How Can Sign Company Owners Work Less But Still Pay the Bills?

Any tips or ideas on staff retention? Looking for outside-the-box ideas on things that motivate employees.

Before we look outside the box, let’s make sure you’re offering competitive pay for similar work in your area, as well as the kinds of benefits provided by about half or more of the sign companies participating in our 2024 Big Survey: paid vacation, paid sick days, flexible schedule or workplace, medical insurance, bonuses or profit sharing, 401k or IRA plan. Same for perks: coffee/soft drinks, weekly/occasional meals, clothing for work. Anything short of the list so far would hinder staff retention. Of course, you could offer additional benefits and perks, as at least a quarter of Big Survey respondents do: dental or vision insurance, life insurance, merchandise discounts, disability insurance and snacks. Don’t overlook simple communication and positive reinforcement — the personal touch. Now some outside-the-box ideas from the Big Survey: accident insurance, birthdays off, commuting allowance, expense accounts, use of tools and bucket trucks for home projects, cash advances and loans, tickets to events or attendance at local functions, gifts, trips and travel. For more out-of-the-box ideas, see signsofthetimes.com/122407.

How can I work less but still have enough money to pay the bills? I’m trying to charge more — which seems to work — but some jobs I just don’t want anymore.

Consider hiring someone to manage your business, if financially possible. It’s not clear how much money you should have left to pay the other bills after paying the manager, but the two main items in the question would be addressed: You would work less and someone else would do the jobs you don’t want anymore. Sometimes in life we have to decide which we want to prioritize more, time or money. If hiring a manager is something you can afford, great. If not, all is not lost. Provided you’re willing to make a little less money, you can work less and create more free time simply by not taking the undesirable jobs anymore.

In the spirit of raising our standards, we asked our designers to include more information and details on our proofs and renderings. I’m about three requests away from having a coup on my hands. Any advice for finding balance in regards to details and additional information?

Our Business of Signs columnist Maggie Harlow, also CEO of Signarama Downtown (Louisville, KY), recently wrote about managing design, offering five steps to greater productivity (see ST, February 2024, page 39). The first step is that design charges should be a profit center. In this sense, impress upon your designers that what you’re asking them to do more of is adding value to their designs. While not overworking them, and hopefully fairly compensating them, this step will at least help them understand why you are requesting the additional information and details on proofs and renderings. If you’re having designers work directly with clients for changes, etc., you can make your designers’ jobs easier by having clients deal exclusively with their salespeople instead — her second step. While you’re at it, encourage good communication between design and sales in general, which happens to be her third point. Harlow measures design productivity (the fourth step) with the goal of 15 designs per designer per day, and starts training new designers on day one to know that speed matters — her fifth and final point. For more details, check out signsofthetimes.com/122408.