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Today is the 30th anniversary of our business. I struck out on my own after working for a home builder -- designing homes during the winter months and painting and decorating as the homes were being built. The company I worked for had 4 partners who had decided to go their separate ways, so I took that as my queue to go on my own.
It was the 2nd business I started and we couldn't have been any poorer and had real trouble borrowing $12,000 to get started. We used Jane's teacher's retirement money as collateral and I advertised painting, decorating and house plans to start with and after a couple months added signs.
Jane stayed home to raise Ben when he was born 3 months later and the painting and decorating end of the business took off. Later I became a union business as is typical in Illinois to get larger prevailing wage jobs. We had a few employees and things went well, but in the early 80's during our first recession in business we gave up the painting and decorating and just went into signs. That was a real gamble, but it worked.
In '89 Jane joined in and bless her heart, the first thing she did was fire me from handling any money concerns. That allowed me to clear my head and accomplish work and we more or less still do it that way, although Ben and Joe have joined in now.
So we're going out for a long lunch to celebrate. I hope we can make it another 30 or so. God willing!
-------------------- Bill Diaz Diaz Sign Art Pontiac IL www.diazsignart.com Posts: 2107 | From: Pontiac, IL | Registered: Dec 2001
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Man I bet that Champagne, Lobster and Steak Dinner that Ben & Joe are going to spring for tonight is going to be Great!!!
-------------------- Sam Staffan Mackinaw Art & Sign 721 S. Nokomis St. Mackinaw City, MI dstaffan@sbcglobal.net Posts: 1694 | From: Mackinaw City, MI | Registered: Mar 2004
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-------------------- Catharine C. Kennedy CCK Graphics 1511 Route 28 Chatham Center, NY 12184 cck1620@taconic.net "Look at me, Look at me, Look at me now! I't's fun to have fun, But you have to know how!" Posts: 2173 | From: downtown Chatham Center, NY | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
Congrats! I had my 26th anniversary last Tuesday. If I knew then what I did after ten years in business, I would have found another line of work. But now there's no turning back.
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There should be question about the next 30 years, a good man is always busy. Bill
-------------------- Bill Riedel Riedel Sign Co., Inc. 15 Warren Street Little Ferry, N.J. 07643 billsr@riedelsignco.com Posts: 2953 | From: Little Ferry, New Jersey, USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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posted
Good people last. Congratulations Bill. Hug the lady responsible for us huh?
-------------------- John Byrd Ball Ground, Georgia 770-735-6874 http://johnbyrddesign.com so happy I gotta sit on both my hands to keep from wavin' at everybody! Posts: 741 | From: Ball Ground, Georgia, USA | Registered: May 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Sam Staffan: Man I bet that Champagne, Lobster and Steak Dinner that Ben & Joe are going to spring for tonight is going to be Great!!!
What kind of wages do you think we make? More like Mac, Cheeze and Kool-Aid. I'm trying to save up for a wedding here! Don't give mom and dad any grand ideas of expensive dinners out.
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Congrats on the many years of service.Wow 30 yrs, did you ever think you would be doing this for that long.If you don't mind me asking but what would your one biggest piece of advice be for some one just starting, Sorry for asking at this time with all the celebrating going on and all but one need's to ask when one can right lol. Graham
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Congratulations to the Diaz clan!!! I look forward to being there in June and spending time with you all!!!
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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That is so cool Bill Congratulations, we will have to have a cold one on that subject...
-------------------- aka:Cisco the "Traveling Millennium Sign Artist" http://www.franciscovargas.com Fresno, CA 93703 559 252-0935 "to live life, is to love life, a sign of no life, is a sign of no love"...Cisco 12'98 Posts: 3576 | From: Fresno, Ca, the great USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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posted
Thank you all for the great words and for you, Graham, if your just starting out, let me say you've chosen a good line of work.
I think any advice to you would be:
1. Be in the right market (if there's 902 sign shops in a town of 2,000 -- expect little work)
2. Do right by your customers. If things go wrong (and they will) -- make them right. Make things easy for them to understand. If you can't reasonably do their work -- point them in the right direction. You never know they may come back at a later date and hand you a blockbuster project.
3. Meet your deadlines (be honest and don't promise what you can't deliver.)
4. Give value (don't cut corners to make a profit.) If you lose money on a job you're not alone. We all do, so what! Cutting corners will come back to bite you.
5. Don't run down your competition. Be helpful to your competition. Each time you're helpful you will get help in return.
6. Work long and hard. If you enjoy the work this will be very easy. But when it's time to take time off, do it to help keep your head and heart in good shape. Enjoy life!
7. Pay your bills on time and keep good records and get all necessary insurances. Surround yourself with a good accountant, lawyer and insurance agency.
8. Be civic minded and get involved in community minded interests that are worthy. Join a church if you're not already a member. Sponsor a sports team, become a coach, visit a nursing home and do whatever it takes to keep your name out there without being overly boastful about it all.
9. Know when to get out. Hey, you've got to have some luck, but if for some reason things don't work out, you owe it to yourself and your family to do something else.
10. Honor the profession and become a cheerleader for it by attending letterhead and walldog events when you can. Go visit the area shops and become friends with them if they're willing. At times they can be helpful in completing a project that you may not have the resources to do yourself.
-------------------- Bill Diaz Diaz Sign Art Pontiac IL www.diazsignart.com Posts: 2107 | From: Pontiac, IL | Registered: Dec 2001
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Thank you Mr Diaz for your time and sound advice, I copied and printed it out and will be hanging it in the work shop to remind me of what it takes.
Mr Si Allen I,m sure ill be still enjoying this career for some time,42 yrs no, ill be to dam old lol, Graham
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Yesterday we also finished our new sign. I posted an article about it on our wordpress site: http://diazmedia.net/?p=55 (warning the site isn't finished yet, but the article is ready to go)
-------------------- Joe Diaz Diaz Sign Art 628 W. Lincoln Ave. Pontiac, IL 61764 www.diazsignart.com Posts: 538 | From: Pontiac, IL | Registered: Aug 2005
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Congratulations to a great example of success in family business. Keep it up.
-------------------- Kent Smith Smith Sign Studio P.O.Box 2385, Estes Park, CO 80517-2385 kent@smithsignstudio.com Posts: 1025 | From: Estes Park, CO | Registered: Nov 1998
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Hey! Ol' Buddy C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S !!!!!!!!!
30 YRS seems like a long time, but goes by in the blink of an eye. You've got to do a few things right to stay in business that long. In your case you've done a lot of things right. Never heard anybody say anything bad about the Ol' one man shop! (guess you can't use that phrase anymore eh?)
I had a whole bunch of cool & funny stuff written about you but my computer rebooted itself and lost it all before I could post it and I'm too tired to re-do it tonight.
So I'll just wish you and the family all the best for the next 30 yrs. and I'll buy the Lobster for that one! ;-)
-------------------- Dan E. Kearfott KEARFOTT GRAPHIX 312 W. 8th St. Gibson City, IL 60936
Success comes in "Cans", Failure comes in "Cant's" Posts: 121 | From: Gibson City, Illinois | Registered: Mar 2003
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Congrats to the whole Diaz family. Sure glad I had a chance to meet Jane & Bill at the Muster. Wonderful people. Success can't help but come to people like them.
-------------------- Dave Sherby "Sandman" SherWood Sign & Graphic Design Crystal Falls, MI 49920 906-875-6201 sherwoodsign@sbcglobal.net Posts: 5396 | From: Crystal Falls, MI USA | Registered: Apr 1999
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Congradulations!!
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