By Simon Barker
Are you interested in starting a new business and are intrigued by the prospect of starting a vinyl cutting business in particular. The great news is that by clicking through to this post, you are now only a few steps away from setting up a vinyl cutting business.
You have likely seen how popular this kind of business is with various people out there. One of the reasons why it is so popular is that it is fairly easy to start up this kind of business with a only a small amount of investment money to inject into it upfront.
In the following post, we will look at further reasons why it makes sense to set up a vinyl cutting business, as well as giving you some helpful advice as to what you need to do to start your own.
Reasons Why They Are Popular
As noted there are many great reasons why people are interested in starting vinyl cutting businesses, including the following.
Cost Upfront
This type of business only requires a small amount of money up front. You only need to invest in some transfer tape, the primary substrate, a heat press and of course, a vinyl cutter machine
Required Space
For this type of business, unlike other popular choices, you do not need a huge amount of space to begin with. You are more or less good to go if you have an office, drawing room or even space in your garage and sell your products online.
Staff
Probably the most important reason why this type of business is so popular is because you only need one person, in theory, to start it. Create the design, import it and then use your computer and vinyl cutter to do the rest.
3 Steps to Get You Started
So, we’ve whet your appetite and you want a piece of the vinyl cutting business. How do you set up such a business?
Step 1. Business Plan
First things first, as with any business, it is essential that you make some kind of blueprint or business plan. However, there is no real right way or wrong way to do this – below we have outlined some important steps you need to take in creating your business plan and starting your business.
Step 2. Selecting a Niche
This is a crucial step for any business, as you need to determine what kind of sector or industry you are targeting with your products. Over the last few years, the vinyl industry has moved into multiple sectors of the industry and therefore, you need to be very focused on the niche you are concentrating on. Are you going to work within the signage creation, vinyl decal cutting or t-shirt printing industry? Having this clear in your mind will help you understand the various challenges that lay ahead for your business.
Challenges including the kind of work you will be fulfilling, the competition you will be facing and the clients you will be working with. It is wise to start with one niche initially and then move into more once you have gain some experience and a good reputation within your single niche.
Thoroughly research the local marketplace – it is always sensible to research and test the water before jumping right in too deep. Try to understand the market and any competitors you will be up against. Learn the sort of work that is in high demand and the quality being provided by the competing businesses in your niche. Also consider their prices. Think about how you will be tackling them and if there are areas where they are less successful that you could capitalize on.
Step 3. Calculate Your Budget
After deciding on the niche you are going to be working in, you need to calculate your budget. You will obviously need to invest in some hardware, including the following (if you don’t already have these items):
- Heat transfer vinyl
- Knife
- Scissors
- Transfer tape
- Vinyl rolls
- Appropriate software
- Printers
- Scanners
- Vinyl cutter
- PC
Now, this will all cost you, so you need to budget carefully.
By far the two most important pieces of equipment you need from the above is the PC and vinyl cutter, though if you are looking to get anywhere with your vinyl cutting company you will need to purchase the rest too eventually. The vinyl cutter is something that you need to not cost cut when purchasing, because you need to invest in a high quality product or you could find that you are spending more than you need to further down the line in terms of repairs and maintenance.