We all know that starting any business is not an easy task but we also know that the times are changing and a lot of people are thinking about starting a new business as the old one is having some problems or they got bored of it. Talking about starting a new business, we all have a lot of ideas but the one that a lot of people have is starting a sticker business because of a few reasons such as its low cost of setting up as well as it is fun to run such a business as well.
If you are among those who also want to start a sticker business online then there are a few things that you must know. First of all, it is not as easy as simply printing the stickers and you start a business. You have to register for copyrights, decide on your printing material, make sure that you ship the stickers properly and a lot of other things as well. In this article, we will tell you all the different aspects that you need to take care of while starting your own custom sticker business in 2023.
How to start a sticker business in 2023?
As we mentioned earlier, there are a lot of different areas you need to navigate and nail down when you want to start any business, be it a sticker business or something else. Talking about a sticker business, we will tell you exactly what are the steps you need to take in order to start your own custom sticker business.
1. Decide your sticker style
When we talk about sticker printing, there is not only one type of sticker that is available in the market so the very first step in the sticker printing business is to decide which type of sticker will you print. It is worth noting that there are mainly three types of stickers and they are:
- Paper
- Polyester
- Vinyl
Now, it is worth noting that the paper stickers are the easiest to print as they require a very low cost and their machinery is also affordable but they also have a very low lifespan because we know that paper does not work well with water or other liquids which means that it will get damaged easily.
For polyester and vinyl, we know that vinyl works best with water and it is very long-lasting but the machines needed to make vinyl stickers are costlier. Having said that, the trend for vinyl stickers is currently at the top so we suggest you go for vinyl sticker printing only.
2. Understand your target audience
The next step after selecting which type of stickers you want to print is to understand your target audience. Basically, you need to figure out the audience who is going to buy your stickers. If you don’t do this then you will start your business and then figure out who you want to sell and you don’t want to be doing that.
For example, your target audience can be a work-from-home crowd who want stickers for their laptops or bags to show people that they work from home. This is how you can understand what your target audience is.
3. Design your stickers
Once you have figured out your target audience, you will obviously know what designs the stickers will have. So understanding your audience helps you nail this aspect of your business as well. We have seen that there are custom sticker businesses as well so you can ask for designs from your customers and then make sure that you print them.
4. Decide between in-house production or outsourcing
As we mentioned above, the custom sticker printing business is a costly one as the machinery to print stickers comes at a cost upfront but the fact that you can select between in-house products and outsourcing is a major benefit where you can decide not to get the machines and just outsource your orders to someone else who already runs a sticker business.
In our opinion, it is always better to outsource the orders if you don’t get more than 15-20 orders per day but once you know that outsourcing the stickers is not working for you then you can establish your own setup as well. The problem with setting up everything up front is that you don’t know if it will work or not and then you are stuck with all the money invested with zero returns.
5. Build a website and decide your pricing
Now, the next step in your sticker business is to build a website where your customers will come to order your stickers. Here, you can show them the designs you have available and then they can select their preferred design and order the stickers. We have seen that people start their business from Instagram or other social media platforms but we suggest you to make a website as it looks more professional and save you a lot of time and money in the long run.
After building a website, you need to decide the pricing of your stickers as well. You don’t want to be pricing the stickers too high but you don’t want to be selling them at a loss as well. So think of whatever pricing feels the right for you after taking into account all the costs associated with the business and make sure to keep a profit margin as well.
6. Select a shipping method and prepare a return/refund policy
After pricing your stickers, you need to ship them to your customers as well so decide if you want to ship them with a courier partner or if you want to use some other delivery service. Also, you need to prepare and publish a return or refund policy for your business. In the sticker business, we have seen that people usually offer refunds only as no returns are accepted due to the nature of this product.
7. Promote your business
Now that you have everything set up for your business, you need to sell your stickers so that you get actual orders and use all the systems that you have created. For that, you need to promote your business because how will someone know you have started a new business unless you tell everyone about it.
Don’t hesitate to promote your business as much as possible and you can use organic as well as paid means such as ads. If you already have a thriving follower count on social media then you can do this organically and once your business grows, you can then start paid promotions as well.
As a means of promotion, you can go to some events and give away free stickers so that the people who apply them on their laptops or other items will get to know the quality of your stickers and order them if they like what they see.
All in all, it is worth noting that the sticker business is a very lucrative one if you know how to run it properly and the best part about this business is that you can outsource almost everything and just count the cash that is coming your way. The main thing in this business is to be ahead of the trend and design stickers that stand out of the rest and market them so that people get to buy them.
