posted
Doug, If somehow you find 2 of the people you are looking for and only need one give me a call.
It really is hard to find the right person these days I would think that it would be easy with the unemployment numbers but all the people that really want to work are doing something so it seems whats left are the people who really want to get paid, thats all. A friend of mine lost his job a year ago he worked for me part time till he found a job, it wasn't what he wanted but it was a job at the time that he was qualified for, so he kept looking and found something better and is now a supervisor in what he wanted to do
-------------------- Jake Lyman Lyman Signs 45 State Road Phillipston, MA 01331 Posts: 635 | From: Phillipston, MA | Registered: Sep 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Probably the best employee I ever had was someone who had been an owner of another shop. He saw things from my perspective much better than anyone who'd never been in an ownership position. Whenever I'd be handling some sticky problem, he'd say: "This is why I'm working for you!"
-------------------- David Harding A Sign of Excellence Carrollton, TX Posts: 5084 | From: Carrollton, TX, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
Glen, please don't take this the wrong way.... just an observation.
Every January, when it's -35* & slow, I start looking in the classifieds. Deep down, I KNOW that spring will come & I'll be busier than a one-armed banjo-picker with the crotch crickets, but I still look. Apparently, I ain't qualified for nothin'.
I have driven over 4,000,000km mostly in things that bend in the middle, I've logged, I've sandblasted &/or carved close to 1000 signs, painted a few murals with Keim, carved more than a few birds, can blunder my way through Corel X3, Aspire, Mach3 & ScanVec , lay ceramic tile & frame a house .......... but I still have never seen a job listed that I have the qualifications for. As I said, just an observation.....
-------------------- Rodger MacMunn T.R. MacMunn & Sons C.P.207, Sharbot Lake, ON 613-279-1230 trmac@frontenac.net Posts: 472 | From: Sharbot Lake, Ontario | Registered: Nov 2003
| IP: Logged |
Good luck. I'm afraid my need to hire someone is going to come sooner than I'd like & I'm terrified of the process. Be sure to keep us up on your progress & anything you learn along the way.
-------------------- Chris Welker Wildfire Signs Indiana, Pa Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Glenn, I no longer have or want employees but over the years I've probably had 50 or so. Mostly mediocre, with the exception of 4 VERY good & about the same amount of bad ones ... one on whom was a *&(@# thief. I've had my best luck hiring someone who was absolutely amazing at just one of the job skills I requested, with a willingness to learn. My wife likes employees with lots of energy. The last one we hired was just a "bundle of energy" ..... always doing something. It took 2 people watching to keep her from doing things wrong.
-------------------- Rodger MacMunn T.R. MacMunn & Sons C.P.207, Sharbot Lake, ON 613-279-1230 trmac@frontenac.net Posts: 472 | From: Sharbot Lake, Ontario | Registered: Nov 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Hmmm... do the creative stuff and let someone else be responsible for customers, rent, power bill...quite tempting Glenn.
-------------------- 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
| IP: Logged |
posted
Glenn, the process takes time. As you grow, you can focus on specific niches (like a dedicated illustrator, interface designer, front-end coder, art director, etc). But in the beginning, its harder because you need that new ONE person to wear a lot of hats.
The biggest predictor of talent is passion. Find someone obsessed with the creative end, and the rest usually fall in.
It's a mistake to assume that people with that much talent would be doing it themselves. Not everyone is cut out for self employment.
The sole aim is to get the best people for the tasks at hand which then leave you with the tasks you are best suited for. It takes time.
It's also important to have a nice environment for them. Our new space is pretty cool. I'd say we're 30 grand easy into office space & furniture expenses, coffee makers, and of course popcorn machines, neon, surfboards, leather couches and bean bag chairs. But its cool for them, cool for clients. Its a place they want to work at. Environment plays a big role in attracting talent, as does the work the agency is putting out.
"Some are born to move the world, to live their fantasies. But most of us just dream about the things we'd like to be." - Rush Posts: 1192 | From: Washington, NJ | Registered: Feb 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Dan does what I've always thought a workplace environment should be like... if it's fun to be in with nice furnishings, personal desks and nice chairs, etc... that makes a big different on attitudes.
Who wants to work in a rathole with a desk missing part of the molding and a chair with a piece of duct tape on it? hehe.... Dan would be my kind of boss hands down.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
There are people willing to learn. I once heard a Master Signpainter say: All I needed was my 2 Boxes to make a living: 1 for my Brushes and the other for Supplies. Showing others how to Master them is another story. To Pin-Stripe is pretty easy. To Letter is somewhat involved. To Gold-Leaf is to Learn our Craft. Teach and they will learn.
-------------------- Kevin Betz KB Sign Company 21321 Ulrich Clinton Township, MI 48036 kbsigncompany@att.net Posts: 229 | From: Detroit, MI | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I've just wanted to throw this out there for a while and this seems like the best thread for it.
I work at an Automotive Vocational College where we have a Custom Paint & Graphics program. It is only twelve weeks and is mostly a pinstriping and airbrush course witha week spent on applying vinyl and wraps. We have tossed around the idea of starting a Sign Making School here. I have another fellow who wrote the curriculum for the Sign Program at the Job Corps. He is now retired and interested in looking into this.
If we were to pursue this, I would appreciate input from all of you on the Bullboard on what kinds of things you would like to see us include in the program. I have a background as a hand lettering/carving sign painter who learned technology in the field, and have been the layout/vinyl cutter, commercial fabricator, installer and I run large format printers and CNC machines. The other gentleman is an electric sign fabricator who has some knowledge of the vinyl machines (cutters and printers)
Just looking for ideas-this could end up being a pool of talent for the industry as our students already come from all over the U.S.
-------------------- Rick Heller Ohio Technical College 1374 E. 51st Street Cleveland, OH 44103 IOAFS Posts: 210 | From: Cleveland, OH | Registered: Nov 2001
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic