i know a little about this, but not alot, i was in the sign buisness for awhile. i was told that the vast majority of billboard spaces are owned by 2 or 3 companys, i think western and imperial are 2. i was told the y pretty much monopolize the buisness and that it is almost impossible to get into billboards. regular signs are another story, and there is big money in outdoor signs. but you also need talanted people, building signs requires alot of art, alot of knowledge, lot of care, salesmanship, it is a very varied industry. we used to make lit building signs which require an artist to make drawings of a high enough quality to use for sales, artists need to be good enough to be able to reproduce logos to exacting precision. all this has to be translated into actual construction, which requires mastering of many different materials, plastics, sheetmetal. neon, (glass blowing), painting. and you need to have knowledge of electricity as well. you can maybe start small with a signmaking computer, they are great, and a must anymore, and the last time i checked they are not cheap, but are worth the money. might check out Graphix, a computer company, and sign of the times magazine. this info may be a little dated.
