This blog contains affiliate links to products that I have actually bought and love (or the product is discontinued an alternative)
One of the biggest pieces of advice for a small business just starting out would be to start small and only buy what you need. You can spend hundreds setting up a small business only to find you might not need alot of what you have bought. So here are my 10 items I would by to start of my product business.
10 items to buy:
- iPad or laptop - if you don't have one for personal use already, I really recommend using something bigger than a phone screen, which is okay for social media. If you plan to sell your artwork, digitally drawn or not you may need to use editing software, and I do not trust my fat fingers on a phone. (I have an iPad pro 11in and a HP laptop similar to this one)
- A label printer — game changer versus printing sheets and cutting them out or having to go to the post office for every delivery. (This is not my exact one, but same company, just the more recent version, which is bluetooth enabled too)
- A paper cutter/guillotine if you're doing anything with cards or stationery
- Sturdy mailers or boxes sized properly for your product (oversizing kills your margins on postage. For these, I shop around on amazon and ebay, to find the best price. I don't buy anything with my brand printed on.
- A subscription to Shopify or your platform of choice, budgeted in from the start rather than an afterthought. I always recommend shopify, I cant help you get set up with an unlimited trial, but if you would prefer to do this all yourself)
- Business insurance — not exciting, but worth having before you need it. I have two different insurance, for each business. Product business and this business.
- Noise cancelling headphones - bit of a splurge, and not essential. But if you like to get in the zone, or have a busy work enviroment, I think these are handy. My exact one is discontinued, but here is a budget sony option and a splurge sony option.
- mini mic - if you are planning to create videos for social media, with you talking, you may want one. This is the one I use, there are two mics, a charging case and a little bag.
- A good notebook/online notes platform. I use joplin and any diary I am using that year
Controversional items not listed
Printer - depending on what you sell you might not need one, if you are planning on printing out your items, i reccommned doing some resarch on the printer for your needs. I have an Epson XP960 and have had it 9 years and one just started to print out lovely prints.
Any paper, sticker sheets, materials I use for products. I believe everyone should do their own research about what you want for your brand.
I also have another blog coming soon about what to not waste your money on yet