How Much Stationery Should You Purchase When You Start Out?

Posted on January 31st, 2009, by Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D.

If you are a new small business owner, you might have this question (as did one of our Life of E’s members!):

When starting a business, how much letterhead and how many business cards do you think a person should start with? The big “breaks” in cost seem to be at 2000 sheets of letterhead and 1000 business cards.

Here are my thoughts, based on owning 2 small businesses and coaching numerous other entrepreneurs.

Someone can go through 2000 sheets of letterhead in a big hurry – so don’t worry that you’re going to be burdened with too much. You can use it for marketing, invoices, cover sheets on handouts, etc. This will help you get your “brand” out there and will help you use lots of the stationery, so don’t worry about having some kind of giant stash that you’ll never use up.

And, in case you are worried that you want to change something about your stationery, your business cards, or your other materials, having 2000 sheets to start wit is not so much that you are going to be stuck with something that is out of date, incorrect, or that you don’t care for.

With business cards, if there is a significant break at 1000, then you might as well get that many – and then DON’T BE SHY (or stingy) about handing them out! Whenever people get new business cards, it’s as if we think we have to hoard them. The opposite is true! We need to be giving them out freely, leaving them various places, carrying piles of them with us, going to networking events and having them ready to give to those who ask, etc.

Once you have definitely established your brand and you know that your stationery information and format (including address, website, email, and other contact information) are fairly stable, then you can go for one of the higher price breaks (5000 sheets if you do a lot of direct marketing), but until then, 2000 is a gracious plenty.

Having professionally-designed stationery (including business cards and possibly envelopes, too) is one of the ways you can let others know that you’re serious in your business. It’s not just a hobby, it’s a career, a job, a calling, a passion, a business.

If you want additional ideas for moving your small business forward, be sure to consult the Life of E’s blog:

http://meggin.com/lifeofes/wordpress/

Topics ranging from money to productivity to speaking to writing to coaching to business set-up and more are featured there.

And, to make sure you are productive in your personal and professional life, you’ll want to access the resources at

http://www.TopTenProductivityTips.com

Through her company, Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., Meggin McIntosh changes what people know, feel, dream, and do via seminars, workshops, writing, coaching, & consulting.

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