Category: Operations

Marketing automation isn’t a thing of the future—it’s very much a part of the here and now for small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) across the world. However there are a variety of marketing automation tools that many are unaware of and have the ability to help SMBs reach customers in a timely and effective way. […]

The post Simple Marketing Automation Solutions for Small Businesses appeared first on Sign Builder Illustrated, The How-To Sign Industry Magazine.

Marketing automation isn’t a thing of the future—it’s very much a part of the here and now for small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) across the world. However there are a variety of marketing automation tools that many are unaware of and have the ability to help SMBs reach customers in a timely and effective way. […]

The post Simple Marketing Automation Solutions for Small Businesses appeared first on Sign Builder Illustrated, The How-To Sign Industry Magazine.

One of the first things I hear from shop owners when they hire me to help them turn their companies around is how proud they are of cross-training their work force and how they have sound production scheduling practices. I ask myself, then why are they having production issues leading to lack of profit, poor […]

The post Shop Advice: Employee Multitasking Pluses and Minuses appeared first on Sign Builder Illustrated, The How-To Sign Industry Magazine.

Sign shops may think they understand the sales model in our industry—manufacturers supply their products through distributors who then provide them to sign shops. However there is a role in our industry that is gaining more and more attention—that of manufacturer’s reps.“A manufacturer’s rep is the outsourcing of a function to an independent firm so […]

The post Analyzing The Role of Signage Manufacturer Reps appeared first on Sign Builder Illustrated, The How-To Sign Industry Magazine.

How many times have you wondered how your competitor could afford to sell a job at a ridiculously low price? In many cases, the other guy actually can’t afford it. While these shops may cover their direct material and labor costs, they may not have allocated a reasonable share of the overhead. Eventually many of […]

The post The Subtleties and Dynamics of Job Costing Explained appeared first on Sign Builder Illustrated, The How-To Sign Industry Magazine.

We believe that you hire for attitude and you train for success.” That’s the philosophy espoused by Pete Rappoccio, owner and founder of Sign Pro, a full-service sign company based in Plantsville, Connecticut. Sign Pro believes those attributes are the foundation that sign shops should be focusing on when it comes to bringing on the […]

The post A Sign Of Successful Hiring appeared first on Sign Builder Illustrated, The How-To Sign Industry Magazine.

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 […]

The post Funding Your Business: The Five Cs of Business Credit appeared first on Sign Builder Illustrated, The How-To Sign Industry Magazine.

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, […]

The post Why Employee Recognition is Critical appeared first on Sign Builder Illustrated, The How-To Sign Industry Magazine.

“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 […]

The post Ten Ways to Improve Your Operation Today appeared first on Sign Builder Illustrated, The How-To Sign Industry Magazine.

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 […]

The post Three Steps to Launching a Successful Signage and Graphics Business appeared first on Sign Builder Illustrated, The How-To Sign Industry Magazine.