How to Start a Paper Goods Business

With the advancements in technology, there has been a decline in print shop and paper goods businesses. It is now common to get birthday and wedding invites through email.

Despite the digital world’s advancements, there are still opportunities to serve a large group of people looking for custom paper goods. Thinking outside of the box for a unique business idea is one way to stand out in the current environment and starting a paper business is one creative way to do that!

How to start a Paper Business

The best way to start a paper business at first is to establish a relationship with a paper supplier or print shop in your area. Print shops typically buy paper in bulk and have unique screen printing capability that can leave you focused on designing custom paper products for your customer base.

Why You Should Partner With a Printshop

Here are a few reasons why you should partner with a print shop:

Budget-Friendly:

Starting a new business is expensive and by partnering with a local print shop, you can keep your expenses low and only order product once you recieve orders.  

Avoid Inventory Headaches

One mistake new businesses make is jumping all into a business idea and purchasing large amounts of inventory before getting customer feedback.

With a paper business, it is important to have several design options for customer to choose from. A print shop partnership can help limit inventory headaches for your paper business and let you test out several designs.

Custom Cutting Solutions

Printing shops have high-end cutting machines that can custom cut large batches of paper in specific dimensions. The last thing you want to be doing is spending hours cutting out prints in your garage! So instead, spend your time focusing on getting new clients and let a print shop do the hard work. 

What’s Next After Finding a Paper Supplier?

Get Designs Made: 

Work with a graphic designer to create custom designs that can be printed on invites, fliers, or any idea you can think of. Find a designer on sites like Fiverr and work them to come up with perfect designs.

Pick a Niche

One of the best ways to get referrals is to pick a niche and try and build referrals within that community.

For instance, if you are looking to start a wedding invitation business, it helps create a local presence by attending wedding expos and asking happy clients for referrals. Before you know it, people will start to reach out to you as the “Wedding Invite” person.

Scale

Once you have mastered one niche, consider moving to another. For instance, if you have saturated the local wedding invite market, try branching out into birthday parties or custom corporate invitations as a way to diversify your business.

How to register a paper business

Once you have written out a business plan, it is time to register your business with the Secretary of State.

Next Steps to Take:

1. Perform Business Name Search to make sure the business name is available.
2. Check to make sure business name is not trademarked
3. Check to Make Sure Social media names are available
4. Register Business Name through Sites like Incfile
5. Setup website
6. Get Logos Made
7. Advertise and promote your new paper business.
8. Once the business is wildly successful look into purchasing your own printing supplies or negotiation rates with print shops based on volumes!

We hope this guide on how to start a paper business. Remember, one of the best ways to start a business is to get out into the market with one or two products and adapt based on customer feedback. Get feedback from friends and family, don’t be shy, and let them know about your new business!