"A business without a sign is a sign of no business" is as true as true can be, and business owners know this all too well. Well designed, highly visible signage can have tremendous impact on sales. We had a client call to thank us for literally doubling her sales this year at her ribbon cut chips booth at the Renaissance Fair. These are the moments we live for in this field-knowing that our expertise, design, and high standards all come together to make a difference. When you are looking for a Sign Company to do business with, consider using these guidelines. 1) Is your goal to have your signs turned around very quickly? Some sign shops are more custom than others, so if you're looking for an original sign that needs some design work it's just not realistic to expect it turned around in a matter of a few days. If you have your art work all lined up and just need someone to print it on vinyl and roll it on a substrate make this clearly understood. Ask the shop what the turn around time is going to be if you have everything ready to go. We did three jobs this week with 24 hour turn around because the clients had their art work lined up. 2) Do you need high quality imaging? If you need high quality reproduction of your imaging, ask your printer how many dots per inch (dpi) they can achieve. We are fortunate to have purchased the HPL26500 which reproduces 1200 dpi and is the highest quality achievable. 3) Do you work on a Purchasing Order system? Most Sign Companies ask for a 50% deposit upfront as soon as you sign off on the proof of your sign. As about the Terms and Conditions before you order. You don't want to be against a deadline and have this be a problem. I was talking recently to another Sign Shop owner at an industry function and she told me about a woman who went absolutely ballistic. The woman wanted a quick run on some decals but didn't put any deposit money down on the job, so the job didn't get run. Even though the Terms and Conditions were clearly marked on the estimate and on the proof copy, the woman assumed as long as she provided a PO everything would be okay. Clear payment terms up in advance and avoid some heart ache for everyone involved. 4) It almost goes without saying, but do some research about the sign company first. Do look at Yelp and see what clients are saying. Hop on Google and see what comes up. There is no better way to judge who to do business with than what current or past customers are saying. I use Yelp for everything. We found our Attorney, Chiropractor, and Dentist on Yelp and they are all amazing, just like the reviewers said! 5) This may seem unorthodox, but ask what the Mission Statement of the Sign Company is. Leadership of a well run business is able to communicate all the way down through the company what the purpose or mission of the company is. If your Sign Company has a Mission Statement it means that there are professionals at the helm. Our mission statement is "To be a place people want to work and customers want to do business". This is a very simple mission statement but I think it sums us up fairly well. If we can hold onto our employees it means we are treating them well, and loyal employees will go the extra mile to do the right thing. If our customers keep returning to us, it means we are treating them well and meeting their expectations, which means we are doing the right thing by our customers. Focus Signs and Graphics in Costa Mesa designs, fabricates and installs custom signs, lobby signs, channel letters, all exterior and interior signs, banners, posters, murals, decals, wall art, vehicle wraps, monument signs, and also provides sign maintenance.  Serving all of Orange County and located near John Wayne Airport at the city boundaries of Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Irvine