The June issue of Forbes magazine featured an article titled “America: A Growth Industry” that included charts showing that Fortune 500 companies’ revenues had grown faster than the US gross domestic product. The text said, “The breakneck growth of tech companies such as Apple and Amazon.com helps explain the acceleration. So does globalization: America’s largest companies were simply better positioned than mom-and-pops to expand their businesses abroad.”
   《福布斯》(Forbes)杂志6月刊刊登了一篇题为《美国:一个成长型行业》(America: A Growth Industry)的文章，其中的图表显示，《财富》(Fortune) 500强企业的营收增速超过了美国国内生产总值(gdp)。文章称：苹果(Apple)和亚马逊(Amazon.com)等科技公司的高速增长，有助于解释这种加速。全球化也是如此:美国最大的公司在海外扩张业务方面的定位比那些普通的家庭企业好得多。

   “Mom-and-pop?” I looked it up. Businessdictionary.com cheerlessly said a mom-and-pop is “a small, independent, usually family-owned, controlled and operated business that has a minimum amount of employees, has only a small amount of business volume, and is typically not franchised, therefore open for business only in a single location.” Investopedia.com said Internet sales have caused a swell in mom-and-pop businesses because they don’t incur the brick-and-mortar overhead costs. Many sign companies are mom-and-pop shops or close cousins to that genus, and many sell signs online. Still, they’re not flying as high as the Fortune 500 firms. So, what do Fortune 500 companies have that mom-and-pops don’t? Money. Lots of money. And consultants. Fortune 500 payrolls include hundreds of clever people – consultants, analysts, advisors and others – who carry out research, produce data, study trends and guide future courses.
   商业词典网（Businessdictionary.com）表示，一个小型的，独立的，通常由家族拥有，控制和经营的企业，拥有最少的员工，只有少量的业务量，通常不是特许经营， 因此，只在一个地方开展业务。投资百科全书网（Investopedia.com）
表示，互联网销售导致了流行业务的膨胀，因为它们不会产生实质性的管理费用。 许多标识公司都是流行商店，或者是该类的其他业务，许多公司在网上出售标识。尽管如此，他们并没有像财富500强公司那样飞得那么高。 那么，财富500强企业有哪些？财富500强的就业人数包括数百名聪明的人，顾问，分析师等等。 他们开展研究，生成数据，研究趋势并指导未来的课程。

    Odds are, you can’t afford consultants or extensive research, but that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck because, truthfully, if you’re a small-business person, you’re smarter than the average bear and can do your own research. As usual, my recommendation is to keep it simple, record most of your notes on copy-machine paper and enjoy creating a plan for your company – one that puts you on a continuing profit course. Your first project is market research. What new business is available? Next, we’ll look at how to afford it, how to decide what to buy and then how to buy it. However, before starting any idealistic projects, you need to determine if you have the money.
    可能的情况是，你买不起顾问或研究，但这并不意味着你运气不好，因为，如果你是一个小企业的人，你比一般的人聪明，可以做你自己的研究。像往常一样，保持简单，在笔记本上记录有帮助的笔记，享受为你的公司制定一个计划，让你进入一个持续盈利的过程。你的第一个项目是市场调查。有什么新业务?接下来，我们将看看如何负担得起，如何决定买什么，然后如何购买。然而，在开始任何理想主义的项目之前，你需要确定你是否有足够的资金去实现它。

    No. Wait. Your first project is to install a planning board – a simple, large, whiteboard that you can write on with erasable markers, plus attach Post-it notes, tape cut-out magazine articles and your copy-machine paper notes. This board allows you to rearrange plans, ideas, concepts and concerns. For example, when you see an interesting case study presented in a magazine, cut it out and tape it to your planning board and then scribble any related thoughts on Post-it notes and affix them nearby. Add other related items as you see them – media, tools, inks and digital print ads. The big corporations hire researchers to create a literary review of their subject interest so they can study what is happening in the field. This is your version.
   不，等等。您的第一个项目是安装计划板，一个简单的大型白板，您可以使用可擦除标记书写，还可以附加便利贴，磁带剪切杂志文章和您的复印机纸质便笺。这个白板可以让您重新安排计划，想法，概念和关注点。例如，当你在杂志上看到一个有趣的案例研究时，把它剪下来，贴在你的计划板上，然后在便利贴上写下任何相关的想法，贴在旁边。添加你看到的其他相关项目——媒体、工具、油墨和数字印刷广告。大公司雇佣研究人员对他们的主题兴趣进行文学评论，这样他们就可以研究该领域正在发生的事情。

    A prime example is to cut out the ST “State of the Industry” from the July issue and tape it to your idea board. The composer of this survey, Mark Kissling, ST’s managing editor, has noted that 86% of the 180 survey respondents sell banners； 85% sell window graphics； 76.7% sell vehicle graphics； and 56.6% sell floor graphics – all of which can be produced with a digital printer. You’re selling all these type of digital prints, right? Sure. However, humor me further and turn to page 40 of the September issue to see a case study showing a 1949 Kaiser Vagabond wrapped with digitally printed graphics. The graphic was applied by Surf City Graphics in Huntington Beach, CA. Most importantly, the wrap job came to Surf City through Mackey’s Hot Rods, also of Huntington Beach.
    你要随时注意“行业现状”，并把它标记在你的白板上，在一个调查中，马克·基斯林（Mark Kissling）注意到180名调查对象中86%的人出售横幅；85%销售窗口图形；76.7%销售车辆图形；56.6%的销售地板图形——所有这些都可以用数字打印机制作。你在销售所有这些类型的数码印刷品时，你会看到一个案例研究，展示了1949年凯撒大帝(Kaiser Vagabond)的一幅用数字印刷图形包装的流浪画。该图形被加利福尼亚州亨廷顿海滩的冲浪的城市图片（Surf City Graphics）应用。最重要的是，包装工作通过同样位于亨廷顿海滩的麦基来到了瑟夫城（Surf City）。

    You’re talking to local hotrod shops for wrap work, right? And body shops? On your whiteboard, next to Mark’s “State of the Industry” wrap data, tape a copy of the Surf City case study, to remind you of such prospective clients. Make a note to continue to think of cars, but not in a conventional sense. For example, Dan Porter, owner of Magnagrafik (Cincinnati) , specializes in graphic designs for sports and racing cars. I telephoned Dan and asked about his market. He said he ships digitally printed, contour cut, magnetic graphics – removable racing stripes, Porsche logos and personalized trim – to Porsche and sports car owners worldwide. He also wraps race cars.
    在标记了的“行业现状”包装数据旁边，贴上瑟夫城案例研究的副本，以提醒您这些潜在客户。例如，Magnagrafik（辛辛那提）的老板丹·波特（Dan Porter）专门从事体育和赛车的图形设计。丹·波特表示，他为世界各地的保时捷和跑车车主提供数字印刷，轮廓切割，磁性图形 ，可拆卸赛车条纹，保时捷标识和个性化装饰，甚至还包括赛车。

    Also, use your whiteboard markers to draw lines and boxes that link or combine ideas. In no time, you’ll have an accumulation of case studies (with additional ideas and notes) that your shop can match or outdo. Next, outline the plan in steps, research the ads and information for validity, talk to manufacturers and others who might do the same work (out of state calls are more readily accepted), review your shop economics and begin implementation.
    此外，使用白板标记绘制链接或组合想法的线条和框。在任何时候，您都会积累一些案例研究（包括其他想法和注释），您的商店可以匹配或超越。接下来，逐步概述计划，研究广告和有效性信息，与制造商和可能做同样工作的其他人交谈，审查您的商店经济并开始实施。

      WHICH DIGITAL PRINTER?

      哪台数码打印机？

   Whether you’re adding to your stable or first venturing into digital printing, you must plan a route – there are many options, so choosing isn’t easy. However, once you walk through the elimination process that starts by cutting and taping digital print machine ads to your whiteboard, your options will narrow. Tape your favorite case studies near the machine ads that you believe match your needs list.
   无论您是添加稳定性还是首次投入数字印刷，您都必须规划路线。这有很多选择，因此选择并不容易。但是，一旦您完成从将数字印刷机广告剪切并贴在白板上的淘汰过程，您的选择范围就会缩小。将您最喜欢的案例研究录制在您认为符合您需求列表的机器广告附近。

    First determine your needs, said Rob Tonetti, owner of Cincinnati’s Speed Pro Imaging . I met Rob at the grand opening of Graphics Solutions Group (GSG) sign supply company in northern Cincinnati. Denver-based Speed Pro Imaging’s 140 franchises offer signs, graphics, tradeshow displays, window graphics, vehicle wraps, murals and, get this, elevator door wraps. Did you think of that?
   辛辛那提市Speed Pro Imaging公司的老板罗布·托内蒂(Rob Tonetti)说：“首先要确定自己的需求。”Speed Pro Imaging总部位于丹佛的Speed Pro Imaging拥有140家特许经营权，提供标识、图形、贸易展示、窗口图形、车辆包装、壁画，还有电梯门包装。你想到了吗?

    I asked Rob what he thinks about before buying a new print machine. His background is in corporate finance, marketing and corporate sales, so he didn’t hesitate. “It depends on your business and what you want to print,” he said. Then he listed critical decision properties: print speed, print quality and lamination requirements. He added, “We’re fortunate because, as a franchise, we receive advice from the corporate tech department and we also talk to other franchisors who own the equipment that interests us.”
    在购买新印刷机之前，我问罗布·托内蒂他的想法。他的职位是公司财务，营销和公司销售，所以他毫不犹豫。 罗布·托内蒂说：“这取决于你的业务和你想要打印的东西。”然后他列出了关键决策属性：打印速度，打印质量和层压要求。他补充说：“我们很幸运，因为作为特许经营，我们会收到公司技术部门的建议，我们也会与拥有我们感兴趣的设备的其他特许经营者交谈。”

  DECIDING ON A PRINTER
  决定打印机

   I listed three consternations: buying the wrong machine, an unrealistic view of costs and its effect on cash flow, and an overzealous view of your market. There, I recommended that you:
我列出了三个令人震惊的事实:买错了机器，对成本及其对现金流的影响持有不切实际的看法，以及对市场过于乐观。在此，我建议你:

   Conduct market research to determine what type of digitally-printed signs or print products are in demand that your shop could produce and sell, which will narrow down your machine choices. In this process, ensure that your chosen market is willing to pay the prices you need to profit. Also, check to see if nearby shops are producing similar print products, or are planning to produce such products.
    进行市场调查 确定您的商店可以生产和销售的数字印刷标识或印刷产品的类型，这将缩小您的机器选择范围。在此过程中，确保您所选择的市场愿意支付您需要的利润价格。此外，检查附近的商店是否正在生产类似的印刷产品，或者是否计划生产此类产品。

    Conduct preliminary web or tradeshow research and pick three print machines that might do the job you have in mind. Also, study any ancillary products these print machines can produce – that you haven’t contemplated – and determine if your shop could also produce and sell these products. An example is a printer that makes signs, banners and posters, but will also print-and-cut product labels you could sell to local manufacturing plants.
    进行初步网络或贸易展研究，挑选三台可能完成您所需工作的印刷机。此外，研究这些印刷机可以生产的任何辅助产品，您还没有考虑过，并确定您的商店是否也可以生产和销售这些产品。一个例子是制作标牌，横幅和海报的打印机，但也可以打印和切割可以出售给当地制造工厂的产品标签。

     Research the print machine makers to ensure they’re well-known in the sign industry. Ensure that they offer online training, tutorials and post-purchase marketing advice. Avoid web chat rooms because they’re too often dominated by self-styled “experts” who offer flawed opinions and advice. Instead, ask the machine manufacturers to provide you with contact information for their buyers, so you can personally talk to machine owners.
    研究印刷机制造商，确保他们在标识行业中享有盛誉，确保他们提供在线培训，教程和购买后营销建议。要求机器制造商为他们的买家提供联系信息，以便您可以亲自与生产机器的负责人交谈。

     Visit tradeshows, manufacturer’s display sites or suppliers to see and operate applicable print machines in action. Take your own image files (in a .pdf format, with photos and text) on a thumb drive and ask the print-machine demonstrator to help you process the file. Insist that they coach you as you operate the print machine. Do not just stand and watch.
     参观展销会、制造商展示场所或供应商，以查看和操作正在运行的适用打印机器。将自己的图像文件(pdf格式，带有照片和文本)放在u盘上，请打印机演示程序帮助您处理该文件。

     My final and constant advice is that you project your shop’s cash flow over the next 12 months, without including the new machine costs and that possible income, so you have a monthly cash flow figure to measure against your new operating costs incurred by the new printer. Compare the costs the new machine will create – installation, training, materials, software – and form a forecast chart that reveals the machine’s cash flow integrated with the present cash flow, especially over the first few months, the period when the machine expenses will be higher than the machine’s earned income. Now, ask yourself if your present cash flow can handle the additional expenses until the machine produces the expected additional income.
    我的最终和持续的建议是，您在未来12个月内预测商店的现金流，而不包括新的机器成本和可能的收入，因此您有每月现金流量数据来衡量新打印机产生的新运营成本。比较新机器将创建的成本，安装，培训，材料，软件，并形成一个预测图表，显示机器的现金流量与当前现金流量相结合，特别是在最初几个月，机器费用将是高于机器的收入。现在，问问自己现有的现金流是否可以处理额外的费用，直到机器产生预期的额外收入。

     Do this by estimating the sales you expect to gain with the new printer when it reaches its peak and, typically, subtract the salary and materials (media, ink and cleaning materials) and overhead costs that reduce that sales figure. Estimate a break-even point, write it on your whiteboard, and track and record your machine- plan progress weekly. Noted on the whiteboard, these final steps will remind you of your successful plans and reveal any complications within days of their occurrence.
     通过估算新打印机达到峰值时所期望获得的销售额来做到这一点，通常会减去工资和材料（介质，墨水和清洁材料）以及降低销售额的间接成本。估计一个收支平衡点，把它写在你的白板上，每周跟踪并记录你的机器进度计划。在白板上注明，这些最后的步骤将会提醒你成功的计划，并在它们发生的几天内揭示出任何复杂的情况。