“MAKE YOUR SIGN BUSINESS SUCCESSFUL”

On the the front page is a quote:

“It is possible for a One Person Shop to TAKE HOME $100,000.00…and more…each year.”

So…….is there anyone out there who is doing this, or coming close…….perhaps exceeding this.

He has some great ideas for organizing your business. There are several single man sign shops that are making that kind of money, and some with just one or two employees - I'm not one of them, by the way. And they are doing quality work.

Ron can you tell me what your work mix is? How much sales of products such as bought letters sold at a profit? What's type of work is your most profitable?

[ December 06, 2001: Message edited by: Santo ]

then there was a deep sigh and a gunshot!!!!

LOL

mark

i made more money this month brokering work than i made producing work. i'm a better salesman than signmaker. (well, i'm working on improving the latter, and i thank the goddess for the former). yes, a one man shop can net well over $100K in signage- but probably NOT by making the signs. (not, that is, unless you've got special talents and special clients)

Here's a thought.....

At this Summer's Milwaukee Meet, everyone gathered together to form a "Circle Of Knowledge." This was an opportunity to ask everyone else in the group questions. It's a great idea that I would love to see become part of every meet.

When Gary Anderson's turn came, he asked what everyone thought a small shop owner should clear after expenses. I've heard this discussed before and quickly looked for a safe spot to take shelter when the poop hit the fan.

Over the years, we have had the opportunity to meet many of you in person. We also owned and operated our own sign business for almost 25 years. The biggest single challenge we hear about is making money in this business.

I have a simple theory for success. Find the person who is doing, or has what you desire and find out what they are doing different from you. Let me be the first to admit that I am not the one to tell you how to make money making signs. That is a skill I have never mastered. Like many of you, I have some self esteem issues I still struggle with, along with a ridiculous notion that making money is somehow wrong. I'm working on that.

If you are open to a change in the way you think. If you are sick and tired of being sick and tired of being broke, I urge you to invest in Chip Carter. Find some motivational books and audio tapes! Do whatever it takes to break out of this cycle of working for peanuts. You deserve it! Come to think of it...I do to.

I made over $100,000.00 net (take home, into my personal bank account) for the first time in 1998. I did it, first, to prove that I could do it, (I knew others that were already doing it), and also to have a nice round number when writing the book, (having the money isn’t all that bad either). Some clarification may help. I had one part time non-sign maker helper. I worked about 40 hours per week. I also did not do all the work myself.

I wrote the book to help others in the business be more successful and at the same time to try and dispel some of the myths about art and money. Part of the book deals with how much money do you really need. Another part deals with what to do with it once you get it. I did not write the book to get rich quick. While I have sold hundreds of copies, I am still baffled as to why more people have chosen not to purchase the book. It has a 3-month no questions asked money back guarantee. Alas, but it takes effort. I have found that in most cases the line between success and mediocrity is just a matter of effort. Put in the effort and you can achieve almost anything you want.

In my research since writing the book I discovered that there were two main groups of people that are buying the book. The first group is sincerely looking for a way to improve their business, and from the feedback they overwhelmingly have. The other group is people whose businesses are already doing well but want to continue their reading on the subject to improve even more.

There was a reason for putting "it is possible" in the information about the book. There is no magic wand or free lunch. It takes you doing business based on sound business principles, having your business organized where things flow smoothly and watching your numbers like a hawk. If any of these are missing it is going to make your goal much harder.

My priorities in life are these: Life, business, art. If your life is out of whack, your business will be too. The same goes the other way around. In both cases the joy you get from your art will suffer. Don’t let it.

Sincerely,

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It's really just a matter of attitude. If you believe you can or can't, you are right.

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You must really believe and not just wish. This also means that you have to work hard at it.

Success is 10% dream and 90% action. The 10% is easy-- the 90% the kicker. If it were easy everyone would be able to achieve it.

It doesn't mean you can't have fun on the journey.

I got a chance to meet Chip a while back. I had no idea of what he acccomplished until this post. He stuck me as a great guy whith a great sense of humor. Sounds like he has his priorities in the right order.

Then there are those who do nothing but bitch and whine about how tough it is, while resenting anyone who does what it takes to be successful.

Only problem, I feel guilty spending potentially productive time on this BB.

Everyday I take a $100 dollar bill to a pawn shop. I pawn the $100 for $75 bucks (the pawn shop makes $25)

I then sell the $75 pawn ticket to another person for $50 bucks. I now have $125 bucks for doing nothing.

The person doubles thier money when they redeem the ticket for the $100.

Take the investment amount of the book and divide it by 365 days. (By the way it is 47.00 not 67.00). That’s .12 cents per day. Then do the same thing after figuring how many days you have left in the sign trade. For instance; ten years x 365 days = 3650 days. That’s less than .01 cent per day. This does not even take into account the extra money you can make by reading and applying the principles in the book. Do you really think price is the problem?

I’ll sweeten the deal. For anyone who orders the book between now and December 12, 2001 8:00 AM Eastern Standard Time, I will print out the book and ship it to their location at no additional charge just for the asking. Just e-mail me from the site saying so. You will still get the download version. The one thing I do ask in trade is that for anyone getting the book in printed form is that there is no money back guarantee.

With the New Year and some time off coming up, this can be a great time to invest in your future. Click the link to order. http://www.sign-consultants.com

Sincerely,

I put his theory into practice. It works.

Yes, location does have have some effect on the outcome, but only if you let it.

Today, I estimate that about 70% of my business is now from out of town. I don't do any advertising outside of Wilson. While the local shops are in a price war for 3x8 banners for $50, I'm working on other projects that are a heck of a lot more profitable.

Only YOU are responsible for your success or failure. It maddening how much gets blamed at everything else.

More effort should be spent on improving one's self instead of blaming everything else on failures.

Books like Chip's are valuable resources for those who want to expand their business. 47 bucks? And we're thinking thats a lot of money?

Try putting a price tag on ignorance. You may find $47 to be a real bargain.

Mike, I love the pawn shop deal.

3 guys go to a convention in a crowded small town and all the hotels are full. They come to the last place possible and the night manager says he has one small single left that he gets $10 for. The 3 guys all agree they are so tired and desperate that they'll take it and draw straws for the bed. The Mgr. charges them EACH $10 - and they pay up.

As the bell hop is taking them to the room the Mgr. has some second thoughts and decides $30 for the room is hitting them too hard. When the bell hop returns he says, "Here's $5. Go give those 3 guys a refund for me, my conscience is bothering me." O.K., but on the way the bell hop says to himself "Hey, I can't divide $5 equally between 3 guys. They aren't expecting anything back at all, I'll just keep $2 for my trouble and give them each a dollar back and everybody will be happy."

So, if you believed that Chip's book would improve your business even $500 over the course of the year, why wouldn't you jump at it?

I have difficulty believing that if every one man shop followed Chip's advice to the letter, they would all break $100,000. But if even 10% broke the $100k barrier, and half improved their business by just 10%, it would still be a pretty fine book.

I would like to turn the question back to John Martin Robson - John, you have the book, how do you feel about your prospects for the big bucks?

You’re absolutely right…….great insight

Its such a small amount to pay considering how much one has to gain. I’m speaking with respect to both the book and my recent residency here at Letterville ………. as Homer would say ………….YIHOO!

But to answer your question VICTORGEORGIOU.

“The big bucks”, yes I believe that the book (Lettleville too, for that matter) can guide me towards “The big bucks” …….but, what I really want is probably what we all want…………work at what we enjoy, make great money doing it, and leave enough time to share it all.

Thanks all, I mean that………..even you hard liners out there have shown me a better way.

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you can't keep it, unless you give it away

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