Tory's Stories

If you love greeting cards and want to start a business, you might be wondering if it's really possible. It is! In fact, there are many people who sell their own cards at local fairs and markets, or even on websites like Etsy. And those are just two examples of ways that you can sell your cards. The first thing to do is figure out what kind of greeting card business would work best for you—let's take a look at some things to think about so you can figure out what kind of niche would be best for your situation:

Figure out what your niche will be.

The first step to starting your own business is figuring out what it's going to be. The best way to do this is by looking at how other successful businesses in the industry are positioned, gaining insight from their successes and failures. Do research on brands you look up to and aspire to be. Take note of what these companies are doing well, and where they could improve. Once you've got a good idea of how other companies operate, it's time for you to take action! However DO NOT copy them in any way. It is very important when starting a business that you have a unique idea that is solving a problem, otherwise it might be better to become a reseller rather than an independent maker which is also a great way to start a greeting card business! 

Consider who your target market is and where they hang out online—if there isn't already a greeting card company targeting them with products that are relevant to them (and if there are enough people in that group), then this may be an opportunity worth pursuing. Think about whether or not there is already someone else doing exactly what you would like your business model to look like—if so, maybe it would make sense for you to become a reseller and work together rather than compete against them? 

Decide on your business name.

You should also consider the name for your business. It should be short, memorable and unique. The name should be easy to spell and pronounce. It should also be easy to search for on the internet. Finally, it's important that you do your research on trademarked names, search if the web address is available and social media handles (e.g., Instagram).

Create a business plan.

A business plan is a document that outlines your ideas and goals for your greeting card business. It can be used as a roadmap to help you make decisions about things like pricing, inventory and marketing strategies. You should also use it to track your progress as you grow your greeting card company over time.

Business plans are often divided into a few parts here's where to start:

• Executive summary: This is the introduction section of an executive plan that describes the business idea in broad terms and gives a brief overview of what follows in the remainder of the document. Ideally, this section explains why someone should invest in this company (or not).
• Company description: This section offers more detailed information about how exactly investors will benefit from investing money into this particular enterprise, including details about what sets it apart from competitors' offerings—and how profits will be generated so investors know how much money they can expect at regular intervals throughout their investment period (if applicable), such as quarterly dividends paid out every three months until there's no longer any interest left over from previous rounds' profits! If there's no physical product being sold yet - or if they're still developing prototypes - just explain where those products would go once they're ready for market launch instead; after all , who wouldn't love knowing exactly what kind of materials are going into making those cards before even buying them? 

How do you plan to sell your cards? 

When you're first starting out, it's best to think about how you want to sell your cards. You could sell them directly to customers online, at craft fairs and other events. Or you could sell them through a catalogue for wholesale and at trade shows. Another option is to work with a greeting card distributor who will help market and distribute your cards for you—but this can be more complicated because it involves setting up sales contracts and deals with a sales representative, plus they can be super competitive or only taking on specific types of clients.

If you decide on selling through an online marketplace like Etsy or other selling platforms, then there are several options: You can create a separate website just for your independent items (if this isn't too expensive), or go through one of the sites that already has thousands of other products on their site like an online marketplace. Generally online marketplaces have fees associated with them so it is good to do some research and ensure your items are priced high enough that you can afford their fees. 

Find a manufacturer for you cards or supplies.

You'll need to find a manufacturer or distributor of greeting cards. Since there are so many options, we recommend you do some research and narrow down your list based on price, quality, and the ability to print full-color images on your cards. Once you've found a few manufacturers that meet these criteria, send them each an email with information about your business and request a quote. Once you've received their quotes back, review them carefully and make any necessary changes before placing an order. I recommend doing research about standard sizes of greeting cards, especially when it comes to wholesale, if the size is not industry standard a shop may decide not to stock your cards simply because they will not fit in their display. 

Next up: finding suppliers for packaging materials like envelopes to go with the cards, but also all of your packaging - boxes, flat mailers, tissue paper, branded fillers, etc.

Set up an online presence for your business.

The first step in starting a business is to set up an online presence. You need a website, and you need it to look good. A great website will be easy for customers to navigate, easy for them to find what they're looking for (and what they didn’t know they were looking for), and easy for people who stumble upon your site by accident or referral link alike to navigate their way back out of the site when they're done.

Good design is important not just because it makes your card business stand out from the crowd but also because it makes people trust you more—they can visually see that you care about your product enough to spend time on its packaging as well as its contents.

If you have any experience with web development at all, this step should be relatively straightforward; otherwise, hire someone who knows what they're doing (and make sure their work is backed up). Once everything's set up properly, start building links between all of your social media profiles you intend to use. Start to post regularly and build your brand awareness, even if you are just in the idea phase it is never too early to start making content for social media. 

Find the funding for your startup costs.

• Find the funding for your startup costs.

Before you can get started, you need to be able to fund it. Again, this varies by business and experience level. Set a budget for how much you can spend to start up your business. You will have to purchase a first batch of cards, printing, marketing materials and supplies. Once you know how much this is going to cost, it's time to figure out how much money each card needs to make so that it’s profitable for both parties involved in the transaction (you as the seller and them as the buyer).

This is also the time to price your items, generally speaking around x2 your costs would be wholesale and x2 that would be retail. This can vary greatly depending on your niche, the uniqueness of your items and the cost of what you are selling vs what people are willing to pay for it. Over time, as long as the revenue is greater than expenses, your card business should be profitable.

You can make a business of greeting cards, if you are willing to put in the work.

As you probably know, there's no way around the fact that you will be spending a lot of time developing a greeting card business. If you're thinking about starting your own greeting card company, there are a few things to consider before you leap in head first:

• Make sure this is what you want to do. Do some research and figure out if there is room for growth in the industry. Depending on where you live and how much competition there is, it may not be possible for someone just getting started to sell greeting cards online without having their own brick-and-mortar store (or at least selling them at conventions). The best place to start gathering information about the greeting card industry is by looking at other successful companies that already exist within it—they'll have plenty of advice for newbies like yourself!
• Be willing to take risks and make mistakes when necessary; if something doesn't work out exactly as planned then don't get discouraged—just keep going until something does work out! You should also be prepared to learn from past failures; they could help prevent similar errors later down the road once things get rolling again after taking some time off due  to unforeseen circumstances...

So, there you have it—the basics of starting a successful greeting card business. It’s not an easy task, but the payoff can be huge if you do it right. We hope this blog post has given you some ideas on what to do next, and that we have helped ease any fears or concerns you might have had about getting started. As always, good luck!