Sales & Growth Question ($750,000 and 4 Employees)

[PrintingFools]

We are a small shop that is working its way up to being a big shop.
A little background about us.
•We have been open for 10 years
•Worked in printing before starting our own place.
• Husband and Wife team plus 4 employees
•Started with $1,000 and no machines , now we have full digital sheet fed presses and large format too
We are averaging a 20% sales growth each month compared to the previous years month.
We are now at $750,000 year in sales.
We are trying to crack 1 million in sales.
My questions are:
1. Are we growing fast enough or not fast enough
2. are our sales high enough for the amount of people we employ
3. how many people does a 1 million to 1.2 million shop employ
4. is 20% of sales payroll cost sound good
And last was there anything in your life that really made that break through for your shop when trying to crack that 1 Million.
Such as machines, changing the way you did something or getting contracts. Any thoughts?
Thank You to everyone in advance for your thoughts and time.

 

[gordo]

We are a small shop that is working its way up to being a big shop.
A little background about us.
•We have been open for 10 years
•Worked in printing before starting our own place.
• Husband and Wife team plus 4 employees
•Started with $1,000 and no machines , now we have full digital sheet fed presses and large format too
We are averaging a 20% sales growth each month compared to the previous years month.
We are now at $750,000 year in sales.
We are trying to crack 1 million in sales.
My questions are:
1. Are we growing fast enough or not fast enough
2. are our sales high enough for the amount of people we employ
3. how many people does a 1 million to 1.2 million shop employ
4. is 20% of sales payroll cost sound good
And last was there anything in your life that really made that break through for your shop when trying to crack that 1 Million.
Such as machines, changing the way you did something or getting contracts. Any thoughts?
Thank You to everyone in advance for your thoughts and time.

1. It depends on where your growth is coming from and your capacity to support it. If it's primarily from one or two customers - danger. If you're having to over extend your credit to cover equipment purchases to support the increase in sales - danger.

2. Typically the average revenue per employee is around $125,000 to $150,000. You have 6 employees so your revenues should be around $750,000 to $900,000. So, at $750,000 in revenue you're on the low side in revenues per employee.

3. Around 8 employees.

4. I don't know as I don't quite understand the question.

And last: a competitor closing their shop. ;-)

A husband and wife team can be dangerous for both the business and the relationship. You need to be very clear that the relationship in the office is business - not personal. And that the relationship at home is personal and not business. It's all too easy to have the relationships blend. If that happens you risk losing the relationship and/or the business.

 

[Keith]

According to the National Printing Research Council, payroll costs of 20% is really good. The national average is 28%. (Payroll as a percentage of gross sales). It might sound counter-intuitive but a bump in salary for everyone might be the moral booster that helps propel you to a million in sales. (Assuming happier employees are more productive employees)