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
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