The craft industry continues to thrive as more and more people are interested in making crafts and selling them. Vinyl cutting is one of the many craft businesses you can quickly choose as a side hustle. If you are a DIY enthusiast by nature, then vinyl cutting may be the right business for you; it's easy to set up and doesn't require much capital as you can easily make your first vinyl cutting craft. There are many videos on the Internet about vinyl cutting, and you'll be amazed at how easy it is to conduct a small business.
What is a Vinyl Cutter?
If you decide to do everything yourself, you must familiarize yourself with vinyl cutting machines and home computer systems with design software. I will briefly describe how vinyl cutting works: The vinyl cutter is controlled by a computer. It scans the design on the computer and converts it into an outline. The machine then cuts the design out of the vinyl sheet with its own blade (lasers are also used, but they are too costly for us to generally consider). Most vinyl cutters look like regular computer printers.
With them, you can create stickers, logos, and multiple designs for your home, office, and clients. You can also switch to different materials to achieve the effect, the most classic being permanent vinyl, which is suitable for most occasions, lasts a long time, and won't curl or break in harsh environments. It's often used as a raw material for all kinds of decals or business logos, and it's a familiar necessity for DIY crafters.
What Prep is Required to Start a Vinyl Business?
The capital required to start a vinyl business is minimal, with only 1% of sellers needing a loan to start their business. However, while this business requires very little capital, you will need dedication and hard work to be successful. Some of the supplies or materials needed to set up a vinyl cutting business include:
Personal laptop or desktop computer
This may be one of the first things you already own. If not, then you need to get one to build your vinyl cutting business. The minimum specs for the computer should be 4GB RAM, a 2.0 GHz processor, and enough hard disk space. The monitor should be large enough to project realistic images. Therefore, it is recommended that you purchase a monitor with a 16-bit, 1366 X 768 resolution. You will also need a broadband connection for the vinyl cutter. There are vinyl cutters on the market that can be linked by Bluetooth, such as Likcut's S501, but often an adapted data cable will also work well.
Buying a vinyl cutter will cost you most of your money. You can't cut the cost of this machine, especially if you plan on expanding your business in the long run, and you need to buy a quality cutter. One of the best cutting machines you can buy is the Likcut S501 and the Cricut Explore Air 2. Both are cheap and most small businesses today start with one of these machines, while the former (the Likcut S501) is perfect for novices doing their first DIY production, and it is also the cheapest.
For a more sophisticated and expensive machine, you can invest in either the KNK Zing Orbit from Klic-N-Kut or the KNK Force, and while they are more expensive, they are recommended by successful home-based businesses because they cut the most accurate vinyl decals in the shortest amount of time. This is usually up to an industrial level.
Other things you'll need include:
Heat press Machine: used to transfer printed materials (you can also search our glossary for a more detailed definition)
Vinyl rolls: come in different colors such as white, black, blue, silver, red, and pink, and you can even look for unique vinyl materials such as glitter or puffs.
Transfer Tape: for transferring prints onto objects.
Cutting Mats: for vinyl cutting to protect the integrity of the material without damaging other objects.
Weeding Tools: to remove unwanted impurities.
What Vinyl Cutting Software Can I Use?
The vinyl cutting machine comes with software. It allows you to design basic vectors or load purchased or downloaded templates that will be cut by the machine. However, in order for your business to create a competitive advantage, you need to be able to cut your designs. This way you will be able to properly address your customers when they have a need for product customization. There is a lot of software available online, but some of the most specialized include:
CorelDRAW
This is the affordable vinyl cutting software used by many designers. It is easy to learn and is ideal for beginners and advanced designers. It also has user-friendly tools that allow you to edit your designs using professional-grade applications.
Easy Cut Studio
Thousands of users use Easy Cut Studio vinyl cutting software. It is easy to use and allows you to quickly draw images on your cutting mat. It offers auto-tracking, freehand drawing, lattice design, rhinestone design, and more.
Sure Cuts A Lot Pro
Sure Cuts A Lot Pro is an easy-to-use vinyl cutting software. The program allows you to create images for decals, t-shirts, logos and more. It has features such as Photoshop and other Adobe editing software and incorporates the SCAL workflow.
Likcut
Likcut is a very easy to use vinyl cutting software that is compatible with the Likcut S501, which has 200,000 free designs and 1,000 fonts that are included with the purchase of the likcut product. The software allows users to upload images of their own designs, just export them in SVG format via PS and then upload them to the app for vinyl cutting!
Commercial License
Most of the designs you will use will probably be downloadable designs unless you plan to create all the designs yourself. Downloadable designs are common, but if you plan to sell them online, you will need to purchase a commercial license. Unlike a personal license, purchasing a commercial license is not a cheap investment.
If you sell downloaded designs online without a commercial license, it is tantamount to theft and you could be prosecuted. If you do enough research, you may be able to find discounted commercial licenses. On the other hand, if you are good at creating your own designs, you can create your own commercial license.
This allows you to send a cease and desist letter through your attorney to anyone using your design without your permission. You will also want to make this clear in your contract. Make sure you don't just use one generic contract for each client. Paperwork can be annoying, but it can really get you in trouble later on if things get messed up and you have to deal with long and painful legal issues.
You can provide a basic contract template for each client, but when you actually present it to a potential client, make sure it's properly customized and not just about duration and amount. Develop a service level agreement (SLA) and have an attorney review any content submitted by the client. Managing this content yourself can be cumbersome, so I recommend using a contract lifestyle management platform to make sure everything is organized and documented.
Starting a Vinyl Cutting Business Locally
Before opening an online or offline business, you'll need to check with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to make sure you're not using another company's name. Choose a name that is descriptive and not on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. You can start selling your crafts to family and friends. Start there and expand to your local community. You can ask them to spread the word to other acquaintances and friends who may be in need of vinyl decals, stickers, tags, signs, cards or party accessories. You can also attend events/craft fairs at schools or convention centers. Other places and people you can sell locally include:
- School sports teams
- Wedding planners making invitation cards, menus and decorative stickers
- Baby shower cards and decorations for party planners.
- Interior designers.
- Signs and stickers for local businesses
During a craft show, you can also display beautifully finished products so that potential customers can pick out and touch your crafts. You can display mugs, t-shirts, glasses, and more. Glasses are a great choice, they sparkle and stand out, especially in the sunlight. You can shoot some video of users buying as an endorsement of your product, put it on your social media and it will be your first step to business.
Advantage of Selling Locally
- Customers and organizations with strong ties in your community
- Customers and prospects can see your craft in person
Disadvantages of selling locally
- To sell locally, you must be good at socializing. In short, you should be good with people
- It is limited; your business may not grow exponentially
- You have to meet your clients' deadlines.
Start your Vinyl Cutting Business Online
For most new businesses, launching an online presence is usually the first step in gaining recognition and sales. For some other businesses, selling online is usually the next step after opening a local store. If you don't want to pay the extra fees that come with sites like Etsy, you can set up your own website. You can also start social media pages for your business Facebook and Instagram. exchange contact information with them, and sites like Esty provide a platform for crafters to sell their products at affordable prices to people who need their crafts. Here are some helpful tips if you want to get started on Etsy:
- Use gorgeous images
- Get people you know to buy your products and have them leave feedback
- Pack and ship on time
- Start with low prices
- Optimize your keywords to get noticed faster
- Have good customer service
Advantages of selling online
- You can reach a much wider audience that you can't in a local store
- If you're not good at dealing with people, don't worry! You don't need to meet face to face
-You can run your business from anywhere, anytime
Disadvantages of selling online
- There is a lot of competition and it's hard to get noticed
- You have to respond to online messages
- Packaging and shipping is a hassle
- Most of your work needs to be photographed, which means customers can't touch your work in person.
A helpful trick is to run giveaways or offer product discounts on your website or Etsy site to drive sales. Finally, make sure your image is consistent across all your social media profiles. You can also make custom stickers using apps like Stickify, uSticker, and Sticker Maker Pro. The most important thing is to emphasize that your product is [customizable].
