The Importance of Quality Control

When you shop around for sign vendors, what are you looking for? Experience, cost-effectiveness, and customer service are three big “hot buttons,” but you shouldn’t overlook the very important component of quality control. Since your signs are going to be a reflection of your organization, you want to make sure they’re error-free, and that only happens when they’re carefully proofed…and then proofed again.

The human brain is so complex that it can trick us sometimes into seeing things that really aren’t

there. When you know a specific word is supposed to be in a specific place, you may “see” it there, even it’s missing or it contains a typo. That’s why it’s so important to ensure you have a team of people reviewing each and every word on your signs—both within your own staff and at your sign vendor; even if a mistake gets by one person, it should be picked up by someone else before any damage is done.

Speaking of which, a great example of the lack of quality control has been floating around the Internet this week, courtesy of a new Giant food store in Washington D.C. For several hours, the large purple letters affixed to the outside of the building read “the quailty food people.” Of all the words to misspell, “quality” is definitely high on the list for resultant hilarity.

The faux pas—which was corrected after a reporter contacted Giant—was attributed to an installation error. Bet the sign vendor who was responsible has a little egg on its face!

We have quality control processes in place to ensure that your signs will be installed as per your detailed specifications—and that includes having all the words correctly spelled.

The Importance of Quality Control

Sign Ordinance 101

Have you read San Diego’s exhaustive sign ordinance? Probably not. Do you think it would be good use of your time to peruse that lengthy document (all 60+ pages of it)? Probably not, again. However, if you’re going to be using exterior signage of any kind, you need to make sure you stay on the “straight and narrow”—and we can help.

 We’re familiar with all the signage rules you must obey in San Diego (and surrounding cities, too). We’ll make sure you don’t do anything that’s going to incur the wrath of a city inspector and cause you a great deal of grief.

 In case you’re interested in knowing what “compelling reading” is contained in the San Diego sign ordinance, here’s a sample of what you’re missing:

 Violations of Sign Regulations

(a) It is unlawful to do the following:

         (1)     Place, post, paint or secure any sign, pennant, flag, banner, balloon, or similar attention-seeking device on public property or within the public right-of-way unless otherwise provided in the Municipal Code or specific state statute;

         (2)     Place any lettering, card, poster, or notice of any kind on any curb, sidewalk, street, pole, post, utility box, hydrant, bridge, tree, building, or other surface that is located on public property or in the public right-of-way unless otherwise provided in the Municipal Code or specific state statute;

         (3)     Display any sign without the required Sign Permit Sticker; or

         (4)     Erect any sign on any premises contrary to the provisions of this division.

(b) Violations of any provisions of this division shall be subject to the enforcement provisions of Chapter 12, Article 1. Violations of this division shall be treated as strict liability offenses regardless of intent.

 Not exactly bestseller material, right? It is important, however, that you work with a sign vendor who has taken the time to learn the rules—so you don’t have to!

Sign Ordinance 101

March Newsletter now available

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March Newsletter now available

8 Simple Ways to Nip Stress in the Bud

By James DiMaio

If you speak to a doctor about reducing stress in your life, he will likely tell you to revamp your diet, lose weight, get more sleep, exercise more, and/or give up alcohol. While yes, all of these things will dramatically increase your ability to take stress in stride, the mere thought of pursuing any one-much less all-of these goals is stressful. How will you begin? How will you keep going? Yikes.

There is a simpler way. You can choose just one moderate lifestyle change. That's all it takes to get you on the road to feeling better. Once you master one easy change and it becomes second nature, you can use the energy and increased vitality you've created from that first step and put it toward making another tweak. It's not a quick fix, but it's a doable fix. And that's the very best kind of change.

If you want to start getting a grip on your stress levels, commit to just one of the following list of 8 healthy behaviors. Sticking to even one of them can help you feel better instantly.

Which one should you choose? Whichever feels the easiest, whichever you feel will offer you the greatest benefit, or whichever is calling you. There is no one right answer.

1. Get a full night of sleep on most nights.
Ideally you'd be in bed by 10 and sleep for 8 hours every night-sleep regulates your hormone levels, refreshes your mind and promotes clearer thinking, and gives the body a chance to repair and restore itself. But some days there just aren't 8 hours to spare. Make it your goal to prioritize sleep on most nights, giving yourself some wiggle room to stay up late once in awhile. As much as possible, try to get into a routine of going to sleep and awakening at the same time each night and morning and notice how your energy and clarity rise.

2. Get exercise 4 days a week.
Few people can hit the gym every day. Instead, aim to workout more days per week than you skip it. If formal exercise isn't for you, opt for doing something active (walking to work, playing tag with the kids) 5 or 6 days a week. You'll sleep better, your digestion will hum, and your body won't feel so creaky.

3. Eat a home-cooked meal every day.
Food nourishes the soul as much as the stomach. When you eat out, you are not only more likely to eat less healthfully and consume more calories, you're also losing the benefit of having someone who loves you (this includes you) prepare your food for you. Eating more home cooked food will keep you grounded and healthy.

4. Schedule some quiet time (without your mobile).
The busier you are, the more you need time to do nothing. Silence gives you time to digest the day's events and to hear your true thoughts and feelings. Vegging in front of the TV doesn't count. Neither does checking your email on your phone. Dedicate 10 minutes a day to just be.

5. Stay hydrated.
Even mild dehydration can cause fatigue and brain fog. Thirst can also be misinterpreted as hunger and trigger a raid on the leftover pastries in the office kitchen-which in turn causes a blood sugar spike and subsequent crash. Start each morning with a big glass of water and stay on top of your game by always having a glass of water at the ready.

6. Play with your friends and family regularly.
Play boosts creativity, fun and levity-all great antidotes to stress. Doing it with people you love boosts your connection and support system. Study after study has found that people with strong social networks are happier and healthier for longer than people without. So find a way to invest in your relationships-it will pay you back in myriad ways.

7. Cut back on caffeinated beverages.
Caffeine may make you feel mentally sharp, but it eats away at your well-being in important ways. First, even moderate caffeine intake can make it harder to sleep at night, and poor sleep is a major culprit in feeling fuzzy and blah. Caffeine is also dehydrating. Get mindful of how much caffeine you consume and choose your beverages with care. Avoid soda as much as possible and try half decaf if you really need that coffee fix. Better yet, do you really need another cup of coffee, or could you take a 5-minute walk around the office or outside and get the same result with less downside?

8. Find a manageable way to give back to your community.
You don't need to single-handedly save the world. But the more connected you feel to the community around you, the more resilient you'll be in the face of stress. Is there some simple way you can get involved in something outside the walls of your home and office? Finding a meaningful activity that you enjoy can sustain you when times get tough.

So take the first step to getting your Mojo back and choose just one of these moderate lifestyle changes. It is all you need to start increasing your energy... and that energy will be the very next step in making even more healthy changes!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_DiMaio

8 Simple Ways to Nip Stress in the Bud

Cost Justification of Vehicle Wraps

by MIKE REESE on JUNE 19, 2012

Can you afford vehicle wraps? Maybe the better question to ask is, can you afford not to have them?

After studying the cost of advertising in the Yellow Pages, I have sometimes advised customers to reduce the amount of advertising dollars they’re spending in the Yellow Pages and to put that money into a vehicle wrap that can last them three to five years.

In other words, their cost for a one-year ad in the Yellow Pages would pay for vehicle graphics, which would last for three to five years. Additionally, they would get more impressions than they could imagine — and more than the Yellow Pages could generate.

In a previous blog post, I talked about how you can get 700 – 1,000 impressions per mile that you drive in your community, depending on its size and demographics. The more you drive your vehicle, the lower your cost per impression, because you’re receiving so many impressions day after day, month after month, year after year.

When you look at your advertising costs out there, the cost of having a wrap done is very small in comparison to some other avenues of advertising for the amount of impressions that you get. A wrap can cost anywhere between $1,800 and $4,000 — depending on the type of vehicle you are wrapping. Total price depends on the square footage of the part to be wrapped, size of the vehicle, and the difficulty level of wrapping the vehicle.

So let’s say you get a $2,500 vehicle wrap, and that wrap stays on your car for three years. That works out to $833 per year, or $69.14 per month. (Let’s round that up to $70. You’ll see why in a second.)

If you drive your car five days a week, 20 days per month (and generally, these vehicles are driven much more than that, so this is a conservative estimate), for 10 miles per day, that means you’ll have at least 7,000 people who see your vehicle each day.

Five days of driving per week, and that’s 35,000 impressions. Multiply that by four weeks per month, and you’re at 140,000 impressions.

$70 divided by 140,000 impressions equals $.0005 per impression, or five-hundredths of a cent.

Where are you going to find another advertising channel that can do that for such a low cost?

And even with one vehicle wrapped, people will get the impression that you have more than one around. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten calls from customers, telling me “We’ve seen your trucks everywhere.”

I have only the one truck that has been wrapped, but people think I have an entire fleet. So believe me when I tell you that vehicle wraps have been a real boon to my SIGNARAMA store, and have helped me become one of the leading vehicle graphics experts in the area.

If you’re interested in learning more about vehicle wraps, talk to one of SIGNARAMA’s knowledgeable staff for more information on how vehicle wraps can help you market your business just by driving around. For more information, just contact your local SIGNARAMA store for a quote or with any questions you may have.

Article Source: http://blog.signarama.com/cost-justification-of-vehicle-wraps/

Cost Justification of Vehicle Wraps