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Well, the nip in the air is subsiding and once again we sign folks have the annual pleasure of being approached by the most infamous of customers this trade knows...the race car owner.
Not that they are all bad, but there are some standard issues that come up frequently and I just felt like taking a few seconds to address the more common ones.
"It's only a 4 cylinder car." This may be the worst. After years of lettering cars, it's become apparent that people with startup or beginner classes of cars believe that their lettering budget should be directly proportional to the number of cylinders they have in the engine. WARNING!!! Most of these guys have more lettering than the average late model...ergo: more work involved. It's not uncommon for a driver in a lower class to have lower paying sponsors. As a result, most will sell any little spot they can for $25. Add it all up and you can find yourself doing 15 or more sponsor names. Throw in all the "special thanks to __________" (fill in the blank) and that little 4 banger can take twice as long as a late model or modified car. Time is $$$!!!
Phone numbers... I have yet to see anyone sitting in the stands with a note pad writing down phone numbers on a race car going by them on the front stretch. A car with ten sponsors who all demand they have their phone number and area code included equals 100 numbers !!! I got into the habit of billing a buck a digit on phone numbers for two reasons...they serve little purpose and can screw up a perfectly good layout. Bonus reason....charging that way makes for a good deterrent...or an extra 100 bucks.
Business cards.... Great for a reference, but beware...they aren't designed for a Monte Carlo hood with a scoop. There's all kind of distortions that can occur on a car...body moldings, scoops, rivets, door seams...and trying to keep them happy can result in illegibility and one fugly racer. Be assertive!!! Tell them it won't work, briefly explain why, and do what fits. That's why they hired you.
...and my personal favorite.... "We wanna win the car show!" Great...gimme enough money to buy the track and I'll give you all the trophies.
Politics, favoritism and just plain bad taste can often make a junker win a car show. You also can get beat by another sign guy who did a kickass job on the competition. Make no promises but to do your best to make the car look good and keep them happy. If it wins a trophy, great...if not, there's always next season.
Have a great day! 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 had to really laugh at your comments about sponsorship in the lower divisions. I always used to lecture these guys on at least making the ad pay for itself. I used to question them on how much they got for the ad. So many would answer twenty five bucks. They didn't look too happy when I'd explain that twenty five dollar ad cost forty for me to put it on the car. ( I'm using 80's prices here ) It was nothing to have them request an ad to fill up a quarter panel for a local auto parts store who gave them a case of oil
The pit crew names on the newbie lower class cars were always the killers, you needed a typewriter! Hell, babies in diapers and the family mutt would be put on there I was always nice to them though and a lot of those newbies ended up with some high dollar cars with deep pocketed sponsors
-------------------- George Perkins Millington,TN. goatwell@bigriver.net
"I started out with nothing and still have most of it left"
posted
***Sigh*** Tell me about it. Got someone dropping a Street Stock car off this evening...
Of course he HAD to have it done by this Friday so that he could go PRACTICE the car... I was like "You have to have the car lettered to practice at the dirt track now?" and he was like "No, but I just want it to look good because there will be a bunch of people there.."
I wanted to tell him I've seen Nextel Cup cars testing at Talladega without numbers, but decided not to argue.... I'll just figure out how to work in a rush charge...
And again, I had to tell him my old faithful line.. "NO, I DON'T WANT TO PUT MY NAME ON YOUR CAR.... I'd rather give you a discount to leave it OFF..."
[ March 14, 2007, 05:48 PM: Message edited by: Jon Jantz ]
-------------------- Jon Jantz Snappysign.com jjantz21@gmail.com http://www.allcw.com Posts: 3395 | From: Atmore, AL | Registered: Nov 2005
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I just had to paint someone's dog's name on the dash...right bedside his wife's name... both inside of hearts, of course!
I did two cars this year. The cheaper car did have lots of phone numbers, come to think of it! And two ugly bizcard layouts, one with really hideous distorted VectorArt flames. But I charged accordingly.
Next year we will forego the phone numbers. He was charging $500 a sponsor. Kind of like a golf outing where they charge $500 for a corosign for which you charged THEM $25 bux.
Love....Jill
Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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Only once, back in 89', did I fall for the "Do it for free and get a bunch of free advertising" Well I did. The damm car didn't win any races, but it did win best paint job. And,,, I did not get even one sigle call from it! Double Damm! Never, ever again.
-------------------- Signs by Alicia Jennings (Mudflap Girl) Tacoma, WA Since 1987 Have Lipstick, will travel. Posts: 3814 | From: Tacoma, WA. U.S.A. | Registered: Dec 1999
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I have one advantage in this area. I work in motorsports too, and have since the early 80s. I know a lot of these guys. And I know how they work. I know all their lines and have developed an answer for all of their (what they think are) great ideas and proposals. Just like in the world of regular sign customers, there are some that understand you get what you pay for and some that want whatever is cheapest. Funny how people will spend an extra $5000 to gain 5 horsepower, but think $500 is too much to do a car with a corporate look (wait till they find out that their car will cost $1000).
-------------------- Dana Blair Blair Signs Wooster, OH www.blairsigns.com
If sign makers go on strike, is there anything written on their picket signs? Posts: 835 | From: Wooster, OH, USA | Registered: Jul 1999
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I am different. Because of Drag Racing I got into the business. My husband races and I thought it would give me something to do while I was at the track. No I don't make big money but I have a lot of fun. Anybody you don't want to handle give them my email address and numbe. We will be glad to take care of them. Lately we have been shipping all over the US. Just thought I would offer.
-------------------- Cynthia Pack 246 Diamondview Loop Galax, Va. 24333 Posts: 659 | From: Galax, Virginia USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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They are real schisters, but I admit in my early days I got some of my best practice on those cars! You could try anything, shadows, outlines, colors....I loved it! I have one coming new week! I love to do them, when I get my price....
What drivers say...."can ya letter my car? otherwise my girlfriend will letter it..do you sell spray cans? She's pregnant, again, will the the paint harm the baby?"
I say.."The paint may harm the baby, but not as bad the cigarettes, and the Jack Daniels she is smoking and guzzling!" ah yes....Race car lettering....it's like workin' in a mental hospital.
-------------------- Mike Meyer Sign Painter 189 1st Ave n P.O. Box 3 Mazeppa, Mn 55956
We are not selling, we are staying here in Mazeppa....we cannot re-create what we have here....not in another lifetime! SO Here we are!!!!!!!
posted
Race car lettering is where I got my start.
Charged good money, could easily get $700 to a $1000.00 for a good SPrint car with a wing, never a phone number excpet for the one stock car I did that had a sponser from Juarez, but still made good money on it.
On a second note, Vinyl, with the exception of a wrap on a race car should be a sin. Helvettica on a sign looks bad enough, dont put it on something that brings me pleasure.
Jake has the right approach, if they are serious, the car will come, if they are not, then poof. but paint that darn thing, lay it out on the car, not hours at the computer then still weeding and applying. I may be stupid, but I have lost one race car job already this year cause he insisted on vinyl, knew I did vinyl and could not understand why I wouldnt do it in vinyl. Cause it should be a sin, thats why.
And you know the rest of the story.......
-------------------- Sharing the WORD one sign at a time!! Joe Golden Signage 721 Oak ST, Madisonville KY, 42431 270-871-0454 Posts: 270 | From: Madisonville, Kentucky | Registered: Oct 2006
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I have a similar conversation with jetski racers when they want their sponsor logo packages.
"Well, I hope you got lots of money from all these sponsors because their advertising is going to cost you $300."
"No, I don't offer many sponsorships and the ones I do offer include only my own product. I won't pay for other sponsors' advertising, you need to get enough from them to cover that expense."
They soon realize that simply discounts on product or just free product isn't much of a sponsorship.
Hell, I'm a firm believer that unless you're a PRO competitor, you shouldn't even be entitled to sponsorships, or as soon as you start accepting sponsorships, that automatically classifies you as Pro.
-------------------- "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 gotta agree with Mike Meyers on this one. Early spring race cars were like limbering up before the main event. Toons, stripes, crazy color combinations. anything wild was in. After a few beers, it is possible to convince an alpha male that Magenta is NOT pink. Learned how to bag, airbrush, paint numbers to look like peeling vinyl, and crawl thru that jungle jim of a cage to letter upsidedown in the back window. Still do an occaisional car, but not for practice anymore.
-------------------- Ron Costa Sign and Design 28 Ingerson Road Jefferson, NH 0358 Posts: 620 | From: New Hampshire | Registered: Oct 2002
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I used to break my back over making the cars look good back in my early hand lettering days.
Now I sell SIMPLE sponsors & #'s under 2'x2' for $25.00 per color per sticker. Logos & "novels" are extra. I recommend they stick there own stickers over the 3rd year wrinkled, rusted & "straightened" body panels, or pay me $59.00 per hour including all time lost listening to dog, tire, motor, DWI, wife, jailed Uncles,& KID stories.
I give 10% off an order to have my name on the car.
This system shortens the question & answer period considerably! Which also helps me avoid their complete unabridged racing history that they think lowers my pricing due to all their "success".
-------------------- Michael R. Bendel Bendel Sign Co,. Inc. Sauk Rapids, MN Posts: 913 | From: Sauk Rapids, MN | Registered: Jul 2005
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I think a lotta us old "brush slingers" cut their teeth on Race Cars pre vinyl days.
Remember working while the crew was tuning the engine? Dirt Trackers so rough you needed a fitch to letter? "Put your name on it and do it for peanuts"
I was "rescued" by a driver who got himself a vinyl cutter and "undercut me" for the whole speedway!
posted
I say no cash no car. If they have not got no money it stays in me shed a few have learnt the hard way. Agree with mr meyer you can tgry anything on it and get away with it.
-------------------- Mark Stokes Mark Stokes Signs Mount Barker South Australia Posts: 388 | From: Mount Barker | Registered: Jan 2005
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Okay, you're just starting out in the sign biz and wondering if sponsoring a car will do you any good. How you handle that sponsorship will determine the results.
Know your limits. Do one, maybe 2 cars, as sponsorship. Once word gets around with the racers that you did a cool car as a freebie, expect the phone to ring with more freebie requests. Just say no, give them a quote and move on. The last thing you want is a reputation working free.
Follow it up. Sponsorship can work a lot better if you get involved with the team. Heading to the track, stopping in at the garage or calling once in a while show that you are following their progress. In a lot of instances, this opens up the opportunity to meet the other sponsors (read that as business owners) and do a little networking.
Keep in close. Sponsoring a car that runs at a track 500 miles away isn't going to be very effective. Target a track or driver that's close in your business area. Anyone outside that area gets billed.
Signing your work. "How much less if we let you put your name on it?" DO NOT allow this statement to become a bargaining chip. A small signature, hardly visible form the bleachers, is not sponsorship. Sure, it's on there, but so is everyone else and without your work, none would be. This comes down to "credit given where credit's due". Take a little credit for what you have done to make the car presentable, no less than the guys on the pit crew do.
Pick a winner. This has absolutely NOTHING to do with how many times they win races, but the quality of the car itself. Make sure you get a look at the car before committing to it as a sponsor. It's the substrate you'll be working on....make sure it's up to par.
There are some well built cars out there and there are some that look like the rust is the only thing holding them together. We're in the business of making them look good and starting with something full of dents, poorly painted, crappy colors or just plain junk is not gonna help at all. Drivers in higher divisions usually have cleaner, more professional looking cars. They also tend to replace the bodies every year and give you something fresh and smooth the work on....hence, less grief later.
Make it work. If your going to sponsor it, get it to do exactly that...advertise what you can do. Like Ron and Mike mention, a car can often lead to both fun and learning, but the goal is to lead to more customers. Don't hold back and cut loose on it. If there's one thing drivers like, it's a sign person who wants to dress them up. Pinstriping, airbrushing, good color combinations, bagging, snapping a tooth brush, rock effects...include your tricks along with the lettering, but only when they fit the need. Cool and classy, but uncluttered, works best.
Have an even better day! 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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Absolutely GREAT advice Rapid!! Business card layouts and phone numbers??? Man, I've been out of doing race cars too long - fortunately! I can't recall ever putting a phone number on a race car. I distinctly remember lettering one on a Friday night (because it had to be done for the Saturday race) and the crew were pulling the engine or something. The whole car was shaking and really made it difficult to letter. Also, remember the standard bribe "case of beer if you'll letter my race car"? Fortunately I had a casual letterstyle that really fell of the brush and could do the 100 or so secondary (and thirdendary) words most of them wanted.
-------------------- Ricky Jackson Signs Now 614 Russell Parkway Warner Robins, GA (478) 923-7722 signpimp50@hotmail.com
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Issac Newton Posts: 3528 | From: Warner Robins, GA | Registered: Oct 2004
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One caution for those wanting to do a sponsorship deal. If you pick one of the top cars, especially the big winner to do a freebie on. Be prepared for another sign person to try to "steal" this one away from you. Lettering race cars in some parts of the country is very, very cut throat. I'd be willing to bet somebody like Scott Bloomquist hasn't paid for a lettering job in fifteen years and it seems somebody different does the car every year. I did a ton of race cars in the eighties. They were 75% of my business at one time. They led to some commercial work but not as much as one would expect. The wanted really nice on thier race cars but really cheap was fine for thier business vehicles.
-------------------- George Perkins Millington,TN. goatwell@bigriver.net
"I started out with nothing and still have most of it left"
posted
Rapid, to add to what you've said, back when I did like to put my name on the car... I would add about $150 into the estimating, because I'd know they were going to ask for a discount...
Then when you knock $200 off to 'sponsor' their car, it ain't hurting you quite as bad.... and if they didn't ask about a discount, I'd still at least take the $150 back off... and they'd really appreciate it. They like thinking they got an 'expensive' lettering job.
Just gotta use a little psychology with these guys... (like a lot of you, I knew them quite well.. raced dirt track myself... was a spotter for a asphalt late model... and was a tire changer on a pit crew on a low level Nascar circuit for a couple years...)
Edited to add.. Oh, and I was gonna let you know the crew I'm putting on this car out here today... Crew Chief: Dumplin' --- Pit Crew: P.J., Meatball, Lyall
[ March 15, 2007, 11:04 AM: Message edited by: Jon Jantz ]
-------------------- Jon Jantz Snappysign.com jjantz21@gmail.com http://www.allcw.com Posts: 3395 | From: Atmore, AL | Registered: Nov 2005
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We haven't done a race car in years! We did bunches of them in the early years, when Bill did hand lettering exclusively, but in the last few years around here we have had several racers buy their own plotters and do their own...now THERE'S some works of beauty!! Hey, we really don't MISS the guys driving in with their 3 barefoot kids in a beater truck and spending $10,000 on a new engine or $5,000 on tires but complaining & whining about our price, bringing in their information written on the back of a beer cardboard box, trying to pick out their colors (lime green and fluorescent orange on a red car ) and so forth...Our area is mostly modified and dirt tracks so we don't see the "high end" racers and frankly it's a relief not to have to deal with some of the problems we have had getting paid, etc. Bill's getting to old to crawl around on the ground lettering them anyway!! hehehehe
-------------------- Jane Diaz Diaz Sign Art 628 W. Lincoln Ave. Pontiac, Il. 61764 815-844-7024 www.diazsignart.com Posts: 4102 | From: Pontiac, IL USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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I got my start on hand lettering race cars too. I do get a kick out of some of these "all vinyl jockies" who couldn't hand letter if their life depended on it... and now they think they are some kind of graphics guru crankin' out there crappy, condensed, unreadable lettering!
We're on the downslope of our race car lettering heydays now. At one point, with myself and one employee, we did 33 cars one spring, and last year I think we did 11 cars. This year, it looks like we'll be around 8 or so.
I did a dirt mod for a guy last year for 795.00 and on his mid-season body he wanted a "deal" because it should be easier the 2nd time around right? Wrong... same price as the first time. He went elsewhere and some hack tried to copy our stuff and it looked like cr*p. I let them know that I price race car lettering a lot lower than typical commercial pricing, and that all of the fancy graphics and holographics are what have raised the bar so high, along with the prices.
I miss the days of hand lettering a real bodied car that you could crawl up on the roof without fear of caving it in like nowdays. 8 hours later and 250.00 to 300.00 in my pocket back then. Now it's 250.00 worth of vinyl and alot more time to cut, tape, apply...
We did it to ourselves though didn't we? All of the plotters, holgoraphics, neon colors we used to try and outdo the next guy...
-------------------- Kurt Gaber Chippewa Falls, WI Thank You Letterheads for being a part of both Brush Bashes in '02 & '06!
posted
Well, it turned out to be a 'Novice' class car... the class under Street Stock.. the 'Hold-it on the floor no matter what I can get through that pile up if I'm going fast enough' class...
Kids probably won't eat too good for a week or two, but he's gots hims some graphices on that car...
-------------------- Jon Jantz Snappysign.com jjantz21@gmail.com http://www.allcw.com Posts: 3395 | From: Atmore, AL | Registered: Nov 2005
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He had Earnhardt fever I think. Told me to use JUST WHITE AND RED... I mixed in a few other colors because I couldn't bear to look at it on the screen...
He about wetted himself when he saw the car though, and that's always better than when they say, "That ain't really what I had in mind, dude...."
Hey, in a class where a lot of the cars have either rattle-can or duct tape numbers, he's gonna be stylin' and profilin'. (For the first week anyway, while it still has most its sheet metal..)
-------------------- Jon Jantz Snappysign.com jjantz21@gmail.com http://www.allcw.com Posts: 3395 | From: Atmore, AL | Registered: Nov 2005
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I have done quite a few race cars in my time...hand lettering only back then too. It definitely was good practice.I can identify with all of you on the mentality of the race car driver/owner. I have probably lettered only 6 in the past 10 years(all vinyl). I don't miss doing race cars at all. It was my least favorite type of work because there were always add ons once you got to the job plus all the other things you had to put up with. Ray, around here the numbers on the hood must be 18" and I usually put a 20" numbers on the sides if there was enough space for it.
-------------------- Judy Pate Signs By Judy Albany, Georgia USA 229-435-6824
Live simply...Love generously...Care deeply...Speak kindly...Leave the rest to God. Posts: 2621 | From: Albany,GA,USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Just finished cutting out a two layer vinyl job for a modified car.
2 layer, 19'' numbers on doors and roof.
3 sponsors duplicated on both sides, with two layer main copy 1 sponsor on the "hood" 2 small names 1 two layer name small two layer number on front flourescent orange flames on the sides $750 to design, cut, weed and tape....they installed.
The last customer I did this for, won the car show three years in a row....I installed his.
-------------------- Wayne Webb Webb Signworks Chipley, FL 850.638.9329 wayne@webbsignworks.com Posts: 7403 | From: Chipley,Florida,United States | Registered: Oct 1999
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I barely got into painting race cars many years ago and realized exactly what you guys are saying - it's a "different" kind of clientele. The last one I did (long before I got married) was for a guy building a racer in his backyard garage. When I finished the lettering, he admitted that he didn't have enough cash and offered a roll in the hay with his girlfriend instead. I politely declined, but he sent her over to my house later anyway and she emphatically convinced me that MONEY AIN'T EVERYTHING.....
-------------------- www.signcreations.net Sonny Franks Lilburn, GA 770-923-9933 Posts: 4115 | From: Lilburn, GA USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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See, now all this talk has gotten me in the mood to do a race car. But the old time way, with paint!
-------------------- Signs by Alicia Jennings (Mudflap Girl) Tacoma, WA Since 1987 Have Lipstick, will travel. Posts: 3814 | From: Tacoma, WA. U.S.A. | Registered: Dec 1999
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I've probably lettered close to 2,000 race cars in my day and as far as the lower class cars, despite the long list of pit members, they tended to be the best customers. The guys with the high dolar sponsors were good too. The low dollar sprint teams going it on thier own were the worst.
Jon, great job, nice readable numbers!!!
Ray, the number rules always crack me up. They are never inforced around here. They call for numbers of a certain size on the doors and roof, with good contrast, no old english or fancy numbers and no three didgit or number letter combinations. You go to the track and half the cars have no roof numbers, one quarter of the cars are something like B-12, P-51 and out of the hundred and thirty cars there, you might be able to read the numbers on twenty five of them
-------------------- George Perkins Millington,TN. goatwell@bigriver.net
"I started out with nothing and still have most of it left"
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Sonny, I hope you were wearing your raincoat! Here's one I did, too many ugly sponsors but I did like the name I painted on the car as it is his first year. Someone on another forum didn't like the fact that I'd painted a natural drop shadow. My numbers are 18" with 4" numbers on the front and back of the car. A mix of paint and vynull, with the dreaded black/red combo. It was so hard to letter the thank-yous inside of the chassis! Love....Jill Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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Ray, they are required to have 18" numbers here, but it seems they are more worried about legibility.. they'll say less about a 15" high contrast number than a 21" holographic on a black shadow.
The size of the shadow on these numbers is about 19" and the white part about 17" so they won't say anything about it.. I usually make the roof number about 22-24"... makes the car look nicer... and the driver of a Street Stocker think he's got a Cup car.
[ March 17, 2007, 11:37 AM: Message edited by: Jon Jantz ]
-------------------- Jon Jantz Snappysign.com jjantz21@gmail.com http://www.allcw.com Posts: 3395 | From: Atmore, AL | Registered: Nov 2005
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I have done a lot of race cars over the years....they can be a lot of fun as you can experiment with styles and techniques that you would not normally be able to do with commercial work. The car owners can be fun to work with or a pain in the neck (just like all our regular customers), just don't fall for the "stick with me kid...I'll make you famous" line !
One thing that a lot of people don't consider when doing race cars is VALUE CONTRAST. The poor quality black and white photos in the local newspaper can render lettering unreadable. Also letter styles that are too fancy, or tight letter spacing can make copy hard to read on a race car.
Just food for thought....if you get a race car job, have fun with it....make sure you get a decent price for your work....!
-------------------- Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain ! Jim Moser Design 13342 C Grass Valley Ave. Grass Valley, Ca. 95945 530-273-7615 jwmoser@att.net Posts: 488 | From: Grass Valley, Ca. | Registered: May 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Wayne Webb: Just finished cutting out a two layer vinyl job for a modified car.
2 layer, 19'' numbers on doors and roof.
3 sponsors duplicated on both sides, with two layer main copy 1 sponsor on the "hood" 2 small names 1 two layer name small two layer number on front flourescent orange flames on the sides $750 to design, cut, weed and tape....they installed.
The last customer I did this for, won the car show three years in a row....I installed his.
Update....
I just found out that this car won the car show on Saturday.
-------------------- Wayne Webb Webb Signworks Chipley, FL 850.638.9329 wayne@webbsignworks.com Posts: 7403 | From: Chipley,Florida,United States | Registered: Oct 1999
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Thanks to other threads like this one on this board, I've come out OK on the race cars. I sponsor one late model, one super stock, and one 4 cylinder. The mother of the 4 cylinder driver has done me many favors with computer work and and pays me the cost of the vinyl. The super stock guy pays for the vinyl, buys my track membership for the season and installs his own graphics.
The late model guy is a good friend. We bowl & play golf together as well as attend other social functions with our wives. I sponsor him free, but he is on the race board as well as his drivers wife. In the past 3 years the racing association has ordered 2 4x8's, another smaller sign, and this year they are talking about having me replace their entrance sign, a 4 sheet job. They were going to have me do it last year but they got a good deal on paving the rest of the pit area so they delayed the sign a year.
The local Pepsi plant sponsors the late model division, so the board orders about $700 worth of stickers from me to go on the front windshield. Pepsi pays that bill.
The car owner has an auto parts store. The franchise has a 3 sheet billboard at the track that I will be replacing for them.
My buddy does all my mechanical work on my vehicles and charges me his cost on the parts and no labor. Almost like having a son for a mechanic.
And all the other guys that ask for free stuff? I tell them I already sponsor a car in each division. So the rest pay. It's workin' for me.
-------------------- Dave Sherby "Sandman" SherWood Sign & Graphic Design Crystal Falls, MI 49920 906-875-6201 sherwoodsign@sbcglobal.net Posts: 5397 | From: Crystal Falls, MI USA | Registered: Apr 1999
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When I was knocking out 30-40 cars a season, I was always asked about sponsoring the cars. There where ones I gave a break to and ones I didn't do any favors for.
My common response was, "If I sponsor then I have to sponsor everyone else, too. You weren't the first to ask. I appreciate you asking, though."
Then I asked for my money.
My new neighbor asked about lettering for his kid's car already. I told him I would cut him some slack. Hey, we share a boundary line, you know? Hahahahaahahhahahaha!
-------------------- Bruce Bowers
DrCAS Custom Lettering and Design Saint Cloud, Minnesota
"Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things work out." - Art Linkletter Posts: 6451 | From: Saint Cloud, Minnesota | Registered: Jun 1999
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Funny story, When I was a baby, my father used to letter Wally Dalenbach's cars for him...they were pals from high school. Back then, my dad worked for a sign shop and then did stuff like the cars (with his boss' blessing) at home in the evenings and weekends out of a tiny little apartment.
My mom was working for a seamstress back then making wedding gowns and would come home late at night and just want to crawl into bed. She gets home this one night and went to go to bed and on the bed is the hood from the car drying! My father wouldn't let her touch it! She still bitches about it and it's been 40 years...LMAO.
-------------------- Kimberly Zanetti Purcell www.amethystProductivity.com Folsom, CA email: Kimberly@AmethystProductivity.com
“Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.” AA Milne Posts: 3722 | From: Folsom, CA | Registered: Dec 2001
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![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
![[Rolling On The Floor]](graemlins/rolf.gif)
I was always nice to them though and a lot of those newbies ended up with some high dollar cars with deep pocketed sponsors ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Applause]](graemlins/applause.gif)
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