Do you want to learn how to start a coffee mug business from the ground up? You’ve come to the right place. You should start a coffee mug business online immediately if you want to turn your passion for coffee mugs into a home-based online business. The nicest part about starting a coffee cup business is that you can do it entirely online and grow it up quickly with little to no initial investment. But it doesn’t mean you won’t have to work hard to get your coffee mug business off to a strong start. The good news is that we’ve put together everything you’ll need to start your own coffee cup business from the ground up.
1. Familiarize yourself with the Coffee Mug Industry
You must first understand everything there is to know about coffee mugs in order to start a profitable coffee mug business from home. This will not only make starting a coffee mug business easier, but it will also help you scale the company. The best part about starting a coffee mug business from home is how inexpensive it is to get started. Bear in mind, you should stay up-to-date with current coffee mug market trends because the industry is rapidly changing.
Sourcing the Coffee Mugs For Your Business
When it comes to purchasing inventory for a coffee mug business, you have two options. You can either purchase coffee mugs in bulk from a wholesaler or manufacturer and resell them at a retail price, or you can buy plain coffee mugs and customize them yourself. Let’s take a closer look at two alternative business paths.
Sourcing the Coffee Mugs Through Wholesalers
If you don’t have expertise in customizing coffee mugs, this is the best option. There is a slew of manufacturers and distributors that provide coffee mugs at low prices; the only catch is that you must buy in volume. Each supplier’s minimum order quantity (MOQ) varies. To obtain a better rate, you’ll need to buy at least 100 coffee mugs on average. The following are some of the greatest suppliers for your coffee mug business:
Make sure to ask for a sample of a coffee mug before you commit yourself to buy the minimum order quantity set by suppliers.
Making Your Own Customized Coffee Mugs
Due to a variety of reasons, the exact tools and equipment you’ll need to start manufacturing your own customized coffee mugs can differ. I’m going to concentrate on the supplies required to customize a basic coffee mug for the purpose of simplicity. You may then expand and add to your touch to create and sell new styles. You don’t need much to get started designing colorful coffee mugs for your business. All you’ll need are some water slide decal papers, crystal clear spray, and some simple tools like a scissor and brush. Here are a few of my favorite tried-and-true items:
- Water-Slide Decal Paper
- Rubbing Alcohol
- A plain-colored coffee mug
- Scissor
- A Silicon Brush
Keep in mind, you don’t need to buy these items in bulk. You can easily get all these items at your nearest dollar tree at the cheapest price. Make sure you buy only around 20 plain coffee mugs while getting started.
Here is how you customize your coffee mugs.
Understand the costs to start a coffee mug Business
You could start a coffee mug business from home at a basic level for around $300 to $500. An extra $300 could get you off to a great start. That being said, if you want to operate your coffee mug business on a bigger scale by buying in bulk through wholesalers, it could cost you anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000 depending on the size of inventory and marketing strategies implemented.
Bear in mind, the basic level coffee mug business startup cost of $300 to $500 includes the supplies($200) and marketing costs($300). If you want to go really cheap, you can cut the inventory cost and opt for a dropshipping business model. If you don’t mind a little hard work, the coffee mug business is one of the best businesses to start and grow.
Is the coffee mug Business Profitable?
If you know how to promote your items effectively, the coffee mug industry can be quite profitable. High-quality and customized coffee mugs can retail for as much as $15-$20, with a cost per piece of roughly $2-$5 if purchased from a wholesaler or make your own. This equates to a profit of about $15 for every coffee mug sold. Even if only 100 coffee mugs are sold, you will make a profit of roughly $1500.
Is a coffee mug Business worth it?
It is undeniably worthwhile to start a coffee mug business. The coffee mug business is worth a shot because it involves little to no capital and no prior business experience. Starting a coffee mug business has a lot of potentials and is easy to run and develop. Because of the low entry barrier, it’s a fantastic business for youngsters to start.
2. Plan Your mug Business
Any company’s ability to plan forward is vital to its success. When it comes to starting a coffee mug business, the same is true. Let’s go over some of the actions you’ll need to follow as you prepare to launch your coffee mug business.
Choose a name for your coffee mug business
You must choose a name that expresses your company’s principles and beliefs, whether you want to establish a coffee cup business or a notebook business from home.
Remember that your legal business name must adhere to the state naming requirements in the states where you plan to operate your business; otherwise, the state may refuse to accept the documents you filed to form or qualify the company. While you may not need to register your coffee mug business when you’re just starting started, adhering to your state’s name requirements will help you avoid complications in the future if your coffee mug business takes off and you want to scale it quickly by registering and trademarking it.
Shopify’s Business Name Generator is a free tool that helps to brainstorm brandable names for your coffee mug business. Some of the cool ideas, I got from Shopify Business Name Generator, for mug business name are:
- Mug Addict
- Small Town Mug
- Splash of Colors
- Sparkle & Shine
- Coffee Girls!
- Berry Blast
- Coffee Chiller
- Mug Zone
- Hydro Mug
- Bubbly Mugs
Once you decide the name of your coffee mug business, you need to perform three final checks.
- First, check your State’s business name database to see if your desired business name is available.
- Second, do a domain name search to check if the name of your coffee mug business is available as yourbusinessname.com. If it is available go ahead and register the domain before anyone else gets it. Namecheap offers domain names for as cheap as $0.99 for the first year. You can use the tool below to see if the domain name is available.
Find a domain starting at $0.88
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- And lastly, do a federal search on the US Trademark Electronic Search System and make sure nobody has already trademarked the name of your coffee mug business.
Write a solid Business plan for your coffee mug Business
To start a profitable coffee mug business from home, you’ll need a sound business strategy at the very least. Don’t get into the coffee mug industry because it sounds like fun and some people make a living doing it.
Consider the USP (Unique Selling Proposition) of your coffee mugs. What creative tactics will you use to entice customers to your coffee mug business? What is your customer acquisition strategy?
A well-written business plan should outline the key goals of your coffee mug business and how you plan to achieve them. A business plan can also help your coffee mug business appear professional and acceptable to potential financial institutions in the near future.
Overall, a well-written actionable business plan is an essential document for your coffee mug business. A compelling business plan contains numerous sections, some of which must be included when starting a coffee mug business.:
- Executive Summary
- Business Description
- Market Analysis
- Competitor Analysis
- Products to Offer
- Competitive Pricing Strategy
- Marketing Strategy
- Fundings
- Financial Projections
You can use business plan software like BizPlan and Enloop to compose a professional-looking business plan for your coffee mug business.
3. How to sell coffee mugs online?
The next step is putting the name of your coffee mug business out there on the web for everyone to see. There are two ways you can accomplish it. You can either sell through a third-party website like Etsy or Amazon. Keep in mind, these companies will charge you a small commission on each coffee mug sold. Also, they can kick you out of their platform anytime they want and you’d have no control over it.
The next option is having your own platform to sell your coffee mugs online. Having your own customized websites is a crucial part of starting a coffee mug business. You need to have a professional online store in order to sell your coffee mugs online.
Make the most of the internet’s capabilities. You must personalize your website and ensure that it is consistent with your brand. You can include photographs of your coffee mugs as well as customer testimonials to make a strong first impression on your visitors. Also, remember to include your goal statement on your website and explain why your customers should purchase your coffee mugs.
Designing an online store has become really easy. The days when you needed to pay thousands of dollars to a website developer for a small online store are gone. Thanks to Shopify, you can now create a brand new online store for your coffee mug business starting just from $29. The cherry on top is that Shopify offers a 14-day free trial (no credit card required) for you to try out the platform. This is more than enough time to set up an online store, upload your products, and set up the payment systems.
If you want someone else to work on the technicalities while you focus on acquiring more clients for your coffee mug business, we are ready to help you. Our $199 digital package for the coffee mug business comes with a professionally designed online store, custom email, 24/7 support and maintenance, SEO, and digital marketing services. You wouldn’t want to miss the deal. Contact us today before the deal runs out.
4. Packaging for your coffee mug business
The days of packaging being solely for the purpose of protecting your coffee mugs from damage are long gone. Packaging has evolved into a branding strategy in the modern era. It aims to strengthen your brand, effectively communicate, and sell and protect your coffee mugs. Furthermore, packaging constructs anticipation and excitement for your coffee mugs. As a result, if you want to start a coffee mug business, you’ll need a good packaging strategy. When people see a wonderfully packaged coffee mug, it entices them to open it and adds a theatrical element. Overall, you must devote time to developing an actionable packaging strategy for your coffee mug business.
Thousands of eye-catching packaging supplies for your coffee mug business are available on Etsy.
5. Promote your coffee mug Business?
For whatever reason, most entrepreneurs do not include marketing in their business strategy. This is possibly one of the major business blunders they’ll ever make, and you should never make it yourself. Word of mouth is the most effective form of marketing for a coffee mug business. When your mug prototype is fully operational, give the samples to your friends and family to test. Request feedback on your mugs and make a list of what they liked and disliked. If they liked your coffee mugs, request that they tell their friends and family about them. You can also kindly ask that they share your coffee mug business’s social media pages with their contacts.
You can also use digital marketing to market your coffee mugs on a national or international scale. Join your local business group or small business communities in your area to learn about the tools that other businesses use to market their products and services.
Contact us if you need assistance running digital ads for your coffee mug business. We can offer free advice and resources to help you market your coffee mug business online.