How to Start an Office Supply Business

Summary: Offices need a regular supply of their various needs day-to-day like paper, ink, paper clips, and many other things. Schools are also big users of office supplies, which can even be among your major markets of the business you are thinking of setting up.

An informal survey of the number of offices and schools in the area of your planned business would be helpful.

When you start your office supply business, ensure that the space you occupy has enough storage capacity for the various office supplies that you have to keep in stock in preparation to servicing your clients. Your stockroom must be of the all-weather type, meaning your supplies, especially paper, may not get wet even if there are strong winds and rains that may hit your area every now and then. You should have also a closed van that you can use for hauling the office supplies from your supplier or for delivering them to your clients’ offices.

Identify Your Source of Office Supplies

Your location should also be near enough to the suppliers you would tap to provide you with all the office supply items that you need to be ready with, whenever your customers and clients call for them. If you can get suppliers willing to deliver to your place the items you need, so much the better, so you can substantially cut on your own transportation costs. That will also mean some savings for you on overhead expenses for personnel. All the suppliers you will work with must have appropriate communication facilities so you can easily contact them anytime.

Locate Your Store Centrally

The other important factor to consider in deciding where to locate your store is its central location relative to the business offices and the schools that will be your main clients and customers. This should make your many delivery trips of office supplies to them easy and convenient for you. If you can also get a store space, where there is considerable pedestrian traffic passing by all day that will be an added source of income. You can set up a retail portion of your store for small transactions with individuals needing to buy your office supply items.

You have to make the existence of your store known to the public, especially to the establishments that you will be supplying with the office supplies. You can initially spread this information when you conduct your survey of the area in the city where you intend to do business to determine how many offices and schools are there that will be your market for your goods. When you have finally decided where to locate the store, go around the offices and schools a second time, this time with your business card detailing more information about your new store. If you have established your own website, your business card should include this information for those who might choose to order office supplies from you online.