How to Start a Stationery Business

Thursday, April 10, 2014

How to Start a Stationery Business

Stationery has historically pertained to a wide gamut of materials: paper and office supplies, writing implements, greeting cards, glue, pencil cases and other similar items.

You can choose from a number of business models when opening a stationery store business, so you must first decide on the products and services you wish to offer. Consumer stationery stores sell pre-printed, custom printed or blank stationery and invitations. Business stationery businesses sell custom printed stationery and related items for business use. Both business types may provide in-house printing, or contract with a wholesale vendor for printing services, but each requires different marketing and advertising strategies, merchandise stock inventory and pricing structures.

Step 1

Create a business plan outlining all aspects and details of your business including start-up and operational costs, target customer base and related marketing plan. Visit the U.S. Small Business Administration website for free detailed business plan and other small business start-up information (See Resources).

Step 2

Search your local newspaper ads or consult a commercial real estate agent for store space. Your real estate agent can provide valuable information regarding customer demographics and street traffic counts. If you are opening a virtual store, contact a local web designer or online hosting company who will assist you in designing a store, purchasing a domain name and e-commerce hosting package. If you are operating a retail store, at least basic website is recommended. An e-commerce web presence combined with a retail store can help increase overall sales and online credibility.

Step 3

Decide on a business structure -- proprietorship, limited liability company or corporation -- based on your business plan and file the necessary paperwork with your state office. The SBA website provides free business structure information, and your state office or website will provide the necessary paperwork and fee schedule.

Step 4

Obtain local business permits from your town hall, state retail tax license from your state's department of taxation, and Taxpayer Identification Number from the internal revenue service inline. If you will hire employees, the IRS requires you to obtain an Employer Identification Number. There are no special licenses or permits required to operate a stationery store, but you may need to apply for health and safety inspections if providing printing services on premises.

Step 5

Purchase store supplies from retail store display and supply distributor, office gear from an office supply store and printing equipment (if applicable) from a printing equipment distributor.

Step 6

Purchase initial stock from your stationery suppliers. Partner with stationery suppliers in your region to ensure faster shipping times for special orders. This will save money by limiting your stock-on-hand and allow you to restock merchandise quickly as it runs low. Some suppliers will provide catalogs, merchandising and display aids for free or at a reduced cost.

Step 7

Purchase marketing materials from a local print and sign shop. Business cards, signage, brochures, fliers and other marketing aids will be used to spread the word on your new stationery store business.

Things Needed

Business plan
Retail or virtual store
Local business permits, state tax license and federal tax numbers
Store supplies and office gear
Initial stock
Marketing materials

Tips

Your stationery store's appearance and marketing efforts will need to reflect your customer and product type. Retail consumer stores generally have more leeway in decorating and marketing options, while business-to-business stores will need to adhere to professional business decor and marketing.
Take advantage of free or low-cost training, merchandising services, displays and catalogs whenever possible. Partnering with your stationery distributor can save you time and money, and you will learn the finer aspects of the stationery businesses quicker than on your own.
Research the stationery industry before, during and after your start up to gain advice, spot trends and new products.

Warnings

Avoid combining a business and consumer store unless you have the means and space to market, advertise and service both customer types. Both store types, stock requirements, advertising, sales efforts, pricing strategies and business models are very different, and you will risk financial difficulty attempting to service both markets at once.
Providing custom printing services in-house can add greatly to your start-up and operational expenses. Even a small printing press requires a considerable investment, and can take years to operate properly. There is also the possible increased cost of insurance, and periodic safety and environmental inspections. Use a contract printer instead to minimize costs and risk, and you can always offer these services in the future if the business warrants.

References (4)

Resources (4)

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Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

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Thursday, April 10, 2014