Webinar participants, clockwise from top left: Trevor Hansen, Ed Avis, Jose Lopez and Matt Bennett.
IRgA members who attended a webinar last week on ADA signage learned a lot about the challenges and opportunities of this market from three experienced panelists: Trevor Hansen from Thomas Printworks, Jose Lopez from CyberCopy and Matt Bennett from BPI Color.
Below are 5 key points made during the webinar. To watch the entire video, click here to log into the Member Portal, then click on the Recorded Webinars and Reports tab on the left. The ADA webinar is the top option. Also, stay tuned for information about an IRgA in-person ADA signage workshop September 18-19 in the Washington, DC area.
Take-Away 1: Long Learning Curve
The presenters all stressed that creating ADA signage requires a solid understanding of the ADA regulations and the ability to manage complex projects.
“I would say our learning curve began in 2003 and we’re still learning things,” Hansen said. “That's not to say we didn't figure out the important stuff quickly, but there's little nuances along the way that we continue to learn and things to improve the process and make it easier and better.”
The biggest challenge is on the administrative side, Hansen added: “I would say the sales and project management side is the longest learning curve. From a production standpoint, the flatbed operators, they know how to do their part and the router operator knows how to do their part. So it's really a pre-press project management and sales effort to really understand those rules and guidelines and, and set the right expectations for clients.”
Take-Away 2: You Need to Know the Rules
Lopez noted that understanding the national ADA rules is not enough – many states and local municipalities have their own variations.
“I’m not sure how it works in different states, but in California every single local authority has their own set of rules,” Lopez says. “So maybe what it works for Ventura County, it might not work for LA County. And, you know, you have cities and permits in between, so you need to understand what guidelines they all have and what kind of flexibility they can have.”
Take-Away 3: Installation Can be a Money Maker
The signs themselves can be profitable, of course, but so can installation.
“I think you're making just as much money on install as you are signage, in my opinion,” Bennett said. “A lot of our invoices end up being, you know, 40 or 45% of our invoices install and project management and project prep. The signage itself, there's still profit there, but then there's the other half.”
Take-Away 4: Managing the Whole Job Brings More Profit
Your company probably makes all – or at least most – of the signage that a building needs, and if you can manage the whole sign package, you can charge more.
“You can get higher profit margin if you do the project from A to Z,” Lopez said. “And what I'm saying is when you work with development and you say, okay, don't worry, give me the sign package and I’ll take care of everything for you from designing and proofing to manufacturing and installation. Because they want things out of their hands.”
Take-Away 5: Using a Third-Party Estimator Helps
A big construction project may have hundreds, or even thousands, of ADA signs. How do you estimate the cost of all that? You don’t need to do it alone!
“There are wall covering estimators and there are those who specialize in signage,” Hansen said. “So we’ve contracted with them. We send them the plans and within 24 hours we have back all the specs and everything in an Excel document that we can then import. Then we can do all our estimating and everything from that because they’ll provide us all the specs and everything in a more usable format for us.”
These 5 take-aways are just the tip of the iceberg of this topic. To watch the entire video, click here to log into the Member Portal, then click on the Recorded Webinars and Reports tab on the left. The ADA webinar is the top option. Also, stay tuned for information about an IRgA in-person ADA signage workshop September 18-19 in the Washington, DC area.