Category

Educational

Phone Free Wraps

By Educational, Wrap Design

Topic of the Day: Do Vehicle Wraps Really Need Your Phone Number?

Ah, the great debate of the wrap world: to phone or not to phone? That is the question. Should your brand be bold enough to skip the digits altogether and let your logo do all the talking? Or do you slap your number on there, hoping someone snaps a pic while flying down the highway at definitely not 80 mph? (We won’t judge.)

Let’s be honest—how many of us are whipping out our phones to take a pic of a truck’s phone number mid-commute? Chances are slim unless you’re in desperate need of what they’re selling. What does stick, though, is a memorable brand. A catchy name. A logo so clean and bold it makes you Google them later.

Here’s the thing: a vehicle wrap isn’t a business card—it’s a moving billboard. The goal isn’t an instant call; it’s planting a seed. A strong design makes people think, “Hey, I’ve seen that before!” when they need your service. A giant phone number? Not so much. In fact, here’s a fun little industry truth bomb: the bigger the number, the weaker the brand. Yup.

At Designer Wraps, we include phone numbers on about half of our designs—and only when they don’t mess with the overall aesthetic. And when they do make the cut they’re low on the priority list. Why? Because it’s the name and branding that do the heavy lifting.

What do you think? Are we entering a new era of phone-free wraps? Or does old-school still have a place? Check out the pics below of wraps with and without phone numbers, and let’s hear your thoughts!

🚗📞 Or 🚗🖼️?

Phone Number

NO Phone Number

December 3, 2024
Love0

Wrapping Pro Sean Tomlin

By Educational

Balancing Business and Family: How Wrapping Pro Sean Tomlin Runs a Busy Shop Without Missing Life’s Best Moments

Sean Tomlin, owner and visionary of Designer Wraps in New Jersey, has found his own formula for success — both in business and in life. Known for running a busy vehicle wrapping and sign shop, Sean is equally committed to being present with his family. According to Signs of the Times, he integrates his personal interests with his professional life, keeping active with workouts in his shop gym and daily runs, while making family time a priority every evening. His kids even contribute creatively, with one daughter providing sketches featured in his projects. Sean’s approach highlights the importance of work–life balance, showing that passion for your craft doesn’t have to come at the expense of meaningful family connections.

👉 Read the original article here:
https://signsofthetimes.com/wrapping-pro-sean-tomlin/

March 30, 2022
Love0
Sean Tomlin

Finding FOCUS!

By Educational

Via our article written for GraphicsPro Magazine Feb 15, 2022.

One Sign Shop’s Journey to Finding a Focus

Sean Tomlin, Designer Wraps & Signs, says “I wanted to do it all, but I soon realized I couldn’t.”

 

As some of you may already know, it’s difficult to be the one-stop shop for everyone. Hence the old saying “Jack of all trades, master of none.” Stop trying to make everyone happy by being all things to all people — that’ll be your road to failure.

How can you physically (and fairly) split 100% of your focus/time on more than one thing at a time? Just saying that out loud makes no sense, and in my opinion, multitasking is a myth. How can one actually and efficiently multitask? It’s just not possible. If I’m working on Project A and Project B simultaneously, which one gets the most focus? You’re task-switching, not multitasking, and there’s a big difference.

Even computers that “multitask” are sacrificing memory and CPU power to do more than one task at the same time. Instead, focus on one task/project at a time; complete it and move to the next task, and so on. Keep a list; check things off as you complete them.

Focus is a superpower

The ability to focus on the most important task at hand is the superpower of high achievers and very successful people. I’m not saying I’m there. I struggle with this day-to-day; the whirlwinds of daily life always seem to get in the way. Whether it be phone calls, emails, walk-ins, questions, putting out fires, and so on, if we create an environment that allows that to happen, guess what? It will continue to happen.

So, what can we do to change or control our whirlwind?

First, close your door! No more open-door policy. I know you want to be “open and available” to your employees, but when do you have time to do your own work? When do you have time to focus on what you should be doing? What are you the best at? When do you make time to run your sign company, and not be run by your company? When do you make time to work on your business? I’m not just talking about tasks only here; I’m talking about the deeper, more important “direction of your company” stuff.

  • Pro tip: Check out “The 4 Disciplines of Execution” — it’s a great read.

Choosing a focus for Designer Wraps & Signs

A quick personal story. Back in 2006, when I started Designer Wraps, I wanted to offer all things to everyone. I wasn’t very clear on what I wanted to do. I wanted to make signs, banners, and stickers; I wanted to letter trucks, wrap cars, and do PPF and tint. I wanted to do it all, but I soon realized I couldn’t. So I began to focus without actually making a strategic plan to do so.

I said to myself, “I don’t want to make signs; I only want to wrap cars. Actually, I only want to wrap race cars and exotic vehicles.” And so, that’s what I did. We began to create a name for ourselves in that space, and by 2008-2010, we had a pretty decent following for just that — race car liveries and exotic vehicle wraps (color changes and chrome wraps). That was our focus.

Then, fast-forward a couple of years later. I realized that color change wraps were not what I wanted to do, and it wasn’t making sense financially. The residual income for us was in commercial graphics, specifically fleet wraps. So I began to change our focus to that market. We were offering commercial wraps all along; we just weren’t promoting them too heavily on social media. When we did, the responses were rather unexciting and didn’t get a lot of likes. Well, guess what? Likes don’t pay the bills (unless you’re an influencer).

Commercial wraps, color changes, race cars, interior wraps, signs, and banners. I thought to myself, “Nope, still not doing enough.” I wanted more. So in 2015, I acquired a commercial printing and apparel business. I thought, “Man, so many of our customers also need apparel and business cards and brochures for their businesses, so we should be offering those to them as well. We’ll be a one-stop shop for them.”

The idea is wonderful. It makes so much sense. For some companies out there, it does. I believe they are doing it successfully. For our company and myself, something was being sacrificed out of the three divisions: wraps, printing, or apparel. Only one got all of my attention at a time, and for a while there, it was rather chaotic.

It wasn’t until a few years later that I finally realized something had to go. So I began to sell off the divisions that didn’t fit our end goal. We said goodbye to offset printing first, then about two years later, we eliminated our apparel division, which included screen printing and dye-sublimation. Since doing so, we have not looked back. Although some were upset due to convenience, most of our customers understood and are now serviced better than ever on their vehicle graphics needs.

Today, we are a commercial vinyl wrapping company specializing in fleet graphics, corporate interior branding, and signage. Focusing on what we do best has allowed us to develop systems that have made us more efficient and further grow in those markets.

Source article: https://graphics-pro.com/feature/one-sign-shops-journey-to-finding-a-focus/

 

 

February 16, 2022
Love0

Top Tips for Running Your Sign or Wrap Shop in 2022

By Educational

Sean Tomlin, Designer Wraps, poses some important questions and encourages shops to “inspect what you expect” in Graphics PRO Magazine

So it’s 2022; now what? Did you plan out your “new year” last year? If not, it’s not too late to start. I’m going to propose different questions here with the hopes of provoking some thoughts that you may have otherwise not have considered. So, here are some things to think about when planning your year.

What did you learn last year?

Is there anything you did last year that, if done differently, you could/would do better this year?

  • Pro tip: Track mistakes, misprints, waste, etc., in a spreadsheet and compare it month-to-month/year-to-year. You can’t change what you don’t know.

Financials

Is all of your end-of-year booking cleaned up and ready to give to your accountant? How did your sales compare to the year before? What are your financial goals for 2022? How do you plan on accomplishing them?

  • Pro tip: It’s easy when you’re using good software like QuickBooks or Freshbooks (not to be confused with estimating/invoicing, job-tracking software like shopVOX or CoreBridge).

How’s your org chart?

Are all the right “butts” in the right seats? Does everyone know what they are accountable for? How do they know? Who is tracking it?

  • Pro tip: I know the market is tough right now, but try to focus on hiring people that align with your core values first, not just on emotion and a “good interview.” Remember to train, set expectations, and measure results! You’ve got to inspect what you expect in all areas of your business.

What about systems?

Is your process simple and easy to understand by your customers AND your employees? If not, what can you do this week to make it so?

  • Pro tip: Write out your process step-by-step on a whiteboard or paper. Start with a heading for each step or icon. Look at it and try to run through it with a fresh set of eyes. Make any adjustments needed here, then start adding the sub-components that make each “gear” turn as efficiently as possible, so the “machine” runs as smoothly as it can.

Organization (as-in not disorganized) 

How does your showroom look? Is it cluttered? Does it need updating? What about material samples? How’s your conference room look? Is it branded? Is it set up for Zoom calls with customers? How’s your production room/space look? Need better material storage/handling? How’s your fab and installation look? Better lighting? Tools? Equipment?

  • Pro tip: Sometimes, a simple, fresh coat of paint goes a long way, or a nice new wall wrap to spice things up. You may also consider a floor scrubber to control dirt and dust in your production/install areas.

Let’s talk expansion

Are you prepared to grow? Are your budgets done? Will you be buying any new equipment this year? If so, what? When? How will you pay for it (cash, lease, finance)? Do you have enough space; the personnel to run the equipment? What about new markets? Is this the year to start looking outside of your current base? Or is your niche just right?

  • Pro tip: You don’t want to grow a broken business. Make certain all of your “ducks are in a row,” your systems are bulletproof, your people are trained and accountable, and your financials are solid enough for growth. Remember, you’ve got to inspect what you expect!

Marketing

Is your marketing plan ready for 2022? Have you thought about social media? Don’t forget about LinkedIn. Are you using all the platforms as efficiently as you can? Is your messaging the same across all platforms? How do potential customers reach you on those platforms? Is your CRM in place? How does your website look? Is it mobile-friendly? Stats show that over 80% of today’s traffic is from mobile devices. It may be time to update and upgrade your site. Otherwise, it may not be the most user-friendly on a mobile device.

What do you mean you don’t have a website? No, you can’t use Facebook or Yellow Pages as your website.

  • Pro tip: Use Wix if you have to, but make sure it’s your unique domain name and not wix.com/yourcompany1. Hire a professional. Stop trying to do it all yourself. Either outsource or, if it’s in your budget, hire a part-time or full-time person in-house to handle this along with your other marketing efforts.

Sales

As billionaire Mark Cuban always says, “Sales fixes everything!” Be experts at selling because those are the companies that win, as opposed to the companies that may be great at what they do, but they don’t know how to sell. What does your sales process look like? It should be part of your system mentioned earlier. Are your salespeople adequately trained? Are they asking the right questions and explaining clear expectations? Back to marketing — how do you get your leads? How are you tracking the leads? Is your CRM in place and being used properly?

  • Pro tip: Be sure to present what makes you unique and different at the forefront of your sales and marketing process.

Business success

This could be an article all to itself. Are your goals set? Are you an owner? If so, are you working on your business, not in your business? Are all of your staff members on the same page as your leadership team? Is your vision clear to the entire organization?

  • Pro tip: Print out a large poster or vinyl lettering of your core values on a very visible wall in your shop (or in the breakroom). Track successes and wins and celebrate them (and your employees) publicly during your staff meetings.

Personal success

What books are you reading right now? What books are next?

  • Pro tip: Be sure to always take time for yourself to continue learning each day. You’re never too old to learn something new, the minute you think you already know everything is when you stop growing. I always try to better myself every day. I want to be a better person, a smarter person than I was yesterday. Ask yourself, what can I do today to make my tomorrow better?

It’s hard to think of everything when planning out the year ahead, but you can start by asking yourself some questions. Add those questions to a spreadsheet or list, then do your best to answer them honestly with your leadership team. As you think of new questions to ask yourself, add them to the list, then use the same list of questions for the following year. Rinse and repeat.

February 3, 2022
Love0