I recently took a two week trip to Orange County California to visit a few sign studios. The experience was very informative and I hope what I learned can also help you. An important thing to keep in mind, when owning a sign company, is having a strong work flow that promotes productivity and shows clear progression to your end product. An agile work flow chart is a great example of this and is what many of the sign studios I visited were using.
Something else that you should make a habit of is having a clean and tidy work environment. This will help you and your employees from getting distracted, and keep you focused. A lot of the messier studios I visited had a harder time keeping track of orders and pushing the finished products through to the customers. This, in the long run, can hurt your business and potentially result in lost customers. Having a clean studio will make you look more professional to your clients, resulting in an increase in business.
Almost all of the studios I visited were using a color management system that enabled them to print what they saw on their monitors. Now you may not have any idea what color management is, but a little research will show you that it is a key component in a strong work flow and reduced waste. Lastly, you need to communicate effectively with you clients. An unhappy client is bad for business.
So what can you do?
I would advise that you update your clients whenever you can, especially if the project will need more time. This will show them that you care about their time and their business.
I hope these few pointers can help you grow a successful business.
