Private labeling is one of the best ways to get your business started. It has low start-up costs, an easy route to market, and can be based on exactly what you’re into. Want to sell t-shirts? Go for it, buddy. Perhaps watches are more your thing? Or knife sets? With Amazon selling nearly everything these days and offering quick delivery, it’s never been easier to become an entrepreneur with private labeling. Check out these top three tips below to help you get started.
Get a great supplier
There are a number of great suppliers in the US that offer private label products and if you’re looking at supplying anything edible, you should definitely stay with FDA regulated suppliers. That being said, for a lot else, China offers a great source of potential suppliers. You’ll want to check out Alibaba for some great deals.
Make sure you’re searching for either “OEM” or “private label” products so that you don’t hit any major speed bumps with your supplier. Be patient as well; many Chinese suppliers don’t have a brilliant grasp of English. If you do happen to understand Mandarin, however, make sure you look at Taobao for some good deals.
Find some good packaging
Nobody wants to buy a product that comes in a quickly taped together parcel covered in Chinese writing and stickers from customs and shipping. Fortunately, there are some brilliant flexible packaging solutions out there to give you a hand in this. With packaging like this, you can not only make sure that your product arrives intact and in great condition, but you can show everyone your rocking branding. After all, what would your customers rather see, the logo that you crafted to be just right for your business, or a crumpled FedEx one?
Leverage social media
Modern consumers are stuck to their phones and computers- the rise of Amazon to dominate the marketplace demonstrates this. People no longer need to spend hours browsing through stores to find what they want when they can find it almost instantly online. That being said, if no one knows you exist, no one’s going to buy your product.
Social media is a great way to get the word out. With 2.07 billion active users on Facebook, there’s a wealth of people out there that you can reach with it. A carefully crafted Facebook advert can cost less than $0.05 per click if targeted right and will send potential customers directly to your website or landing page, helping you to get both the contact details and sales of your potential customers. Look into using Google Adwords and Instagram marketing to engage with different audiences and then tailor these approaches to fit your ideal customer.
These three top tips will help you get started. Make sure you check out further guides on sourcing products and how to create good, effective social media campaigns for a reasonable price. Finally, make sure to remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day, keep at your business, and you will succeed.