Signs of the Times - February 2014 - (Page 20)

V in y l A pp s By Sergio DeSoto Hire Education Sergio offers insights for taking on installers. B efore I break down this month's topic, I'd like to say thanks to the ST staff. No matter what subject I choose, they hold me to high standards. They hound me for details until I've described a subject thoroughly enough to make my column helpful for you. It's my goal to help shop owners grow their businesses and be successful. Having said that, I want to discuss what I believe is one of the most important things a wrap-shop owner needs to address: handling the logistics of contracting outside installers. When you're running a tight ship, how to manage your installations is a tough decision. Several factors should influence your choices. How many installers should you hire in-house? How many outside contractors should you hire for installations, and when should you do it? What performance standards do you set for in-house staff and outside contractors, and how will you manage and pay them? The decisions you make will impact your bottom line - and your reputation as well. Many successful shops have several installers on staff, but there are other, highly profitable operations that have one, or even zero, employees who apply wraps in-house. Let's break down each option; you decide which choice suits your production and profitability needs. If you have consistently high volume, you may choose in-house installers. Keep in mind that the national-average wage for a highly qualified installer is $20-25 per hour ($800-$1,000 per week). If you provide benefits to your employees, add approximately another $500 per month to the equation. Depending on the installer's skill Sergio DeSoto developed The Bad Wrap vehicle-wrap template, has served as a wrap-shop consultant, and currently owns The Dezynery, a Phoenix-based, wholesale, vehiclewrap provider. level, you'll probably move three or four full wraps out the door weekly. Inside installers can also help with other diverse projects based on your offerings, such as signage fabrication, pressure-sensitiveadhesive vinyl applications, vinyl weeding, premask application and so on. Honestly, if your volume can support having inside installers on your payroll, that's not necessarily a bad thing. However, if your volume drops over a prolonged period, your cost per employee will rise dramatically. I suggest creating a ratio - hire one inside installer for every 3-5 wraps you produce a week. This will fluctuate a bit, based on the jobs you most commonly produce. It takes more manpower to wrap three sedans than it does three vans or box trucks - if you wrap tractortrailers or building fronts, you'll Sergio debates the merits of hiring installers in-house or subcontracting qualified vendors. To paraphrase Shakespeare, the work's the thing. Always check out an installer's efforts firsthand to verify a quality job. Streamline Designs LLC, a Buffalo-based shop, produced this food-truck wrap; it's a family-owned business, and brothers Chris, Tyler and Nick Lorich installed the graphics. The shop printed the job with 3M™ Controltac™ IJ180-10Cv3 air-release media on its Roland VersaCamm VS-540 printer/cutter. 20 SIGNS OF THE TIMES February 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - February 2014

Signs of the Times - February 2014
Contents
ST Update
Technology Update
Welcome to the 21st Century
Vinyl Apps
Strictly Electric
LED Update
Software Update
Technology Review: Cyrious online
Technology Review: Sign and Printmakers Guild
Sign Museum News
New Products
Walls of Fame
A Designer’s View of Health-care Signage
Health-care Signage: Care Required
Health-care Signage Trends
Estimating Software
Dynamic Digital Signage Made Simple, Part 2
Industry News
Advertising index
Editorially speaking

Signs of the Times - February 2014