A reality check

[BartJr]

Hi all,

For past few years I was heavily involved in the printing industry, starting from a small as thermal printer up to big wide format printers. I was also involved with consumables suppliers for the printers such as Ink Manufacturers and paper factories.

I'm thinking to set up a new small printing business (working from home) therefore I will have more time for me and my relatives. What I'm looking to focus on are business cards for start as they would cost me almost nothing to make. Around £2 for 1000 high quality two sided 400gsm business cards (that's to the contacts I've gained in past). Add lamination it would add up to around £4.

What do you guys think about it?

 

[E-Liquid UK Store]

Sounds like a great idea!

How are you thinking about driving traffic to the site to make sales?

 

[MikeH]

Its a very competitive market. Type business cards into Google. Everything from Free, £3, £4, £5 etc. Vista Print are very aggressive in their marketing.

How will you differentiate? How will you compete? As said above where will your website traffic come from? Do you even have a website?

Perhaps target a different market. Contact local stationers and work with them. However just offering business cards may limit your market. Many business want a full corporate image for stationery including letterheads, comp slips etc.

I wish you success and hope you find a niche or a way of entering the market.

 

[BartJr]

Thanks for reply guys, I've done some basic research on prices and I don't believe I would struggle to offer better price while providing same quality as other businesses.

I was thinking about price penetration strategy and start off as Mike has mentioned by approaching local stationers and businesses as well as FB marketing.

For now I would like to focus on business cards first until I can start competing on prices with other related goods such as A5 leaflets etc.

 

[The Byre]

The print industry is in sharp decline and the rate of decline is accelerating.

Nothing is quite as deadly as joining an industry as it is dying.

 

[ethical PR]

Thanks for reply guys, I've done some basic research on prices and I don't believe I would struggle to offer better price while providing same quality as other businesses.

I was thinking about price penetration strategy and start off as Mike has mentioned by approaching local stationers and businesses as well as FB marketing.

For now I would like to focus on business cards first until I can start competing on prices with other related goods such as A5 leaflets etc.

I think you will struggle massively by taking this approach

It's not about whether you can offer business cards at a competitive price but whether it makes sense as a business model - it doesn't .

If you are say - making £3 profit on a set of. 500 cards -,how many sets would you need to sell each day to make the profit you need for a sustainable business.

As a business I rarely need just business cards when ordering print materials - so wouldn't use your services.

And I am much more likely to buy other printed items more often - business cards maybe every 2 or 3 years.

 

[LowPrices.uk]

My concerns would be competition from the big boys, Vista Print springs to mind. However, that shouldn't automatically put you off, but you have to check that local people would still be prepared to pay your price. If they wouldn't, it's not going to work.
Also, I share the concerns about whether business cards alone would be enough to keep you going.

Finally, starting a business yourself does not usually give you more time for the family!!

 

[The Byre]

Let me put it this way - printers all over the World are closing down. Only the big bulk eight-colour print and packaging plants are healthy. Small scale print shops are dying on their feet.

http://www.ibisworld.co.uk/market-research/printing.html

http://www.printmonthly.co.uk/Features/Back-to-Basics/1909/offset-economy

As with all things, small print shops are easy to set up and therefore there are too many of them. The biggest problem for all small print shops, is all the other small print shops!

That said, extreme quality and deep specialisation will always do well. A visit to the Print Show in Oct might prove useful!

 

[GaryA2B]

IMHO your target customer would be along the lines of local tradesmen, courier, man & van etc. As already mentioned any bigger setup and they would more than likely be wanting more than just business cards ie letterheads etc.

 

[AllUpHere]

IMHO your target customer would be along the lines of local tradesmen, courier, man & van etc. As already mentioned any bigger setup and they would more than likely be wanting more than just business cards ie letterheads etc.

Those markets are all very well served already. If the OP wants any chance of this working he's going to need to find a way to offer a truly remarkable product, to a very narrow niche market. Otherwise he's going toe to toe with all the other printers, and he's dead in the water.

 

[GaryA2B]

Maybe it's just me but why does going toe to toe mean he's automatically dead in the water? Just a query not a dig at yourself.

I understand having to have an edge etc but sometime people just need business cards, plumbers, joiners etc. As long as quality is the same ot better then surely you have a fighting chance.

 

[The Byre]

No you do not! It is then just a race to the bottom and for scraps.

 

[GaryA2B]

But why not?

 

[AllUpHere]

He simply won't be able to compete if he's offering a similar product. To make any money solely from business cards he's going to need to sell them in massive volumes, which requires a large promotional marketing budget. Selling a few hundred here and there isn't going to cut it.

 

[GaryA2B]

Sorry guys wasn't specifically meaning the OP situation.

I understand selling a few hundred here and there doesn't make a business if anything more an additional income.

Almost every post with new business etc refers to having unique selling points etc but what I was getting at is, and to be honest it probably more refers to trades, but sometimes you just need these things done.

 

[AllUpHere]

Sorry guys wasn't specifically meaning the OP situation.

I understand selling a few hundred here and there doesn't make a business if anything more an additional income.

Almost every post with new business etc refers to having unique selling points etc but what I was getting at is, and to be honest it probably more refers to trades, but sometimes you just need these things done.

It wouldn't even make an additional income. He'd need to be selling thousands every day to even make pocket money. The promotional costs of finding clients requiring thousands of cards every day would simply be too high, unless he had a very strong USP. Without a point of differentiation he's trading with a built in operational and marketing disadvantage, which is never going to end well.

The same is true for trades type businesses, but to a much lesser extent as they are naturally easier to market.

 

[GaryA2B]

Thanks for the replies.

 

[The Byre]

I posted a link to the standard print industry trade magazine 'Print Monthly'.

It is published on line!

If that don't tell you all . . .