npace

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Posts posted by npace

  2. Posted

    I use the spray nozzle that came with my cabinet and use 80 - Black Diamond from TSC. I use different pressures based on thickness and compositions of the glasses. Pressure for fine detail on the Riedels took a minute to regulate but well worth it.  I use scrap 651 for mask, never had an issue other than forgetting to monitor pressure.

    • Like 1

  7. Posted

    these are not sillouettes but might help. I had a few from an old job but I lost all 3 hard drives this past week so I'm starting over. 1 was strictly backup that was connected at the moment doing a backup. Lightning does not care about surge protectors. These are off of a cd collection I bought years ago. Hope these help.

    Victorian Couch.eps

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    • Like 1

  11. Posted

    Before you pay anyone for a consultation, make a few changes on your own and give it a couple of weeks to see results.

     

    On your webpage, right click your mouse..... go to View Source

    One big reason that you are not getting any traffic -you are promoting Joomla. You need to go to your admin panel and under Global Settings, change this.

    <meta name="keywords" content="joomla, Joomla" /> <meta name="description" content="Joomla! - the dynamic portal engine and content management system" /> <meta name="generator" content="Joomla! - Open Source Content Management" />

    Keywords and meta tags are important for each and every page that is on your website. It's necessary for site indexing. Also tagging your photos and images. Keep as much content in actual text format over images. Images are great once you have the customer there, but what words do you want them to relate your business to? Those are what need to be all over your site.  I know it's a nuisance, but it works.

     

    In your keyword selection AND content, use phrases that someone would use to type in a search bar. "banner shop in xyz town"  "banner store in xyz town"  "birthday banners" 'real estate banners' "banner installer"   "buy banners xyz town"  you will be amazed at what people use as search words. Incorporating these phrases in your content sentences will bring them to your site.

     

    The more often you update your site, the more google will look at it. If your site is deemed stale - meaning that you rarely make changes, you go to the unspoken, bottom of the indexing, list. No reason to index your site if there are no changes. Traffic then becomes your only hope for higher ranking.

     

    Traffic -- facebook.. or send out an email blast to your customers asking them to view your new, or updated site and ask them to provide their opinion in exchange for a percentage off or enter into a drawing.  TONS of traffic, you asked them to critique you. Everyone wants their opinion valued. They will dig all around your site... every page, trying to find something to offer feed back on.  You are only out a percentage on a sale that might not have come from a particular customer. Probably because, until scouring your site, they might not have even known you offered a particular product or service.

     

    Lots of ways to beef up your traffic and your index level, free. 

     

    View Source is a nice littlle way to check in on the competition that ranks higher than you do.

    What words are they using?

    What words and phrases related to their industry are used in the content?

     

    There is your first SEO consultation, $1200 bill on the way. :)

    • Like 4

  12. Posted

    I'm not finding anything the customer likes online or in my own collection. Does anyone have any kings they would be willing to share? Specifically looking for a short, fat, decked out king. Even if it's raster, anything to offer him alternative looks. 

    Thanks in advance!

     

     

     

  14. Posted

    We just closed our retail and went back to working from home!  We were very fortunate and not at a loss for customers prior to opening. HOWEVER, it only took a year to figure out just how impossible it is to keep up with the demands of maintaining great customer service AND still be able accomplish a fair amount of work.

     

    We made our decision for a few reasons.

     

    It takes more time to babysit a walk in customer than to respond to an online request or resolve an issue for a current customer.

     

    We spent more time on quotes than ever before and over half were tire kickers, wanna be designers bleeding for information, some just curious about what we did, local competition OR sent in by the competition.  All of that takes time. Half of your day will be over before you realize what hit you. It's exciting to talk to people about what you do, but if they are in your store, they expect your time and if you are rude and short, they will not return. Bad news travels much faster than good.

     

    We chose not to go out of pocket and hire a formal employee to manage customer service. With needing to produce the orders, we simply do not have time to train someone  -  and then there are the unrealistic expenses for a small business owner to have legitimate employees. Then the worry of 'Are we sure that this new person will represent us the way we have spent years building our reputation?'

     

    I also found that we needed to have a LARGE collection of supplies and shirt sizes available at all times because you never know what will walk in the door. It took me all of 2 days to realize that customers expect to walk in, discuss their needs, and walk out with a finished product. It does not happen of course for all orders, but it does not take that expectation away. And you do not want them leaving upset or disappointed. They will talk.

     

    Having young children at work with us when they are bored and we are busy is not a good mix either. The newness wears off fast!

     

    By closing, we are saving a few thousand in overhead each month. It adds up beyond rent and power and water. There are business fees, ongoing ordinances that you need to stay on top of, advertising - because now you NEED more customers to cover the overhead- , having lunch delivered because no one has time to leave because customers are always in your shop and you have jobs to produce, late nights because of course now, your equipment is at the store, not at home - no more late nights and lazy mornings in your pjs, the list goes on and on!

     

    Not saying in any way that you should not open, just sharing our experience. It was a great experience but there is a lot to consider.

     

    I prefer finishing the entire coffee pot, not grabbing a cup on the way out the door.

    • Like 5

  16. Posted

    don't do it! save your money! tell your kids to buy copywritten images on ebay for pennies.  .....the addiction is impossible to overcome. it simply takes over. next you'll want a heat press, a blasting cabinet, screen print set up, a sub printer and eventually a mutoh or something relative. you will have accounts set up with 100 different vendors, each sending you catalogs and email blasts that will only temp the deepest core of your soul, taunting your bank account. it's endless. 

     

    then again, if you are like the rest of us....welcome to the dues free, vinyl, pressing, blasting, subbing, printing, sign making addiction club!

    • Like 4

  19. Posted

    It would take some heavy photoshopping and then trace time. I played around for a few minutes. When you tell a customer that you charge 90/hr for this type of work and it will take around 3-4 hours, they miraculously come up with a clean eps file.

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  22. Posted

    I used to get caught up in calculations and it can become very tedious and time consuming. If the job is local and it's pretty straight forward I charge a flat $11 per sq ft for 651 window installs. $13 sq ft for multiple colors/stacks. Cleaning/scraping is a minimum of $50, travel is based on distance/traffic/time. Scaffolding/permits/difficulty acessing, another set of hands required, etc. is additional.

  23. Posted

     
     
    Now there is a row of questions I came up but can’t really get the answer that i am looking for from web. 
     
    1. Let’s say you want to get a permission to print and sell a logo of popular brand from an original owner. That does probably require proof of huge sale numbers no matter how good your idea is right?
    Some require deposits and set amount of sales regardless if you sell or not.  Generally it's thousands if not hundreds of thousands or more to get permissions. It all depends on the brand. 
     
    2. Let’s say i want to buy a large amount of brand name stickers from a random manufacturer. How can I make sure the seller has copyrights? Do I have to ask any particular proof from seller or contact original owner of the brand logo and ask them instead?
    Some random manufacturer is likely NOT going to have the rights and "random" is not the way to go if you plan to sell branded decals. (<<preferred industry term over "sticker") You need to reach out to the respective company's marketing division. 
     
    3. How can i really determine what can I sell and what not? It is obvious that “Porsche” logo is protected but what about numbers “911” or lets say the letters “GT”. 
     
     
    4. Is there a thing like a logo or brand name manipulation - changing part of the logo or name. For example making a Red Bull logo but having cats’ instead of bulls. Or adding extra letter end of the brand name. For example “Apples” instead of “Apple” which of course means that an user can just remove letter “s” and still have a original name of the brand. Is it legit?
    When in doubt, don't even attempt. As Mz SKEETER said, there is no percentage of change that is acceptable. Well that is, unless you are OK with receiving a Cease & Desist letter with potentially, a hefty fine attached.  Search the forum for C & D posts. People have lost their homes over a logo they did not have the rights to reproduce. 
     

     

    • Like 1