posted
Cheryl, you are wrong. There are loads of sign shops in my area. Why it doesn't bother me is that I don't even really regard them as competition. I could care less who they service.
But then I'm probably doing biz on a different angle than most. I'm not the sole provider of my family, so I'm not striving to make the largest dollars I possibly can. I'm servicing my regular clientelle that have been calling me for years, and I'm busy enough with that. Why they keep coming to me and don't wander off, only they can answer for sure.
When I had my storefront, I had a sign shop 1 minute from me. It didn't bother me in the least, in fact I liked it. I could see who they were servicing by who was parked in their lot. They were not my customers. I also enjoyed seeing them working on weekends when I was driving around with my son on a day off. LOL!
Now if these signshops were directly taking away my current business, I'd be going to those customers asking why they've converted over. If it was soley on price, I'd wish them well and bid them farewell. My target customers are not tirekickers. I'd rather be with my son.
This is my own perspective on my own business. I'm in no way dictating how someone else should feel, so I ask that the same respect be returned to me.
posted
Accoring to the experts, nature hates a vacuum. Meaning that if there is a niche then it will be filled. Find your niche and fill it and stop worrying about who is up who. David
-------------------- David Fisher D.A. & P.M. Fisher Services Brisbane Australia da_pmf@yahoo.com Trying out a new tag: "Parents are the bones on which children cut their teeth Peter Ustinov Posts: 1450 | From: Brisbane Queensland Australia | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
hi Donna. First of all I think it's great you aren't bothered by the franchises. They only bother me when I get underbid for a job I really wanted to do ! and then YEP! I get mad! Secondly, I did a search...for Abbotsford it shows 7 sign shops listed. For my small town (outside of Seattle) there were 53, the first ones listed were all franchises. I know all shops were not listed for your town or mine. For Seattle there were literally hundreds! upper hundreds. But to put it in perspective, Seattle is only 10 minutes away from me. Hopefully your area will stay the way it is. It looks like it is beautiful there.
posted
just had a lady call and wanted to know what i would charge to letter a 4x4 that she had painted with latex and it would have 27 letters on it. i told her around $75 and she told me she could get a banner with 12 inch letters for that amount. told her go for it. i may go to bed tired or i may go to bed hungry but i aint going to bed tired and hungry.
-------------------- Jimmy Chatham Chatham Signs 468 stark st Commerce, Ga 30529 Posts: 1766 | From: Commerce, GA, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Cheryl, in Abbotsford there are 50 listed in our yellow pages. I'd say Seattle better compares to Vancouver, which is an hour away from me. All you implied was that in my area there probably weren't that many. Well, 50 in my area is alot and enough to do plenty of damage.
I'd rather not be challenged into answering if that's ok. Please feel free to email me direct anytime if you'd like to direct something to me. I prefer to be a part of more generalized type discussions on the bb.
posted
Donna. I didn't mean to upset you. I was just trying to convey there really IS a difference depending on where you are located. It is just like real estate. The economic characteristics of real estate. Scarcity....area preference etc. Location DOES matter. Sure we all like to think we are masters at our trade and that silly things like franchises don't bother us in the least. It is very interesting to me to see just how many other sign shops really are close by. It is also refreshing to see that sometimes others see what is really happening. Maybe not yet in your neighborhood, but most likely someday soon. Like Dave Draper mentions in his post how he is preparing himself for what seems like a probable happening in the sign business, which none of us are exempt from.
have a great day!
Posts: 3729 | From: Seattle | Registered: Sep 1999
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posted
I had a guy the other day tell me they might start doing vinyl in my town, I've seen their work and I hope they do, it'll boost my reputation for doing good looking work, that way I'll be able to charge more cause I'll be the guy to call for decent looking work.
-------------------- John Thompson JTT Graphics "The big guy with a little sign shop!" Royston/Hartwell Georgia jtt101@hotmail.com Posts: 626 | From: Royston Georgia | Registered: Feb 2002
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LOL ....I know BOB. Diplomacy is not one of my virtues. I am workin' on it tho as you can see. Posts: 3729 | From: Seattle | Registered: Sep 1999
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posted
Not to jump into this one, but just one note...
I live near Nettie and can assure you that she is surrounded by dozens of franchise shops...and seems to be doing very well for herself with her immense talents.
posted
Franchise shops have been around a long time.
Stay on top of your business by educating yourself, stay on top of your education by going to meets that pertain to what it is that you do, not just sign shows where new products are being shown. Every business has its place, stop worrying about every little thing, charge accordingly. Try not to bid on jobs, try getting them by putting out work which attract customers who will want your work and not your bids.
Conquer one thing at a time, do what you do best and go on from there.
-------------------- HotLines Joey Madden - pinstriping since 1952 'Perfection, its what I look for and what I live for'
quote: Which would be FASTER, a good designer designing on the computer cutting on the plotter and laying it out on the vehicle or a good paint man drawing and taping out, then brush painting the same design by hand? (Given that both guys are masters and not just fly by nighters)
I thought I would add to Joe P.'s comment. I can easily see a brush letterer doing a stock car faster than a computer person. And it will have more pizazz. Casual strokes, two-color letters, etc., fast and loose, not worrying about compound curves. And, who would consider splashing windows with vinyl? Or making paper banners with vinyl, which can sometimes be lettered in seconds with a brush? A decent shocard can be done in 45 minutes and it looks like a shocard should. Vinyl takes longer and will always look very out of place on a card. Many design operations may take longer on a computer depending on the program used. It's a mistake to think that 'computer' is always faster.
Brad in Kansas
-------------------- Brad Ferguson See More Signs 7931 Wornall Rd Kansas City, MO 64111 signbrad@yahoo.com 816-739-7316 Posts: 1230 | From: Kansas City, MO, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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-------------------- Jackson Smart Jackson's Signs Port Angeles, WA ...."The Straits of Juan De Fuca in my front yard and Olympic National Park in my backyard...
"Living on Earth is expensive...but it does include a free trip around the Sun" Posts: 1000 | From: Port Angeles, Washington | Registered: Jan 1999
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Secondly, I did a search...for Abbotsford it shows 7 sign shops listed. For my small town (outside of Seattle) there were 53, the first ones listed were all franchises. I know all shops were not listed for your town or mine. For Seattle there were literally hundreds! upper hundreds. But to put it in perspective, Seattle is only 10 minutes away from me. Hopefully your area will stay the way it is. It looks like it is beautiful there.
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