A sticker business is a popular business model for budding entrepreneurs. It has low barriers to entry, and it gives you an opportunity to separate yourself with effective marketing and operations. In this article, we’ll show you the right way to approach this competitive space.
What is a Sticker Business?
Before we get into the ins and outs of this niche, let’s cover what exactly the business entails. A sticker shop is a business that sells anything related to stickers – sticker paper, planner stickers, vinyl stickers, etc.
You can create and sell your own sticker design, you can provide a platform for people to design their own stickers, or you can even offer both services. You can also differentiate based on the materials you use to print the stickers, the level of design services you offer, and much more.
Sounds good, right? It is, but it’s also not without its share of risks. Due to the low barriers to entry and comparatively low levels of expertise required, it has become a very competitive space. Business owners will need to be prepared and find a way to differentiate themselves from the pack. Let’s get into the specifics of doing it the right way:
How to Start a Sticker Business
Step 1: Choose a Type of Sticker Business
Before you can start your sticker business, you have to define what a “sticker business” means to you. As we noted above, the sticker business is varied – you may want to focus on vinyl decals or cut stickers – and you’ll have to choose the business model that most appeals to you. Of course, business plans evolve and change, but it’s always a good idea to have an idea of the space you are pursuing from the outset.
Will you produce and sell your own designs? Will you allow consumers to create their own custom stickers or custom labels? Will you offer design services? Will you create a comprehensive platform that offers all of the above? Defining your business is a necessary first step, but then you’ll need extensive research and planning:
Step 2: Market Research
You might as well consider this among the beginning stages for starting any business. Before you can pursue your new business, you need to do comprehensive research and planning.
You need to develop a complete understanding of the space you’ll be operating in, and you’ll need to develop a plan to differentiate yourself for success. At this stage, you might even decide the business as a whole is not feasible, which is perfectly fine.
For a sticker business, you need to do comprehensive research on the competitive environment. This includes the number of competitors in the space, their target market and target consumer, the barriers to entry in your area, and much more.
Once you have this preliminary knowledge, you can start to plan:
Step 3: Business Plan – Structure Your Business
Making a business plan is a necessary step for any new business. Although these plans are subject to change as you grow, it’s a great way to get yourself oriented from the outset.
A business plan contains a clear outline for your business goals and your strategies for obtaining those goals (including marketing plans, financial management, operations management, logistics, and more). For more detail in these areas, check out our guide to starting a business.
As a sticker business, there are a few unique factors you’ll want to consider:
- Buy vs. Outsource Sticker Production: Deciding whether to make your own stickers or outsource your sticker production is one of the most important considerations for operating within this space. Buying your own production equipment (vinyl plotters, commercial printing presses, an inkjet printer, a cutting machine, etc.) requires a much larger up-front investment. It might cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, but it allows you to keep a higher percentage of each sale while also responding to custom orders. However, the high up-front costs mean that many sticker businesses opt to rely on professional sticker printing services to manufacture in bulk. These companies will then sell you stickers at a fraction of what you will sell them for, so there is still room for solid margins.
- Selling Methods: Deciding how you will sell your stickers is one of your most important decisions. Most sticker startups will invest in an online store front, which is very affordable from one of many web platforms (Squarespace, Shopify, Big Cartel, etc.) However, you’ll still need to invest in web marketing, product photography, social media, and more. Some will also take their stickers to local shops and sell them on consignment or at bulk prices. Of course, the option of doing both approaches is also a viable strategy.
Step 3: How Will You Reach Your Target Market
Now that you’ve decided how you will produce and sell stickers, it’s time to decide on the best way to reach your target market. Marketing your business is absolutely crucial to your success, and it’s often the main differentiator between businesses that succeed and those that don’t.
Your approach will differ depending on what you are selling, specifically if you are selling your own designs versus a custom design service.
For specific designs, you’ll want to consider who these designs appeal to. Online advertisements (Facebook, Instagram, Google, etc.) allow you to create highly targeted ads for this purpose.
For a custom design service, your market may be much broader, and can include people, businesses, event planners, or anyone who requires custom stickers for various purposes. You should also consider how you will be pricing your stickers, including quantity discounts, coupons codes, and more.
Whatever your business, you need a plan for reaching your target market. Effective marketing is an absolute necessity in such a crowded space. Often, customers will choose the service that they discover first, since so many businesses offer products or services within this market.
Remember that reaching your target market is trial and error. You should be using a program that tracks analytics, such as Google Analytics. If you're using Shopify we can walk you through step-by-step how to connect your Shopify store to Google Analytics.
Step 4: Plan Your Day-to-day?
Once you’ve developed a general strategy for your business, it’s time to put it all together. Consistent with each step above, you need to develop a general strategy for sourcing your stickers, selling your stickers, and marketing to your target market. From here, you need to put it into an actionable plan for managing the day-to-day operations of your business.
Depending on what you’ve decided, you’ll want to either contact suppliers or sellers of commercial printing equipment. You’ll need to get your supplier sorted out well ahead of time so you have a partner to produce stickers, or the ability to make them yourself.
From there, you need to set up your store front. Build your website, take product photos, or begin marketing to physical stores. Depending on what you’ve decided, it’s time to put your plan into action.
Next, you need to put systems in place for managing the day-to-day operations. Have general procedures in place for managing orders, budgeting ad spending, managing financials, managing inventory, and more.
You should have a procedure in place for quickly managing and recording each sale, and for preparing for future sales. This automation allows you to dedicate more time to reacting and strategizing for the future.
Additionally, you’ll need to decide whether you are going to handle all this yourself or hire people to assist you. Keep in mind that you’ll be responsible for training these people and outlining their roles. Many sticker businesses start small and hire employees once they have grown past a certain level.
Of course, nothing ever goes exactly according to plan. But simply having procedures in place for the above operational tasks goes a long way toward freeing up your time to react to unforeseen events and planning for the future.
Step 5: Putting it In Action
Once your plan is in place, it’s time to put it into action. By following our guide, your planning will be so extensive that this stage is all about just doing it. Put your plan in action and be ready to work hard.
From here, it’s all about following through, and so much of this boils down to how you react and adjust your plans as you go.
Remember: Keep Your Expectations in Check
At the end of the day, you will get out of a sticker business what you put in. Plenty opt to enter this space as purely a part-time endeavor. There are plenty of ways to minimally invest in this business and use it as a “side hustle” of sorts. We recommend that you start small and follow the success where it takes you. It’s an extremely competitive space, but it can also be fun, rewarding, and fulfilling.
Follow our steps above to structure your own sticker business for your best shot at success.
For more business articles, check out our guide to starting a laundromat business.
