Sticky Business
Hello and welcome to my blog!
My name is Usha Caldwell and I am going to be starting my own sticker business. This blog will be a record of all my experiences while making my own business and the process overall. To begin, I was interested in making stickers because it allows me to be creative and selling them would benefit me so I can continue to do something I love. I understand that many people enjoy stickers because they are fun and also can be ways for others to express themselves and their interests. Not only that but making my own business will help me create a sense of work ethic and really understand what it takes to run a business. I have found that there are many different things I have to think about when it comes to making my own business. The who, where, what, when, and why,
First, I have to think about the who. Who is my audience? Who am I selling my product to? Well in order to answer this, I need to think about my product, stickers, and who might be interested in buying them. When I think of stickers, I pretty much think about everyone. There are a lot of different people who like stickers and would be willing to buy them, so my audience is anyone who likes and wants to buy stickers.
Secondly, I need to think of where this business will be located. Many business owners have shops that you'd have to walk into in order to get the product you'd like and you'd have to pay taxes for the location. Since I do not have the money to have my own shop, I am going to make the shop online, so not only is it easier for me but it is also easy for customers to just order what they'd like without having to move too far to get the product. The online website that I will use is Etsy. Etsy is a website that many businesses have started from, mostly with handmade products such as my own.
Next, to find out the what all I need to think about is what my product is going to be. I already know that my product is going to be stickers, so I need to think a bit deeper. What goes into making stickers? Well, as I've found from many websites, there are several different ways to make stickers, both easy and hard. I want to make sure that my stickers are within a reasonable price for me, but still high quality. I've found that there are two different high-quality ways to make stickers, one of them is by using vinyl, which is very high quality but is also pretty expensive. Other things factors into that as well such as having a vinyl cutter, which can cost hundreds of dollars that I don't have, so the next best thing is to use sticker paper! Sticker paper is pretty much label paper but as a full sheet. I was able to get 100 sheets for $12 dollars on Amazon, which was within my budget. Everything else I could do myself, like getting markers (which I had at home), scissors, and glue. I would first print my design onto the sticker paper and then cut it out, afterward, I would use a paintbrush to spread glue on top of it to make sure the sticker is protected, let it dry, and that's how I'd make the product.
The why of this project is because my mom runs her own business which gave me some inspiration in running my own. She owns a salon called Kismet. She has been cutting hair for over 10 years. She is always working hard, paying taxes, restocking, paying her employees, cutting hair, etc.. It got me thinking about what it would take to run my own business and what I would have to put into making a successful business just like my moms. The difference between this business and my mothers are going to be the products and the medium. My business will be online instead of a shop you would walk into and of course, the product will be stickers. My mom also offers multiple products besides haircuts, which I also want to think about later on if the business is successful.
This project will be taking place from April 30th to June 1st. During this time I will make and sell stickers and then compile a report about the ups and downs I faced while starting this business in a formal report.
In conclusion, I am going to be running my own online sticker business. I've already identified the who, what, where, when, and why. All of this information will help me to run my business successfully and effectively. I do expect there to be some complications, but I am going to try to make this experience as smooth as possible as well as fun for me and the customers. I am also very excited to share my findings in my formal report!
My name is Usha Caldwell and I am going to be starting my own sticker business. This blog will be a record of all my experiences while making my own business and the process overall. To begin, I was interested in making stickers because it allows me to be creative and selling them would benefit me so I can continue to do something I love. I understand that many people enjoy stickers because they are fun and also can be ways for others to express themselves and their interests. Not only that but making my own business will help me create a sense of work ethic and really understand what it takes to run a business. I have found that there are many different things I have to think about when it comes to making my own business. The who, where, what, when, and why,
First, I have to think about the who. Who is my audience? Who am I selling my product to? Well in order to answer this, I need to think about my product, stickers, and who might be interested in buying them. When I think of stickers, I pretty much think about everyone. There are a lot of different people who like stickers and would be willing to buy them, so my audience is anyone who likes and wants to buy stickers.
Secondly, I need to think of where this business will be located. Many business owners have shops that you'd have to walk into in order to get the product you'd like and you'd have to pay taxes for the location. Since I do not have the money to have my own shop, I am going to make the shop online, so not only is it easier for me but it is also easy for customers to just order what they'd like without having to move too far to get the product. The online website that I will use is Etsy. Etsy is a website that many businesses have started from, mostly with handmade products such as my own.
(This picture is from the Etsy site showing community with products)
Next, to find out the what all I need to think about is what my product is going to be. I already know that my product is going to be stickers, so I need to think a bit deeper. What goes into making stickers? Well, as I've found from many websites, there are several different ways to make stickers, both easy and hard. I want to make sure that my stickers are within a reasonable price for me, but still high quality. I've found that there are two different high-quality ways to make stickers, one of them is by using vinyl, which is very high quality but is also pretty expensive. Other things factors into that as well such as having a vinyl cutter, which can cost hundreds of dollars that I don't have, so the next best thing is to use sticker paper! Sticker paper is pretty much label paper but as a full sheet. I was able to get 100 sheets for $12 dollars on Amazon, which was within my budget. Everything else I could do myself, like getting markers (which I had at home), scissors, and glue. I would first print my design onto the sticker paper and then cut it out, afterward, I would use a paintbrush to spread glue on top of it to make sure the sticker is protected, let it dry, and that's how I'd make the product.
(One of my stickers using all items listed in paragraph above)
This project will be taking place from April 30th to June 1st. During this time I will make and sell stickers and then compile a report about the ups and downs I faced while starting this business in a formal report.
In conclusion, I am going to be running my own online sticker business. I've already identified the who, what, where, when, and why. All of this information will help me to run my business successfully and effectively. I do expect there to be some complications, but I am going to try to make this experience as smooth as possible as well as fun for me and the customers. I am also very excited to share my findings in my formal report!
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