Running a print business can be a lucrative enterprise, but many print business owners end up making only enough to get by. The secret to achieving greater profitability is, of course, scaling up the business and building a larger stream of revenue. Here are some of the things you should keep in mind that will help you scale up your print business and earn more money.
Use Social Media Marketing Aggressively
As a print shop owner, your creations are perfectly suited for marketing in today’s image-driven social media environment. Use Facebook and Instagram to promote your creations, as these platforms are particularly conducive to visual media. Don’t just use still images, though, as the actual printing process can make for excellent and compelling video footage. As you build audiences on social media, you’ll expand the number of potential customers you can reach on a regular basis. The larger your social media presence is in the modern business world, the more likely you are to be successful.
Expand Your Business into New Print Media
Many printing businesses start out specializing in one or two areas. Though there’s nothing wrong with having a narrow focus in the beginning, offering to print more types of products can help you attract more customers and increase your sales. If you currently specialize in business cards, for instance, you might consider starting to offer screen printing for t-shirts as well. Printing is a very broad business, and every individual category of printing can be profitable. If you’re particularly adventurous and a bit tech-savvy, you can even consider branching out into 3D printing, which relatively few entrepreneurs are taking advantage of so far.
Keep Plenty of Inventory on Hand
Scaling up your printing business also means keeping plenty of the materials you’re printing onto and the inks or dyes you need on hand. Buying these materials in bulk can help your business by ensuring that you have enough inventory to handle increased demand, as well as by potentially allowing you to access more favorable pricing from your suppliers. To store these materials, you may also need to find some off-site storage. Though this will be an investment, it is one that is well worth making to avoid the hassle of frequent ordering.
Expand and Maintain Your Equipment
When it comes to scaling your printing business, your actual printing equipment is of paramount importance. As the volume of orders you’re handling grows, you may need to buy additional printers to deal with the extra orders. Since machine downtime is costly to your business, it’s also important that you properly maintain your printers. One of the best ways to do this is to integrate industrial chillers into your print shop. Chillers help to cool your machines, thus keeping them in good shape and increasing their efficiency and print times.
If you want to scale up your printing business, these tips will help you get started. Of course, the real secret to scaling up any business is hard work, dedication and a willingness to be patient until the fruits of your labors begin to show. Put in the work now, and you’ll soon find that your printing business is beginning to grow.
