Seoul Interior Film

From $11/Hour to $1,000/Day with Vinyl Wrap in Canada

Written by

geunjong choi

in

I arrived in Vancouver, Canada in 2016.

At the time, I was working in a Korean sushi restaurant,
earning $11 per hour
(minimum wage was $10.85 in 2016 — about $15/hour including tips),
working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week.

Because I was on a permanent residency sponsorship,
I didn’t receive any overtime pay.

I pushed through for two full years,
working until my hands were nearly worn out —
all for one goal:

To get permanent residency in Canada.

Permanent Residency — and a New Opportunity

In 2019,
I finally received permanent residency.

Then in 2020, everything changed.

I ended up staying at the house of a tinting technician named Jeff —
a guy who worked only 5 days a month
and made around $8,000.

That’s when I first came across
vinyl wrap (also known as architectural film).

At the time,
I didn’t fully understand what I was looking at.

I didn’t realize it then.

This wasn’t just a skill.

It was a low-cost, low-risk business model
built on a growing demand for
vinyl wrap installation in residential and commercial spaces.

Learning Vinyl Wrap Installation in Korea

In 2021,
I went back to Korea
to learn vinyl wrap installation
(mainly kitchen cabinet wrap and surface film work).

My daily pay was about $60.

But I was certain about one thing:

“When I go back to Canada,
I will make $1,000 a day
with this skill.”

Back to Canada: The First 3 Months

In March 2022,
I returned to Canada
and started working in
vinyl wrap installation.

The first three months were slow.

Almost no work.

The Breakthrough: $1,000/Day

Then in September 2022,
things started to change.

I began receiving
2–3 inquiries per day.

Soon after,
I was consistently making
around $1,000 per day.

Most of the work came from
commercial vinyl wrap projects,
where the economics were completely different.

  • higher pricing per job
  • faster execution
  • repeatable workflow
  • stronger margins

The Bigger Plan

I started thinking beyond installation.

The plan became clear:

  • expand my vinyl wrap installation business
  • open a training school
  • sell materials online
  • build a local distribution network

Everything started connecting.

So I focused even harder on
what I could control right now —

installation.

Then Everything Changed

But just as the income started growing —

October 2022.

I hit the biggest crisis of my life.

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