So you’re considering launching your sign shop as part of Signworld’s business alliance. But you’re not sure you’ve got what it takes.
We can help: today’s post discusses the best business backgrounds to prepare you for sign shop success. Read on to learn if you’re ready to get started as a Signworld partner.
Best Business Backgrounds for Sign Shop Success (in no particular order):
- Sign Manufacturing
Obviously, there are plenty of advantages to working in the sign manufacturing industry before making the transition to sign business ownership. Not only will you be familiar with the tools and process itself, but you will know for sure that you’re comfortable being in the sign shop 9-to-5, Monday-to-Friday.
But working on the front-line is very different from owning a business. You may lack entrepreneurial instincts, bookkeeping abilities, marketing savvy, and people skills, all of which are crucial for your sign shop’s success. For this reason, sign manufacturing does not get the title of “best business background for sign shop success.”
- Design
Design experience is wonderful for sign shop owners. Some clients will utterly depend on your taste, creativity, and technical abilities during the design process. Moreover, though much of our business is generated passively via web sales, some prospects base their purchase decision entirely on the impression they get during face-to-face consultations, which is where experienced designers truly shine.
However, there’s a lot more to this business than sign design; so it’s not the best.
- Marketing
Marketing is the key to monetization, as Lior Izik writes in the Entrepreneurial Evolution. And marketing skills and instincts are highly valuable in this industry. But with so much of your business coming from word-of-mouth, web sales, and repeat customers – and so many simple marketing tools out there to put you over the competition – a marketing career becomes a tough sell for the number-one slot.
- Management
Management experience is very useful for your sign shop success.
One of the best takeaways from a management career is learning that you don’t have to have all the answers. No matter what industry you worked in, your management experience will have taught you that you don’t need to be an expert in everyone else’s job in order to be successful. Management is often associated with military leadership, and the analogy holds up in this case, as the general need not be an expert pilot to command his forces.
The same is true for Signworld partners – you can run it all without knowing it all inside-out. For example, our partners often leverage outsourcing to monetize jobs they can’t handle in-shop. In these cases, their success has nothing to do with their hands-on skills – it’s their ability to network, supervise, and delegate that wins the day.
More importantly, you don’t need all the answers because members of our business alliance will always be there to support you.
Managerial experience is also useful because our business model involves so many moving parts. From employees to customers to projects, this business depends on the owner’s ability to keep all these plates spinning at once.
And yet, while there are valuable skills and lessons to be learned from management, it’s not the best business background.
So what’s the best business background for sign shop success?
The truth is that there isn’t one. Though we do have an owner profile, which emphasizes entrepreneurial spirit and decision-making skills, Signworld business partners come from all walks of life. Our training, support, and operational model make it possible for anyone to thrive as part of our business alliance. And that’s what’s so amazing about our royalty-and-rule-free opportunity.
So there you have it – you’re ready!
Visit https://www.signworld.org to learn more and book your free consultation with a Signworld representative.
