Creating a small tote bag business

How to create a small tote bag business:

Starting a business from scratch is very scary and intimidating. Many thoughts run through the brain of a small business entrepreneur. Will I succeed? Will anyone buy from me? Will I be able to sustain the sales? I am really small, will I be able to compete with larger businesses. That's a huge reason why we should support small businesses. Shopping local for your retail and service needs will not only help these small businesses stay afloat, but it also allows them to grow and employ more people within your community. 

1)The plan of a small tote bag business:

The first thing any small business owner needs to do is understand their strengths and weaknesses. That will help you create your business plan, understand your target audience, the why, how and call to action you think is appropriate for your brand. This step usually takes about 3-6 months to complete. When you have an idea of what niche of tote bags you want to reach, it's time to research the manufacturer, materials, designs and potential website domains to use. After that is all figured out it's time to get quotes from the manufacturer and the prices from the website domains you are planning to use. Many entrepreneurs have a coding background so many create their websites from scratch which take at least 3 weeks to complete. Moreover, this step is where many lose focus. Whether it's because you couldn't find a manufacturer or your patience is running out. Don't give up! This is a crucial because if you can surpass this step you are 70% done with the creation process.

2)Financial funding and investing:

Now the small business owner must calculate the capital that they needed and how much of it they can invest without others' help. Many family members and friends invest at this stage of the business process. They are called early-stage investors. Many of the people investing at this stage do it as a form of encouragement to the small tote business owners. These early investors don't expect their money back since it's really early in the business's life cycle and so much can go wrong. Moreover, when you collect enough capital to cover the costs of the first batch of inventory, go ahead and order your tote bags from the manufacturer.

3)Social media and marketing:

At this stage of the business, you are pretty much done with the hard part. What you need now is to focus on brand awareness. To start, you will need to open an Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook page for your tote brand. Your website should also be ready at this stage. Link all your socials to your website. Now it's time to promote, promote, promote! Hire a videographer and photographer (preferably a friend who is willing to do it for free) and start creating content for your target audience. You should also start building your social media following by following people you think are your target audiences. This can help you gain traction to your website. Your last step before your launch is to post a teaser video of your tote bag designs to get people excited. Don't forget to have the launch date written in your teaser video.

Lastly, launch your own tote bag company!

I am guessing that you, as a new entrepreneur didn't expect that many steps to create a tote bag company. But it's true. It takes so much time and dedication to create a brand that reflects you and your target audience. My brand Toteley focuses on creating cultural and traditional tote bag designs. However, you could be focusing for example on creating tote bags with different types of flower designs on them. The demand is huge and there is a place for everyone. We are not in competition. We support each other. We are there to help and guide each other. 

So I ask you to look over my designs and share them with someone you think would appreciate cultural and traditional art on tote bags.