Souvenir production as a business

As practice shows, people almost never spare money for gifts to relatives, friends and loved ones, which means that souvenir products will always be in demand. However, this business, like many others, has its own nuances and features, which you need to know in more detail.

Before starting the production of souvenir products as a business, you should define your goals and objectives. You need to realize that the production of souvenir products, first of all, will become a source of additional income for you, and possibly the main one.

It is also worth considering where you will sell the manufactured products, and what audience your work will be directed to. In addition, at the beginning of organizing your work activities, you must definitely decide on the size of the area in which you will carry out work activities.

This can be a small store, or a shopping pavilion in a shopping center, office building, and so on.

Business Registration Process

At the very beginning of your work journey, you can work from home for a while. In the case of home work, you may not register a business or collect documents to start a business, doing it as a hobby. If you work from home, you don't have to pay taxes.

If the number of clients expands and you decide to start developing professionally in this direction, you can go through the registration process. It is best to open an LLC by choosing the OKVED code for the production of souvenir products.

Registration of LLC will help you in the future to conclude contracts with organizations and enterprises that will supply you with consumables or to which you will supply finished products.

It should be noted that this area of ​​professional activity does not require additional licenses, which means that you will not have to obtain any additional permits, approvals or draw up documents.

At the beginning of your work journey, it will also be important for you to decide what kind of products you will produce. To begin with, you can choose one direction as the main one, while developing in other areas of souvenir products.

This will help a business plan for the production of souvenirs, in which you need to describe your goals and financial capabilities.

If you like to work with your hands and have a creative mindset, then you can build a full-fledged business on this. In this article, we will look at how do-it-yourself souvenirs are made at home for sale, how much you can earn from this and where to start in order to achieve decent results.

Introduction

Today, many refuse to work “for an uncle” for a penny salary or simply fall under the layoff and do not find work in their specialty or with a sufficient level of wages and start working for themselves. This is a completely correct and reasonable decision - with a competent approach and sufficient patience, you are guaranteed to reach a stable income even with minimal investment. This is exactly the business we will consider in our article.

Souvenir products are always popular - the crisis and various political upheavals are not an obstacle to it. Moreover, it is bought both by local shops and retail outlets, and by people via the Internet, including from abroad. A souvenir is bought for three purposes:

• As a memory of a visited place (various magnets, cups, stickers).
• A gift to relatives or friends with a date or just timed to a holiday (for example, February 14).
• For your own collection or use (for example, home decorations, bracelets or earrings, toys for children, etc.).

Most people don’t skimp when buying gifts and don’t bargain, so you can always make a decent profit if you learn to make beautiful and interesting things.

How to get started

The first step is to decide what exactly you will do and how to trade. There are many types of souvenirs - check the profile sites where they are sold to determine the choice. Also, think over the principle of work - you will create souvenirs in single or small quantities, or make large orders for stores and chains. If you deal with single orders, then this can generally be done in your free time from work, that is, without leaving your main workplace. In this case, it becomes just a side job. If you want to work with large orders, then count on the fact that you will have to devote a lot of time to them, or even hire assistants to do the routine work.

Should I register with the tax authorities? This question is often asked by people who decide to build a business on souvenirs. There is no definite answer to it. If you decide to just sell crafts from time to time, then you can do without registration. If you plan to make a souvenir your main business and receive a permanent income from it, then it is better to register - this will save you from unexpected visits by an inspector or blocking an account, and will also significantly expand your opportunities (shops and companies do not enter into agreements with private traders).

When registering, you can choose both an individual entrepreneur and an LLC. For individual entrepreneurs, reporting is easier, and you can open it faster, while for LLC bureaucratic procedures are more complicated. But if you are planning to open a business together, then only LLC with a distribution of shares. The KVED codes will prompt you in the tax office during registration - there is a special section “production of souvenirs” that you need.

Please note: when opening, you can select other KVED codes related to your business - for example, retail trade or transport services (delivery of souvenirs). You can specify any categories and not work on them in the future.

You do not need to obtain a license for souvenir products, you will not need any additional permits, approvals or certificates.

The range of souvenirs is becoming more and more extensive. This type of business is considered to be quite risky. Because along with the assortment of goods, the number of competitors also grows. An amount of at least five thousand dollars is required to start. In a good scenario, this business will pay off to you no earlier than in a year. Although there have been examples in the history of the business where the owner made a profit already a month after opening.

Thanks to the statistics carried out by Economic Izvestia, the following data were found: it is best to open your souvenir shop from October to mid-March. But if you are in a resort town, then sales will be more voluminous from the beginning of May to mid-October.

Preparation Phase

Perhaps you decide to make your work easier and reduce rental costs, then for the first time you can create products in your apartment. If you also create souvenirs by hand, it will be even better. Such a product is more appreciated, in demand, and you will not need to purchase a machine for souvenirs. For the first time, this will be enough. And in this case, you can try to sell products on the site. This can be a website created for you or a page on social networks. Another plus of online sales is the fact that you will not need to register your own business and pay taxes.

Stage Two Find Suppliers

It is very difficult to find a good supplier. The main problem is that Ukrainian suppliers can be found, but the quality of the products leaves much to be desired. Even a product like T-shirts has two big problems: cheap fabric and poor seams. If you choose a product from abroad, then this also has its own nuances. For example, additional payment for the road, delivery time. In addition, there are situations when a product of the same quality is offered, and with a large order, the product is sent of a much worse quality.

Stage three Choosing a product

Icons. You can order them from any company. The price will depend on the quantity and quality. Approximately the cheapest badges can be ordered for 1200 rubles per 100 pieces.

T-shirts. Also a simple system of how to get rich quickly. Get the simplest T-shirts without a pattern. It is especially beneficial if you or your family members have a drawing ability. You can find photos or pictures on the internet. Next, find a company that deals with drawing. Selling ready-made T-shirts in the store, rejoice at your profit. It can be from 120 rubles apiece.

Plates and nesting dolls. You need wood to create raw materials. It is best to order material from Western Ukraine. Then you can agree with the master who will apply the painting. Keep in mind that it takes approximately one day to paint one plate or matryoshka.

Stage four

Content of the article:

Start your business by registering an individual entrepreneur (IE) with the tax service.

Business Lines

1) Hand made souvenirs

All popular crafts now belong here:

• beaded products;
• polymer clay jewelry;
• soft toys;
• trees and topiary from different materials;
• cloth bags;
• decorative candles;
• handmade soap.

2) Advertising and souvenir products (business products)

These souvenirs are one of the most successful types of advertising. They usually have a company logo, some information, contacts. Usually firms use it as gifts to clients or potential clients. Such souvenirs are very useful for the development of the company.

• fashion souvenirs (most often this is an office with company data);
• promotional souvenirs (used for events as a way to attract or inform new partners).

The popularity of business souvenirs is growing - every year by 30%.

Offer ads on the following products:

• pens, notebooks, pocket calendars, puzzles;
• mugs, glasses, plates;
• lighters, ashtrays, key chains;
• T-shirts, caps, bags;
• umbrellas, watches.
• paper bags.

Each direction has its own range of products. Choose only one direction that will be most convenient and in line with your skills.

In our country, it is customary to give gifts for at least three holidays - New Year, Defender of the Fatherland Day and International Women's Day. And there are dozens more reasons to please your loved ones and friends. In addition, more and more companies are ordering promotional items. Therefore, the production of memorable gifts will be relevant and in demand even during the crisis. How to start your own business and what you should pay attention to, we will tell you in this article.

Start

First of all, you need to decide what you will produce. Various materials are used to make souvenirs:

• Acrylic.
• Tree.
• Metal.
• Stone.
• Glass.
• Polymer clay.
• Textiles.
• Ceramics and porcelain.

A couple of basic materials should be chosen, and not sprayed over a wide range, as each type of raw material requires its own equipment and certain skills. But it makes no sense to dwell on one. It is better if you take several positions in this direction at once. The question also arises, how do you want to work - to produce your own souvenirs or to work on a franchise? If you choose the latter option, then be prepared for high costs. However, in this case, many organizational issues, as well as the advertising part, are taken over by the franchisor.

If you want to start producing souvenirs from your own sketch, then you need to draw up a business plan and analyze:

• Competitive environment.
• Target audience.
• Cost of time and financial resources for the manufacture of one product.
• The need to purchase special technical means.

Equipment

After you have decided on the production, you should order the equipment. At the first stage, Chinese units can be purchased. For 60-100 thousand rubles, you can buy a multifunctional Chinese device that will last several months. During this time, you will understand how to further develop in this direction. Then you should order high-quality European equipment. For example, a German milling machine for carving on stone, glass, metal and wood can be purchased for 250 thousand rubles

If you decide to do photo printing on textiles or ceramics, then you can start by purchasing a Chinese thermal printer for 150 thousand rubles and several dozen T-shirts or mugs for the basis of your creativity.