Should Sign Companies Directly Finance Purchases?

How should I structure the deal for two key employees to buy my business?

This is a complicated question requiring a very detailed answer for the structure’s many parts, but one key detail is deciding which of the two will be the majority owner and ultimately in charge. One hopes that for this company, the two employees have already agreed on their roles and that despite only one of them being the boss, they still would form a productive partnership. Such is the case at Signarama Louisville Downtown (Louisville, KY), where Maggie Harlow is 51% owner and husband Brian Harlow is 49% owner. Maggie has described their partnership as “I’m the gas and he’s the brakes,” but she reiterates that she’s the one in charge. Ideally, like the Harlows, the two key employees above would equally complement each other’s skills.

Is it better to buy or lease crane and bucket trucks for a small or midsize sign company?

Also complicated, but let’s boil this down to two main considerations: First, how much use do you have for a crane or bucket truck? To buy, one would think equipment would have to be used at least often if not constantly. If you are currently leasing, what are the monthly lease expenses? Are they close to what purchase payments would be? Second, can you afford the down payment to buy a crane or bucket truck — if not new, a good used one? Would owning the truck generate additional revenue? Run a few scenarios to find out what it would take for either leasing or purchase to be more advantageous, but be careful if using AI, as AI is notoriously bad with numeric calculations.

We asked the ST Brain Squad: Do you allow customers to finance sign purchases (e.g., payment plans)?

YES – 33%

• Through leasing companies or a franchisor
• Only for very good or carefully vetted customers
• For customers not paid up after 90 days

NO – 67%

• We are not a bank or lender
• Clients must arrange their own loans
• Custom signs have no repossession value
• Used to finance in the past but got burned
• Absolutely not!