Tariffs Impacting Sign Contracts

AS AN INDUSTRY WE have been handed an issue that many didn’t see coming or didn’t think would affect us. To think after being in the sign industry all of my life this materialized like a Sasquatch stepping out of a rip in the spacetime fabric just as I was fishing my favorite trout stream.

Does a bear **** in the woods? NO! Not when something so disturbing happens you lose all concentration that you drop your gear and run!

Alright, so maybe this issue I wish to speak of isn’t that crazy, but I did realize I haven’t given it much thought. As an industry we rely on imports of various kinds from materials to machinery. We are hooked on importing our goodies like a squirrel is to collecting walnuts. So, what do we do?

Before I go any further, I am not being political. I don’t care what species you are when it comes to politics. What I am is a sign guy with a problem brewing that I need to take care of. Suddenly we find we have questions about materials delivery and costs. What if you are in the middle of a project and have quoted a profit margin according to your costs, and now you’re not sure what those costs are going to be in real time? Only a few weeks ago we knew the costs of aluminum, LED lighting and other components designed into any project.

I wish I had a magic answer that would fix these problems, but this is new territory to many of us. Using common sense and the willingness to adapt, each individual company can come up with a solution until the dust settles. The biggest thing to use as a tool in your business is truth. These contractors and businesses you are working for are going through the same thing and probably in the same situation. In the short term, just have a conversation with your client and let them know you are working on a solution. The main thing to remember is that you did not make this issue happen.

In the long term, this whole political war we are in the middle of may be a good thing. It has made us realize that we depend on others for way too much. Even the American companies we purchase from most likely have their products built somewhere else. Again, I am not getting political; I am pointing out a problem we need to face and figure out. Too many times we complain about things only to just keep complaining about them and nothing ever gets solved. But where do we start? I suppose if I were a more business-oriented guy, I would be able to write a column with a problem-solving vision and we would all live happily ever after.

Instead, I leave all the business stuff to my accountant and continue to doodle on napkins and scrap pieces of paper whenever a sign design idea hits me in the middle of a conversation.

So, what do we do? I have no clue! But we do need to figure out what works for each of us, our businesses and ourselves.

Until then, I will go fishing and clear my head. But before I leave the house, I am making a mental checklist of troubling signs, so I don’t get caught by a Sasquatch materializing in front of me.