post-it's at first, then I sometimes just throw that in the copier when a quick post-it from a phone call turns into the beginning of a more detailed quote request, or an order. I usually type the invoicw as soon as a deposit confirms an estimate turning into a job. I used to make up (or retrieve an existing)job folder for each client I'm working on something for. My at-a-glance method of looking through all my jobs to make sure I don't forget someone required I look at all the tabs on all the file folders. Now I have a "Misc" folder with 90% of my jobs in it. The other 10% are larger jobs with lots of paperwork & these still get their own folders. I can look through the misc folder in a few minutes each morning & afternoon & refresh my memory of everything going on to help insure that I gang up similar tasks... cutting same color vinyl, or cutting MDO, or coating panels, or consolidating errands etc. I plan to use a very large dry erase board I recently bought at a garage sale to make my at-a-glance overview even easier to maintain, with columns for racking progress through the typical stages of approving art, ordering materials... etc etc.
[ June 12, 2004, 05:38 AM: Message edited by: Doug Allan ]
posted
Chip Carter has a book out specifically dealing with the sign business and how to make it successful. It's been a long time since I looked at it, but I do recall that he drives home the point that in order to be successful, you have to be orginized. (I know this does not apply to everyone!)
I did a search for Chip Carter, there were a few responses, but this has the most current contact info:
We don't know one-another and I certainly don't claim to know anything about the business you and your wife run. All I have to go on is your comments above...so if I am reading too much into them, I hope you won't take offence or think me too presumptuous.
From what you've told us, the two of you have poor organizational skills. I think it fair to suggest that there is a cost to being poorly organized (lost efficiency and productivity...probably resulting in more time spent working for less, so to speak). There is also a risk that you will lose customers and future opportunities.
I would suggest taking a long-term view and examining all of your options more closely.
You can continue on as you have been. Is this sustainable in the long run? How likely is it to result in whatever it is that the two of you are trying to accomplish through your business, in the long-run?
You can develop the necessary organizational skills (and possibly acquire some tools to help) for yourselves. This is probably a long-term proposition but is likely to have the greatest lasting impact...only if you have the discipline.
You can hire the necessary expertise. This is undoubtedly the most expedient solution. Think of the benefits you could expect from hiring someone so well organized that they could help keep the two of you organized - and focussed on your areas of strength. This is how the most productive organizations are built...small, manageable teams of people with complimentary talents and skills; each focussed on doing what they do best.
Hope that helps add a bit of perspective.
Good luck!
[ June 12, 2004, 09:47 AM: Message edited by: Jon Aston ]
-------------------- Jon Aston MARKETING PARTNERS "Strategy, Marketing and Business Development" Tel 705-719-9209 Posts: 1724 | From: Barrie, ON, CANADA | Registered: Sep 2000
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Hi Jerry, how's the versa Camm working? I was given a sample print done By another Sign Company here in St. John's and I have to tell you it was Very Impressive. So there may be one in the Cards in the very near future. Just a couple of more payments on all my other gear.
Here's a shot taken just this Sat. Morning, June 12th. This is How we "Organize" our work. First when we invested in the business we did invest in a good POS System, we run "Activity POS" On the sales counter, everytime an order is placed it is given an Invoice number, then it is entered into the sales computer and saved. The Work Order is written up in duplicate on our work Sheets, all info is recorded there as well, substrate, colors size, etc, even any digital photos that are taken are given a number.
The order is put up on the "Production Board"... This is the secret to Organizing the work. It has 9 slots for each day of the week, and they are constantly reorganized each day in priority, sometimes several times a day. One of our Graphix Guys looks over the orders and takes the one that's high Priority, and does his design, it is printed off, and then approved by myself or the customer. Once all the vinyl is cut or printed The Graphic Artist will take the top copy of the order an file it away.Then our production guys take the yellow copy which is a carbon copy of the work order. They go to work cutting substrates and applying the Graphics, Once they are finished they place the yellow copy in a slot for our Customer Service Representaitve to pick up and then the Customer is called to tell them that their order is finished. Of course then that yellow copy is filed away.
I hope this helps.
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
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I guess as a team my wife and I do alright. She is definatley the organized one. The problem I seem to have is some of my jobs such as a custom painted Harley can take several days to complete. In the meantime we have people come in everyday wanting 'quickie' signs and digital prints. Lately we have been doing many projects on the VersaCamm (even small stuff like magnetics, real estate signs, truck lettering), which Jennifer does not know how to operate. So I am always pulling myself from one job to do another. As I spread myself thinner I loose track of where I was or where I need to be going. Another problem I have is if we had an employee I think it would take me a LONG TIME to 'turn them loose' to do the work without me watching over their shoulder. I am very picky and feel like I need to be involved in every aspect of every deal. I'm afraid that if I trained someone in our shop to do everything I can do, they will eventually start their own shop. I hate the idea of creating my own competition.
I think I am going to set up another dry erase board and make it easier to use. I need to put it somewhere where customers (and sometimes my competition) are not able to see who we are doing work for.
-------------------- Jerry VanHorn, Pres. Pure Sports Designs, LLC Pro Sign Design / United Wholesale Signs www.prosigndesign.comwww.unitedwholesalesigns.com West Liberty, OH 937-465-0595 866-942-3990 Since 1990 Posts: 925 | From: West :Liberty, OH | Registered: May 2004
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posted
I have a dry-erase board set up and color-coded the activities. Jobs are in green (color of $), things I can't forget, but aren't jobs (like doc appts) are in red and blue is for personal stuff I could re-arrange if need be.
I also have one of those little spiral notebooks, shirt pocket size. Each day gets a seperate page with date at the top and it's my "to do list". I make sure to put appts in it too. Small enough to take with me when I leave. I can run in town with 3 stops to make and get home having only made 2. This has helped that a lot. Besides, crossing stuff off the "to do" list gives me that false sense of accomlishment I so badly need.
I have a dayrunner, but the dry-erase board is easier to reference cause it's right there on the wall staring at me and the spaces in the dayrunner are too small to write all the errand-type stuff in. I also keep my credit cards in the dayrunner so it's good for me to leave the house without it.
-------------------- Chris Welker Wildfire Signs Indiana, Pa Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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posted
We used the dry erase board method for a couple years but didn't like the idea that everyone coming into the shop could see everyone you're doing work for, and they could see who was at "the top of the list" and who wasn't
I switched to using the Outlook task manager along with my Daytimer. This system works better because you can set reminder times in Outlook and the taskes can be managed over the network so whoever receives the job writes it up on a docket and enters it in Task Manager which is then available to all work stations.
I usually invoice once a week (Saturdays) and the task manager is a good back up system to the dockets to make sure no jobs go "uninvoiced". (I hate it when I find a two year old docket that has fallen behind the filing cabinet and never been invoiced!)
I still forget jobs and have to scramble to meet deadlines but it is much better than it was 18 years ago when I started and was managing jobs by memory! We are either much busier now than we were then or my memory is much worse?
posted
There is some NEAT STUFF here! I have a freind/competitor down the road a ways. His system is alot like Neil's. I liked and needed it, but I'm so mobile, I needed it with me. So now I have a miniture version. It's a table/chart that I made in MS word.
It has 5 vertical columns, and 18 horizontal rows. The number of horizontal rows is not critical, so long as you have plenty.
The first column says"office" at the top. Any job that I just heard about, that I need to measure, sell, whatever, goes into this column.
The next column says "materials" at the top. I write the name of a job that's been sold, but I need to pick up materials for, in this column.
The next column says "make".
The next column says Deliver/pay.
The last column is real handy, it's actually two columns, because halfway down it has a different title. At the top it says "incidental (N)". This is errands or anything to do along the way to another job (north). Stuff I wouldn't want to make a separate trip for, but I surely don't want to forget. The title halfway downsays "incidental (S)".
When I go just about anywhere, this goes with me, along with sketchpad, scale ruler, tape measure, etc. I carry all of it less the tape, in a heavy duty clear ziplock freezer bag, next to me on the seat of the truck. I can look at jobs and stuff right througfh the bag. If I want to look more presentable, I put the bag in a briefcase.
So my whole schedule is always with me, in "miniature".
-------------------- James Donahue Donahue Sign Arts 1851 E. Union Valley Rd. Seymour TN. (865) 577-3365 brushman@nxs.net
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for lunch, Benjamin Franklin Posts: 2057 | From: 1033 W. Union Valley Rd. | Registered: Feb 2003
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As a one person shop here are a few other tips I take advantage of. Besides forwarding my shop phone to my cell whenever I leave the office, I also have a clip-on dispenser of post-it notes in my truck, & of course several pens (along with the emergancy xacto & squeegee in the glove box)then I started keeping a phone book under the seat. It's amazing how much use I get out of all those things now that they are there.
posted
The PHONE BOOK! Good one, I could've used that two days ago.
-------------------- James Donahue Donahue Sign Arts 1851 E. Union Valley Rd. Seymour TN. (865) 577-3365 brushman@nxs.net
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for lunch, Benjamin Franklin Posts: 2057 | From: 1033 W. Union Valley Rd. | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
One thing that I have started doing is I have this old chalkboard I picked up at a yard sale for a buck.
I write that day's project....and each step there is to do on that one priority project:
quote:Wild Birds Unlimited
buy MDO finalize pattern cut vinyl cut boards sand boards fill edges prime boards coat boards weed/mask vinyl transfer logo to board paint logo apply vinyl deliver/collect check! etc.
with each step finished, I erase that step and the list gets shorter....it's a visual I need to keep me on task.
posted
A lot of us fail to realize that being "Self Employed" means that you must become an "Administrator" first and a sign painter or striper second. 60% of your work is documentation. Who, what and when, and you must do this, because? To finalize the exercise, To GET PAID!
Every skilled person I know who has opened business after business only to fail had no problem with making a fine product. It was documenting accurately enough to get paid, and to get paid enough that the expenses didn't outweigh the income.
You often wonder how one of your competitors can put out such mediocre work and still make a good profit, but often as not, it's his managerial skills, not his painting skills, that make him those profits. Accounts Recievable will break any small business, and I know several painters that operate out of their own pockets because they don't have time to collect overdue bills, etc. I have been there. Fortunately for me, I always did enough cash business to keep me afloat, but that's not always the case.
Being "organized" means learning to document, how is not as important as just doing it.
posted
Being a one man shop, 2 man shop, or 10 man, 5 woman shop, it does'nt matter, organization is still the key. Having it written down "somewhere" just does'nt cut it. Try a mini scheduling board like I have, we have over 50 orders on file now in work in progress, and with out this system they would never be done. Signs1st. is just a small company, we have 7 of us working, but we started out just over 5 years ago with just my wife and I. But we did Start with this Production Board, even if it meant that there were just 2 orders up there....
Another thing, it just looks Professional, and when Customers see it, it impresses them, they are dealing with an organized company that takes scheduling seriously.
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
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I am a firm believer that some people by nature are just not organized, just like being an artist. I, like you, have purchased every orginizational aid known to man. My people have really made efforts to assist, and this is a great help to me.
I seem to change proprities by the second. This means I am putting out fires constantly, (my own doing). I have found the best thing is to let my people do their job. I can't walk past the weeding table, without feeling the need to help whoever is weeding. Also, I am attempting to live by a priority list, and check stuff off when I get it done.
A friend of mine, (not in the sign biz), said he is on medication,(Strattera), to help him with similar problems because many in this condition find that it has been a life-long problem. The inability to focus can be frustrating. Kind of an adult A.D.D. which has come up on the BB before. I may be wrong, but I think many with artistic abilities are plagued with this condition. I agree with Neil, our clients have to know that we are on top of it and orginized. Just my .02
Regards,
[ June 15, 2004, 08:08 AM: Message edited by: Rick Beisiegel ]
""Good judgment comes from experience; and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" - Will Rogers Posts: 3484 | From: Beautiful Newaygo, Michigan | Registered: Mar 2003
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Rick, I feel for you on that issue. I have the same problem. I remember a very funny paragraph that someone posted explaining the tangental path from the coffee pot to the close of business where each step across the room to complete one task resulted in several other half done tasks being noticed & started in on, until a tool was needed that redirected them further past other undone tasks begging for attention untill the phone rings, redirecting ones attention to the closest work at hand near where the phone got put down... It was very funny (I think it may have been specifically written to signshops... but maybe not... anyone know where that post is? was it one of Linda Silver Eagle's posts maybe... year or 2 back ?)
I thought of that post just yesterday when I was doing just that same dance.... again!
Rick, do what I am going to do... Make a digital print of Neil's scheduling wall & post it on your shops far wall, so we too can at least look organized. Don't forget to gaze at it & look lost in thought for a few moments when you tell people "you want it WHEN?" & then start laughing
posted
i'm f*&kin amazed that i haven't forgot anything major....so far. i run around like a headless chicken...fly(on my broom stick) from one end of the shop to the other...oh yeah i gotta order black vinyl..i gotta order those banners...etc. where's a damn exacto i only have 10...and a tape measure...must have a dozen! oh sh!t i need to print an invoice for that b4 the customer gets here(wouldn't want to give them a reason to not pay me on the spot)...oh man i gotta get to the post office and mail this! i feel like a squirrel crossing a 5 lane hwy. so needless to say i feel your pain! i have the dry erase board, palm pilot, and a million pieces of paper(usually the backs of envelopes or whatever is handy at the time)with notes. i think our profession would make a hysterical reality tv show. it must be quite funny to watch some of us in the course of a day. i can't take myself too seriously...i know i have issues.
-------------------- Karyn Bush Simply Not Ordinary, LLC Bartlett, NH 603-383-9955 www.snosigns.com info@snosigns.com Posts: 3516 | From: Bartlett, NH USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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I can relate to this. Seems like you've got good ideas and others have good ideas. Sometimes it's just not to be. It doesn't get any easier the older you get, but it's probably more important the older you get to be organized, because you have to work smart instead of hard. My body can't take the gruelling hours it used to have to put in to make up for wandering around like a chicken with my head cut off. So I got my wife to handle the money and make appointments for me. It helps.
-------------------- Bill Diaz Diaz Sign Art Pontiac IL www.diazsignart.com Posts: 2107 | From: Pontiac, IL | Registered: Dec 2001
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. . . . When I have several jobs goin', I just stop, sit down and write a list for each job with every single thing I need to do from start to finish . . .even if it's a phone call, each exact peice if material I need to complete that job, even writing the invoice and delivery.
By the end of the list, (and ever how many pages it is), I can see how much of some certain material I'll need, like aluminum panels for ex., then I can place an order and know that all the aluminum is on it's way. . . .
When I complete ANY task on any job I cross it off with a bold marker . . .
It's pretty much the same principle as the dry-erase board, but always in front of me so I can review it constantly while doing other things at my desk....since I'm almost constantly reviewing it there and crossing out completed tasks, I can see that light at the end of the tunnel is not always a freight train . . .
-------------------- Signs Sweet Home Alabama
oneshot on chat
"Look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man, work like a dog" Posts: 5758 | From: "Sweet Home" Alabama | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
Oh I forgot to mention that we have a Counter Girl hired on who makes a list everymorning, then when ever she gets the chance, that is every few seconds, to "Remind" me about meetings and deadlines. lol.
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Andrienne, When you went to get the chicken, didn't you see the laundry. Its calling you to be folded.
Jerry, Been there, done it. When I was in my 30's I started realizing that I was very distractable. That helped me to slow myself down, pay attention to me getting distracted, stop myself from going in another direction, and stay on the task that I was doing. It takes alot of work. Be of good cheer. You are on the right track and have gotten alot of good advice.
My small piece of advice for right now. If you have trained yourself to write stuff down when a call comes in but then can't remember where you wrote it or what happened to it, then only answer the phone in the same spot and have one of those message pads with copy that stays on the pads when you rip the top copy off.
I forgot to mention something something that works for us when you have limited space. Every call that needs something gets written down on a work order (pads that I have printed up by the 100's) then goes into a folder holder on the wall. We have 2 columns and about 5 rows of these holders that screw to the wall. When a call becomes a order, it get a folder and still goes into these holders. Columns and rows like this.
NEEDS QUOTE-WAITING FOR QUOTE APPROVAL NEEDS PERMITS-WAITING FOR PERMITS NEEDS LAYOUT-WAITING FOR LAYOUT APPROVAL NEEDS MATERIALS ORDERED-WAITING FOR MATERIALS HOLD- MISC
Once a job is ready to go to production, the folder travels 12 feet across the room to another holder on the wall by the doorway going into the production room. Its at this point that my production man takes it and does his thing. I am going to make a few changes to iron out some kinks. I need to get some of those post-it note flags to stick on the side of a folder for notes like, HOT (or a deadline), SEE ME (for additonal info thats too long to write down). This works fairly good on a limited space.
This one thing that is critical with this system and someone like me is that I end up with piles of folders laying around. I have to constantly keep on myself to put a folder back in the holders when I am done with it and not just lay it down and pick up another.
[ June 16, 2004, 08:46 AM: Message edited by: Laura Butler ]
-------------------- Laura Butler Vision Graphics & Sign 4479 Welch Rd Attica, Mi 48412 Posts: 2855 | From: Attica, Mi, USA | Registered: Nov 2000
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I have the same girl working here for two years now! Isnt she awesome! Just adds to my theory that some were born to be orginized, and some simply are not.
""Good judgment comes from experience; and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" - Will Rogers Posts: 3484 | From: Beautiful Newaygo, Michigan | Registered: Mar 2003
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Could'nt agree more Rick. The girl I have Hired on is only 20 yrs old... she's way ahead in her years, and she is very organized, a great asset. We were on holidays in may, and when we were gone she came in on the weekend before we got home and completely cleaned the shop, including the Shop Bays... the production guys would never do that.
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
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Prolly was me! I have learned that forwarding calls to a cell with a headphone lessens the amount of brushes being turned into screw drivers whilst i'm tryin to get off a phone wired to the wall on the opposite side of the room/shop area...almost as bad as being in a playpen lol! I keep a stick of charcoal on my easel to take notes and phone numbers lol.
I found that keeping all of my tools in a lightweight rolling table that I can carry with one hand from my shop to my van is key for me.
Top shelf for my ProPallet, first bin for mixing cups, clean rags, squeegees, scizzors, rolls of tape etc. Second bin is for paper towels and brush boxes, layout boxes (stabillos/pencils/sharpies etc.), Bottom bin for newspaper, additional pallets, mixed colors I would need, and thinner bottles, reducer and rapid products.
I remember back then I was yappin about how I had to be an administrative goddess, a sales babe, and a quick flip into some over-alls and then I was a ladder monkey. I had a guy to do installs for me and was lucky to have a supply co. that would allow me to call by 5pm one day and the materials I ordered would be on the driveway the next am.
I organise by taking mondays off from personal appearances. I place orders for materials then and made sure my customers know that's when I take orders. I tell them I am doing the pesky actual work thingy the rest of the week LOL. But that I do not want to be interupted while on one job when I could get all the details taken care of on "Administrative Day" LOL. They seem to respect that as their jobs will be in the same situation and my focus on each job is important to me as well as to them.
Fridays I cash checks at their banks to avoid bouncing issues and saturdays can work on projects that could not be taken off the roads on weekdays, like goin to a fleet yard for the day.
I worked during the day till i heard the school bus roll up and was able to spend time with my children. After they got tucked in for the night I just wondered back out to the shop and finished what I was on till about midnight or so. I was bad about stayin on a job that required a week or two's worth of work and it seemed 56 straight hours was my time on those. Too old to stay up like that anymore though.
I keep a notebook that has a phone number section for customers, banking institutions, utilities, Doctors and school officials LOL. The front section was a portfolio and the tab in the middle is a time record of everything I work on.
DATE JOB (name and phone numnber) DESCRIPTION (whether it is a sk, c/r, ptrn, mask, or paint, etc.) TIME In TIME Out TIME Total (Keeping a running total on a job in a column format allows me to flip to most recent entry and give the client "a cost to date" without fumbling with a calculator etc.) It also helps me stay accountable with my desire to work smarter, less time...more money!
I also have a to do list with a column for expenses incurred like mileage, gas, supplies, etc.) It just blows my skirt up to get to check off one of those lil boxes on that list ! LOL
I keep the book with me everywhere so I can slide file folders, receipts and invoices, etc, into the pocket in the back. I have a legal pad in front of them, stuffed into the same pocket which protects paperwork from gettin bent up, etc. I do a lot of my initial meetings with folks at their location or the coffee shop and it is nice to have everything I need at my fingertips at all times. It eases the burden of keeping up with slips of paper if I can update a file folder as if I am at home at my desk. With this setup, everywhere I open that notebook becomes my desk lol.
I keep yardsticks and tape measurers within arms' reach in my vehicle and could not imagine driving a car that did not have these items in it lol. My purse has a calculator, a sign pricing guide, and a complete collection of pens, pencils and sharpies in it at all times!
I have a 4 foot roll of butcher paper hangin in the back end of my van over the area where I place my rolling table, crates of paint, thinner bucket, rolling airbrush gig and sign kit, LOL! I can roll out extra paper to cover up my world if I'm in a place where I don't want folks to know what's in my van.
Since I've been up here in West Virginia without any assemblance of a shop it's harder to be organised. I end up doing location jobs and have had to learn how to work out of the back of my van as the norm. But my "tote-able office" and a crap load of stuff on wheels makes it easier. Lord willing, I'm moving back down to Georgia next month and will be able to rescue all my belongings from their cardboard prisons soon! I was inspired by Suelynn's accomplishment and have decided not to take "NO" for an answer from the universe any longer LOL.
I have always liked the idea of having a board set up with jobs pinned up (in your face-style) but find it unecessary if it's just me doin the projects. I also feel uncomfortable with walk-ins seeing my business LOL. It's nice to settle in somewhere comfortable, like the back deck with a cup of coffee after dinner, and flip through the schedule book to resolve any issues for the next day. I like the flexibility it offers and the ability to hit the ground runnin with less chaos on my butt as I start the next day.
I realize with a plotter based business a lot of this makes no sense and may not be profitable strategies to maintain. But in a small town with limited internet savvy folk, it works for me LOL.
I hope you do find the link to the afore-mentioned post Doug, yer right it would be fun to check out again!
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If I do not write it down, it doesn’t get accomplished.
I use 3” x 6” “Things to Do” cards that I print from CorelDraw. It has the Day and Date at the top followed by several blank lines. I will print about 3 weeks worth and fill them in as things develop. They fit perfectly in a shirt pocket. Somewhat bulky, but it works for me.
Sometimes I fill the entire sheet for a given day…that’s when I know I’m working too hard J. That’s for my day-to-day schedule.
For Jobs, we have a dry erase board in the office, away from the customers. It lists Jobs in Production, Jobs Pending, Outstanding Invoices, Things to Purchase and other pertinent information needed to keep the shop on track.
-------------------- Barry Jenicek Signs by Unique St. Louis, MO Posts: 34 | From: St. Louis, MO | Registered: Sep 2001
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posted
Linda, couldn't find the one I wanted... but searching your number & the word "organized" I found this laugh from the past:
quote: I'm gonna let you in on a secret.
Overalls.
They're not just a sexy fashion statement anymore.
I'm with Timi and George on the milk crate gig. Been preachin the milk crate theory for a long time hehehehe.
And since I'm in a good mood, here's a bonus tip list.
Thangs what you cin put up in tupperware:
q-tips drill bits x-actos tooth pics blow paint gun parts hunks o'charcoal cute bugs ya find on the job mineral oil somethin to gnaw on if'n ya get hungry extra make-up tape (so it won't bang around in yer purse and get floaties all over the edges)
I keep a big three dollar bucket for stuff like this, and rags, empty cans, etc. That way it's easy to carry the whole sheebang, instead of sittin in the back of the vehicle having nostalgic moments as you look under seats, and all over your dash to find somethin that shoulda been in the bucket the whole time.
It's up to you to figger what goes in there, gettin it back in there is the hard part, if'n ya ain't used to it. But once you are, oh! happy day!
Keep your squeegies in the bathroom. That way when yer ready to leave, and feel like yer fergittin somethin, go potty and clean off the counter hahahaha!
or searching posts by you with the word "forget".. found this OT funny
posted
First things first! Get rid of post it notes and get yourself a huge spiral binder beside the phone. Date it on the top and take your incoming messages that way. You'll never search for little papers ever again!
When something is taken care of, I cross it off. But if I ever need to search for that number or info again, I know it's always there.
posted
Donna, that's the way Susan Banansky does it...
Everything goes into a big thick spiral bound notebook she keeps by the phone if she ever needs to refer back to a quoted price or past chat with a client, she's got it in there.
I started to do that too..then I misplaced that notebook...started a new one...misplaced that when i moved.....
People think I'm ADD, but they just don't understand...oh look! a chicken!! (ok, I already used that one..)
posted
And add to that spiral notebook a bunch of little post-it flags to mark pages that you still need to go back to and it works even better. Remove them when you no longer need the ready reference to that page.
posted
My best weapon for the scheduling is an oversized calender. Many of the sign suppliers send them out each year and I use it to keep myself in line. A glance tells me when a job is scheduled and there's usually room for an occasional note to order materials.
I also keep a wipeable board in the shop for jotting down contact info. In the past, I would have scraps of paper all around the house and shop, wasting a lot of time trying to find them. The board is much more effective to keep that from happening and has made me more didligent in taking phone numbers.
With Gump around in the shop these days, we took the time to lable the tool boxes in the shop so we would both be on the same page putting things away. I also tend to set things aside less frequently and forget where I put them.
Although it's not as frequent as in the past, I still pack up and do site work on jobs. I've lost a lot of equipment out on the road over the years and can't tell you how much it has cost when I needed it the next day. Lot of time wasted driving 2 hours for a can of black 1Shot. These days, I keep a seperate set of paints that don't leave the shop.
There's typically plenty of backups for things like knives, squeegees, tapes, tape measures in the shop for those little brain fades when I set something down and 10 seconds later am totally lost as to where it is. (C'mon, you know you've done it too.... ) Saves time, ergo, saves money.
Just a few thingies.... Rapid
-------------------- Ray Rheaume Rapidfire Design 543 Brushwood Road North Haverhill, NH 03774 rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com 603-787-6803
I like my paint shaken, not stirred. Posts: 5648 | From: North Haverhill, New Hampshire | Registered: Apr 2003
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i run around like a headless chicken...fly(on my broom stick) from one end of the shop to the other...oh yeah i gotta order black vinyl..i gotta order those banners...etc. where's a damn exacto i only have 10...and a tape measure...must have a dozen! oh sh!t i need to print an invoice for that b4 the customer gets here(wouldn't want to give them a reason to not pay me on the spot)...oh man i gotta get to the post office and mail this!
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