ShadowHawk

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About ShadowHawk

  • Rank
    Advanced Member
  • Birthday 01/01/1970

Contact Methods

  • Website URL
    http://www.teesandthings.com

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Richardson, Texas
  • Interests
    Beekeeping, Camping, Hiking, Woodworking
    http://rex.BohemianUtopia.com/wordpress/
  1. ShadowHawk

    Laser Engravers

    Crud - Sorry - Was perusing the other forum subjects - and saw that there is now a forum FOR Laser Engravers... Looks like not much discussion there, though... Thx, Rex "Hawk" S.
  2. ShadowHawk

    Laser Engravers

    Hi Folks! It's been FOREVER since I've perused and participated with the forums... Life happens that way sometimes - and I've been busy! I've been toying around with getting a laser engraver - and wanted to see if anyone here on the forum has one, or has suggestions on brands to look at and consider. Thanks, Rex "Hawk" S. Tees and Things Richardson, Tx
  3. ShadowHawk

    Vinyl Pricer

    Thanks Keng1f ! Found the link on page 6 of the thread posts! I'll take a looksee at his provided labors - and all - I appreciate his efforts put into this for our community! Thanks, Rex S.
  4. ShadowHawk

    Vinyl Pricer

    Sorry - I've just been over his first post completely again - with FireFox and with IE - and I don't see any attachment with either browser... Maybe it's still disabled.
  5. Hey Folks. I dunno if anyone else here splurged and got the iPhone 4 or not... but I used my cutter to cut a 6mm x 90mm strip, with a 2mmx6mm oval cutout for the speaker - for the iPhone 4 edge. For those not in the know on the iPhone 4 - if you hold it with your hand on the lower left corner (looking at the screen) - you MASSIVELY lose signal strength because that's the antenna placement. Apple (and other OEM providers) want appx $20 for a rubber bumper to go around the phone - which does serve a purpose.. but I'm holding out for the OtterBox... so in the mean-time, I've cut vinyl from scrap to cover the metallic strip around the iphone, and it works great. No signal loss, now when I grip the iPhone to talk. (Maybe I should make a buck on those, huh? - haha) Here's the prototype... My next will be a full edge wrap. Hawk - Richardson Tx
  6. ShadowHawk

    Vinyl Pricer

    Am I missing something? I don't see an attachment or file to download... has it been temporarily disabled, or is there a link to it that I've missed? Thanks, Rex S.
  7. ShadowHawk

    New Signcut version about to be released...

    Any new news on the new version? I'm up for renewal on my subscription, and had not heard ANYTHING new on the new Productivity Pro product. (Like what it provides, features/benefits, etc.) and wasn't sure if I wanted to renew my SCX2 PE - if a new version was about to be released... But then again - It's been "about to be released" for several months, now....
  8. ShadowHawk

    my question

    That's something you need to ask your customer.... Ask for specific measurements - don't just accept "I want it to cover the trunk" as an answer.
  9. ShadowHawk

    Issues launching SignIt X2 from Corel X3

    I'm using CorelDraw X4, and when I try to launch SignIt from CD X4, it appears to do nothing.. so I go on about my business... then about 5-10 minutes later, the SignIt dialog box appears out of nowhere... Consistently, cannot get it to run without going through this strange routine... I dunno if it's SignIt, CDX4, or Vista - or maybe a strange combination of the 3.. but I'm hoping that the new release (that has so far been without fanfare or acclaim of features/benefits) will address that issue in SignIt. Rex S.
  10. Hi folks, I just received an email this weekend informing me of a new version of Signcut that is forthcoming. (SignCut "Productivity Pro"). Is there any information on features/benefits and new capabilities of the new product? Thanks, Rex
  11. ShadowHawk

    Business Networking (long)

    Those are some good questions - and I'm going to preface my answers by stating that I'm probably not a qualified person to ask. You may want to talk with someone from the leadership team of a local-to-you chapter to get more. I don't see your viewpoint as being pessimistic - because you already know that referrals work. you're already doing it with your current contacts. The only difference I can see is that with an organized group, you have a potential referral force that's as large as your chapter. Also - you're only passing a referral - the customer is already looking for tha service, and you're giving your recommendation - essentially saying "Hey - I've done business with this person, let me give your number to them, and they will follow up with you to see about quoting a price for your needs." 1) People are encouraged to visit a group to see if they feel that there's a good synergy that can be built. It's important that you pick a group to do business with that you "mesh" with. Personalities between people can make or break the referral relationships. Prospective members can visit a chapter meeting up to twice, and certainly can talk with individuals and the membership committee to address questions and concerns. Different groups choose different times of the day/week to meet. I can't imagine waking up early enough to meet with the 6:30am Monday breakfast group... ha! 2) I certainly understand what you're getting at behind this question. Each member is certainly free to refer business to whomever they want - I suppose theres several different avenues that could be pursued. Knowing that you'll have a team of people that are also giving referral business to you and getting referral business from you - you'd be hard pressed not to encourage your current contacts to explore the benefits of your particular chapter. If those profession positions are already filled within a group... Then you can certainly choose whether or not to pass along a referral to the holder of that position... or to give it to your current contact. I think that quality of work is an important consideration - especially in the construction field. Trust needs to be built between members in order for you to trust your customers with a referral to someone else for work. If you don't trust the existing plumber or if there's a quality issue.. those are bridges that need to be built. Get together one-to-one and see his/her work. If you still don't feel comfortable referring him/her.. then maybe that particular chapter simply isn't the right fit for you. I urge you to research your potential referral field with a group before committing to that group. There may be another group or chapter that's a better fit for you. That's not pessimistic.. that's realistic. Rex
  12. ShadowHawk

    New Trunks

    Cool deal! In years past, I umpired recreational league softball in the evenings for extra cash... there was a catcher on one team that kept making remarks about wanting to body-slam someone on the other team, and so I finally asked him if he was a wrestling nut, or what.. he grinned a big grin at me, stuck his hand out to shake my hand, and said "I'm Kris Kaos". Seems he was in one of the small independent organizations that wrestles in VFW/American Legion halls and High School gyms on weekends. Says he never made much money at all in wrestling (barely paid for his gasoline to get from North Dallas to wherever the wrestling happened, but enjoyed the social aspect. http://www.starwrestlingfed.com/Kaos.html (I printed the shirts on his page link - way back in 2002) Again - G'Luck! And I hope you land that contract! Rex S.
  13. ShadowHawk

    New Trunks

    Hey Josh, Is that money for providing wearables for retail resale? (i.e. for the Wrestling fans at home to wear around the house) ? (Now geez.. that's a thought I didn't want going through my head!!!) Or for the actual wear that's worn by the athletes in the ring? (or both?) If retail - what kind of volume guarantee are they wanting at that pay rate? If simply for the athletes.. well.. all I can say is "Sweet deal"! G'Luck! Rex S.
  14. ShadowHawk

    Business Networking (long)

    Several folks have asked me about how to get referral business - and what type of entities are available for you to help push your business to have higher sales. Let me start with a background of my particular situation, that'll give you a "why" behind the decision's I've made for this direction that my business is being steered by me. Understand also - this is not an ad for the group that I am a member of for business referrals. It is a motivation for you to take a long, hard look at yourself in the mirror, and see if you like what you see, and what you can do to change it if you don't. Chapter 1 - My Story Back in 1998, I was laid off from a corporate job I *hated*. In fact, I'd had my resignation letter in my briefcase for over a year - but I wasn't a quitter, so I stuck it out... and they finally paid a third of the company to leave at one time. I worked from before sun-up 'til after sun-down, and only saw my wife and kids late at night, and early in the morning. Sure, I never had to worry about keeping the bills paid... but at the expense of losing out on family time. I was unhappy in one of the worst ways. My wife and I always wanted to be self-employed... so we went to several "Entrepreneur" type of trade shows, and finally picked a screenprinting package to buy and start up a company. Our first order of business was in sending out 31 letters to people that worked in the athletic departments of cities around our metroplex area. To our knowledge, we got a return on the expense of those stamps about a month later. One of the recipients knew another business owner who had won a bid with Nike' - however, they did not do the type of work that they bid upon. So we agreed to do the work. For 4 months, we printed Dallas Cowboys jerseys for the NFL Pro Shops. To put it nicely.. it was a "learning experience". What did we learn? a) Don't rely on one big customer to pay your bills. If you do a bad job, they'll stop using you - and you'll be out of business because of no other revenue flow. Market to your market. We were softball players. We got into the business at the time to market shirts for teams - knowing that we could make money and still provide an affordable shirt for teams. Every team manager/coach in the 3 biggest cities for softball around us knew that we were the "team t-shirt people" to go to. We went to the coach's meeting before seasons, passed out cards & fliers between game times at the fields, etc. etc. During that time, we also placed an ad in the yellow pages. Over $100/month for a column sized ad. That ad generated lowball price shoppers. I know - because I asked every person who called, where they got my number from or how they heard of me. And for a while I tracked how many of each type of call gained me a sale. Over the next several years, we slowly got referrals to companies that had anywhere from 5-50 employees.. and the occasional larger odd-job for a company 4th of July party... All through that time, I still tracked my phone calls, and income. I learned that the yellow page ad was not paying for itself.. I learned that 95%+ of my business was from word-of-mouth referrals from past customers. Then almost 2 years ago, I got a reality check.... We were in debt. Big time (for us). Our income from the business was paying the mortgage, utilities & groceries, but not much more. Financially, we were working a "bad paying job" - instead of being owners. Then more recently, I became a "sole owner" of the business. Sales revenue ranged from about $38,000 a year to $90,000 a year.... That was in sales - not profits. (and the higher range of income was in the earlier years!) I needed to do *something* different if I wanted to attack my personal debt, as well as making a future for myself and my kids. Some of you may be familiar with your local Rotary club, Chamber of Commerce, etc. These are different forms of "Business Networking" organizations. You go, show up, meet and talk with other local business folks, and pass your cards out and hopefully make a sale because you showed your face. I was asked to visit with a group from an organization called Business Networking International. (BNI). They understand the value of personal, qualified referral business. In a nutshell - they grow chapter member's business revenues by passing referrals to each other within the chapter. Not necessarily business from one member to another - but from the member's customer base. For all intensive purposes, I have 25+ folks keeping an eye out for people or businesses that may need promotional products or screen-printed items. I attend a weekly marketing meeting with my chapter members, and we make sure each person knows what type of business we are wanting to target. And I know that I've got 25+ folks that I can refer work to, if I should come across a customer of mine who wants or needs services that my chapter members offer. (I.e. corporate photography, legal services, real estate, car dealer, mortgage broker, landscaping services, personnel services, and so on, and so on...) All these folks are keeping an eye out for me, and I'm keeping an eye out for them - each of us looking to pass qualified business to each other. I hate to call it this - but this is a fantastic form of the "Good ole boy" network. Only one person from each profession is allowed into a chapter - that way there's no question of who will get the referral business. There's only 1 corporate lawyer, only 1 roofer, only 1 physical therapist, only 1 computer hardware integrator, etc.. As an example, I got a referral from our chapter lawyer. This was for someone he knew with another law firm, that was looking to spend some of their (obscenely large) advertising budget. This company specialized in real-estate law... Well, guess what... one of my promotional products catalogs has some items that are geared towards the construction industry. A law firm is buying custom printed hardhats with their logo on them. "Protecting their customers legally, while they build their future". Who'd think of lawyers having on a hard-hat? Most people wouldn't - but once it was tailored to their market - they see the value in using it as a marketing tool to their niche. They pass out those hardhats when meeting with construction reps, corporate land buyers, etc. I passed a referral last month to our mortgage broker. A friend of mine is wanting to buy a house, but has some issues to clear up, so the mortgage broker is helping my friend clear those up - so that he can qualify for the best loan that he can. So.. that's it in a nutshell. Qualified referrals. I've got specific goals for my finances, my business, and my family - and a specific time-frame and a plan for each goal - and the business referrals will help me achieve those goals. I think that if you want to make your business truly a business, and not simply a hobby that pays for itself and maybe a "little more"... then you need to make some realistic hard looks at yourself, where you're at, why you're there, where you want to go... and what path will get you there - within the ethics that you do your business by. Then focus like a madman on those goals. Where are you? Have your sales plateaued or dropped? Are you working more hours than you income is paying you for? Do you really know what kind of revenue your business is generating, and what it's paying for? (and more importantly - what it's NOT paying for). Do you have specific goals? If not, why not? Each thing is a piece of a puzzle. You may have an idea of the overall picture once you start putting the pieces together - but until you actually put all the pieces into place, see where you're at, and where you want to be - it's hard to fathom what it will take to move you along on to the path of achieving your goals. I'd like to say that BNI will make my goals happen. By itself, it won't. It will, though, offer a more broad spectrum of customers to my business - and I'll provide another band of potential business to my chapter members. It's up to each of us to realize and reach our dreams and goals - by taking action to make it possible. Sitting back, and worrying about where your next bit of income is coming from is stressful. I'd be willing to bet that more than one of you has been unable to sleep, because you've got a mortgage payment to make, but you don't have any customers lined up for the next few days. I know - I've been there. That stress will affect you physically. To grow your business is really all too simple. But many business owners fail because they have no personal plan for their business. a) Know where you are financially Set your goals (I.e. where you want/need to be financially) c) Make a plan of action to get to those goals. This needs to be a realistic adjustment of your actions to get where you want to be. d) Put it into reality. This is the final step - the step that so many fall short on. Sure many come up with a plan.. but actually carrying it through is the hard part. Forcing yourself to make changes in the way you do business - because it will allow you to realize your goals. This post is longer than I expected it to be. However, I think it really gives a perspective on some of the steps needed to evaluate and grow your business. Rex S.
  15. Okay - But I'll post it on another thread - so as to not hijack this thread. Watch for another post this evening. Thanks, Rex