Growing Your Personalization Business: Beyond the Basics

Most of you reading this have already successfully started your embroidery or personalization business. Now, you might wonder… what’s next? How do you take your business beyond the proverbial 9 dots? Are other methods and means of decoration really for you?

Expanding Your Business: A Strategic Approach

Every business, from Fortune 500 companies to the corner coffee shop, goes through the same thought process. A wise colleague once told me, “If you’re not growing, you’re shrinking.” This means you must annualize your income and add on additional revenue to account for inflation. Fortunately, in our business, choosing the proper way to expand is not rocket science. It’s more a case of investigation, assimilation, and making an educated decision.

I have made a career in small-scale personalization using heat transfers of one kind or another, most recently utilizing digital technology. I have considerable experience and knowledge that I believe can help you make those intelligent decisions in your business. Yes, it comes with a commercial since we all have to pay the bills. However, I’ve decided to join Joto’s team because they have a full line of equipment and supplies, a very good business ethic, and technical integrity.

Future Insights: What to Expect

In a future post, I will outline the alternatives and discuss what you need to think about, and then arrange to get you the samples and information needed to make an informed decision. There is already a considerable body of instructional videos on our YouTube™ site http://www.youtube.com/user/jotopaper. I encourage you to spend some time and explore it. It’s filled with valuable content and will give you an idea of what’s involved in alternative decoration processes.

In each case, I will provide information on the market, details on the process, and the cost of entry. The most logical small-scale decorating techniques include:

• Decoration using sublimation technology.
• Decoration using laser and color laser technology.
• Decoration using inkjet technology.
• Decoration using cutter/cutter printer technology.

Conclusion: Diversify for Growth

Diversify, diversify, diversify is the mantra. Diversity is one of the easiest opportunities for growth in small-scale decoration. Strategically, multiple streams of income can help fill voids in your business. Additionally, there may be areas where you can enjoy higher margins than in your core business. By making intelligent decisions and targeting other markets, you can “Grow Your Business by Bringing Images to Life.”

If you have any questions about the business, you can contact Joto at 1-800-565-5686.