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Manager's To Do

Prep for ISA Expo 2023, Take a Closer Look at Shop Ops, and More To-Do Items for Sign Managers in March

A couple of your peers name the operational changes they’re mulling.

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FEB. 26-MAR. 4

ANNIVERSARIES “We are preparing for our 100-year anniversary. Many exciting things to do,” says Stephen Russ, Ortwein Sign Co. (Chattanooga, TN). (Editor’s note: For more members already in the ‘century club,’ see this page.)
PRODUCTION Jake Zani from Rule Signs & Graphics in Randolph, VT, is planning ahead, looking to “replace printer-cap tops; there won’t be time to do it again until mid-August.”

MAR. 5-11

SOCIAL MEDIA Like many of us, Raychel O’Donoghue, Lexington Signs & Graphics (Burlington, MA), needs to get “three years worth of pics out of my phone, and [also] update website and social media.”

PROCEDURES Becky Duke, AP Corp, Sykesville, MD, will be “creating an SOP to handle warranties, so they ‘re much more streamlined and easier to track.”

MAR. 12-18

MARKETING Early spring is the right time to send out reminders for spring home shows, boat shows, graduation banners and lawn signs, according to Rita Siprak-Weil, Minuteman Press Annapolis (Annapolis, MD). At her shop, they’ll be designing and scheduling email blasts.

TRADESHOWS Tim Ward from Sign Solutions in Frederick, MD — and thousands of other sign pros — will be preparing to attend the 2023 ISA International Sign Expo in Las Vegas, April 12-14.

MAR. 19-25

CUSTOMERS “Reaching back out to clients we haven’t worked on a project with for a while and reconnecting with them” is on the docket for Derek Atchley, Atchley Graphics (Columbus, OH).

SYSTEMS, PART 1 Carl Heinlein, Cincinnati Custom Signs (Cincinnati), reports he will be implementing a system to monitor estimated time on jobs vs. actual time spent on jobs. “I’m [already] collecting some data, but I hope to have it streamlined by March,” he says.

MAR. 26-APR. 1

SYSTEMS, PART 2 Last but not least, Matt Brasel from Indigo Signworks in famous Fargo, ND, is going to “evaluate switching ERP software for the sign industry.”

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