Did you ever think about starting a stationery business? If you did, then this is the right time to do so.
A basic Etsy search will lead you to thousands of results for the term “Stationery”. The sub-niche “Gratitude Journals” within stationery items is more than 25,000 results. The results are impressive for planners as well.
That indicates the wide scope of operating a stationery business.
You can read further to know more.
Starting A Stationery Business: An Overview
What Sells At A Stationery Store
The word stationery includes all the items related to writing. You can consider it as a catch-all for gadgets, instruments, and tools that aid to write.
So, it would include pens, paper, pencils, writing boards, and other office supplies.
In recent times, stationery also includes digital downloads that you can print to use for writing.
Thus, the range of items included under the umbrella of Stationery is huge. All sorts of cards, envelopes, stickers, labels, and planners are stationery too.
Advantages Of Stationery Business
1. The Range Of Industries To Cater To Is Huge.
It caters to almost all sorts of businesses. That means there is a wide scope for selecting a niche.
Any and every kind of business needs content-driven communication materials. Stationery is an important tool to achieve that purpose. So, as a stationery business owner, you are free to choose whichever industry you have an affinity for.
2. There Is Tremendous Scope For Upselling.
The demand for stationery does not end at one product. For example, a certain soap business will need printed packaging materials. Their needs will not stop at that.
They would also require stationery like soap labels, business cards, and QR code cards. Hence, the chances of selling printed materials increase after the first order.
3. There Is Always A Scope For Bundled Selling.
The term stationery comprises a huge range of materials. Thus, you can sell a lot of complementary items. So, if a customer requires paper. Then, you can suggest buying pens, paper, bookmarks, and paperweights too.
This increases the scope of aggregating similar products to sell at attractive prices. Thus, the bundled selling options lead to cross-sales and hence more revenue.
4. High Profits If You Include Digital Stationery.
The digital products industry has seen huge growth. The stationery industry is not left behind in this technology era.
One would assume the writing tools and accessories to take a hit because of digitization. Rather, digital stationery has become massive due to technological advancements.
So, starting a stationery business with digital products will prove fruitful. My business saw huge growth after I introduced digital planners in my shop.
5. It Caters To All Economic Strata Of Customers.
The good part about stationery as a product is that everyone needs it.
A pop-up from a street vendor to a Fortune 500 business requires stationery. That brings in scope to cater to customers from a wide range of economic backgrounds.
So, it does not matter at what price point you position a stationery business. The overall future of a business in the stationery industry is long living.
Types Of Stationery Business
1. Wholesale
As the name suggests, the wholesale business caters to retail stationery business owners. It involves buying in bulk from brands and supplying to small business owners.
Such a business model has low margins that need tall orders to achieve large revenue figures.
2. Retail
Retail stationery stores are the most common form of stationery business. You could open a stand-alone store of a particular brand in a franchisee format. That would be a physical store.
But if you wish to enter the e-commerce space. Then, you can pick from the following options.
2.1. Stock And Sell Multiple Brands
This one is a no-brainer. The majority of the stationery stores operate on this model. They buy from various brands to sell their stock to their customers.
Erstwhile stationery stores have been the brick-and-mortar ones. But technology advancements enable adding online stores to the arsenal.
Along with an e-commerce store, you can also sell on third-party platforms like Amazon.
2.2. Print-On-Demand
This is a unique stationery business that does not involve stocking inventory.
It involves creating mock-up designs that integrate with an operations partner. The operations involve printing the stationery and supplying it to the customer.
The best part about a print-on-demand business is not owning or shipping the products. The printing partner stocks and ships the printed stationery to the customers.
So, as a stationery business owner, you own the designs. But the hassles of creating prints and shipments are not on you.
But you would need solid marketing skills to bring your designs out to the ideal customers.
2.3. Handmade Stationery Business
This is my favorite method of starting a stationery business from scratch. If you have design skills, then, the sky is the limit.
Canva can be the starting point if you lack professional design skills. But you can always upgrade and learn to come up with unique designs.
There are several stationery ideas to sell. Though the most popular handmade stationery items are as below:
- Planners
- Journals
- Coloring Books
- Stickers
- Labels
You can sell these products in print as well as digital art forms.
This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you purchase any of the products mentioned in this article through routing via the links in this post. Then, I may end up receiving a certain monetary percentage from the sale. Though the one who purchases through the link does not end up paying anything extra apart from the mentioned MRP on the product. Full disclosures on the Affiliate Page.
How To Make Stationery To Sell
This one is a little tricky question to answer. Although, starting a stationery business requires proficiency in design software like Adobe. But you can start with basic ones like Canva and Affinity Designer.
From there on you can upgrade to the best ones in proficiency.
If you have been my customer, then, you would know that my designs are basic. My products are functional with minimal design features. Thus, you can also start in a similar way and update your skills on the go.
If you are looking for options to learn. Then, Suzi Whitford has a fantastic course on creating Printables. That is how I started my 6 figures income selling handmade digital printables.
Starting A Stationery Business Online
The best way to reach the maximum number of customers in a stationery business is to go online. An e-commerce venture lets you understand the visitors with real-time data. That in turn helps to turn them into customers.
Moreover, it enables direct contact through email marketing to induce repeat orders.
Shopify and Gumroad are good options to open a stationery store. You can also try Woocommerce and Thrivecart to sell from your blog.
Else Etsy and Amazon can be the starting points for testing your designs.
Conclusion
As a creative maker, if you wish to know how to start a small stationery shop. Then, this article is for you.
Gone are the days when buying from established brands and selling was the only option. Today, you can start a homegrown stationery brand with basic design skills. Thanks to the various design software, it is possible to learn and experiment.
You can even sell digital stationery that customers can print and reprint. Or you can take the print-on-demand route to concentrate only on design and outsource the rest.
Irrespective of how you operate, it is possible to make a career out of creative pursuits.
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