Starting any sort of business is always going to be a drain on your finances with so many things to buy as you prepare to open the doors and welcome your first customers.
If you have decided to open your own print shop, you will have to evaluate what equipment you will need to buy or lease and whether you might need wholesale ink cartridges, should invest in an offset printing machine or an envelope printer.
The importance of a business plan
It won’t be the first time that you have read advice that advises you to draw up a comprehensive business plan, but that it is because it is often fundamental to the success of your startup.
A printing business has long term prospects but you not only need to get the initial financial projections correct in order to know how much cash you are likely to need in the short term, but a business plan also needs to cost out what equipment you need and how you expect to pay for it.
Define your target market
As part of your strategy and in order to accurately prepare your business plan, you will need to decide what sector of the printing market you are aiming at.
If you are trying to open a print shop on a shoestring budget, offering offset printing might not be feasible as it often involves quite a heavy investment and trying to cut corners to save money will probably not turn out to be a good move.
If your intended niche is to provide general print services to the local community and offer to print flyers and business cards on a regular basis, you can choose to invest your limited cash in a printer which will enable you to do these things and generate some cash.
Business premises
The type of print business you want to run will also have a strong bearing on the type of business premises you need to find.
A local print shop needs to be in a good retail area where customers can find you easily and you can attract some passing trade as well, whereas if you intend to run a commercial print business you will have to find a suitable premises where you can install the printing equipment you need. Exploring options to install roller shutter doors from https://industrialrollershutterdoors.uk/ could be crucial in ensuring secure and accessible premises for the equipment, safeguarding the business’s operations.
Whatever style of print business you set up, there will probably be local business permits and local sales tax registrations that need to be done so that you comply with all the necessary legal requirements for trading.
Low investment options
There are plenty of online printing companies who are competing for the same customers as you and as many startups have discovered, starting a print business from home or on a low budget is stacking the odds against you before you start.
There is no reason why you can’t succeed by starting your print business from your garage to save money but one idea that might be worth considering if your finances are restricted, is to start out as a print broker, so you don’t have to invest in any equipment.
If you are new to the trade, working as an intermediary for some print partners and developing client relationships, could turn out to be a profitable way of getting into the print business.
Josephine Stuart holds a senior position for a commercial printing company. She enjoys the chance to share her insights online and has written previously for a number of different websites.
