With the wonders of the internet these days, the idea of starting a business is much more accessible to all. In the case of becoming an office stationery supplier, there are a few key points to remember when starting out.
Planning
Many people get carried away at the thought of starting their own business and blow all the money buying top of the range goods which take too long to sell on. The best way to avoid this is to work out exactly how much money is available.
Next it is advisable to choose a target audience. It is unrealistic to target huge companies and chain offices at first. Starting small with local offices is a great way to start as not only will it be easier to keep up with demand, but local businesses are very supportive of one another.
Once these steps have been achieved, it is possible to work out how much of the budget will be spent on the following:
- Market research
- Marketing
- Staff
- Products
Once this has been decided, it is important to adhere to the figures otherwise everything could quickly spiral out of control and losses can be made this way.
Market research
Once the target audience has been decided it is possible to find out exactly what their office supply needs are. The best way to find this out is by arranging a meeting with the different offices around the area.
Things that need to be taken into consideration when talking to prospective clients are:
- What stationery they need
- How often they tend to order
- If there is anything that they unhappy about with their current supplier
The answers to these questions will give a lot of useful information for how to stand out from current office suppliers as well as forming a better idea of what orders to make.
Marketing
Whilst starting small is a good idea, there is nothing wrong with putting the new business name out into the world. The best way to do this is to create a company website. This can be relatively inexpensive if the website is created from home. Web designers are quite a bit more expensive but there is a range of companies that offer the freedom of choosing the design and content of the website with the ease of having somebody else do the trickier parts. Companies such as Wix.com allow users to upload their own pictures and text onto and existing webpage template and alter colours and designs so it is unique to the user’s needs.
Having a website also means it is easy to see and deal with orders and keep all files up to date.
Staff
Many people who start small businesses locally or via the internet have a low or non-existent staff to help cut down on costs. This can be expanded over time with the business.
Products
Using all the market research findings, it is time to source products for the business. The best way to do this is to talk to different wholesalers. It is important to keep referring to the market research conducted to really buy products that clients need. Impulse buying is not a good idea in this situation. Of course there will always be certain items of office stationery that people will always need:
- Pens
- Paper
- Notepads
- Staplers
- Scissors
- Sticky Notes
Again, it is a good idea to get a small range of items. Buying every single type of pen in every different colour will probably not be beneficial as most people will tend to buy blue, black and in a pinch, red.
Stand out
If possible, it is best to try to offer something a little different to what other suppliers are doing. For local businesses, a great way to do this would be to offer free delivery. This should be achievable as a new business is unlikely to be dealing with huge orders and if the clients are local it would simply be a case of driving them round to the office.
In addition to this, trying to find “green” stationery equipment such as recycled paper etc. could be popular with businesses who are concerned with operating in a conscientious manner towards the environment.