How I plan to start a sticker shop...

Main things to do: Test sticker designs, materials and sticker cutting pressure....

Why I decided to design and print stickers for small businesses:

• First of all, I love stickers.
• When I was looking to print stickers, I found that there’s always a larger minimum order quantity (min. 20 pcs) and slow turnaround time.
• I have a cutting machine at home, so why not try creating stickers where I could offer an option of minimum 1 pc and a faster turnaround time. Only caveat for the fast turnaround time is that the customer has to drop by to pick it up (but this also provides flexibility for the customer. It’s like “I need this tomorrow, let me go pick it up today.”)
• Also wanted to help people who are not familiar with printing and graphic design. Because it really sucks to format your file wrongly and pay for printing that doesn’t come out right. But from a business POV, we’ll charge a small fee to help you adjust your file to ensure your stickers come out right or to help you design your stickers.

What I have been working on behind-the-scenes so far:

• Already have a website and a name, which my husband thought of!
• Testing sticker designs, materials and sticker cutting pressure
• Trying to get the darn Google My Business listing approved
• Printed some stickers for friends and gave it out to one friend so far. She asked me where I bought the stickers, so that’s good feedback!?

Next steps:

• Get the cutting pressure right. We’re still getting some jagged edges around the stickers, so the goal is to get the edges as smooth as possible during the cutting process.
• Do a bigger test run of stickers so do let me know if you want to get some early batch stickers at discounted prices ??
• Start setting up the marketing channels such as Instagram and TikTok to document the whole process, including the test run!

Other services I plan to offer aside from just printing:

• Adjusting your design and file format so it comes out right! Especially for people who are not familiar with Canva/Photoshop or preparing your design for print.
• We’ll help to design simple stickers if you simply have no idea how to design your own stickers.
• Urgent printing. If you need your stickers like tomorrow, you have the option of picking it up the day before so you don’t have to wait or desperately look for printing shops that can print them right away (From my own experience, it’s honestly hard to find!).

TLDR; if you’re thinking of starting something, here’s a quick summary on how I’m getting started:

1) Test print and cut. Materials and printer ink can be tricky! In this process, I have bought the wrong sticker paper and printed on the wrong sticker paper (printed on laser sticker paper with an inkjet printer and everything smudged).

2) Figure out what types of stickers I can design and print to start with. To start, I will offer simple designs and shapes so it’s easy to get it off the ground, rather than overcomplicate things that might stress me out.

3) Ensure I have a good price point for a small business but I’m also not losing money. This is so important. Because if I’m losing money on each sticker, then it’s not really a business.?

4) Create a simple website and only two platforms - Instagram and TikTok (I can cross post videos and carousel posts to both platforms). And also add in a Google My Business listing so people searching on Google can discover my business too.

5) Test run a small batch for people who are interested. I will offer these stickers at a good discount and in exchange, get feedback and reviews from these people.

6) Launch the stickers on selling platforms such as my own website, Etsy, Shopee and Carousell. But to start, I would choose just two platforms to launch it on, and that would very likely be on Etsy and Carousell.

Starting a sticker shop is something that I honestly didn’t think I would be doing in my 30s. I always figured that starting a sticker shop is something that I would do when I was much younger.

But hey, everyone can love stickers, no matter what age they are. And this is something fun for me to do as well, even in my 30s.

Don’t be afraid to do something different or unexpected, no matter what age you are at. I personally feel that what’s most important is you give yourself the chance to start doing the things you’ve always wanted to do, even if you have to start small in the beginning.

? If you’re in a similar situation or simply just love to chat about pivoting in your 30s or doing something different in your life, send me a DM and let’s find a time to chat!