Successful Family
Business
with a $600 Vinyl Cutter
|
"The STIKA is the most impressive
little machine I have ever seen."
 andy Simkins
first saw a Roland STIKA vinyl cutter at a car show in Toronto, ON, Canada.
 At
the time, he was working full-time at Goodyear Canada and
producing vinyl letters and graphic designs by hand for his
own racecars as a hobby. Initially, he bought the STIKA for
a little side business for his wife, but once Randy and his
teenage daughter set up the STIKA and started cutting vinyl
that same evening, they were hooked. He still works at
Goodyear, but within in a month of purchasing his STIKA, he
had paid for it working in his spare time. Simkins says,
“The STIKA is the most impressive machine I think I have
ever seen.”
Randy specializes in customer service. He lives out in
the country and provides free estimates and delivery. His
customers love it, especially since the nearest city is 45
minutes away. “I find that it helps very much to meet with
my customers and listen to what they would like to have
done,” says Simkins. “Then showing them some samples of my
work assures them of a high quality product that they will
be satisfied with. I can usually come up with a good idea of
what they want, one to one.”
Randy runs a low overhead, cost efficient business,
 wasting
very little vinyl on his 8” STIKA STX-7. He buys 15” vinyl
and cuts it exactly in half. “I can fit 3 rows of 2” letters
on the cutter with virtually no waste.” He can even cut
letters as small as ¼” high.
Simkins said the STIKA is so easy to use that it’s become
a family business for the Simkins’ with everyone getting
involved in selling signs and cutting vinyl. Using “Print
Master Gold” clip art software and the Windows® driver that
came with the STIKA, they’ve created graphics for everything
from a rugged military humvee to a beautiful monarch
butterfly – all cut with their STIKA.
 Most
of their signs fall in the 6’ x 8’ and smaller range, and
have included vehicle lettering, racecars, boats, bikes and
signs for businesses such as snowmobile trails, golf
courses, banks, Christmas signs with custom fonts and even
an 8’ x 10’ billboard. The Simkins’ have also donated signs
to a variety of organizations including churches and an area
hockey arena.
“We have very little overhead so we can afford to pass
the savings along to the customers. This combined with
convenience, service with a smile, and the dependability of
the Roland STIKA is what has made our business so
successful.” – Randy Simkins, Ontario, Canada |
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