Start A Photo Printing Business - Business Ideas
Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.
Starting a photo printing business requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.
If you're interested in how to sell photo printing, or selling photo printing online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.
Want to learn more? You can check out our full guide on how to start a photo printing business ➜
Key Stats
Startup Costs
| Min Startup Costs | Max Startup Costs | |
|---|---|---|
|
Office Space Expenses |
$0 |
$7,000 |
|
Employee & Freelancer Expenses |
$151 |
$352 |
|
Website Costs |
$223 |
$7,215 |
|
Business Formation Fees |
$600 |
$4,700 |
|
Equipment & Supply Expenses |
$66 |
$700 |
|
Inventory Expenses |
$350 |
$14,750 |
|
Software Expenses |
$162 |
$3,094 |
|
Advertising & Marketing Costs |
$75 |
$5,286 |
|
Total Startup Costs |
$1,627 |
$43,097 |
Case Studies
•
$1.5M/mo
•
$35K/mo
•
$27.4K/mo
Successful Businesses
| Business | URL | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Shutterfly |
shutterfly.com |
1,376 |
|
|
Vista Print |
vistaprint.in |
7,163 |
|
|
4over - Super Trade Printer |
4over.com |
14,105 |
|
|
Fotki: Share and Print Your Photos |
fotki.com |
36,641 |
|
|
CanvasChamp |
canvaschamp.com |
51,478 |
|
|
APG Graphics |
apggraphics.com |
75,898 |
|
|
Printique, An Adorama Company |
printique.com |
81,038 |
|
|
Bay Photo Lab |
bayphoto.com |
95,038 |
|
|
48HourPrint: Online Printing Services & Discount Printing |
48hourprint.com |
103,377 |
|
|
RitzPix |
ritzpix.com |
134,743 |
|
|
FOTO.com : Photo printing, Digital photo developing : Photo Printing |
foto.com |
136,752 |
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Description |
|---|---|
|
Flexibility |
You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own. |
|
Ability to start your business from home |
It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning! |
|
Meaningful business connections |
You never know who you will meet as a photo printing business. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity! |
|
High customer retention rates |
Once a customer invests in your product, they've invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer. |
|
Pick & choose the clients you work with |
Photo Printing Businesses have the ability to choose the clients they work with. You have the freedom to work with only a few loyal clients or with hundreds of clients! |
|
Gain exposure and experience |
This career allows you to gain experience working for multiple different businesses - which will benefit your resume and also keep things interesting for you! |
| Cons | Description |
|---|---|
|
Low margins |
The gross margins for your photo printing business are typically around 35%, which can make it more challenging to incur new expenses and maintain profitability. |
|
Stressful work |
This line of work can be stressful for both you and your clients. This type of transaction is a significant financial decision for your client, so expectations are very high for you. Although this career path can be very rewarding, it also comes with its challenges and stressful moments. |
|
Niche Market |
A niche business is not necessarily a bad thing, in fact, it can be the key to your success. However, it can be more challenging and time consuming to find the perfect niche market and target audience. |
|
High overhead expenses |
With starting a photo printing business, there are overhead expenses that come with selling a physical product. You will want to make sure you strategically budget for these overhead costs. We discuss this more in the startup costs section below. |
|
You may need to charge sales tax |
If you are selling your products in various states, you may be required to charge sales tax. Although this may not impact your financials specifically, it can be a headache to create a process and procedure for this. To learn more about sales tax, check out this article |
|
Work can be repetitive |
You may find creating the same product over and over repetitive and tiresome. One way of avoiding this is to diversify product lines and revenue streams - this will keep things interesting! |
Marketing Ideas
-
1
Direct Sales
Direct sales strategy implies a direct contact between a seller and a consumer without the involvement of any third party. Direct selling is popular in sectors where sellers communicate with their clientele personally. The sales technique occurs at non-store locations which include at home, work, or online.
For direct selling to succeed, hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process. It's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.
-
2
Word of mouth
Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.
Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.
According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.
Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.
-
3
Social Media Advertising
Social media advertising is the use of social media platforms to connect with your audience with the objective to build your brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic.
According to Oberlo, approximately 48% of the global population use social media, and the number is ever-growing.
Therefore, social media allows brands access to cost-effective advertising by enabling them to interact with a large audience.
Hey! 👋 I'm Pat Walls, the founder of Starter Story.
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