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Enamel pins have exploded in the fashion world and entrepreneurs can take advantage of this business opportunity.

These tiny metal pins are highly customizable and can feature any design, including offbeat illustrations, branded logos, and anything else you can dream up. Enamel pins act as an extension of people’s personalities and give them the chance to customize and accessorize jean jackets, backpacks, hats, and more.

From graphic designers to apparel masterminds to major retailers like Urban Outfitters, creatives and pin makers worldwide have started building successful online businesses by transforming their unique designs and ideas into enamel lapel pins.

This comprehensive guide covers how to make and sell enamel pins, from design to manufacturing and marketing. It’s time to create your own online accessory powerhouse.

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Burst is a free stock photo site powered by Shopify. Download our free enamel pin images and read our guide to learn how to start selling pins online.

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Why make enamel pins?

Souvenir pins have been around for decades. Go into any rest stop or gift store and you’ll likely find an assortment of different lapel pins.

Today, people wear pins to express themselves and to promote the things they like. They can place pins anywhere: backpages, hats, shirts, pants. Enamel pins have become a sort of fashion statement, with celebrities like Taylor Swift wearing them on the cover of Entertainment Weekly.

Illustrators and artists love the enamel pin industry for a few reasons:

• Pins are a good complement to selling clothes and stickers
• The profit margins on enamel pins are high
• They are easy to make and ship
• There’s no limit on creativity

Types of enamel pins to make

Soft enamel

Soft enamel is the most popular choice for creating enamel pins and a favorite for beginners. It generally has more color options, with richer and more vibrant colors available. Using enamel paint you can customize this type of enamel pins to your heart’s content.

Using soft enamel also lets you get more texture detail into your design, including borders and edges you can actually feel. However, soft enamel pins are also much less durable than hard enamel pins and they can be scratched easily. From a pin production perspective, they can be easy to make but have durability drawbacks.

To create a soft enamel pin, one layer of paint is applied on recessed areas of the pin’s surface. The slightly higher metal between these recessed areas give the pin a rigid finish. These enamel pins are often cheaper to produce.

Hard enamel

Hard enamel is much more durable and rugged than soft enamel but can be more expensive and generally has more restrictions when it comes to coloring. Hard enamel pins can appear subdued and less vivid than soft enamel pins.

Additionally, hard enamel pins use a clear coat of resin on top which creates a textureless, smooth surface. Hard enamel is a good choice if your pins will need to withstand the elements and if long-term durability is important to you. For example, if you’re targeting customers who want to hang their enamel pin on their outdoor back back for example, this type of pin might be a great option.

3D mold

3D mold pins, or die-cast pins, are a type of pin made with metal. They are made when molten metal is poured under high pressure into a mold of your design. 3D mold pins typically have a more elegant, classic look and are made from either zinc or pewter.

You’ll want to use die cast pins when you have an intricate design that requires cutouts or a pin that isn’t a perfect shape. Think designs for animals, toys, planes, or symbols.

Offset epoxy pins

An epoxy pin has a clear plastic coating that is applied to soft enamel or offset-printed-style lapel pins. It adds shine and protects your designs from damage. Epoxy coating can protect silk screen paint or offset printed designs from fading or scratching over time.

Die struck

Die struck pins are made from pressing metals, like iron, gold, or copper, against a steel mold to create your pin. Striking the metal creates a recessed area where you can add color options, like cloisonné. Some makers also sandblast the recessed area to create a two-tone metal look.

How to make enamel pins

1. Find your unique niche
2. Design your custom enamel pins
3. Make your pins
4. Sell your pins on marketplaces

1. Find your unique niche

Want to know the secret to creating a great product? Find an audience first.

If you can narrow down a unique niche for your enamel pins, the rest of the process will be much easier. Understanding your audience also means understanding how to design a great product and sell it to that audience.

Often times, the best foundation for a successful small business idea is a passion project. When you find a niche that you’re passionate about first, creating and selling enamel pins online won’t feel like work. It’ll still take time and effort, but you’ll enjoy every part of the process if it’s something you truly care about.

When it comes to niches, there are two basic ways to find an audience: choose a niche that you care about or find a niche that you either already understand or can easily learn to understand. All it takes is a bit of market research to find a passionate, engaged audience that will be perfect for your brand.

Spend some time browsing your favorite enamel pin websites or social media profiles. Have a look on Pinterest for some inspiration. Take note of what you like and what you think could be improved. Be sure to look for inspiration outside of the enamel pin niche as well. You can always borrow inspiration from other industries to help further grow your enamel pin business.

Using your own niche communities

If you’re already an active member of a niche community, creating a business that caters to their values is a straightforward process. Remember: a niche can be any community with a specific, definable set of interests.

A niche can be any community with a specific, definable set of interests.

Not sure which niches you belong to? Take a look at your interests and think about the communities that surround them.

• Do you have any hobbies?
• What are your favorite TV shows, movies, or books?
• What are the things you’re crazy about?

Discovering new niche communities

Targeting your own community can be a rewarding strategy, but sometimes it’s better to find new niche audiences with fresh opportunities instead.

There are a few different methods to seeking out active niches:

• Reddit. Using tools like Reddit List, you can discover the most active communities on Reddit. Reddit is a meeting place and message board for some of the world’s largest subcultures, which makes researching and validating niche audiences simple.
• KWFinder. Another way to evaluate demand and interest is by using KWFinder to find out how often people are googling terms related to your target niche.
• Google Trends. You can also use Google Trends for a more generic overview of global search volume. While Google Trends isn’t as in depth as the other two options, it quickly can help you determine the viability of a niche.
• Pinterest. Because Pinterest is an incredibly visual platform, this is a great place to start. Take note of the best boards and influencers who post frequently about enamel pins or craft jewelry. 

Determining whether a niche community is a good fit

Once you’ve done some research and found a set of niche communities that could work for your business, it’s time to determine whether they’re good fits for creating a successful, sustainable product.

Here’s a simple framework for evaluating a niche’s potential:

• Is it a unique niche? Your niche should have defining traits that set it apart from larger, more mainstream audiences. A set of unique traits will make your niche easier to target. Lots of different folks like enamel pins! Get clear on who you want to target. 
• Is it a sustainable niche? If you’re planning on building a successful business, you’ll want to find a niche that has the potential to stick around for a long time. If there are already businesses serving your chosen niche, changes are good it’s a sustainable business model.
• Is it an active niche? Without an active community, marketing to a niche can be a major challenge. If your niche has lots of engaged members, it will be much easier to build an audience that will rally behind your business.
• Is it a scalable niche? While you might start out targeting a single, small subset of the population with your products, if you’re successful, you’ll want to expand. If you think targeting your niche won’t limit your business’ potential in the future, it’s a good fit.
• Are there influencers in your niche? If your niche has major players who are popular social media influencers, marketing to your audience will be considerably easier. Are there certain members with large followings on Instagram (#pingame) or Pinterest? Even just a few big influencers can go a long way.

2. Design your custom enamel pins

After you’ve determined who you’re going to be selling your enamel pins to, you’ll need to figure out what those pins will actually look like.

Even if you don’t have any design skills, creating enamel pins is totally possible. There are a wide variety of options out there to connect you with talented artists or turn your original designs into physical products.

Let’s take a look at the different resources and tools you can use to design stunning enamel pins, regardless of your skill level.

Design your own pins

For creating mockups of your lapel pins, using Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop is probably your best bet. If you don’t have access to Photoshop, here are some free alternatives you can use to create your own original designs:

Work with a pin designer

Maybe you aren’t confident in your design skills or you don’t have the time to create your own designs. Whatever the reason, there are lots of great options out there for outsourcing the entire design process to talented designers from around the world.

You can work with a company like Your Stuff Made that specializes in pin design and manufacturing.

The brand is artist-run and owned, so you know you’ll get high-quality, custom pin designs at an affordable price. It also manufactures pins out of its own ethically sourced and certified factory in China. You’ll pay between $130-180 for a minimum order of 100 pins between a size range of 1-2 inch pins.  

There are also great marketplaces for hiring graphic designers and purchasing design resources:

Note: If you’re purchasing design resources, make sure they have a commercial license so you can use them for your products.

When it comes to enamel pins, there are a few guidelines your final designs will need to follow:

• Your designs will need to only use solid colors, usually from the Pantone color matching system, which means your enamel colors can’t include gradients or transparent colors.
• Due to the size of enamel pins, you should avoid using small text or fine details in your designs.
• Normally, your manufacturer will only need a JPG, PNG, or vector file of your design, but be sure to ask them for details like sizing and bleed area to make sure you’re following their specific guidelines.

Learn more: The Business of DIY: 24 Things to Make and Sell Online

3. Make your pins

Once you’ve come up with your designs, you’ll need to track down a manufacturer who can take your ideas and transform them into enamel pins.

Even if you’re an experienced entrepreneur, researching and contacting manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors can seem a little intimidating. However, the manufacturing process is fairly straightforward if you know what you’re looking for ahead of time.

In this section, we’ll explore the step-by-step process for researching and evaluating manufacturers, as well as things to keep in mind once you’re ready to get your enamel pins made.

Factors that influence pricing

As a rule of thumb, it’s important to try to keep your costs low when ordering pins. Here’s a look at the factors that increase the final price of your order:

• The number of colors used in your design;
• The complexity of your design;
• The pin size;
• The quantity of your order.

In terms of order quantity, the main cost for manufacturers is building the initial mold for your product. Once they’ve built the mold to cast your pin, the cost to add more pins to your order is not as impactful on your bottom line as the cost of creating the mold. Just something to keep in mind when you’re considering how large of an order you should make.

Finding a manufacturer for your enamel pins

There are many companies in North America, Europe, and Asia that offer enamel pin manufacturing. A quick Google search for enamel pin manufacturers can turn up lots of different results. Here’s a quick look at a few options:

Alternatively, you can use Alibaba to track down a reliable manufacturer overseas.

Connecting with overseas manufacturers is an intimidating process. If this is your first time dealing with manufacturers, you probably have no idea where to start—but that’s totally fine.

Manufacturing specifications for enamel pins

For enamel pins, there are a few details you should keep in mind when reaching out to a manufacturer.

Most enamel lapel pin manufacturers will allow you to customize the materials you use for your pins, beyond hard or soft enamel. You’ll be able to choose the color and texture of your enamel pins’ base before dyes are added, so make sure you ask to see all the options available. You should also ask about the options available for the needle on the back of your pin, including whether the clasp for the needle is steel, rubber, or some other material.

Additionally, find out if your chosen manufacturers will also let you customize the way your pins are shipped. Enamel pins usually arrive in small plastic bags, but some manufacturers will allow you to add a custom backing card to each bag for a unique, professional touch. If backing cards are available, make sure you’re given the exact design specifications for them, including color limitations and bleed area.

Get a sample

Any trustworthy manufacturer will send you a proof or sample pin for you to inspect before ordering a full run of product. Be sure to thoroughly examine this sample to make sure that the product lives up to your vision.

After finalizing your product design, the next step is to validate demand. Order the smallest run possible first and see how it does. Once you’re positive there’s a substantial demand for your product, then you can think about scaling up and increasing the size of your orders.

How to sell enamel pins online

Now that you know your market, the pins you’ll sell, and your supply chain, it’s time to figure out how and where to sell your enamel pins.

Open an online store

Marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy are good places to list your pins, but you’ll want to open an online store for your own brand. An online store acts as your digital home, where you can connect with shoppers and sell your products.

For example, PINTRILL, a leading enamel pin seller, features hundreds of pins on its ecommerce website.

PINTRILL gives new life to work by artists that have passed like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. It also expanded its product line to include keychains, pin backs, and hats. You can create your own DIY custom pins right on the website.

Because PINTRILL doesn’t list on third-party marketplaces, it doesn’t pay commission and can keep all the profits.

Resources:

Take great product photos

Make sure to take good product photos of your pins. Shoppers will want to see the details, and you took the time to design them, so might as well show ’em off.

Market your online store

When it comes to marketing your own enamel pin business, there are some recommended channels you’ll want to try:

• Search engine marketing (SEO). SEO helps you reach people who are looking for specific enamel pins or designs. The buying intent behind these searches means you’ll get relevant traffic to your product pages, which can result in more sales. You can do this organically through on-site optimization or by promoting through Google Ads.
• Instagram marketing. Instagram is a highly visual platform, perfect for creators to show off their products. You can publish a mix of Stories, posts, or Reels to promote your products and connect with followers. The more they enjoy your content, the more likely they are to buy.
• Facebook advertising. Say you want to target a specific group with your pins. Facebook ads can help you market to people who fit that profile.
• Influencer marketing. Partner up with micro-celebrities, YouTubers, Instagrammers, and TikTokers to use their influencer and promote your pins. Influencers help you get in front of the right people.

Building a DIY enamel pin business

Building an enamel pin business can be both rewarding and profitable when done right.

Even if you feel like there is some competition in your niche, do it. Like any competitive market, if you focus on making incredible products and getting them in front of the right audience, you’ll turn a profit.

Start your business as a side hustle, then slowly turn it into a full-time venture. You’ll figure out what pins sell and different ways to source them to increase margins and make money online.

Illustration by Pete Ryan

Wholesale trade is worth about $670 billion dollars annually in the US alone, and the industry has grown by more than 38% since 2020.

Those are hard numbers for sellers to ignore, which is why more of them, especially dropshippers, are scrambling for a piece of the wholesale ecommerce pie.

Still, you can’t sell a product you don’t have. The biggest challenge in sourcing products is finding a supplier you can trust. With scores of wholesale options all around the world, finding the best supplier for your online business can feel overwhelming.

But it doesn’t need to. With Shopify Collective, you can discover high-quality products from Shopify brands to sell through your online store. Another option is a marketplace like Faire, which offers products from thousands of independent brands.

If you’re already on Shopify, you can use the Faire: Buy Wholesale product sourcing app to buy wholesale products and sync them to your store. If you want to sell wholesale, you can try the Faire: Sell Wholesale app to gain exposure to independent retailers globally.

Ahead, learn how wholesale buying works, explore additional options, and learn how to find the perfect wholesale or dropshipping suppliers for your needs.

What is a wholesale supplier?

A wholesale supplier is a business that buys goods directly from the manufacturer and sells them to brick-and-mortar or online retailers for a profit. The wholesale model soared in popularity with the onset of mass production and marketing techniques in the 19th century.

Without wholesalers, manufacturers would have to market goods to retailers on their own. Instead, wholesale vendors act as middlemen in the supply chain.

They buy from manufacturers in such large quantities they get a significant discount, which they can then pass on to retailers. They normally have a product license and, as such, their products are not available to regular customers—or at least not at the same price points they offer to retail partners.

Retailers then repackage the wholesale products for individual sale at a profit. Price is always negotiable, but dropshippers and other retailers typically pay wholesalers 60% to 70% of what they charge consumers.

How to find a reputable wholesale supplier

With so many options, finding the best suppliers for your business can be daunting. Here are a few things to bear in mind:

• Quality. Some sites do feature more than their fair share of knockoffs and low-quality products, so do your market research before you’re stuck with thousands of low-quality items.
• Price. Take detailed notes on prices and remember: everything is negotiable. The more you buy, the larger the discount should be. If you can get a 10% discount, then you’re in good company.
• Complaints. If something goes wrong, who’s going to fix it? Customer service is a key part of dropshipping, so you’ll only want to work with wholesalers who have a good reputation.

Another concern for merchants is how to find suppliers who can handle a quick turnaround. Meeting this window is crucial, as consumers expect products to arrive within three business days.

So how do you find legitimate, quality wholesale suppliers? The following are all wholesale supplier marketplaces you can order products from.

Wholesale suppliers by variety and price

If your online business curates a wide variety of products or is competing on price, consider working with some of the following wholesalers.

Alibaba and Aliexpress

The Ali family of websites is China’s most dominant online marketplace, comparable to Amazon in the US. Research shows it has a 63% share of the domestic (Chinese) ecommerce market. Alibaba is a wholesale supplier directory aimed at a B2B audience, while AliExpress is a B2C experience.

If you’re looking to conduct a limited trial run, AliExpress might be a wise choice before going all-in on wholesale with Alibaba. The Ali family of websites is ideal for:

• Medium- to low-quality goods sourced from China
• Wide variety of wholesale products and price points
• Private label/white labeled items

One of the best things about working with suppliers based in China is ePacket delivery, which makes shipping much faster and more affordable than it used to be. This is because in 2011, the US Postal Service made ePacket delivery eligible for First Class service and delivery confirmation.

DHgate

DHgate is another wholesale supplier based in China. DHgate has lower prices on a lot of wholesale products, but is known for carrying a lot of replica goods. If that’s not an issue for your business, it’s worth digging through deals to see what you can unearth.

DHgate is best for:

• Having a wide selection of products with options to suit any merchant and niche
• Integrated rating system to help vet the right supplier for you

Wholesale suppliers by location

Sometimes it’s best to pick a wholesale supplier based on geography. Fast delivery is increasingly a priority for modern consumers. If you’re in North America or Europe, then these are the wholesalers you should know about.

EK Wholesale

EK Wholesale is based in Scotland and has been around for more than 30 years, making it one of the leading wholesale suppliers for merchants who do business in Europe. EK is known for carrying high-quality products, and offers free delivery to the UK mainland on orders of £250 or more. Other benefits include:

• Specialization in clothing (so if you’re not selling clothes you might want to look elsewhere)
• Full integration with the Shopify POS
• Ability to design your own private label clothing brand

If most of your customers are based in the EU or your business specializes in the fashion niche, then working with EK Wholesale might be the best option for you.

Faire

Faire is ideal for merchants based in North America. It has a wide variety of suppliers based on the continent—and a wide variety of goods, including beauty, kitchen, pets, and bags.

Faire is also good for dropshippers looking to save on shipping costs. The free shipping bonus could really make a difference to your business, especially if you’re new to the world of dropshipping.

Wholesale suppliers for dropshipping

If you already know what you’re doing when it comes to dropshipping, take a look at some of the following options. Experienced dropshippers who are comfortable navigating clunky websites, or those with a very specific niche, are sure to find some great price points.

Wholesale Central

Wholesale Central has more than 1,400 suppliers, more than 700,000 products, and requires no membership fees. Its website isn’t flashy, but if you know what you’re looking for and have some experience wholesaling, this can be a solid option.

• Wholesale Central offers a wide variety of options for dropshipping and wholesale only. There are no retail prices whatsoever, so make sure you have your business ID and tax number ready.
• You can use Wholesale Central to search for dropshippers directly, and results are sorted by geography.
• No registration is needed: you can start searching and connecting to wholesalers right off the bat. Some other sites require a waiting period as they process your registration.

If you’re eager to get started on your dropshipping journey, not having a registration waiting period makes Wholesale Central a solid option.

IndiaMart

IndiaMart’s range of suppliers is staggering—it stocks the usual consumer goods, plus a few specific industries. Depending on the wholesale product you’re pursuing, this could be your best choice. Here’s why:

• IndiaMart is very good for certain niches. If you’re selling medical, chemical, industrial, or automobile supplies, this is the site for you.
• IndiaMart is also one of the few wholesale companies to offer over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceutical dropshipping services.

IndiaMart’s strength lies in its niches. Few wholesale vendors have contact with the industries that IndiaMart does.

Other considerations for finding suitable wholesale suppliers

If you have the patience to dig through the options we’ve laid out, you’re bound to find suppliers that suit your business. Just make sure to avoid some of the common pitfalls:

• Overspending. On one hand, you want to spend enough so you actually get the benefit of working with a wholesale supplier, but you also don’t want to go all-in on a product that hasn’t been market tested. Know your budget limits and calculate what you should be paying.
• Fees. Know the membership fees or any extra costs you’re paying for so you don’t get surprised. Membership fees are the norm in the wholesale world, but make sure your supplier is upfront about it.
• Public selling. If a wholesale supplier offers goods to the public, that’s a red flag. Legitimate wholesale prices require business identification.

If you’re just starting your dropshipping journey and need a little extra help, consider a dropshipping app. An app syncs with your Shopify account, meaning you can add products directly to your online store. Dropshipping avoids the stress of packaging, shipping, and managing inventory.

What problems does a wholesale supplier solve?

For businesses that wholesale products, the goal is to select and curate the best wholesale products for customers, while handling all the marketing and customer service.

But those products have to come from somewhere. Otherwise, you’d have to develop your own products and supply chain. That’s where wholesale suppliers come in. There are many advantages to working with wholesalers:

• You can buy as much stock as you need without worrying about expensive storage rental.
• If something sells out suddenly, you have an existing relationship with a supplier and can quickly restock.
• You get discounted products to sell online at solid profit margins.
• You essentially bypass the entire product development process—saving money and time.

Dropshipping and wholesale suppliers

Dropshipping is a fulfillment method where an online store doesn’t keep the products it sells in stock. Instead, the store will purchase products from a third-party supplier and have them shipped directly to the customer. As a result, the seller never handles the products directly.

Think of it as wholesale purchasing meets third-party fulfillment (as opposed to regular retailers who buy wholesale—or develop and manufacture their own products—and handle fulfillment on their own).

Learn more: 150+ Dropshipping Products to Sell for Profit

Unconventional ways to find wholesale suppliers

Using wholesale supplier marketplaces is the simplest way to connect with a wholesale supplier, but it’s not the only way.

Those willing to stray from the beaten path just might find a great deal lurking around the corner. Other options for finding reliable and trustworthy suppliers include:

• Going to an industry trade show and connecting with wholesale suppliers in person
• Joining social media groups for your niche and talking shop with other merchants
• Joining trade organizations for your product to see if any names come up

Those willing to meet and greet a wholesaler live may find a solution that’s ideal for their unique business needs. Some people work better in person, and building a business relationship face to face can lead to increased trust and cheaper prices for wholesale purchases down the line.

Once you’ve found your ideal wholesale supplier, it’s time to reach out and take the next steps.

What to ask when contacting a potential wholesale supplier

Before you pick up the phone, ensure you have the necessary business license and tax documents on hand. You won’t be able to place an order at some companies—or even get their attention—without this information.

Rules for dealing with certified wholesalers vary from state to state. (Do your research.) Wholesale suppliers often have a special product license, meaning they legally cannot do business with consumers, only other businesses.

When you do call, here are key questions to ask:

• What are the minimum order quantities (MOQs)? If you’re looking to order 100 pieces of jewelry but the supplier only offers discounts on orders of 500 pieces or more, then that’s an issue.
• What’s the cost per unit? This question goes hand in hand with MOQs. According to the economies of scale, the more you order, the lower your cost per unit (CPU) will be. But don’t be tempted to order more than you need, especially if you’re just starting out. If a product isn’t as popular as you anticipated, you’ll be left with a large surplus and a loss.
• What’s the return policy? If there’s a problem with an order, are you going to have to front the cost of returning bulk orders, or will the wholesaler cover them Knowing the answer to this upfront will help minimize risk.
• What is the lead time? When you’re running a dropshipping business you need to keep your customers happy. Knowing the lead time on a product lets you manage customer expectations and not leave them waiting indefinitely. Long delays mean unhappy customers. Especially when the product is sold out and restocking will take too long.

Ask clear, direct questions that will help you find answers to your most important questions.

“I’m thinking of maybe starting a dropshipping business sometime soon” is the type of vague email that a busy wholesaler might just ignore. But straightforward questions that show you mean business—such as, “What’s your best price for 250 units per month?”—are more likely to get a reply.

And remember—oftentimes, you can negotiate with wholesale suppliers. Don’t be afraid to push back if the numbers they’re quoting won’t work for your margins.

Final checks before you sign on the dotted line

You’ve done all the homework and are almost ready to come to an agreement with your wholesale supplier. But before you sign that contract, here are a few more things to check:

• Ask for references from other customers. If a wholesale company is reluctant to share this information with you, that may be a red flag.
• Do they have liability insurance? If not, be careful. This type of insurance is there to protect you in case anyone is injured by a faulty or damaged product that you sold them.
• Do the numbers make sense? Don’t overextend your business just because the discount offered is exciting. If you’re new to dropshipping, the best strategy is to buy only what you need. You don’t want to be left holding surplus stock if what you thought was the next hot product turns out to be a dud.

Next, here are some special considerations for popular products available to wholesale, along with some things you’ll need to keep your eye on before placing a large order.

Popular wholesale products

When selecting among top wholesale suppliers, it’s important to consider what kinds of products you’re selling. While two suppliers may be roughly the same for general merchandise, one may be the ideal supplier for a specific niche. Here are some tips for specific wholesale items and industries.

Wholesale jewelry

When you’re looking for the right wholesale watch or jewelry supplier, make sure the wholesaler mentions the following key information. If they don’t, you might want to keep looking for another supplier.

• What are the product reviews like? Does the quality match consumer expectations?
• Who is the wholesaler currently supplying? If it’s a well-known ecommerce business, that builds trust.
• Jewelry is small and delicate. If the worst happens, who pays for it? Iron out issues like this before you place an order.

Wholesale clothing

Fashion is highly popular among dropshippers, and the possibilities are constantly changing in line with the latest trends. A couple things that can make or break a fashion wholesaler are:

• Possibility of brand customization (e.g., custom t-shirts or hoodies)
• The quality of the unboxing experience—packaging is the only channel that reaches 100% of your customers

Learn more: What Is Print on Demand and How To Start a Business (2024)

Wholesale tea and coffee

Selling coffee online has an easy entry point, with its own considerations:

• Nobody sees a logo when they’re drinking coffee, so packaging is your only opportunity to connect with wholesale buyers.
• Establishing a brand identity is important for those in the food industry, and a good wholesaler should be willing to work with you on that.

Find the best wholesale suppliers for your business today

Sourcing a supplier feels like a roadblock: You can’t open an online store until you have something to sell. But it’s never been easier to find a reliable wholesaler of quality products (who also delivers on time).

Find a well-reviewed wholesaler who’s familiar with your niche, get a few samples, negotiate a price, and open that online store.

A background removal tool is key to creating polished, high-quality images, whether for your website or social media campaigns. 

Removing an image’s background provides benefits including easy integration across sales channels, increased attention to your product, and improved image optimization for SEO. 

If you’re handling branding design tasks, there may be more tools available to remove image backgrounds than you realize. Sure, there’s Photoshop, but it’s not the only option. There are also free photo editors, as well as more scalable AI business tools to get the job done faster.

Below, we’ll look at some of the best tools for removing image backgrounds. 

Best background remover tools 

1. Pxl Photo Background Remover
2. InPixio Remove Background
3. AutoClipping
4. Cutout.pro
5. PhotoScissors
6. Clipping Magic
7. Adobe Express

1. Pixl Photo Background Remover

Pxl Photo Background Remover is a free Shopify app that helps you remove backgrounds and create stunning product photos in one click. It uses AI to detect your object and remove the background, saving you editing time and money. You can even add a colored background to match your store design and remove up to 15 backgrounds at one time. 

Features:

• 100% automated using AI technology
• Customizable background colors
• Bulk actions
• Integrates with Shopify store
• HD download options

Pros: 

• One-click background removal
• Backup feature 
• Bulk background removal actions

Cons: 

• One user claims the app doesn’t retain image quality 
• 10 free credits

Price: Free 

2. InPixio Remove Background

There is both a free version and a paid version of InPixio. The free version is an online background remover that uses an AI algorithm to erase unwanted objects from your photo’s background. The great thing about this app is that it also has retouching tools that allow you to select your background in more detail.

You can save your photo as a JPG file with a white background or use the preset background images to superimpose your photo. This photo editing app allows you to save and upload images unlimited times. However, you don’t get access to any other photo editing tools unless you pay a yearly subscription.

Features:

• User-friendly interface for beginners
• Allows for fine-tuning of automatic selections
• Batch processing
• Saves images with transparent backgrounds in PNG format
• Text, image, and shape overlays
• Background genius lets you add different backdrops

Pros: 

• Uses AI to detect and remove backgrounds quickly
• Retouching tools

Cons: 

• AI might not detect complex backgrounds
• Limited editing tools

Price: Free plan available; full access starts at $49.99 per year

3. AutoClipping

AutoClipping is a free online background remover. It’s great for beginning photo editors who don’t want to mess around with complicated edits. AutoClipping’s AI does all the work in removing those pesky backgrounds. However, to get a good transparent background, you do need to make sure your images have clearly defined subjects.

Features:

• Ability to convert photos into banners for social media
• Text layers
• Manual corrects 

Pros: 

• Zero-click background removal with AI
• Easy to use
• Image upscaling

Cons: 

• Limited to three background removals with free version

Price: Free plan available; paid plans start at 20¢ per image

4. Cutout.pro

You aren’t limited to removing backgrounds only in photos anymore. Now you can do it in your videos too. Cutout.pro is an online background remover that automatically removes the backgrounds in your images and videos. It also allows you to superimpose your images and videos onto any background of your choice.

Cutout.pro lets you crop your images to fit different social media needs and add text to them. All in all, this is a great one-stop shop if you have fairly simple editing needs. 

Features:

• Ability to change the background color
• Free download for images up to 500 x 500 pixels
• Video background remover
• Basic image editor

Pros: 

• Automatic background removal
• Remove background from image and video quickly
• Superimpose images and videos

Cons:

• Must pay for HD image download

Price: Free

5. PhotoScissors

PhotoScissors is an online background remover that removes the backgrounds of busy images. It also has presets for cropping images so they’re compatible with sites like Amazon and eBay, and with social media. 

With PhotoScissors, you can upload unlimited files, but you’ll need to pay for photo credits to download high-resolution files. You’ll also need to pay for Inpaint, PhotoScissors’s complementary software, to access more detailed background removal tools. PhotoScissors operates on a pay-as-you-go model, where one credit equals one image. Depending on how many credits you buy, you can pay anywhere from 3¢ to 50¢ per image. 

Features:

• AI background removal 
• Swap background 
• Precision cut-outs
• Image generator
• User-friendly interface
• Resize tool

Pros: 

• Automatic background removal
• Built-in tutorials
• Remove background around tricky objects like hair

Cons: 

• Pay as you go

Price: Free download of images in standard definition; full photo editing package starts at $84.95

6. Clipping Magic

Another great online background remover tool is Clipping Magic. It uses AI technology that constantly improves its background removal tool with every photo uploaded to its servers.

The only drawback is that the free version of this tool leaves a watermark on all of your images. If you want an image without one, you’ll have to pay for credits. You’ll also need to pay for a monthly subscription if you want access to the full range of Clipping Magic’s features, like bulk clipping. 

Features:

• AI background remover
• Smart Editor for precise cutouts
• Dedicated hair tool

Pros: 

• API Integrations
• Bulk clipping
• Tutorials

Cons: 

• Can download a small image with watermarks for free
• Subscription required for removing watermark and downloading images

Price: Free, then $3.99 per month for paid plans

7. Adobe Express

Adobe Express offers a free online image background remover. Simply upload any JPEG or PNG to its website, then edit it or add a new background in the Adobe Express platform. 

Features:

• Automatic background remover with AI
• Easy to use
• Integrates with other Adobe products
• Available on web and mobile
• Edit and enhance options

Pros:

• Efficient and precise 
• No design skills required

Cons: 

• Subscription required for full capabilities 
• Need internet connection 

Price: Free plan available; premium plans start at $9.99/month 

Best background removal apps 

1. PicMonkey
2. Background Eraser
3. Background Eraser – Remove BG*

8. PicMonkey

PicMonkey is an online photo editor for tweaking product photos taken on a smartphone. PicMonkey saves everything in the cloud automatically, and you can access it from any Android or iOS device.

It has both an automatic and a manual background remover, as well as some pretty good photo editing tools and templates for collages and banners.

Although you can use PicMonkey for free, most of its features are available only if you subscribe. For example, if you want to download the image you’ve been working on, you’ll need to pay for an annual subscription.

Features:

• Graphic design tools like fonts and stickers
• Design templates for Facebook, Instagram Stories, and Pinterest
• Photo editor 
• Stock image library

Pros: 

• Automatic cloud storage
• Built-in tutorials and resource center
• Ability to print your images

Cons:

• Must subscribe to access background remover

Price: Free seven-day trial, then $72 per year

9. Background Eraser

Background Eraser is a free background remover app for Android that has been downloaded more than 100 million times. It is fairly simple and focuses entirely on helping you remove backgrounds from your photos. You can download Background Eraser from the Google Play app store.

It offers three different ways to remove backgrounds:

• Auto is a removal tool that removes pixels similar to the ones you’ve selected.
• Magic acts like a magic wand and makes estimations based on your selections.
• Manual gives you complete control.

The only drawback is Background Eraser is focused only on background removal. That means you’ll need to download other apps to superimpose your images or turn them into marketing materials.

Features:

• Three background removal options
• Auto color feature
• Basic image editing tools 

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Excellent AI features

Cons: 

• For Android devices only

Price: Free

10. Background Eraser – Remove BG*

Background Eraser – Remove BG* uses artificial intelligence to detect which part of the picture is the background. Then, it turns the background transparent. From there, you can change it to whatever you want. It’s an iOS app used by more than 10 million people to showcase their products or photography work. 

Features:

• AI-generated backgrounds
• Templates 
• Pixel-level precision 
• AI avatars 
• Multiple cut-out modes
• All-in-one editor

Pros: 

• Automatic background removal
• Export images in different social-media-friendly dimensions
• You can download high-quality versions of different image sizes

Cons:

• Subscription required for full features
• For iOS devices only

Price: Free, with in-app purchases 

Finding the best background removal tool for you

As you can see, there are a lot of tools out there to help you get perfect ecommerce photography images. What’s more, you don’t have to be an expert photo editor or spend hours in front of a computer. With a quick upload into one of the image tools on our list, you’ll have that perfect soufflé picture for tempting everyone on social media.

If you’re an entrepreneur who is eager to burn the midnight oil with a new business venture, we’ve got a potential business idea for you: selling homemade candles.

When it comes to creating a product that’s practical and hot (literally and figuratively), learning how to make candles is a skillset that’s useful even for the hesitant DIYer.

So, if you’re curious about how to make homemade candles and start a candle business, it’s time to learn how you can make money online with this trending product.

Why start a candle business?

Candles are an essential decor item—an industry set to eclipse 10 billion in global sales by 2032, according to Expert Market Research. 

In past years, the commercial use of candles has seen a sharp increase, with spa and massage using scented candles for aromatherapy, and restaurants creating soft, moody environments for customers. 

Consumers buy candles as home decor accents as well as for relaxation and stress reduction, according to the National Candle Association. Taking a quick look on Google Trends shows us that global interest for homemade candles is consistent. And while candles may be used for various purposes across the globe, most of the searches for homemade candles are concentrated around North America, New Zealand, Ireland, and South Africa. This is great intel for candlemakers looking to find a market for their DIY products.

In addition to the popularity of this hot product, candles offer business owners a number of other benefits, including:

• Low cost entry. Granted, some homemade candle varieties require pricier materials than others, but in general, candlemakers can create their wares with very little cash up front.
• Easy to sell anywhere. Want to sell your home decor items at craft fairs and local markets? Homemade candles travel well, so you can sell them both online and offline.
• Scalable craft to learn. Whether you’re a DIY master or a crafting newbie, the base recipe for basic candles is easy to follow. As you’ll notice from our handy infographic below, the formula is simple.
• Easy to customize. With so many types of candles, it’s easy to personalize your products and differentiate yourself from direct competitors.

From the standpoint of a DIY business, learning how to make candles is a skill that can be transformed into a viable income stream. But before we tackle the topic of creating homemade candles of your own, let’s take a look at the popular types that are piquing shoppers’ interest.

Types of homemade candles

One of the big advantages when it comes to making candles for your business is the variety—there’s likely a type of candle out there that will catch the eye of any potential customer.

Not sure where to start? Here are some of the top types of homemade candles you can explore when planning your candle business opportunities.

Soy candles

Soy candles are made from a base of soy wax. This wax is derived from soybeans and, therefore, is made from vegetables (opposed to regular oil- or paraffin-based candles).

Not only are soy candles made from a renewable resource, they also burn cleanly and for longer. That way, customers get more bang for their buck when it comes to getting a longer-lasting candle.

Scented or aromatherapy candles

This is one of the most common varieties of candles. Scented or aromatherapy candles offer a spectrum of scents for customers looking to spruce up their homes with pleasant smells.

Whether they’re meant to mask a normal household stench or simply create a unique scentscape, these candles come in dozens of scents—so there’s a smell that will appeal to almost everyone.

Aromatherapy candles makers market their products as offering specific benefits that correlate to certain scents. Generally, the recipes for these candles use essential oils that are meant to enhance physical or mental well-being. For example, lavender scents are often associated with relaxation.

Vegan candles

There’s a growing segment of shoppers that are concerned with the materials businesses use to make their products—particularly any animal ingredients. Basic candles often contain animal byproducts like beeswax, which isn’t desirable for some consumers.

But here comes vegan candles to the rescue! Vegan candles use modified formulas with ingredients like soy wax, plant-based waxes, fragrance oils, and natural fragrances.

Decorative candles

When entering a homeware store, you’ve likely noticed candles that come in many colors, shapes, and sizes. Some candles are made purely for decorative purposes—they aren’t necessarily scented and aren’t made from special ingredients. They simply add a certain something to a space in your home.

Decorative candles often come in complicated shapes, feature accessories, and employ complicated designs.

How to start a candle business

1. Do market research
2. Build your brand
3. Create a candle business name
4. Write a business plan
5. Make candles to sell
6. Build your online store
7. Create a marketing plan

1. Do market research

Your target market are the people you want to reach with your marketing efforts. These are the buyers who will be most interested in your products and most likely to convert to customers. In the candle industry, target markets are broken down into three categories:

• Prestige. Luxury candles are a new and quickly growing segment of the candle market. Pricing may vary. The average prestige candle can sell for between $30 and $100. Prestige candles are known for their premium packaging, fragrances, and emphasis on brand storytelling. 

• Mid-market. These mid-tier candles have broad appeal. You’ll likely find them in retail outlets like Target. Mid-market candles typically have unique scenes like rose water, grapefruit, or basil, and cost around $10 per candle. 

• Mass market. These candles are the most affordable on the market. Brands like Yankee Candle and Bed Bath and Beyond take up most of this segment. You’ll find standard scents like vanilla or ocean breeze, and will cost around $5 to $8 per candle. 

Decide on which market you’ll go after. Do you want to get into retail stores like Home Goods or Macy’s? Then mid-market may be the best route. Want to only sell through your own website and other online boutiques? Prestige candles may be your calling. 

Choosing your market will guide everything from sourcing materials to building your brand and packaging. Once you have a segment in mind, you’ll want to decide on the types of candles you’ll create. 

2. Build your brand

The second step in starting a candle making business is building a brand. A brand helps you build an audience, influences your marketing efforts, and makes it easier to create better products for your customers. 

A good brand strategy is crucial for candle businesses in particular. The industry has grown so significantly over the past decade that it can be challenging to break in. 

Let’s look at three ways you can stand out in the saturated candle market.

Unique and interesting fragrance blends 

Fragrance is the most important buying factor for consumers today. Research by the National Candle Association shows that three-fourths of candle buyers say it is “extremely important” or “very important” in their selection of a candle. 

One way to stand out from the competition is with interesting fragrances. Developing a new blend immediately carves a place in the market for you. Rather than offer standard floral and woodsy scents, opt for more complex and sophisticated smells buyers can’t find elsewhere: scents that make people think or remember something or feel a sense of mystery and intrigue.

Brand story

A brand story is the fastest way to connect with buyers. It’s a narrative that shapes and communicates your brand to people. It’s the foundation on which your mission, message, and voice is built. 

Brand stories, especially in the candle business, are captivating, human, and honest. It should make people feel something, which then drives them to take action—whether it’s a signup, purchase, donation, etc. 

Take Keap Candles story for example. The founders, Harry Doull and Stephen Tracy, were unhappy with their jobs in tech. They want to do something more meaningful and inspiring with their work and turned to candle making. 

To find your story, ask yourself:

• Why am I making candles?
• Who am I making candles for?
• What impact do I want to have on them?
• What impact do I want to make on the world?

Visual identity

Your visual identity (which includes your logo, photography, website, social media, and packaging) is the most direct way to influence how people feel about your candle business. 

When it comes to your candle brand, you want to pay close attention to the aesthetic of your products. Customers will use your candles for their scents and a home decor complement, so you want to design products in-line with your audience.

For example, Boy Smells brand is bright, sensual, and accessible to all genders.

The brand adds this identity into all its marketing assets, from website to social media. 

Once you interact with Boy Smells, chances are you won’t forget it. That’s the power of strong visual identity. 

3. Create a candle business name

At this point your candle business is shaping up nicely. You’ve probably come up with a few business names along the way, and now’s the time to decide on one. 

Be sure to keep your candle business name ideas short and simple. That’ll make it memorable and easy for buyers to pronounce. If your name is too difficult to remember, you’ll miss out on free word-of-mouth marketing. 

If you’re still stuck on a business name, use Shopify’s business name generator to stir up fresh ideas. All you have to do is enter a keyword, click Generate Names, then browse thousands of auto-generated name ideas for your company.

4. Write a business plan

A business plan guides your entire operation when creating a candle business. It helps define your strategy, pinpoint challenges, understand what resources you need, and analyze your business idea before launch. 

Ask yourself: What is the end goal for my brand? Who are my direct competitors? Do I want to be sold in retail outlets like Target or Nordstrom? Or do I want to start an ecommerce store and sell directly to my customers? 

Identify your business goals and keep them in mind as you build out your candle making brand.

5. Make candles to sell

As we’ve demonstrated, there are plenty of candle types you can create in your own kitchen. Here, we’ll show you how to make a basic soy candle. You can take the same basic ingredients, tweak them slightly, and create your own customized recipe.

Gather your materials

For this homemade soy candle recipe, you’ll need:

• Soy wax
• Wicks (preferably cotton)
• Super glue
• Essential oil of your choice
• Spatula
• Double boiler
• Thermometer
• Mason jar
• Pen or pencil

While you likely have some of these items sitting around your house, you can easily procure the rest without busting your budget. You can find soy wax in bulk on sites like AliExpress or Bulk Apothecary for around $10 per pound.

Merchants looking to source jars or other glass containers can look on AliExpress for a variety of bulk-buying options, or check their local thrift store or dollar store for inexpensive containers.

See our guide on Aliexpress!

Essential oils are available at your local craft store or on Etsy or Amazon. The remainder of the ingredients can be found at almost any grocery store.

Prep your wax and container

Now, let’s prep your materials to get your candle wax ready. Take your soy wax and put it into your double boiler on your kitchen stove to melt (if you don’t have a double boiler, use a glass bowl on top of a larger saucepan or pot). Fill the bottom pot with water and the top with the soy wax and turn the burner to medium heat. Stir the wax with your spatula, making sure you break up any chunks.

While the wax is melting, take your wick and glue the end to the bottom of your glass container. Allow glue to dry, which will keep your wick in place as you pour your wax.

Customize your candle mixture

Once your wax melts, take your preferred essential oil and stir into your mixture at a ratio of one ounce per pound of wax. If you’d like to change up the color of your candle wax, stir in chunks of non-toxic crayons.

Once your ingredients are melted and mixed, let it cool to 130–140 degrees Fahrenheit. Check the mixture with your thermometer to ensure it reaches the correct temperature.

Prep your pour

Now that your wax mixture is cooled to the correct temperature, it’s time to pour it into your jar. Hold the wick upright with one hand and pour the mixture out of the pan with the other. Fill up three quarters of the jar with the hot wax mixture.

To keep the wick upright, tie its end to the pen and set it across the opening of your jar.

Finishing your candle

Allow your wax to firm up before beginning your final pour. You may see a small sinkhole in the wax around the wick—don’t worry, that’s normal.

Take the remaining wax mixture and pour the remaining quarter into the jar. Allow the rest of the wax to set completely. Once the wax is firm, snip off the excess wick with some scissors, and your candle is ready to burn!

6. Build your online store

Now that your candles are ready to go, where should you sell them? A great place to start is your own ecommerce store. 

Creating an online store sounds like a daunting task compared to listing your candles on online selling sites like Amazon. But these marketplaces cut deep into your profits and don’t let you express your brand freely. Your online store is not only more profitable in the long run, but acts as a digital home for your brand. 

When it comes to building an online store, Shopify is the simplest way to start. You can build an ecommerce website without any coding or huge budget. 

7. Create a marketing plan 

You’ve got the recipe for success—now it’s time to figure out how to sell your soy candles (or other homemade candles).

Online

One of the easiest—and most lucrative mediums—for selling candles is online. You can use multiple digital platforms, like social media and your own ecommerce site, to reach potential customers around the world.

While every digital medium won’t be a successful sales platform for every merchant, here are a few places entrepreneurs can try to help them get started.

• Instagram. Many lifestyle brands found great success by focusing on Instagram marketing . Curate a feed of beautiful images related to your brand, stage photos of your candles to show off to customers, and reach a larger audience. You can also use Instagram to reach out to brand evangelists or micro influencers and provide a behind-the-scenes peek at how you make your candles.
• Pinterest. Home decor is a major category for users of Pinterest, which is one of the largests platforms customers use to find brands and products. So it’s wise for homemade candle merchants to consider Pinterest marketing as a pillar in their strategy.
• Snapchat. As another highly visual platform, Snapchat is another viable option for maker merchants. As one of the fastest-growing social media platforms with more than 200 million users, DIY hustlers can use Snapchat marketing to reach an increasing audience.
• Giveaways and contests. As part of a social/content marketing strategy, you can use some of your merchandise as prizes in a series of giveaways and contests. Not only can these contests help you gain followers and build brand awareness, but you also have the opportunity to show off how well your products work.
• Email marketing: Deliver your message (as well as promos, discounts, and other brand news) right to your customers’ inboxes.

Offline

Although selling online is a viable avenue for merchants, don’t be afraid to try selling IRL.

Homemade candles are compact and travel well—which makes them ideal for selling on the go. Your sweet-smelling home decor items are ideal for displaying in craft shows and pop-up shops and gives merchants the opportunity to get in-person feedback directly from potential customers.

Still not sold on selling in person? Going IRL for sales has a number of other benefits, including:

• Getting direct feedback. If you’re eager to improve your products (or just dying to hear what customers think), selling in person is a great way to do it. Meet your target customers face-to-face, address their pain points, and get ideas for potential new products.
• Discover wholesale opportunities. Ready to scale your business? Or looking to explore selling B2B? Markets and fairs are ideal events to meet wholesale buyers and establish a foundation for such a relationship.
• Build your online following and email subscribers. Whether you’re aiming to grow your social audience or build your email list, use pop-up shops and markets to connect online. When visitors show up at your booth or shop, ask them to subscribe to your email list or follow your branded social channels for new products, discounts, and giveaways.
• Networking and inspiration. Connecting with fellow makers and entrepreneurs is also a major part of the draw for festivals, markets, and fairs. Meeting other merchants can inspire you with new ideas and help you come up with new solutions to shared problems.

Although physical sales require different skills than sitting at your desk, a little know-how and the right tools can make it simpler to make sales on the go. Use a mobile point-of-sale system like Shopify POS to help you set up your shop or booth at your next flea market, farmer’s market, craft fair, and/or maker fair, and keep transactions quick and simple.

Candle business tips

Whether you’re starting a candle making side hustle or kicking off full-time, keep these candle business tips in mind:

Take amazing product photos 

Great product photography is key to convincing people to buy your candles. Make sure you can clearly see the shape and label of your candles. Up for a challenge? Stage an image of the candle in use in your home so shoppers can envision it in theirs. You can hire a professional photographer to take your photos or take high-quality photos with a smartphone.

Create more selling opportunities 

Having recurring customers is more profitable than constantly finding new ones. Test different cross-sell and upsell opportunities to drive more revenue from your existing customers—such as travel-sized versions of your most popular candles, or limited-edition scents. You could also offer subscription boxes, like Frostbeard Studio. The brand offers a Candle of the Month Club, where customers get a brand new candle every month for a set price. 

Expand your product line 

Brands like Tofino Soap Company repurpose their scents for products like soaps, shampoos, balms, perfumes, and other things to make and sell online. It’s an easy transition for many candle makers because the scents are already developed, you just need to create the new product. You can then upsell customers based on scents they buy often, create scent-centric care packages, and reach new audiences.

Push holiday sales 

Approximately 35% of candle sales happen during the Christmas holiday season, according to the National Candle Association, with 76% of buyers viewing candles as an appropriate holiday gift. Prepare for this season by creating holiday campaigns with special promos and ads targeted at potential buyers.

Stay on top of consumer trends

Stay up to date with what’s going on in your niche. Use resources like Meta Foresight, Think with Google, and Nielsen to understand customer pain points and track breakout trends. You can use this insight to come up with new product ideas, fragrances, and marketing campaigns to promote your brand.

Starting your candle making business

You’ve gotten this far, which means you now have a great grasp on how to get started with your own homemade candle business. With the tools and knowledge above to help you make and sell your homemade candles, you can move forward to create your own income stream using your DIY skills.

Competition is the natural order in business, especially for ecommerce brands where it’s not just your local competitors that you need to worry about.

Customers are overwhelmed with options, and they want to quickly understand what makes one product or brand different from another. Knowing the right way to position yourself and your products can mean the difference between standing out and blending in.

That’s why it’s crucial for all entrepreneurs to understand how to both identify and communicate a unique selling proposition (USP) to help guide your branding and marketing decisions.

What is a unique selling proposition?

A unique selling proposition (USP) is the unique benefit that makes your business or product better than the competition. It’s a short sentence or two defining the specific and clear benefit that makes your business stand out when compared to others in your market.

Forming an opinionated and deliberate unique selling proposition, or unique selling point, helps focus your marketing strategy and influences messaging, branding, copywriting, and other marketing decisions, as well as prospective customers.

At its core, a USP should quickly answer a potential customer’s most immediate question when they encounter your brand:

What makes you different from the competition?

Your USP plays to your strengths and should be based on what makes your brand or product uniquely valuable to your customers. Being “unique” is rarely a strong USP in itself. You have to differentiate around some aspect your target audience cares about, otherwise your messaging won’t be nearly as effective.

A compelling USP should be:

• Assertive, but defensible: A specific position that forces you to make a case against competing products is more memorable than a generic stance, like “We sell high-quality products.”
• Focused on what your customers value: “Unique” won’t count for much if it’s not something your target customers truly care about.
• More than a slogan: While a slogan is one way your USP can be communicated, it’s also something that you can embody in other areas of your business, from your return policy to your supply chain. You should be able to talk the talk and walk the walk.

It’s not necessarily what you sell that has to be unique, but the message you choose to focus on that your competition doesn’t.

What a unique selling proposition isn’t

Specific marketing offers—like 10% off, free shipping, 24/7 customer service, or a strong return policy—are not USPs. Convincing and effective though they may be, they’re not unique on their own, nor are they positions that are easy to defend, as any of your competitors can copy them.

USP marketing isn’t just the header copy on your homepage. It’s a position your small business takes as a whole that can be incorporated into your products, your brand, the experience you provide, and any other touch point your customers have with your business.

The best way to understand what makes a powerful USP in business is through examples. So here are nine unique selling proposition examples that get it right, and what you can learn from each successful business.

9 unique selling propositions examples

1. Pipcorn
2. Death Wish Coffee
3. Muse
4. Taylor Stitch
5. Tattly
6. Saddleback Leather
7. Third Love
8. Beardbrand
9. Warby Parker

1. Pipcorn

You can buy pre-popped popcorn at your local dollar store, so “mini-popcorn” on its own isn’t much of a unique selling point.

Instead, Pipcorn is a great case of a brand using specificity to carve out their own unique place in the market, choosing instead to focus on what makes their product a smart choice for the health-conscious or vegan consumer.

Phrases like “all natural,” “whole grain,” and “small batches” are seen on the bag, and the brand’s site highlights other health benefits like gluten free, non-GMO, and antioxidants. Pipcorn also gets specific about how its snack food is healthy instead of just saying that it is, listing points of difference that its customers will care about.

By positioning its product around current health-conscious trends, it’s able to create a USP that would not only actively help them attract new customers, but also retail their popcorn as a premium product.

2. Death Wish Coffee

A lot of coffee shops and roasters lay claim to having the “smoothest” or “richest” cup of coffee out there. Death Wish Coffee, however, chose to cater to those who need an extra kick in their cup of joe by instead selling the “world’s strongest coffee.”

Death Wish Coffee is an excellent example of developing a product based on a unique selling proposition that was largely left untouched in the crowded coffee market. It’s not a position that will immediately attract every kind of coffee drinker, but the product firmly appeals to a certain segment of consumers, and it’s hard to imitate.

Death Wish Coffee backs it up too. In addition to boldly declaring its USP on its site and packaging, and breaking down how its product is made, it also offers full refunds for anyone who says the coffee wasn’t the boldest cup they’ve ever had.

3. Muse

Muse is a noteworthy example of why you need a USP even when your products are truly unique. Muse offers the first consumer tool out there that can provide real-time feedback on your brain’s activity as you meditate.

It is the first company to offer what it does, but having no direct competitors doesn’t mean it has no competition at all. People have been doing just fine for centuries without its product, after all.

In this case, Muse’s biggest competitor is the status quo: unaided meditation. So its USP, naturally, is around enhancing your existing practice to “get the most out of meditation.”

You can see how a lot of its copy, while focusing on different selling points, comes together under this single idea.

Throughout its content and marketing messages, it builds a case for both mediation in general and for meditation aided by its product. This is a smart example of acknowledging the norm to position yourself as a truly different solution.

4. Taylor Stitch

Taylor Stitch is a clothing company that relies on crowdfunding in order to develop new products. While some consumers may frown upon established brands that leverage crowdfunding, that isn’t the case here because of how they make it a part of their USP.

Taylor Stitch successfully turns crowdfunding into a competitive edge: “We design new products. You crowd fund them.”

It immediately lets customers know why crowdfunding new products offers advantages to traditional self-funded or investor-funded business models. Customers are assured that:

• They’ll save 20% by preordering.
• It’s better for the environment.
• It gets these products in your hands when you’d actually use them.

These are staples of crowdfunding that have been brought to the surface and translated into value for the customer—it’s hard to argue with saving money and being more environmentally friendly, and supporting a business you believe in is a nice bonus, too.

By positioning its unconventional business model this way, they turn a potentially risky pre-order process into a compelling marketing angle.

5. Tattly

Many temporary tattoo products are intended for kids and feature simple and silly designs. Tattly takes a different approach, offering gorgeous, intricate art for people of all ages.

These temporary tattoos are meant to be beautiful like traditional tattoos, allowing customers to express themselves without the commitment or high cost of real tattoos.

Tattly doesn’t have many direct competitors that sell similarly bold designs made from safe materials. This makes it easier for the brand to develop its USP, in theory, but it still needs to differentiate itself from the inevitable comparisons between its products and its more familiar counterparts.

By focusing on the art, it’s able to do that with its USP, which it expresses as: “Fake tattoos by real artists.”

Many design-centric brands source designs from real artists, but Tattly surfaces this fact about its business. The artists behind its designs are as much a part of what it sells as the tattoos themselves, getting prominent profiles on its site organized under a section dedicated to artists and their works.

It could have left it as a mere line of copy on its site, but instead it chose to incorporate the artists behind its products into the design of its online store, reinforcing the idea that tattoos are a form of wearable art.

6. Saddleback Leather

One of the first things you notice about Saddleback Leather’s site is its famous tagline: “They’ll fight over it when you’re dead.”

It’s a sentence that immediately conveys the unique value of Saddleback’s products to its potential customers, in its signature irreverent tone: this product is built so well it will outlive its owner. The messaging also refers directly to its 100-year warranty, which backs the promise with a guarantee that the products will last you a lifetime and then some.

Longevity, especially for high-priced, everyday carry products is definitely a unique selling point, especially when so many competitors are focused on positioning their products as status symbols, the stylish trends that you’ll want to replace next year, or a cheap solution to an expensive look. Longevity is Saddleback’s competitive advantage.

In fact, when cheap knockoffs of their products started appearing in the market, Saddleback Leather took it as an opportunity to create a clever “how it’s made” video that reinforces the quality of its own craftsmanship. Because it was clear on its USP, it took advantage of the opportunity to further entrench the company’s unique position on quality and craftsmanship.

7. Third Love

Women’s lingerie is a billion dollar industry, so newcomer Third Love had to find a way to make sure it was able to compete with legacy brands.

Third Love made its “We have the right fit” USP an integral part of its branding. It’s not just a key part of the messaging in its ads and the copy on its site—it even has a Fit Finder quiz that allows first-time customers to find the right fit for them.

To go even deeper on its promise, it also offers half-sizes and a “try before you buy” guarantee.

Third Love’s USP is a powerful promise. And while other brands might offer a sizing chart to help shoppers, Third Love prioritizes getting you the right fit based on your individual needs.

Of all the messages it could have focused on around style or quality, it honed in on a pain point that many women experience when shopping for bras, and chose to double down.

8. Beardbrand

A lot of cosmetics companies—for both men and women—try to offer quick fixes at cheap prices, addressing symptoms instead of the root cause. Beardbrand’s USP takes the form of a product ethos that immediately sets them apart from the industry standard.

It wants to create products that “work with your body’s natural chemistry, rather than to disguise or change it.”

It lets users know it doesn’t sell harsh, drying, artificial products, and instead uses natural oils that work with the customer’s body chemistry.

This product ethos means that it only sells products that live up to this standard and pits itself against a rampant problem in the industry.

Casting the industry norm as an antagonist is a positioning strategy often used by brands that are confident about their solution to the customer’s problems.

9. Warby Parker

Warby Parker’s USP is all about customer service and experience.

The popular DTC eyewear brand sets itself apart from the crowd by offering a home try-on program. It lets customers try five frames at home, for free.

Once the try-before-you-buy period is over, customers must return the items they don’t want (using a prepaid return shipping label), and can purchase the items they like. 

The service allows it to compete with brick-and-mortar retailers, and stand apart from them. It meets customers where they are by taking something that used to only happen in person (buying glasses) and makes it convenient and easy to do from home.

How to write a unique selling proposition

Now that we’ve looked at unique selling proposition examples from other businesses, you might be wondering how you can go about creating, uncovering, or refining your own unique selling proposition.

Every USP is going to be, well, unique but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a process you can follow to put yourself on the right track. Here’s how you can write your USP:

1. Get specific about your differentiators

Make a list of all the potential differentiators of your brand and what you sell. Get specific. Breakout products and compelling marketing messages rely on precision—they solve the exact right problem and communicate that benefit to customers in their own words.

2. Research the competition

Who are your competitors and what are their USPs? Look for gaps where you can potentially introduce your brand differently. Products in the same category can be positioned in wildly different ways—footwear, for example, can emphasize style, comfort, or durability.

3. Identify your customer needs

Compare your most unique angles against your audience’s needs. Are there any customer needs that haven’t been filled? Do you see any pain points that you can appeal to that your competitors haven’t?

4. Compile the data

Take the information that you’ve learned and sift through it to single out your strongest USP.

5. Write your USP

Once you have a vague idea of what your USP is, it might help to express it as a positioning statement so you can get it down on paper:

[YOUR BRAND] offers [PRODUCT/SERVICE] for [TARGET MARKET] to [VALUE PROPOSITION].

Unlike [THE ALTERNATIVE], we [KEY DIFFERENTIATOR].

This won’t be exactly what you advertise on your website, but it should help you clarify your USP, its audience, and any specific differentiators that might be worth highlighting.

6. Apply your USP across your business

Applied properly, a USP can be woven into different areas of your business, from your brand name to your return policy, to reinforce the idea to your customers.

While it can take some time to get your USP down, it can then be used across your ads, landing pages, and even social media copy.

Unique selling propositions: Defining your competitive edge

A USP isn’t just a persuasive line of copy on your homepage. It’s ultimately how you position your products or even your entire business to the rest of the world.

Your products don’t need to be wholly unique in and of themselves for you to have a strong unique selling proposition. Instead, look for a spot in the market where you can plant your flag that is relatively untouched by the competition.

There may be a dozen ways you could sell your products, but your USP is the big idea that best positions your brand according to what your customers care about and what your competitors aren’t.

While Facebook may not have the edge it once had, it still has an incredibly high number of active users: more than 3 billion, compared to Instagram’s 2 billion and TikTok’s 1.5 billion. 

Facebook users have many options to make money, from affiliate marketing and running ads through Messenger to selling items on Facebook Marketplace.

But making money on Facebook isn’t without its challenges: average engagement on organic posts hovers between 1.5% and 2.5%, and those that pay-to-play via ads and sponsored content see their reach dwindle over time. 

The good news? Facebook still offers exciting ways to make money, many of which are aimed at entrepreneurs and creators with Facebook followings.

Whether you’re looking to make some extra money on the side or find more customers for your existing business, here are six ways you can monetize your Facebook audience. Plus, the requirements you’ll need to meet in order to do it. 

Before you start: check your Facebook monetization eligibility

There are a handful of ways to make money from your Facebook content, but first you must be eligible to do so. This means your Facebook page and the content you post on it must abide by the platform’s eligibility requirements, which are grouped into three categories:

1. Facebook Community Standards: These are the platform’s foundational rules, such as no graphic or unsafe content.
2. Partner Monetization Policies: These rules are for your Facebook page as a whole, as well as the content you create, how you share your content, and how you receive and make online payments.
3. Content Monetization Policies: These are content-level rules that apply for every piece of content you post, such as no violent or profane content.

To check your eligibility, go to the Facebook section of your Creator Studio and click the Monetization tab. Select which pages you want to see your monetization eligibility for—you will also be served other monetization information about the page. 

Once you’re eligible to monetize your Facebook content, it’s important to stay eligible if you want to sell on Facebook. Regularly review the platform’s Community Standards, keep your domain clean with high-quality content, and ensure you have the rights to post your content. If for some reason your page becomes ineligible, Facebook will inform you via the Monetization tab in your Creator Studio, along with the reason you’re no longer eligible. 

How to make money on Facebook: 6 ways

1. Create videos with in-stream ads
2. Add a paid subscription to your page
3. Collaborate with brands
4. Earn money directly from your fans
5. Run paid events online
6. Drive visitors to your online store

1. Create videos with in-stream ads

In-stream ads attract the attention of a captive audience and are ideal for creators and brands with a sizeable audience. When a user is part-way through watching a Facebook video, they are more likely to watch the entirety of an ad if it means they can continue on with the original content—unlike a standalone ad in their feed, which they’re more likely to skip.

In-stream ads in action: Bottled water brand LIFEWTR wanted to increase brand awareness and generate a positive, creative sentiment around its product.

So it implemented short in-stream ads that ran in the midpoint of feed videos as well as properties like Facebook Watch, showcasing its community art projects through powerful visual stories. The campaign resulted in a two times lift in brand awareness and a 1.9 times higher lift in ad recall.

Why it worked: LIFEWTR used in-stream ads to tell a story and keep the attention of an already-captive audience. 

Get started: Think about what you want to achieve with your videos and what stories you can tell about your brand. If you want to advertise mid-roll, try adding in one- to two-second natural pauses when you create your videos where an in-stream ad could slot in.

As well as meeting Facebook’s eligibility criteria, videos must be over one minute in length and influencers need at least 10,000 page followers to run in-stream ads. These tips apply to brands that want to pay to run in-stream ads. 

2. Add a paid subscription to your page

Generate consistent monthly revenue through fan subscriptions, which encourage your most loyal followers to pay a recurring sum to fund your page. This is a great way for brands and creators with large, active audiences to monetize their page and reward fans with exclusive content and discounts. The “stars” feature lets users buy a pack of stars to send tips to their favorite creators for additional revenue. 

Fan subscriptions in action: The Vegan Baker has created a separate Facebook Group for supporters of the brand. Fans are charged $4.99 a month to access exclusive content and discounts.

They are also able to send additional tips via Facebook’s stars feature for a piece of content they particularly enjoy. 

Why it worked: The Vegan Baker can monetize its active audience while rewarding users with exclusive content. The stars feature allows the brand to see which types of content perform best and increase engagement with a tight-knit segment of its followers. 

Get started: Fan subscriptions are only available on an invitation basis at the moment. Users can unlock fan subscriptions when they have 10,000 followers or more than 250 return viewers, and either 50,000 post engagements or 180,000 watch minutes.

Once you’ve received your invitation, you can choose what benefits you want subscribers to get, create a promotional video to launch your subscription service, and film a thank you video to welcome new subscribers. 

3. Collaborate with brands

Create content with a relevant, complementary partner to increase your reach and diversify your content output. There are plenty of brands that want to work with influencers, creators, and other companies to reach new audiences and raise brand awareness, and this can be a great way to boost your follower count and generate engagement. 

Brand collaboration in action: StyleNow Feed partnered with Jasper’s Boutique to bring followers of both brands fresh content. The paid partnership allowed the two companies to collaborate on relevant content that aligned with the needs of both their audiences, and users could click on each piece of content to learn more about each brand. 

Why it worked: The two brands are well-aligned and have similar but not identical audiences, which meant they could unlock a new segment of followers by reaching users who already had a strong connection with the partner brand. 

Get started: Before you can start tagging business partners in posts, you have to request access. Once you’ve done that, you can access collaboration opportunities and view insights inside the Brand Collabs Manager. 

This type of monetization method is best for Pages with an active, loyal following who post content that most brands won’t consider risky. 

4. Earn money directly from your fans

Fans who sign up to Facebook Stars can buy Stars to show their appreciation for your content. When a viewer watches one of your live streams or plays your Reel, they can tap the Star icon to send stars to your creator page. Facebook will pay you $0.01 for every Star you receive on your content.

Organic content rewards in action: Paula Garcia has a large following and by creating Reels especially for Facebook, can cash in on the number of views, likes, and comments she gets. Paula actually combines a number of the tactics used here to solidify her Facebook monetization strategy, like getting sponsors for her Reels and posting them organically on the platform. 

Why it worked: Paula Garcia already has a large following, so was a no-brainer for her to tap into Facebook’s features that let her cash in on the number of views she generates. 

Get started: Facebook Stars are only available to members of Level Up and managed partners. Once signed up, you will alerted in chat when a viewer sends you Stars. You can track your Star count in Meta Business Suite.

5. Run paid events online

Engage followers through a live event they can enjoy from the comfort of their own home. Facebook’s paid events feature lets you schedule, set up, and run events through your page, which is perfect for creators and businesses moving in-person events online. 

Paid events in action: Jasper’s Market hosts and advertises a number of events through its Facebook Business page. Fans can view a list of events and purchase access directly from the brand’s page.

Seeing how many people are interested or attending creates a buzz around the event, while regular reminders ensure attendees don’t miss a single moment. 

Why it worked: Hosting online events helps Jasper’s Market reach new audiences who are interested in different kinds of events. It also generates engagement among followers who may not all be in the same location. 

Get started: Enable paid online events on your page and click the Events tab to create a new event. Choose the “paid” option and fill in the required information about your event, the price, and a co-host, if you have one. 

Your Facebook account and page must pass Facebook’s monetization eligibility criteria before you can start creating paid events. 

6. Drive visitors to your online store

Direct shoppers from your Facebook page to your Shopify store through the platform’s social commerce features. This is a great way for brands who already have a small business on Facebook to capture consumers mid-scroll with shoppable ads and powerful calls to action. You can turn well-performing shoppable posts into paid ads to drive more traffic and define a new target audience you’d like to reach. 

Shoppable posts in action: Clothing brand QUEENSHOP wanted to boost sales among fans who had previously engaged with its content. It used Facebook’s Live Shopping feature to reach consumers who were online at that exact moment and direct them to the brand’s website through a product CTA in the bottom corner of the screen. The Live videos resulted in a 1.7 times higher return on ad spend and a 3.3% uplift in adds to carts.

Why it worked: QUEENSHOP was able to engage fans who were actively online and ready to make a purchase. It reduced the number of steps in the buying process by directing shoppers straight to the correct product page so they could make an instant purchase. 

Get started: Add your product catalog to your Facebook page in the Catalog Manager and link to relevant products when you post an image or video. To link to a product during livestreams, click Feature under the product or link you want to show after you’ve started your video. 

Diversify your earnings

Starting an ecommerce business, selling services, and creating digital products or merch all benefit from using Facebook’s massive audience as a sales tool. With the platform’s new suite of features made especially for entrepreneurs and brands, it’s easier than ever to engage new and existing audiences. 

But don’t get tied to just one feature or just one platform. Diversify your offering so that if one platform dries up you have other streams of traffic and revenue. This is especially important today, when the organic reach of mammoth social media sites like Facebook are dropping by the day and consumers are becoming increasingly skeptical of paid advertising campaigns. 

Entrepreneurs can find themselves hitting a brick wall when it comes to sourcing products. Whether you plan to manufacture something of your own or find suppliers to purchase from wholesale, good products aren’t always easy to identify.

Sourcing a supplier for your next project includes finding a manufacturer, deciding whether it’s better to work with manufacturers near you or abroad, and evaluating if a manufacturer is legitimate. It’s also essential to ask suppliers certain questions when developing a product for your ecommerce business.

What is a manufacturer?

A manufacturer is any business that produces finished goods from raw materials. They sell these goods to consumers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, and other manufacturers wanting to create more complex items.

Manufacturers typically stick to one type of product. For example, you could work with a glassware manufacturer who creates glass bottles and jars. You could work with one manufacturer for cardboard boxes and another for plastic or natural products. 

Retailers often work with multiple manufacturers at once to create an inventory for their store.

Is a manufacturer a supplier?

Suppliers refer to anyone who can provide you with products and inventory. This encompasses manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors.

There are a ton of helpful resources online that you can find through Google. But before you begin, there are a few things you need to know and decide.

You should figure out what type of supplier you’re looking for, which could depend on your ecommerce business model. This will help determine the terminology you need to use in your research. There are several supplier options, the most common being:

• A manufacturer that produces your product idea
• A supplier (who may also be a manufacturer), wholesaler, or distributor who purchases already-existing brands and products
• A dropshipping company that supplies products and fulfills orders of already-existing brands and products

Domestic vs. overseas suppliers

If you plan to manufacture or wholesale, when looking for suppliers you’ll need to decide whether you want to source domestically or from abroad.

It’s a good idea to secure two manufacturers: one domestic and one foreign. Your local manufacturer can be used as a backup. If international orders are late or incorrect, you can fall back on your local supplier. Domestic suppliers are often more expensive, but it’s better to keep products stocked and customers happy instead of waiting for delayed shipments.

It’s often cheaper to source your products overseas, especially in Asian countries, like India, China, and Vietnam, which ranked as the three countries with the cheapest manufacturing costs, according to U.S. News & World Report.

How to find a manufacturer in 6 steps

Manufacturers can make your product ideas a reality. Follow these six steps to find the best manufacturers and suppliers for your business.

1. Research your options
2. Outreach and collect information
3. Communicate your designs
4. Order samples and compare
5. Negotiate
6. Place your order

1. Research your options

Finding the right manufacturer for your product is crucial to your success. Manufacturers can play a role in determining your product’s cost, quality, packaging, and shipping. You can use tools to help you find suppliers:

Google

To find manufacturers near you, do a Google search for “manufacturers near me.” Check out their websites, customer reviews, and product specialties.

Many suppliers’ websites are old, sparse on information, and have poor search engine optimization. This means you may have to use a variety of search terms to find what you’re looking for. For example, words such as “wholesale,” “supplier,” and “distributor” may be used interchangeably, so you should search for all of them.

Make yourself familiar with Google’s advanced search features to improve the quality of your results.

Referrals

Some of the best leads can come from referrals. Ask your professional networks if they have supplier recommendations or if they know someone who might. Look for individuals who’ve found success in an area you’d like to pursue and see if they’re willing to share their contacts. Join Facebook groups and other online ecommerce communities to see if there are helpful reviews.

Even if a supplier isn’t the right fit for you, ask them if they can point you in the right direction. Being in the industry means they’ll likely have contacts to refer you to that could be better fits.

NAICS codes

Another way to look for product suppliers is searching for your products by their code in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

The NAICS classifies manufacturers and products with codes, making some manufacturers and suppliers easier to find, especially in professional directories. Here’s the link for the United States’ NAICS code and the link for Canada’s NAICS code.

You’ll need to vet your potential manufacturer. Once you’ve narrowed it down to a few possibilities, continue your research to make sure they’re credible. Check the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if there have been any complaints filed and browse the manufacturer’s customer reviews.

Alibaba

Alibaba connects you with manufacturers from China. It’s a popular marketplace to find existing products, but you can also use Alibaba to connect with manufacturers to create custom products. Search for the products you’re looking for and browse through the various suppliers and manufacturers.

It’s easy to safely buy from Alibaba. The marketplace lets you vet manufacturers upfront to get the best products at a fair price. When researching manufacturers on Alibaba, make sure they have the following qualifications:

• Gold supplier, which means they pay for their Alibaba membership.
• Verified, which means a third-party evaluation services company or Alibaba has visited their manufacturing facility.
• Trade assurance, a free service that protects your orders from payment to delivery. 

You can continue to search by applying filters. You can sort by certifications (such as SA8000, which ensures humane working conditions) to find a manufacturer that aligns with your business values.

You can also make sure your manufacturer is not a trading company. A trading company is a liaison and won’t be able to produce your products.

Directories

Another place to research manufacturers is in an online supplier directory. These directories act as manufacturer catalogs that contain profiles for thousands of manufacturers, wholesalers, and suppliers. A few of the most popular ones for domestic and international suppliers are:

Online domestic directories

Online overseas directories

2. Conduct outreach and collect information

Once you’ve got a few manufacturers on your radar, you’ll want to get quotes. Aim to get a minimum of three quotes to compare options. For local manufacturers, you can also reach out to organize a tour of their facility or a visit to their office.

In addition to pricing information, you’ll want answers to the following questions:

• Can they accommodate custom orders? Assess if the supplier or equipment manufacturer can create the product you want. Do they have the skills and resources? Do they have automation features?
• What are their lead times? How long will it take to produce and ship items? You don’t want to work with manufacturers who take three months to deliver your products. If a product goes out of stock, you don’t want to leave customers waiting to receive their orders.
• What are shipping costs? Shipping makes up a massive portion of small business expenses. Learn a manufacturer’s shipping costs to determine how it’ll affect your bottom line.
• What are their minimum order quantities (MOQs)? Don’t lead with this question, because it might deter manufacturers from working with you. However, you’ll want to know the minimum amount of items you have to order before they start producing your product. This is often negotiable. 
• What is the cost per unit? While you’re negotiating MOQs, you’ll also want to negotiate cost per unit. The larger the order, the lower your cost per unit can be. 
• Can they grant you exclusivity? If there’s tooling involved (i.e., you buying a tool for them to manufacture your product), make sure they aren’t allowing others to use it. You can also ask for territorial, market, or total exclusivity. Some service providers may even offer private label goods.
• Are there setup fees involved? Sometimes manufacturers will charge a fee to get equipment ready to produce your goods. 
• What’s their defect policy? Find out who eats the cost for incorrect or defective items. Who pays for the shipping and duties?
• Is the manufacturer sustainable and ethical? Find out about the factory conditions, and see how they impact the environment and those who work there.

Negotiating minimum order quantities

If you’re looking for a supplier for the first time, you’re going to quickly learn about MOQs. It’s not uncommon for a manufacturer to require a commitment to purchase hundreds or even thousands of units for your first order, depending on the product and manufacturer.

MOQs make it difficult when you have limited funds or want to start small and test the market before making larger purchases. MOQs are almost always negotiable.

Before you negotiate, understand why the supplier has imposed a minimum. Is it because there’s a lot of work upfront? Is it because they prefer to work with larger buyers? Understanding the reasons for the minimum will help you better understand their position and allow you to negotiate and propose the best counter offer.

Discussing payment terms

Many suppliers will require new businesses to pay for a full order upfront. This is important to know, since inventory is a major cost for ecommerce businesses. You should also ask if they provide payment terms on future orders.

Suppliers get bombarded with email quote requests all the time from flaky buyers, so it’s not unusual for suppliers to ignore your request. Suppliers’ lack of responsiveness is a common complaint from new ecommerce entrepreneurs.

So how do you ensure you’re not ignored? There are a few things you should do when you reach out to suppliers for the first time:

• Focused emails. Your first email to a manufacturer should be clear and concise. Avoid telling too much about your story and background. The first email should purely assess potential fit at a high level. Focus on what suppliers care about the most, like the details of what you’re trying to source. 
• Asking for what you need. Requests aren’t always easy for the supplier to satisfy. It’s important to ask about pricing for multiple quantities, but avoid asking for too much or too many quotes. Stick to what you absolutely need to know to assess fit between you and the supplier.
• Prepare. If you’re unsure about your request, consider giving the supplier a call or send a one-question email. For example, you might want to know the supplier’s minimum order because if you ask for a quote that’s well below their minimum order, you might not receive a response.

Many good manufacturing suppliers will be open to negotiating payment terms. One payment strategy you could propose would be to pay for 50% upfront and 50% after you receive the shipment. This holds both parties responsible for the order and doesn’t leave too much risk on either side.

Communicating with manufacturers and suppliers

Chances are you won’t use a manufacturing manager when starting your online business. You’ll have to communicate with suppliers on your own. You can do this via phone, email, or text. When working with local manufacturers, you can also do in-person meetings.

Look for companies that are responsive and eager to work with you. If someone is slow to respond to emails and send samples, you may not want to trust them with your business.

3. Communicate your designs

Once you talk with a potential manufacturer, ask if they can create your design. Some manufacturers have a product development process with prototyping and 3D modeling—but it can get expensive. 

As an alternative, communicate your ideas with them through: 

• Sketches
• Instructions
• Reference photos 

If they don’t do design, you can use Fiverr or Upwork to find freelancers to create drawings for you. Look to hire:

• Indstrustial designers
• Product designers
• Computer-aided design (CAD) experts

Another option is finding a local designer. You can work with them to develop prototypes and custom molds. It could be more affordable than going through a manufacturer.

4. Order samples and compare

Get samples to test before going into production. Once the sample is to your standard, you should date and sign the sample. Save one or two for yourself. These are called your control samples: forensic samples used to assure quality and get consistent consumer products.

For example, you open a package from a manufacturer and find your products’ colors are completely wrong. You can reference the control sample to indicate the products you received are not what was previously agreed upon.

5. Negotiate

Between the time you get a sample and when you place your order, it’s still possible to negotiate terms on payment or MOQ. When negotiating, put yourself in the manufacturer’s shoes. The goal isn’t to exploit your manufacturing partner to get the best price. It’s to work together so both parties profit and are happy. It’s the only way to build a long-term, healthy relationship.

6. Place your order

After completing a quality control check to make sure every product meets your standards, you can place your order and get the production process started.

Moving forward with your supply partners

Sourcing suppliers and manufacturers is one of the costs of starting a business. Partnering with suppliers that are good fits is a critical decision for your new business, and they aren’t always easy to find.

It’s easy to get frustrated when you hit dead ends or brick walls, but in most cases, it just requires a little more patience and perseverance to find the perfect partner for your new venture.

Illustration by Pete Ryan

The marketing landscape is ever changing. Digital advertising costs are rising and there are more restrictions to access customer data. How can businesses navigate these realities and reach their business goals? 

In this episode of Shopify Masters, Eric Seufert, founder and partner at Heracles Capital, and Andrius Baranauskas, director of product at Shopify, uncover some of the answers. 

From pivoting your marketing strategies to using the latest Shopify tools, Eric and Andrius share their marketing tips for entrepreneurs.

 

Pivoting from paid ads to creating organic content 

For brands, organic content shouldn’’t be an afterthought. In fact, Eric believes it should be at the center of your marketing efforts. “Creative should lead marketing activities, because that’’s really the biggest lever we have to differentiate, [and] because we’’re able to apply it to all of these surface areas that were totally off limits to us before,” explains Eric. Some of these surfaces can be new channels, such as producing your own podcast to reach new audiences. 

Leveraging Shop Campaigns on the Shop app

The Shop app is a marketplace for consumers to discover Shopify stores and their products, track their packages, and enjoy a fast one-tap checkout. Being on the Shop app not only allows brands to reach customers in a new channel, it’s also a place to market to them through Shop Campaigns.

“On the Shop app, business can set up campaigns much like those on social media ad platforms. “Shopify optimizes the creative, chooses the perfect placement either in Shop or beyond, targets the best audience, and then brings you customers that convert,” says Andrius. “You pay only for the customers that convert and you get full access to that customer’s data. ” 

Saving customer acquisition costs with Shopify Audiences

Businesses today are facing rising acquisition costs. Shopify Plus merchants are reducing these costs by close to 50% by using Shopify Audiences. 

“Merchants get their ads in front of the most interested buyers with custom audience lists that we generate,” says Andrius. “They’’re powered by the algorithms and the millions of insights that we have here at Shopify.” 

Shopify Audiences allows merchants to use those insights to acquire customers at lower costs on platforms like TikTok, Meta, Google, Pinterest, Snapchat, and more. 

“For example, Happy Hippo makes bath products that are safe for kids and fun to use,” Andrius says. “They reached 70% lower cost to acquire new customers by leveraging the Shopify Audiences.” 

To hear more about the latest Shopify tools and how to update your marketing strategies, listen to the full episode on Shopify Masters. 

Houseplants have a chokehold on a generation of homeowners and apartment dwellers not quite ready for pets or kids. Legions of plant parents are investing their instinct to nurture in a hoard of foliage. It’s unsurprising: Raising plants has physical health benefits, mental health benefits, and a very low barrier to entry.

Searches for “buy plants online” surged in the spring of 2020, just as retail businesses and greenhouses everywhere were shutting their doors against COVID-19’s first wave. Unspent going-out funds collided with a collective need for at-home joy.

More online plant stores sprung up from garages and garden sheds to answer the demand—a demand that doesn’t show signs of slowing. Your green thumb could be worth more than you think. If you’ve ever thought of selling plants online, now is the time. 

In this beginner’s guide, explore the steps to starting your own plant selling business and consult experts to bring you tips on how to succeed. Learn everything from planting the seed to cultivating your brand to nurturing your customers.

And, hear from plant experts Mignon Hemsley and Danuelle Doswell, founders of Grounded, and the plant queen of TikTok, Partly Sunny’s Sonja Detrinidad. 

How to get started selling plants online

Yes, you can ship live plants in the mail! In fact succulents, cacti, and even delicate hanging plants can arrive safely at your customers’ homes in a cardboard box. Ready to propagate this trend and grow your own plant selling business? Let’s dig in.

Finding your niche

There are more ways to get into the plant selling business than simply shipping houseplants in the mail. How you decide to define your own offerings may depend on the climate where you live, your access to wholesale greenery or space to grow, and how much you’re willing to invest upfront.

Here are a few ideas to get you started selling plants online:

• Houseplants. Will you specialize in succulents, cacti, or air plants, for example? What can you reliably grow or buy wholesale where you live?
• Outdoor plants. Consider seasonality not just where you live but also where you sell to. Will you run a seasonal business or sell all year round?
• Seeds and bulbs. West Coast Seeds doesn’t sell live plants but it does ship seeds, bulbs, and growing supplies across Canada.
• Plant care products. Think soil, fertilizer, growing medium, and grow lights. These items can also be sold in tandem with live plants and work well with an upsell strategy.
• Home decor. Decorative plant pots, trays, and hanging planters can be sold as a business on their own or sold alongside the plants that fill them.
• Terrariums and kits. Sell a combination of live plants and supplies to build terrariums at home.
• Plant-derived products. Grow your own plants and create products derived from them. The founders of Terre Bleu grow lavender on their farm and sell lavender-based soaps, sprays, and salves online.
• Plant subscriptions. Both Grounded and Partly Sunny guarantee repeat business by offering recurring plant shipments through a subscription program.
• Think outside the pot. Why not start a service-based business to supply plants for events and corporate clients? Or try “planterior design,” a term Grounded uses to describe its private client consultation service. Sonja started her business at first as a personal plant shopper doing one-on-one consultations and purchases based on customer requests. 

Should you grow your own plants or source them?

Growing your own plants to sell is possible if you have the right space and conditions to do so. If you’re starting small, you can grow plants in your own backyard garden or create a DIY greenhouse—but do consider space limitations if you plan to scale. Growing your own plants on a larger scale will require a lot more space and specialized plant know-how. There are plenty of free online resources to teach you the production side of the business.

For the purposes of this guide, we will focus on the business of selling plants online by working with a wholesaler, greenhouse, or nursery. Note that you will still require sunny space to store and care for the plants on their brief stop between their origin and final destination, but this method is much easier for new plant entrepreneurs.

When I asked Sonja if she’d ever consider scaling her business to grow her own, she reminded me that in California, she didn’t need to. “I have growers that have been growing certain varieties of plants for 40 years,” she says. “When I’ve got this guy, literally three blocks away from me, I could just buy his product.”

Sourcing plants

Many local greenhouses, nurseries, and plant suppliers offer a wholesale program. Look for details on their website or inquire directly. There are generally a few requirements to become a registered reseller, including purchase minimums.

Here are some tips for working with nurseries, greenhouses, and plant wholesalers:

• Form a relationship with the supplier. Repeated business and a positive business relationship could help you get the best stock or advance notice on supply.
• Shop around. Some suppliers may have lower minimums than others—perfect if you’re starting small. 
• Opt for local suppliers, if possible. Pick up wholesale orders if you can to minimize cost and reduce the amount of stress on the plants.
• Understand seasonality. Which plants will be in stock at which times of year? This will help you plan campaigns and inventory.
• Don’t put all of your seeds in one basket. Source multiple suppliers if you can to ensure that if one is out of a popular item, another may have it in stock. Some suppliers or growers may also only operate seasonally. Sonja frequents several greenhouses in her area and even scours local buy-and-sell groups for rare finds.
• Develop a pricing strategy that accounts for fluctuating wholesale costs by season.
• Try online wholesalers. If you live in an area that doesn’t have a reliable source for wholesale plants, look for online suppliers like Gro ‘n Sell.
• Dropship. Short on space? Some, like House Plant Wholesale, will even dropship! Currently, Grounded works with several greenhouses that ship to them before they ship to customers. “I think, eventually, we’ll cut ourselves out as the middleman and ship directly from the greenhouse,” says Danuelle. “That’s definitely a long-term goal.”

Cultivating your plant brand

Don’t skip this step. Differentiating your business from another website selling plants relies heavily on brand. And we’re not talking about your logo—that’s branding. For plant selling businesses, your brand should achieve the following:

Take a stand

What are you about? Decide what you will and will not sell and establish quality standards. Create a cohesive set of brand guidelines that you will use to make decisions across the business and help maintain consistency, even as you scale.

Grounded’s brand is rooted in the power of plants to bring peace and mindfulness to daily life—a mission clearly captured on the site’s About page and throughout its branding and marketing copy. The founders also want to expand on their plant education focus to launch a sister non-profit to invest in community gardens and gardening education for youth.

Establish trust

You are shipping live plants—your messaging should reflect that you are knowledgeable and have high care for your shipping process and after-purchase customer support. Using education as part of your brand and content strategy will foster trust. Sonja provides consistent content like plant care tips to build trust with an audience before converting them to customers.

Help you stand apart

What makes you unique? Tell your brand story on an About page, on social, and even on packaging. Outline your values, share information about any charitable partnerships, and let customers peek behind the curtain. “People buy from people they like,” says Sonja.

Now, you can use your clear vision for your brand to help you develop branding assets and a visual identity for your business.

Pricing plants to sell online

You can follow standard pricing models for pricing most goods for online sale. To find a retail price for your plants or plant accessories:

1. Add up your variable costs per product (cost of goods sold, packaging, shipping, etc.).
2. Add a profit margin (consider the overall market).
3. Don’t forget about fixed costs (overhead expenses, like rent).

Even if we’re paying a little more wholesale than usual, we’ll still keep it at that price point just to remain consistent.

Mignon Hemsley, Grounded

There are a few other factors to consider when pricing plants: 

Seasonality

Seasonality can affect pricing. For example, if you choose to sell a specific plant in a set number of sizes because you have a reliable supply chain, factor in fluctuations to the wholesale cost of the plants (nurseries may adjust prices seasonally). If you want to be consistent with pricing on your site, consider the highest possible cost when calculating retail price. “Say if we sell a golden pothos for $20, we’ll keep it at $20 across the board,” says Mignon. “Even if we’re paying a little more wholesale than usual, we’ll still keep it at that price point just to remain consistent.”

Market price

Market price is important to keep in mind. While your brand may be very different from another brand, a snake plant is still a snake plant, and you should price within an acceptable range based on the market. 

Customer preferences

Who is your customer and what do they expect to pay? “We strategically put our price points at a place that is affordable and accessible to most people,” says Mignon. “We want everyone to be able to experience having plants and being able to take care of something.”

Labour costs

Consider labor when calculating your fixed costs. Even if you’re not paying staff to help grow and care for plants, your effort should factor into the overall cost. 

Inventory and plant care

While I fancy myself quite the green thumb *gazes with motherly pride over a brood of tomatoes,* there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to cover water and sunlight needs for every species of plant. Once you decide what you will sell, research each variety to understand its specific needs. 

Generally, you will need enough climate-controlled space to adequately care for your plant inventory before it ships to your customers. Sonja, who has had to hire staff to manage the volume of orders pouring in, still uses her home’s garage as her headquarters, but has recently announced a move to a dedicated greenhouse space. 

For plant businesses, managing your inventory tightly is critical. Developing a relationship with reliable suppliers will help you plan ahead. You should also ask yourself:

• Will your offerings change seasonally based on greenhouse supply? 
• Will you run pre-sales for upcoming varieties? 
• Should you build in a buffer in case some of your inventory is damaged or dies? 
• If you go away for several days, what is your plan for plant care? Automated irrigation systems and timed grow lights can bridge the gap if you don’t yet have staff coverage.

As you are running a business that may have items going in and out of stock seasonally, create a system for yourself that helps you identify and manage inventory within your Shopify store. A consistent naming/numbering convention along with grouping plants into standard sizes can help you keep inventory organized. For example, if you are selling a variety of houseplants, you may want to establish a SKU system as follows: three letters representing the category, three letters representing the plant type, and two letters representing the size.

Example: SUC-ALO-SM could represent a small aloe plant in the succulent family. Define what “small,” “medium,” and “large” mean to you for the purposes of pricing and inventory, as plants will come in a range, usually measured in inches by pot/plant diameter.

Photography for online plant businesses

For any business selling physical products, it’s important to invest time and care into photography. You can either hire a professional or DIY your photography needs. Either way, follow the basic principles of product photography that exist across all product categories.

The last thing you want to do is use filters, because it’s not the reality. It leads people down the road of having unmet expectations of what their gardens should look like.

Sonja Detrinidad, Partly Sunny Projects

Photography tips for online plant brands:

• Your product page should feature a variety of shots to help your customer see the product from all angles.
• Include close-up detail shots that illustrate texture.
• Show your product in a scene (also called a lifestyle shot) that provides inspiration to your customer for styling or placing the item in their own space. These are also great photos to use on your homepage as well as on social media.
• Consider getting your products shot in 3D so customers can use AR technology to place the item in a room.
• Your smartphone is perfectly capable of capturing great behind-the-scenes shots, plant care tutorial videos, and other images for use on social media.
• For greenery, you’ll want to shoot it in the most natural light possible so your customers have realistic expectations for the plants you’re selling.

“The last thing you want to do is use filters, because it’s not the reality,” says Sonja. “It leads people down the road of having unmet expectations of what their gardens should look like.”

Start selling plants online: build your online store

The best way to sell plants online is through your own website. Sonja started her business by taking orders through a WhatsApp group chat and invoicing each customer. When too much of her time was spent making invoices, she opened a Shopify store. The switch allowed her to spend less time with paperwork and more time building her brand.

Shopify themes for plant sellers

Shopify is designed to make starting a business simple, even if you have no coding or design skills. Use one of the preset themes in the Shopify Theme Store, then customize with your own branding, fonts, colors, and unique layout. 

A couple of themes we recommend include the Cascade Theme, which is great for plant sellers who have a strong brand story, and the Editions Theme, a simple theme with lots of white space that lets your brand shine.

As you grow, you can continue to customize your online store. Shopify can help you improve the design and function of your store if you’re much better with plants than computers.

Shopify apps for selling plants online

Layering apps onto your Shopify store increases functionality and allows you to customize your site to your—and your customers’—individual needs. Browse the Shopify App Store for apps that plug in to your site and make it easier for you to sell plants online.

A few highlights:

• Offset is an app by Shopify that neutralizes your shipping emissions. With each order, you are investing in sustainability initiatives to counteract your impact on the planet.
• Route offers additional protection and tracking for your packages—especially important when shipping live plants.
• Smart Tabs adds product page tabs so you can nest important care instructions in each product page without crowding the selling features or overwhelming your customers.

Product pages for plants

Your product pages should include standard information like plant species, description, and size, along with clear product photos. Consider also using this space for education. You’ll want to ensure that your customers are equipped to care for their new plants indefinitely. After-care customer service is important—and we’ll cover that later—but you can minimize the burden on your customer service team (or you, if you’re a team of one) if you provide helpful care instructions upfront.

The product page is a perfect place to include plant education. Use tabs to keep the page uncluttered or link out to the resource elsewhere on your site. West Coast Seeds packs each product page with useful info like hardiness zone, difficulty level, ideal pH for growing conditions, and detailed planting instructions.

As you sort products into collections, you can organize by species, size, or, like Grounded, helpful categories such as “pet friendly” and “beginner friendly.”

Alternate sales channels

Consider gaining more exposure for your brand and accessing new audiences by selling plants through online marketplaces or finding local retail opportunities. Beyond opening your own brick-and-mortar store, there are many affordable ways to add in-person selling to your mix:

• Open a booth at a weekend farmers or arts market.
• Run a pop-up event. 
• Partner with an established retail business to sell plants from their space. They benefit from the decor upgrade and take a commission for each sale.
• If you grow your own plants or work from a dedicated facility, offer limited hours for customers to browse your inventory in person, say through a monthly event. 

Marketing and social media for plant brands

Good news: with the rise in searches for plant content online, there are opportunities to grow your audience with the right mix of search optimization, social media, and content marketing paired with a unique and cohesive brand.

Content and social marketing

If you’re starting out with a limited budget, grow your social audience and email list organically with consistent posting and incentives for those who sign up. You can add value through social media or a blog by establishing yourself as an expert, sharing free advice about plant care. Invest time in a content marketing strategy and learn how to optimize content to rank. Content that lives on your site can help drive organic traffic that you can convert into sales.

Sonja has positioned herself as a subject matter expert on TikTok and has found that she doesn’t need to lay on a heavy sales pitch. “Make yourself valuable on the platform as a source of information, then do a little sidestep like, ‘Oh, by the way, here’s the link to my website,’” she says. “And they’re going to trust what you’re putting out there because they’re seeing results from the things that you’ve advised them to do.”

Getting press

As Grounded was gearing up for the big launch in 2020, it struggled to get initial traction on social and with its newsletter. “Danuelle made her dad an Instagram so he could be our hundredth follower,” says Mignon. Then Danuelle wrote a press release and shopped it around to local DC publications. One picked it up and their follower account surged to 8,000, and 700 people signed up for their newsletter.

The press release caught attention because it highlighted the brand’s subscription program—a feature that was different from other businesses in the area—and tapped into the need for joy in a world entering a long pandemic lockdown.

Loyalty

Take it from me—buying one plant is the gateway to a house full of them. While you absolutely want to attract new customers to your site, don’t forget about your existing customers. These are easier sales to make because they already trust you, you’re top of mind the next time they’re looking for plants, and you have direct access to them via email, mail, and/or social.

Consider loyalty programs that give your customers even more incentive to come back: points programs, referral rewards, and exclusive discounts or promotions for those already on your subscriber list.

Grounded recently ran an experience survey to gain valuable feedback from their loyal customers. The partners use data to drive decisions around marketing and other aspects of the business.

Subscription boxes are an easy way to guarantee future purchases and continued engagement with your loyal customers.

Shipping and packing plants

“Imagine that your package is going to be in a rugby match until it gets to its destination,” says Sonja. “You have to do everything you need to do in order to protect it.” Packing your plants for shipment is extremely important to ensure their survival—and customer happiness. “The plant community will tear you apart if your packaging is not up to par,” she says.

There are many factors to consider depending on shipping location and method, climate, and hardiness of the plant. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you determine your packing and shipping processes:

Shipping soil and organic matter

There are laws that govern how soil and organic matter can travel over international borders. For example, Canada allows imports of soil from the US if accompanied by the correct certificate/documentation but will not allow imports from other countries.

Shipping to—or from—areas with extreme climate

If your plants will be subject to below freezing temperatures in transit, consider adding heat packs to the packaging and/or only shipping express methods to ensure plants aren’t exposed to cold for too long.

Cutting down on shipping costs

Soil can add a lot of weight to a final package. Some plants can be shipped without the soil (bare root), then planted in soil by the customer.

Ensuring plant survival

Minimize messy soil spillage by wrapping a cardboard collar or wood excelsior around the base of plants. This will also provide some stability to the plant. Ensure the plant has adequate water for the trip and wrap the entire plant and pot in bubble wrap or something similar. Nest wrapped plants in a box with plenty of packing material (newsprint paper or biodegradable packing peanuts).

Choosing a carrier

Work with carriers that deliver seven days a week to avoid weekend interruptions, and consider offering only express methods for locations beyond your local area.

“This is kind of embarrassing, but at the beginning, we did not have packaging for the dirt specifically,” says Danuelle. “I remember hearing the dirt sliding around inside of the boxes when USPS came to pick them up. I would pray over each packet like, ‘This is in God’s hands now.’”

Grounded’s founders learned from their early mistakes and now secure the soil as well as the pot and plant so customers don’t open a box full of loose dirt. “That can be overwhelming, especially if you’re a new plant parent.”

Customer care for plant brands

Like plants that need adequate sun, water, and nutrients to thrive, your customers require care before and especially after their purchases. As we discussed in our content marketing section, customer education is a huge opportunity for plant-selling businesses to gain exposure and establish trust.

People can sign up for free Zoom office hours. It’s easier for us to assess the issue with the plant through video and help bring it back to health.

Mignon Hemsley, Grounded

But beyond marketing benefits, education ensures that your customers are equipped to enjoy their plants for a long time—and even become repeat purchasers.

Customer service tips for plant brands:

• Explicitly communicate your refund policy and guarantee. Give customers peace of mind in ordering from you by letting them know you stand by your plants arriving safe.
• Include clear plant care instructions in order confirmation emails, in the shipping box, on packaging, and/or in a reference guide or blog on your site.
• Pack your FAQ page with common plant care concerns and troubleshooting tips.
• Make yourself available: be sure customers know when and how to contact you with plant concerns. As you scale, hire or outsource customer care to knowledgeable people.

“We have a plant specialist who speaks with our customers whenever they have an issue with their plants,” says Danuelle. Grounded mitigates customer disappointment by investing heavily in education and customer support. “People can sign up for free Zoom office hours,” says Mignon. “It’s easier for us to assess the issue with the plant through video and help bring it back to health”

Meet the experts

Danuelle Doswell and Mignon Hemsley, Founders, Grounded

Danuelle Doswell, a marketer and brand strategist, and Mignon Hemsley, a graphic designer, photographer, and DJ, met and bonded over their lifelong love of food. But it was another part of their similar upbringings that inspired their business called Grounded. “My mom would always encourage me to keep a garden at the house,” Mignon says. “We would grow strawberries and tomatoes and peppers.” And Danuelle recalls the houses of all of her relatives being filled with plants.

When Danuelle noticed how many fellow millennials owned plants, the two paired up to serve that audience. Grounded now sells houseplants and accessories from their Washington, DC, headquarters to customers across the country, and offers services like “planterior design” to corporate clients.

Sonja Detrinidad, Founder, Partly Sunny Projects

Sonja Detrinidad started dabbling in plants as a distraction from her stressful career in the mortgage industry. When she discovered her knack for sourcing greenery and inspiring audiences with her straight-shooting plant content, she quit her job and her California-based plant business exploded. The bulk of Sonja’s sales and traffic come from TikTok, a platform she uses to share humorous and helpful plant advice to more than 450k followers.

Read more about how Sonja discovered the formula for succeeding at TikTok for business.

Propagating success

For those looking for a more hands-on business to nurture, selling plants is a rewarding one. Studies show that plants reduce stress and increase productivity, counteracting the hectic pace of being a new business owner.

Feature illustration by Pete Ryan

Many people have hobbies—pastimes where you dedicate some of your spare hours to activities they find fun or fulfilling.

While you probably didn’t get into your favorite hobby to make money, you can still turn it into a side hustle or thriving business that generates a stream of income. Depending on how you direct your talents and interests, you can make anything from extra spending money to a full income through an online business centered around your hobby—all by doing something you might have done anyway.

This guide compiles a list of common lucrative hobbies that can make money.

12 profitable hobbies that make money

1. Writing
2. Creating illustrations and designs
3. Making music
4. Cooking
5. Gardening
6. Doing photography
7. Producing DIY crafts
8. Performing comedy
9. Drinking (and knowing about) coffee
10. Caring for pets
11. Brewing beer
12. Gaming

1. Writing

Writing and publishing online can offer you a lot of practical value outside of being a mere hobby. You can use it to further your career and establish yourself as an expert on a topic. You can build a social media following for sharing your ideas. If you have the discipline and know how to write a good blog post, you can create your own business as a blogger by picking a niche and building an audience over time.

Once you have some experience writing, you can make money by selling your skill on sites like Upwork or Fiverr, or by reaching out directly to blogs for paid gigs. Great bloggers with niche expertise are usually in demand, and even a few clients can turn your writing hobby into a full-time business. You can also leverage professional social networking sites like LinkedIn for writing opportunities, or consider making money as a copywriter.

For more inspiration, check out:

• How Best Self Co. used blogging to sell its productivity tools
• How Wait But Why built a business around Tim Urban’s humorous and insightful content

2. Creating illustrations and designs

Illustrations and graphic design are creative money-making hobbies you can do at home on a freelance contract basis. Fiverr, in particular, features many newer artists with a variety of illustration styles. Potential clients post projects for which they need to hire artists, whether for marketing projects, custom portraits, or anything in between.

If you want more control, you can put your art on products—from t-shirts to posters to canvases—and sell those items instead. It’s important to understand that to turn your art or graphic design into a product, you’ll need to cater to a specific target market or build a unique brand. Hatecopy is an excellent example of a business that was started by an artist putting their work onto items people can buy.

With this type of small business idea, you don’t need to front the money for inventory, either. Print-on-demand services offer a low-risk way to take advantage of your graphic design hobby. You just need to create mockups of your products to list and sell online.

Once you make sales and know which designs have the most demand, you can consider investing in your own inventory.

To learn more, check out the following resources:

3. Making music

While there are a whole range of ways to make money as a musician, one of the more interesting ways is by creating beats and samples. Beats are short hooks composed from different sounds and meant to be a background for a musician, while samples are a portion of a sound recording to reuse elsewhere.

List beats on third-party sites—such as Airbit and BeatStars—that work similarly to stock photo sites. Essentially, people purchase your music to use in their own content. Airbit artists have earned more than $50 million in all, and BeatStars has paid out over $200 million to creators.

You can also set up your own site to sell samples to other artists directly. Samples by Vanity is an online business that sells samples for artists to remix and splice together to create their own music.

You can make your audio exclusive or non-exclusive. There’s more money to be made when you sell exclusive rights, but you need to produce high-quality work. SoundOracle is an example of an online sample library with an excellent reputation—and its sounds have been featured in more than 20 Grammy Award–winning songs.

4. Cooking

Cooking is one money-making hobbies you can share with the world in a variety of ways, from starting a blog, YouTube channel, or Instagram account to diving head first into a business with your own food or cooking products. You might even take your favorite hobby on the road with a food truck business.

For inspiration, check out:

5. Gardening

Gardening is a hobby that can make you happier, healthier, and, perhaps, even a higher earner. As with many of the other hobbies on this list that make money, there are multiple ways to make your gardening hobby profitable. If you’re an avid indoor gardener, you can earn money selling mature indoor plants from your own home. Leaf & Clay, for example, sells succulents, both as one-time purchases and on a subscription basis.

Alternatively, you can also sell products and accessories to help your customers connect with their own gardening hobbies. Technology seller ēdn introduced an indoor garden to its product line, enabling customers to grow herbs and other plants in a compact space with artificial light.

Finally, you can make good money as a gardening influencer or teacher by setting up your own channel on social media, with tips and resources for the tens of thousands of users searching for good gardening content.

6. Doing photography

If you own a high-quality camera and know how to use it, you have options to turn photography from a fun hobby to a profitable side hustle.

While a side job as a freelance photographer is possible, this can restrict you to shooting local events. For a more scalable gig, sell your shots as stock photos or prints online. You can also use your photography skills to grow an Instagram following and monetize it. You need to pick a niche to serve or a style you want to capture in your photos.

Check out the how to sell photos online guide for a more detailed look at how to monetize your photography skills.

7. Producing DIY crafts

If you enjoy working with your hands, there are plenty of crafty things to make and sell: candles, bath bombs, jewelry, soap, and more.

“Handmade” communicates a certain quality, care, and uniqueness that department store alternatives often don’t offer. You can test the market for your products by selling them on a smaller scale to friends and family, at flea markets, or on Etsy, and then think about scaling into a full-fledged business as you rack up customers.

If the idea of crafting the goods yourself isn’t striking a chord, you can also make money selling kits that allow customers to flex their own maker muscles at home. Create DIY kits for fun projects, like FlowerMoxie’s DIY bridal bouquets.

Here are a few more inspiring stories about DIY businesses, and resources to show you how it can be done:

8. Performing comedy

Are you good at making people laugh? Do you know what the hottest memes are right now? Why not take that sense of humor and use it to build an audience on the internet? Comedy is one of the more creative ways to make money from a hobby.

You can probably think of several Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter accounts that amassed large audiences simply by curating memes and viral videos, or by tapping into a niche of humor that no one else was serving.

Once you have an audience, you can partner with brands to do sponsored posts or turn your best running jokes into t-shirts and other products.

Examples of comedy as a side hustle that makes money include:

9. Drinking (and knowing about) coffee

Selling coffee online is a great way to turn a common hobby into a business idea that generates extra money.

Globally, people drink more than 400 billion cups of coffee every year, fueling an industry worth $60 billion annually. And as coffee drinkers have become accustomed to brewing their caffeine fix at home, it’s a prime time to capitalize on this opportunity. If coffee is one of your own passions, it could be next on your list of lucrative hobbies.

Globe-trotting creatives Jeff Campagna and Tania LaCaria found that coffee mixed well with one of their other passions: motorcycle travel. They opened up their own bike garage, Steeltown Garage Co., complete with coffee shop and merch for sale, and they’re cultivating a whole community through their hobby-based business.

Check these out for more inspiration for your coffee biz:

10. Caring for pets

Do you love taking care of your pets, watching funny videos of animals online, or giving back by fostering or donating to animal-related charitable causes? If so, your love of pets can also be a profitable hobby that enables you to earn money in your spare time.

Transforming your pet hobby into a pet business can take a variety of forms. With Supakit, for instance, owners Leili Farzaneh and Kevin White turned a personal pet story into their own shop selling cat accessories.

If you have a unique pet story or extensive experience taking care of animals, you can turn your expertise into extra cash by starting a YouTube channel or social media presence devoted to pet-related content, including an online course or funny videos.

Alternatively, you can concentrate your money-making hobby closer to home by starting a pet-sitting or dog-walking business. Depending on where you live, even a local pet-sitting business can generate a surprising amount of extra money.

11. Brewing beer

Homebrewing, or making your own beer at home, is trending upward—with the global market for using machines to produce at-home brews at 41.2 million.

While brewing beer at home is legal across all 50 states, laws vary. Consider contacting your local jurisdiction or state’s alcohol beverage control agency, for example, as you may be required to obtain certain permits, licenses and approvals from federal, state, and local authorities. However, if you love sampling or making craft brews, there are a variety of ways you can translate that into a money-making endeavor.

Brooklyn Brew Shop, for instance, sells homebrew kits and accessories so its customers can enjoy the hobby themselves.

If you have experience making unique or award-winning beers, you can set up your own online store selling supplies and recipes to adventurous homebrewers, create an online course, or create your own YouTube channel discussing the finer points of the craft.

Finally, homebrewing is a technical hobby with lots of equipment requiring careful setup and maintenance. Still, you can build and sell brewing and kegging setups, or tutor budding brewers directly (in person or virtually).

12. Gaming

You might question the notion of gaming as a moneymaker, but even this hobby has the potential to earn you extra cash. Here are a couple ways:

• You can livestream and play video games on Twitch and make money by becoming an affiliate, a partner, or sponsored. You can also monetize gaming by posting playthroughs to YouTube and earning ad revenue.

• Invite one-time donations from your community of viewers. A perk of this strategy is that it’s relatively easy to implement—you can start making money even in the early development stages of your audience.

• Offer subscriptions to your followers, but keep in mind: Since your audience can fluctuate, this means the amount you earn through live streaming can vary greatly.

While the amount of commitment needed to make a significant income might turn gaming into work, you can still have fun if you choose to stream a game you love, are good at it, and bring your personality to the screen.

If you’re an avid gamer who understands the needs of the market, you already have an advantage as an entrepreneur in this space. You can consider building a business of your own to cater to the needs and interests of gamers. Look for inspiration from the following:

How to make money from a hobby

To start a business based on your hobby, take the following steps:

1. Validate your business idea. Do some market research to make sure there’s demand for your offering.

2. Find a business name. Develop a business name that gives your business a unique identity.

3. Make a plan. Create a business plan to keep you on track to meet your goals.

4. Understand business finances. Set up business accounts, funding sources, and other money matters. (An accountant can help you with these tasks.)

5. Develop your product or service. The product development process is where you turn your hobby-inspired offering into something customers are willing to pay for, whether it’s a physical or digital product, a consulting service, an online course, or a membership.

6. Pick a business structure. Legitimize your business and protect your personal assets by picking the best business structure that meets your needs.

7. Research licenses and regulations. Do your due diligence to ensure you’re conducting business lawfully, or retain the services of a lawyer or legal consultant.

8. Select your software systems. Build your website, set up accounting software, and get the rest of your tech stack up and running.

9. Find a business location. Determine where you can operate your business, whether it be from home or elsewhere, online or a brick-and-mortar store—or both.

10. Plan workload and team size. Bootstrap or hire help, depending on your business plans.

11. Launch your business. Let the world know!

When will I make money from a hobby?

Turning your favorite hobby into a side hustle or full-time job has its perks: You’ll be your own boss, work on your own schedule, and set your own prices—all while doing work that you love. Nevertheless, it’s important to have realistic expectations about the time and work that entails.

To start, you’ll need to build a marketing strategy to let the world know about your side hustle. That strategy may begin on social media, a freelance marketplace, or a full-fledged Shopify store.

When you start making sales, it’s key to keep track of the incoming and outgoing cash. This makes tax time easier, simplifying the process if there’s an audit and helping protect your personal assets. Additionally, tracking your revenue and expenses helps to ensure that your money-making hobby becomes profitable. It’s a good idea to get set up with accounting software to manage your books.

Even with all of these preparations and more, achieving financial independence or a full-time income from your favorite hobby may take months or even years.

Make money from your hobbies today

In many cases, when it comes to discovering a profitable hobby, it’s what is done for free and fun that hints at the kinds of businesses to pursue—with passion and interest as the fuel.

If you have the urge for new pursuits but don’t know where to start, ask yourself what you’re already good at or know about.

What do you already do in your spare time that could turn into something more?

Businesses have long used social media as a marketing tool. Each has its own benefits, depending on your brand, audience, and goals. Instagram in particular is an ideal platform for gaining brand awareness—but with a business account, you can do so much more.

Users increasingly turn to Instagram and other social networks for product and brand discovery. Instagram is no longer a place to scroll idly past beautiful imagery—it’s a powerful tool for surfacing products to eager buyers. 

Ahead, learn how to set up an Instagram business account, choose the right account type for your brand, and leverage features to help run your business. 

What is an Instagram business account?

An Instagram business account is a type of professional account on the Instagram platform designed for use by brands and businesses. It operates like a personal account, allowing the user to post content and engage with other users. The distinction lies in the features available to business users.

Business accounts on Instagram have access to insights, Instagram’s ad platform, and shopping features. Creator accounts, another type of professional account designed for artists and influencers, have their own suite of features, including Instagram Subscriptions. 

3 types of Instagram accounts

It’s important to understand the difference between the three types of Instagram accounts and choose the right one:

1. Personal account. Most users have personal accounts, which is the default account type for individuals.
2. Creator account. Influencers and content producers can switch to a creator account to access business features designed for their needs. 
3. Business account. Brands and companies selling products or services can use a business account to access insights, ads, and shopping features.

Which Instagram account type is best?

If you already have a personal account, you can convert it to a business account. This may be an ideal move if you already use that account for business, or if you’re the face of your brand. Creators who have personal brands they want to monetize may also switch their personal account to a professional one.

However, some brands benefit from having a distinct branded account separate from its founder. Creating a new account allows you to focus the content and maintain your personal account. You can use your personal account to nudge your followers over to the brand’s account.

In this example, creator Cassey Ho built a strong following for her personal brand, Blogilates. But when she launched her activewear brand, PopFlex, she set up a separate account. This allowed her to keep distinct branding between her two accounts. 

In another example, influencer Katie Sturino launched her brand Megababe under a separate business account. This allows her to continue to post a diversity of body positive content on her creator account and dedicate Megababe’s account to brand content.

How to create an Instagram business account 

Now that you’ve decided which method and account type will work for you. Follow the instructions in the relevant sections below to set up your account. 

Switching to a business profile from a personal profile

If you plan to convert your personal account, these simple instructions allow you to get a business account right inside your account settings.

1. Tap the menu in the upper right corner in your Instagram profile.
2. Tap “Account type and tools.”
3. Tap “Switch to professional account.”
4. Tap “Continue.”
5. Select a category for your business and tap “Done.”
6. Select Business and tap “Next.”
7. Complete optional steps or tap “X” on the top right corner to return to your profile.

Creating a business account from scratch 

Businesses looking to create an account from scratch can follow the same steps for creating a personal account before switching the account type in settings.

1. Create a new Instagram account from scratch by navigating to the Instagram app and following the signup flow.
2. Choose your username and password and enter your contact details.
3. Set up the account (it will automatically be created as a personal profile).
4. Once you have set up your account, follow the steps in the previous section to switch to a business account.

Access your professional dashboard directly from your Instagram business profile. Within settings, you’ll see new options like Insights, which allows you to track account performance.

Switching to a creator account

If you’re a creator with a business account, consider switching to a creator account. This is similar to a business account but offers unique features such as subscription monetization and access to some commercial audio that’s usually restricted for businesses. 

1. Go to your profile and tap the menu in the upper right corner.
2. Select “Business tools and controls.”
3. Select “Switch account type.”
4. Select “Switch to creator account.”
5. Select “Switch.”

Note: You can also switch from a creator account to a business account following the same steps and tapping “Switch to business account.” 

Adding a new business account to Accounts Center

If you already have a personal account and have created a new business account, you can link these accounts, making it easier to toggle between them.

1. Tap the menu in the upper right corner in your Instagram profile.
2. Tap “Accounts Center.”
3. Tap “Add or remove accounts from this Accounts Center.”
4. Follow steps to link your accounts.

You can also link your Meta Accounts Center with Facebook pages and profiles. This allows you to easily toggle between without logging in and out.

If you change your mind about switching your personal account to a professional account, you can easily change it back in your settings. Take note of the warning before you make the switch back—you’ll lose access to business features when you do.

The benefits of a business account on Instagram

Switching to a business account is a no-brainer for brands. You can convert your account in seconds, and it’s free to do. And, you can access features that super-power your Instagram efforts, from ads to insights to monetization.

Get deep insights

Instagram Insights gives you a snapshot into your audience and content performance. This data can be adjusted based on timeframe to help you zero in on your most successful content. As you grow, audience insights will tell you more about your followers and the content they prefer.

Sell directly to followers

With Instagram’s in-app shopping features, your audience can browse and buy products without ever leaving the app, reducing friction and increasing conversion. You can pair your ecommerce store with your Instagram account using the Facebook and Instagram app for Shopify.

Run ad campaigns 

Instagram ads can expose your brand to new followers and potential customers through powerful targeting capabilities. Analytics built into the ad platform help you keep tabs on what’s working so you can double down on your most successful ads.

Ads like these above from Knix and Casper look like regular posts in users’ feeds, with the exception of a small “Sponsored” tag and a direct link to the advertisers’ store.

Add more details to your profile

Switching to a business account means you can super-power your profile with more information and more ways to get in touch. Add a retail address, contact options, and, for creators, a subscribe option.

In the example above, The Herbivorous Butcher and Revol Cares both took advantage of extra features of professional accounts, adding buttons and dropdown options like Shop, Email, Sign Up, and Order Food.

4 tips for making the most of your Instagram business account 

Brand your profile

Like your website or a store display, Instagram is an opportunity to surface your brand to new eyes. Use a branded profile photo or logo and other identifying elements (slogan, brand voice) that help new visitors understand your brand values and aesthetic. 

In this example, Frank Darling not only used a branded profile picture (its own logo), it also created a set of matching icons that serve as covers for its Story Highlights. 

Take advantage of the available features

Business accounts get more out of Instagram bios, with the ability to add location, address, and type of business without taking up precious character count. Also, try adding Instagram shopping and, for creators, Instagram Subscriptions.

Plan your content

While it’s tempting to jump on every Instagram trend or share every exciting moment in your entrepreneurial journey, consider the overall story you are telling. Edit your content down to the types of posts that resonate most with your target customer. And, consider the overall vibe of your content grid. Is it cohesive? Does it reflect your brand?

In the above examples, brands Freedom Moses and SuzyQ Doughnuts both consider the overall feed aesthetic when posting content. Consistent type treatments and color palettes make these brands feel professional.

Consider your target audience

With a personal account, your posting habits are often related to what you like. Business accounts should consider, however, the content their target audience likes. If the goal of your Instagram account is to increase brand awareness, grow your audience, or drive sales, consider what content will help you achieve that. 

One study found that certain content types perform better overall than others, with funny, creative, and informative content taking the top three spots. 

However, this data represents Instagram users overall and may not match your target audience’s preferences. Test content types and formats, and analyze which resonates best with your followers. 

How to grow your business account 

With your business account set up and a plan for moving forward, you can start to consider the bigger picture: how will you grow your account to help meet business goals? Alongside monitoring your insights and adjusting your content strategy accordingly, there are more ways to grow your business on Instagram.

• Try Instagram ads. Instagram ads look like organic posts and appear with them in the feed. Ads can get you more reach and help you target specific audiences by demographic and interests.
• Use relevant hashtags. Research hashtags that are trending at the moment or in your industry and use only those that match your content and brand. This can attract more Instagram followers by giving your content more reach.
• Engage in partnerships. Partnering with other complementary brands can be a win-win for both brands. Choose partners wisely and ensure you share similar audiences to gain reach with the right people. Run a co-hosted giveaway or launch a collab product. 
• Leverage the power of influencers. Even smaller influencers can give your brand a boost. Find those that are genuinely excited about your brand so that the partnership feels genuine.

Building an Instagram business from the ground up 

Now that you’ve set up your new professional account, it’s time to put its features to work! Instagram can be a valuable tool for brands that take advantage of its power to build awareness, foster connections with users, and drive sales.

Crafting the perfect pitch to deliver to investors can be time consuming. And, if you don’t have the right resources, understanding the venture capital world can be intimidating. That’s why tapping into others’ expertise can be valuable.

Elly Truesdell spent nearly 10 years at Whole Foods, sourcing new brands as global director of product innovation, before starting her venture fund, New Fare Partners. The fund has backed powerhouse brands such as Omsom, Midday Squares, and chef Bobby Flay’s premium cat food line, Made by Nacho.

Elly has experience both pitching investors and receiving pitches from founders. Ahead, she shares her strategies for pitching and actionable tips for aspiring business owners. 

 

Drafting short and organized emails

Investors have limited time on their hands and receive a large number of pitches. If you can break your cold email into small digestible sections and clear objectives, it’s more likely someone will get back to you. “Length is so important. Keep it tight and make your point quickly,” Elly says. 

Adding a personal touch 

Having a personal anecdote will go a long way. “I need to know why you, as a founder, have gone out and put your life on the line to build this business, not just that you’re chasing opportunity,” Elly says.

Making your brand as personal as possible will help convince investors to take a chance on you. It’s best to have a few stories that explain the larger impact of your business, what it means to you, and why the connection is so strong. “Get me excited and interested beyond you just making money,” Elly says. 

Find out what is going to tie that fund, angel investor, or high net worth person to your business. Story will go a long way to making this connection. “There needs to be something tangible and more personal to you and them, because I need to know no one else could do it the way you’re doing it,” Elly says. 

Knowing your audience

Find personal anecdotes that connect you to each fund and thoroughly research each investor you pitch. Check in with other founders who can give you first-hand advice, improving your chances of securing funding. “Know their past investments and motivations to set yourself up for success, and talk to those other founders, because they will be honest,” Elly says.

Putting yourself in a good position to pitch your brand in a way that’s suited to an investor is key. “We try to keep very up-to-date notes with specs on investors, with their website, key players, typical check size, their stage, and current portfolio, so that we’re walking into the conversation as if we’re a student of the fund,” Elly says. 

As important as it is to research funds, it’s important to know your competitors as well. “It’s tough when I get pitched a product that says they’re the only person doing X … and I, just off the top of my head, know three or four other brands who are doing it,” Elly says.

Practice makes perfect

Going through the pitching process isn’t easy. As difficult as it is to put yourself out there in front of investors, you’ll get better at it over time. 

“In my early days of Made by Nacho, we had a couple sample pitches on Zoom calls with funds and people that we knew either wouldn’t invest or were not people that we really wanted to invest, just to practice,” Elly says. If you can do so without wasting anyone’s time, use your connections to work out your pitch and practice feeling confident. 

Doing a few test runs is important. It will be even more helpful if you have other people that you’re raising money with, because there needs to be a bit of choreography to your pitch. 

As a founder, you’re going to face many rejections, but it shouldn’t stop you from pushing onward. 

Discover more of Elly’s fundraising tips and hear how she developed her career on the fullShopify Masters episode.

You don’t need a revolutionary new product idea to sell things online. In fact, you don’t even have to manufacture your own products to start your own ecommerce business.

Various business models put product development, manufacturing, and order fulfillment into the hands of others—and profits into yours. One of these models is the resale business model.

Becoming a reseller is a great way to launch a small business and quickly start selling online. Read on to learn how to become a reseller, and get some tips and ideas for running a successful reseller online shop.

What is a reseller? 

A reseller is a business that purchases products from manufacturers, liquidators, or other retailers and then sells them to its own customers. A reseller business permit—also known as a resale license, resale certificate, or tax exemption certificate—allows resellers to purchase certain items free of sales tax, including:

• Items to sell at wholesale
• Items to sell at retail
• Ingredients or components to manufacture and sell things

The reselling business model makes it easier for the average consumer to find and purchase products.

Many resellers also provide a value-add for the customer experience. For instance, buying directly from a supplier isn’t necessarily easy, and often requires minimum purchase quantities. By contrast, resellers can sell items individually to customers (at a markup), as well as create a branded customer experience. Those elements may be as simple as in-depth product descriptions and reviews, a customer loyalty program, and customer support.

A reselling business has a number of benefits and can be a profitable business model, especially if you have niche expertise. You can launch an ecommerce store faster when you don’t have to go through all the steps of product development and building an audience.

Reselling is also a viable business pursuit for people who like and have success with marketing. If you can plan and execute effective marketing strategies, your reselling business is more likely to achieve success.

Straight product reselling is great for someone who has specific expertise or knowledge of an industry or demographic. For example, someone who knows a lot about vintage apparel could create a reselling business around vintage concert t-shirts.

How to become a reseller

1. Register your business
2. Research state laws and regulations
3. Gather your application materials
4. Get a resale permit

1. Register your business

Get a business license where your business operates and/or is incorporated. In states outside of where a business is registered, you’ll need to have foreign qualification.

2. Research state laws and regulations

Many states will let you use an out-of-state reseller’s permit to avoid paying sales tax on resale items. However, some won’t honor out-of-state permits. Research state law before buying across state lines, both for in-person and online sales.

3. Gather your application materials

Once you know what you need to register and submit your application, prep all the necessary documentation for your reseller business.

4. Get a resale permit

File for a reseller business permit in each state where you buy and sell goods. You might also have to pay associated fees.

Sales tax laws vary by state, and each state has its own sales tax rates. In some states, local sales taxes must be collected, too. According to the Tax Foundation, 45 states and the District of Columbia collect statewide sales taxes, and 38 states collect local sales taxes. To find out your specific requirements, it’s best to check with your local jurisdiction.

In the United States, a business with a reseller permit doesn’t pay sales tax on the products it purchases for sale. However the reseller does have to collect sales tax from its customers and send it to the state.

Like a business license, you take out a resale permit wherever your resale business operates. So, if you incorporate in Florida, but have an online store, shipping location, or factory in Delaware, you’ll need a Delaware reseller’s permit. If you buy and sell goods in multiple states, you’ll need a valid permit in each.

How to find suppliers for your resale business 

To find a supplier for your resale business, start with identifying what types of products you want to sell and what kinds of customers you want to sell them to. Then you’ll need to determine if you want to find a supplier that operates like a distributor, providing wholesale products to you, or like a dropshipper, supplying products and handling order fulfillment.

To search for reseller business suppliers, you can browse online directories, do a Google search, or ask for referrals from within your network. Here is a list of product sourcing apps perfect for Shopify merchants. Each serves as a directory that makes it easy to find products to sell online. You can access a variety of products across all kinds of categories, such as electronics, toys, and cosmetics.

You can also start a reselling business by partnering with well-known dropshipping websites like Worldwide Brands, SaleHoo, Doba, and AliExpress (see our complete guide to AliExpress). Browse their websites to see what kinds of products are available for resale.

Five reseller business ideas

Reselling opens the doors to a lot of new business opportunities, as you don’t have to invest in product development and manufacturing. These qualities also make reselling a great home business or side hustle, which you can eventually turn into a full-time job.

Here are five ideas to get you started with a reselling business.

1. Dropshipping business

You can start a dropshipping business, which gives you the ability to offer a wide range of products without stocking any inventory. In a dropshipping business model, the products that you’ll resell are all fulfilled by the supplier—all you have to do is market and sell the products. Your dropshipping supplier handles everything product-related, from product development to warehousing and tracking, and even through to order fulfillment.

Dropshipping is a low-risk business model because it doesn’t require investment in inventory, not to mention the costs associated with storing that stock. Plus, the supplier handles the fulfillment process for you, so you don’t need staff or a space to ship goods to customers.

2. Sneaker business

Shoes offer resellers a wide range of niches—from athletic shoes to stylish heels to trendy sneakers and everything in between. People always need shoes, and you can keep things fresh by launching seasonal designs. There’s ample opportunity to resell shoes and make a tidy profit doing so.

New Jersey–based Shopify merchant Packer Shoes started as a small neighborhood custom shoe shop. The company has grown since its humble beginnings in 1907, largely thanks to its omnichannel approach. Now, in addition to reselling sneakers from household name brands like Adidas, Packer Shoes offers its own designs as well.

3. Vintage boutique

If you’re thinking about how to start an online boutique for reselling, you’re on the right track. The used goods resale industry is huge: in the US alone, there are more than 20,000 stores that sell used goods, amounting to a combined annual revenue of about $17.6 billion. A vintage boutique is a great way to take advantage of this reselling business opportunity.

When sourcing vintage goods for your reseller business, you can go by the traditional definition of goods that are older than 50 years and younger than 100, or you can take inspiration from vintage trends. COAL N TERRY does the latter with its vintage clothing collection.

You can resell vintage clothing, antique furniture, or any knick-knacks you can find at garage sales, yard sales, thrift stores, or donation centers. The key to a successful vintage reselling business is to learn what items people look for, and the price points they’re willing to pay. For example, vintage Corningware is in high demand for a niche market of customers.

4. Consignment 

If an online business selling vintage goods sounds appealing, consider taking this idea to the next level by opening a consignment shop. Consignment shops sell upscale or luxury used goods, and not everything is antique or vintage—some items are newer.

Love that Bag etc, for example, is a Shopify merchant that operates a consignment shop from its online store. Though Love that Bag etc is selling high-quality designer bags for less than they cost brand new, they’re more expensive than bags you might find at a vintage shop.

5. Subscription box

The subscription box reached peak popularity with brands like Birchbox, and remains a flexible business model for a reseller looking to establish a more predictable revenue stream. You can curate an assortment of goods and package them into a single box.

To start your own subscription business, first determine your target market and then look for goods that fit their wants and needs. You can assemble the goods in themed boxes and launch a new one each week, month, quarter, or whatever cadence you want to hit.

Start your reselling business today

Now that you know how to become a reseller, consider starting your reseller journey today. Because you don’t have to invest in product development, upfront inventory, or fulfillment, this business model is a low-risk way to dip your toes into operating an ecommerce business and owning your own shop.

Illustration by Gracia Lam