Funding Your Business: The Five Cs of Business Credit
In the approval process for business loans, lenders use the “five Cs of credit” as their standard for credit analysis. If you want to improve your chances of getting a business loan, you need to satisfy the requirements in these five areas: Capacity, Capital, Character, Collateral, and Conditions. Let’s take a closer look at these […]
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Why Employee Recognition is Critical
I recently asked a friend how often, during her career, she had been complimented or recognized for her work. Her response? “Not often enough.” Unfortunately, that is true for most employees. I wonder why that is. I have some ideas that I’ll share with you here. The first is denial. Most managers and supervisors think, […]
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Ten Ways to Improve Your Operation Today
“I can’t believe this is my shop!” There are many well-run sign shops around the world, but most of the small ones (ten to fifteen employees) that I’ve had the pleasure of visiting have a lot of work to do behind the scenes, before they are operationally efficient enough to deliver dependable results to customers […]
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Three Steps to Launching a Successful Signage and Graphics Business
Building a sustainable and profitable shop is both challenging and rewarding. Before launching a sign and graphics business, it’s important to know there are many ways to begin. So let’s dive in. In the Behind the Signs community, someone recently asked how to get started in the graphics business. Their three main questions were: How […]
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How to Value Your Sign Design Work
I am not a designer. When I first started my business, I did not understand the value design brought to my business or my clients. So, the truth is, I ran a sign shop for years and never charged for design work. It was just a small line item on our estimate sheets, and we […]
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Sign Industry Training: The What, the Why and the How
Media Partnership originally appearing in Sign Builder Illustrated‘s August 2024 edition WHAT is the point of training? Training is a process of increasing the knowledge and skills relating to a particular role or skill, but it also has wider benefits. The process can include product updates; goals to improve capability, productivity and performance; and ways to […]
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How and When to Push for a Variance
Winning a variance takes time and money. While it can be a gamble, the payoff can be great. Last year, ISA launched a service to help. Recently, one gas station landed a new—and bigger—sign thanks to ISA’s work. The proposed sign did not meet the city’s criteria for freeway signs since it wasn’t directly adjacent. The […]
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Houston Sign Experts Reunite to Launch Meridian Signs
Four industry veterans have reunited to form Meridian Signs, a full-service provider of custom architectural and LED signage based in Houston. Founders Al Ross, Gregg Hollenberg, Joann Warren and SenLy Fox, all of whom have been sign experts in the region for decades, aim “to meet the growing need for excellence in signage design, project […]
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Open to Interpretation: State-Level Licensing Issues
Lately ISA has seen state-level licensing issues becoming trickier to navigate for sign and graphics companies. This can take on any number of forms, but a few trends have emerged—as have a few possible solutions. We learned a few things recently when ISA, Southern States Sign Association and some highly involved and connected members were […]
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Three Ways Meetings Help Your Team and Clients
This column was originally published in Sign Builder Illustrated‘s July 2024 edition. A production meeting might seem like the last thing you have time for when you’re juggling a lot of work. But trust me, that hour of planning will put you in control of your workload, help boost team morale and positively impact your customer relationships. […]
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