Want to setup own Design & Print Business - Advice Please!

stuppy

stuppy

stuppy

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Hi,

Ive been working for 3 years now at a screen printers doing Graphic Design work. While its a job that I don't hate, its wearing thin a bit and I would really love to branch out and spread my wings :) I have always wanted to be my own boss. Getting into Graphic Design was an accident, I always thought I'd be doing something with Computers as I am reasonably well versed in them. But I have grown to love Graphics. I love creating artworks in Illustrator and Photoshop - and, not to blow my own trumpet or anything, I think I am quite good at it :)

I have been thinking for some time now how good it would be to own my own Design and Print business. I know I could do it - but how much setting up is there to do? I am currently reading through "guides" on setting up small businesses, but perhaps someone could give me their opinions and experiences?.


The plan I have in my head is - to Provide to companies, things like Printed Stickers, Car Licence Holders, Posters -anything that can be screen printed or litho printed. Obviously I do not have my own factory with machines to do such things, so the print side would be outsourced (to companies like the one where I work at present). A company could contact me telling me they want a sticker printed to put in cars. I would provide designs, they could select one, then I would send them designs to be printed. I could do this with pretty much anything that needs design work doing.

I know this method works as there are companies that do similar things where i work now - producing artworks for clients and sending them us for printing.

Equipment wise - I have pretty much all of it already. I have two computers (a Dell and a Macbook Pro) that are fast enough to handle Illustrator and Photoshop work. The only thing that I really need is things like a nice big screen to work with, a decent printer for printing artworks/invoices etc, perhaps some external hard drives for saving and backing up work, a fax machine, stationary etc. I could easily convert the spare bedroom into a proper office from where I could work from at home.

So unless there are fee's to actually set a business up on the legal side (banking, legal trading documents or anything like that?) then I would say that if I was to put £5000 into it initailly I would be in a position to start taking orders.

Obviously there is a LOT of research needed and I would need to talk with accountants and advisors - and then there is the whole pricing of things and getting prices off the printers for what they charge etc. But on the whole do you guys think my idea sounds viable? My main concern is getting customers. But thats what advertising is for right?

So yeah, advice? ideas? anyone?! :)
 
Yeah, I'm aware he is involved in the design and print trade :) I look forward to hearing what he has to say.
 
chech out car club forums/websites as many of these will be interested in car stickers.

I know http://www.the-corrado.net/forum/ do sell the stickers onto the members, along with T-shirts etc. Although i know they havent been any posters etc. Get in touch with the mod and ask about prices, i just missed out on getting one :(

Start looking now for potential customers, nothing will impress the bank more :D

Could you not buy a cheaper projector instead of a screen?
 
You mean of screen as Monitor? Why woudl I want a projector instead? If i do this i'd be buying the Apple 23" - maybe the 30inch depending on cash flow - but think 23inch is big enough.

As for the car thing - My intention is to do something like you propose. These car clubs that seem to exist in every town would be a really nice starting place. If i could get them order 250 stickers in 2 colours for their members to put on their cars - then bingo its a start. I think once you get a few decent customers then its a word of mouth situation.
 
stuppy said:
You mean of screen as Monitor? Why woudl I want a projector instead? .
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I figured if money was a bit tight you could pick up a 2nd hand projector cheaper than a huge monitor and it would give you a large picture to work with.

The stickers we currently have on the corrado forum can be seen here . Its simple and quite cheap. Ive got a huge list of car clubs somewhere with web addresses, ill see if i can find it for you :D
 
That would be great :) stuppy [at] phaze1.net if you wouldnt mind :)

Im looking at that thread and Im not seeing the sticker? Any clues!?
 
My advice would be that it's perfectly feasible to create a workable business from this, but to go at it cautiously.

There is very little expenditure involved in the administrative/legal side of setting up a business. If you go self-employed (an initially, I don't see why not), then it's basically the cost of a phone call/letter to the Inland Revenue telling them you've done so. If you want a limited company, then it can be done from about £40 upwards.

If you want legal and/or accounting advice (and if you do this, to some extent at least, you DO want such advice), then the costs can be rather open-ended. Consider whether you can do basic bookkeeping yourself, and just get a pro to sort out end of year accounts and you tax returns.

One thing I would SERIOUSLY advice against is buying any equipment you don't definitely need. It's easy to go splash out on a nice big fancy display, but do you NEED it? If not, wait until the business is showing it is going to be a success.

You've neatly identified your biggest problem - getting customers. You'll be up against the big boys - established high-street companies with a trading history, reputation and an existing client list. Yes, you can try advertising, but results (especially for someone working from a bedroom) are likely to be VERY disappointing.

What I would suggest is to start thinking small. What do you have that a bigger business may not? Answer - the personal touch, flexibility, speed, versatility in quantity, etc.

Try to target small businesses, especially start-ups, with a need for small print runs. A starting business may want 100 letterheads, 250 compliment slips and 250 business cards. A large printer probably won't be able to do that, but YOU CAN. And you can turn it round today, or tomorrow. And for a local customer, maybe even deliver.

But to do that, you need a careful choice of inkjet printer. I'd advice looking hard at the HP BusinesJet range - you want something with :-

- decent throughput speed
- high duty cycle
- high capacity (low cost) ink cartridges
- good margins

Don't omit that last one. If you are going to print invoices, odds are you'll need to put something (VAT number, directors registered office, whatever) right at the bottom of the page, and an inkjet with a ¾-inch bottom margin is useless to you.

Oh, and the cartridge thing isn't just about cost per page (critical though that is), but it's also about not having to change cartridge every five minutes.

I would also advise caution about planning to use third-party inks. If you print someone's invoices, and then do a second run a few weeks/months later, and they come out a different colour because the ink you used has changed, or you used a different ink, you ARE going to get complaints.

If you do this right, you can start small with minimal capital expenditure, and you can target customers that larger businesses can't service. And those small businesses grow (though some will also fail). But a percentage of them will thrive, and if you provide good work, sensible prices and above all, good service, could well be customers for life.

And don't assume that existing businesses won't be interested either. Look for a market niche with small-run print requirements. How about under-takers? Maybe it seems morbid, but what printing does an undertaker need? Regular orders-of-service, etc, every one of which is personalised!! They can't use large-run print jobs. Look for that type of situation.

Consider doing some freebies. Do a leaflet run for a local school sports day. Do some birthday invites for friends. Do a newsletter or two for your local athletics/football club. And so on.

That has two effects. One - you can put your name and contact details (including a simple website with samples of your work) on the back, or bottom (because you make that a condition of doing it gratis), AND .... everybody that sees it thinks ... "Hmmmm, like his work". You only need a few people with their own business and a printing requirement to see that, and you have a bread-and-butter workload.

You mentioned advertising. I said it's high-cost, low return. The best form of advertising of all is word-of-mouth. Satisfied customers will pass your details on to friends, and you'll start getting out-of-the-blue phone calls.


If this seems kind-of detailed to be speculation, that'll be because it isn't. A friend of mine did it. Year one was hard, and earned him about $10K (turnover, not profit). Year two was about $50k. Last year was just over $5m (and no, that wasn't year three, I skipped a bit ;)).



Can it be done? Yes. It CAN.

Is it easy, or fast? Nope. It's hard work.

How do you do it? Don't splash out on gear you want, only buy what you need. Do you need that fancy screen .... or a high-end inkjet, a duplexing colour laser and a hot-foil press?

Rely on your skills. Research your market, and target your efforts.

And don't expect the world to beat a path to your door. If you do this, and don't experience several years of very hard work, long hours, frustration and worry, it'll probably be because you don't have what it takes to stick it out? So …. do you?

Do you have the mental discipline to work from home? To not see anybody from one end of the working day to the other, bar a few minutes with the occasional customer? Will you do the work, be it lonely design work, or pounding pavements dropping leaflets/cards into local businesses when you don't have paying work to do? Or will your butt be on the sofa and the latest World Cup match (or cricket, MotoGP race, Wimbledon, etc, whatever) on the tele?

Do you have what it takes?

If so, go for it. If not ..... well, if you do decide to do this, very good luck to you, but don't expect it to be easy. Possible, certainly, but not easy.
 
Hmmmm, should I be giving out information to a potential future competitor? Probably not so I'll just stick to some simple advice ;)

As Sequoia says, it can work, but it will be hard work. I've worked from home in the past and have the discipline to get in the office at set times regardless of what I'd rather be doing at home. So first of all, can you manage that?

Also, do you need the big screen or just want it? I do full colour work on a 17" iMac G5. You don't NEED a massive screen.

Backup, backup and then backup again. I use a RAID mirrored set up and then take another backup at the end of each day and take it off site. If you're working from home, do your back up and then put it in your car or somewhere else out of the house that is safe.

GET A SIGNED PROOF. You take a customers word for it that the artwork is OK you can be damn sure they'll spot any mistakes on the final printed product. Mistakes WILL happen, it's human nature. But a signed proof from the customer puts the blame at their feet.
 
Sequoia, thank you for the post. Some very interesting points you have made there. The point regarding small print runs is something I never thought of and sounds a very promising idea.

I definately would be seeking some form professional legal and accounting advice if I was to go ahead. I wouldn't feel "safe" enough without doing so. My aunt is a fully qualified accountant so she will be able to assist me with any issues that would arrise. Also my mother is very good with numbers and things like that so I have some support that way.
 
Desmo said:
GET A SIGNED PROOF. You take a customers word for it that the artwork is OK you can be damn sure they'll spot any mistakes on the final printed product. Mistakes WILL happen, it's human nature. But a signed proof from the customer puts the blame at their feet.
Click to expand...

HAHA. That is funny because where I work at the moment, they have a "signed proof" system where the customer signs an artwork to say its been check and is satisfactory. Thing is when the customer gets the finished prodcut and there's a spelling mistake or something, we still say ok we'll print it again free of charge - which has always annoyed me and made me think what is the point in the proof signing system.

I have always said to myself "christ, if I ever have my own set up i will definately have a system like that, except I will not accept fault".

The big screen - Well ok, I might not need it, and yes, its a bit of I want it as well. I work on a 17" 4:3 at work @ 1280x1024. This is ok - but at home I have a Dell 9300 laptop with a lush 1920 x 1200 res. My Macbook Pro has a poor 1440x900 on a 15" Screen. I feel uncomfortable using such a small res after using such a high res on my Dell. So while it might not be needed, it is definately something I would buy at some point in the future anyway. Hell, by the time I come round to getting this thing up and running i might have already bought one :)
 
stuppy said:
HAHA. That is funny because where I work at the moment, they have a "signed proof" system where the customer signs an artwork to say its been check and is satisfactory. Thing is when the customer gets the finished prodcut and there's a spelling mistake or something, we still say ok we'll print it again free of charge - which has always annoyed me and made me think what is the point in the proof signing system.

I have always said to myself "christ, if I ever have my own set up i will definately have a system like that, except I will not accept fault".
Click to expand...
Think about it.

The customer goodwill, especially from a good customer, may well be worth a lot more than the cost of another print run, as may the damage to the repuation if the customer bad-mouths you, even if you are technically in the right. And, after all, the work DID have a mistake on it. Sometimes, you are best advised to take responsibility, and a loss, for your own mistakes. It's a commercial reality, I'm afraid.

But suppose that customer comes back and claims they lost £50,000 worth of business, or the loss of a very good customer of their own, because of that mistake? When that kind of consequential loss rears it's ugly snout, you can turn round and say "but you signed it off .... didn't you check it before you did so?"

The sign-off is insurance. But like any insurance .... while you want it there, you don't always claim.
 
Sequoia is right, there are times when you will correct the mistake. It just depends on the circumstances for each job.
Can you afford to put it right? Or can you afford not to put it right?
 
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