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You might be surprised and unhappy to learn that hazard insurance is not included in your existing business insurance policies. Business hazard insurance is often included in your commercial property insurance policy. If you have a mortgage, obtaining business hazard insurance is likely a requirement. Check the specifics of your policies with your insurance company. What is Hazard Insurance for Business? A hazard insurance policy protects small businesses against accidents. Accidents can encompass natural disasters like those resulting from wind damage or wildfires. Business hazard insurance can also safeguard you against associated damages, including losses from power outages, explosions, theft, riots, and vandalism. Benefits of a Hazard Insurance Policy for Small Businesses If you own a business property, your worries don’t end when you lock the doors. Business insurance should cover you for things – like accidents – that are beyond your control. That’s where hazard insurance cost is worth its benefits: Peace of mind Protection of business property Protection against natural disasters Ability to recoup the business property damages due to looting and vandalism Financial protection – Through the insurance company, less time to wait before being reimbursed. How to Find Out if You Already Have Hazard Insurance Hazard insurance may be included within existing policies. Check your commercial property insurance policy and/o your business property insurance. If you operate your business from home, review your homeowner’s insurance policy to determine if it includes business hazard insurance. In addition to your homeowner’s insurance, you will also need general liability insurance. If your homeowner’s insurance does not cover business hazard insurance, you may need to purchase it separately. Check with your insurance company. What is Covered by Small Business Hazard Insurance? What does business hazard insurance cover? Business insurance coverages with a hazard policy include: Costs for equipment repair and replacement – Coverage may extend to damages resulting from building collapses or interior flooding caused by hurricanes. Property damage – Coverage can include repairs to the building exterior and entryways. Inventory damage – Inventory can include finished products, such as clothing, as well as the materials to make the products. Damage to outdoor landscaping, including fencing and lighting. Lost income – if you can’t open your business due to damages, you may be able to make a claim to recover financial losses. What is Not Covered by Business Hazard Insurance? Equipment breakdown coverage – If a machine malfunctions and you experience production delays, that situation is not covered. However, if a tornado or severe windstorm leads to a tree falling on the building and damaging the machine, hazard coverage would apply. To protect against production losses due to breakdowns, you can obtain business interruption insurance. Damages to personal property. For example, your personal vehicle is parked at the entrance, and a windstorm causes a tree to break and fall on the vehicle. Your personal auto policy would cover that. If it’s a business vehicle, it would be covered. Injuries sustained on your property, bodily injury suffered by clients or visitors, and ensuring medical bills. Injuries or damages caused by your products or services. For that, you’ll need professional liability insurance. That type of insurance is often called Errors and Omissions insurance. Any “unnamed” hazards. Your business hazard insurance policy will specify certain hazards. If an accident, hazard, or natural disaster occurs that is not specified in your policy, you will not be covered. Read More: how much does business insurance cost How Much Does Hazard Insurance Cost? When you begin to shop with an insurance company, you’ll be pleased to learn that hazard coverage isn’t very expensive. As a general estimate, you can anticipate a monthly payment of approximately $60, accompanied by a $1,000 deductible and a claim payment limit of $60,000. The cost will be higher if you live in a high-hazard area, such as a coastal area. How to Choose the Right Hazard Insurance Company for Your Business As previously stated, start your research with a call to your insurance company. See if you already have hazard insurance through your existing business property insurance. Business owners need hazard insurance and often have enough through existing policies. If you don’t have hazard insurance coverage, start a list: Analyze your risks, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and/or flood insurance. Through area business organization, network with other small business owners. Find out how they handle this issue, and which insurance company they use. Seek insurance advice. You may find a small business insurance specialist who bundles commercial property insurance with general liability coverage, workers’ compensation insurance, property coverage (including business equipment), business owner’s policies, cyber insurance, professional negligence, and other types of business insurance. With just a phone call, you can shop amongst insurance providers and find your best fit. Schedule an in-person meeting with your insurance agent. While property insurance coverage is crucial, having an attentive and responsive agent is equally important. Analyze the policies offered, comparing costs involved such as deductibles. Also, pay close attention to how loss or damage to business equipment and/or inventory is covered – would be receive the actual cash value or the replacement cost? How to Get Hazard Insurance If you shop online, you can use tools to easily compare insurance policies. With the policy’s benefits and costs displayed side by side, you can more easily choose the right coverage as a small business owner. Check with several reputable providers, including State Farm, Nationwide, Travelers, Allstate, and Farmers. In just a few clicks, you can review the details of what each company provides. Is Hazard Insurance the Same as Commercial Property Insurance? No, it’s not the same. It may be included within a commercial property insurance policy, or you may need additional coverage. Is Hazard Insurance Essential? Yes. You can’t predict or prevent an accident or natural disaster. As your business grows, you’ll have more reasons to add Hazard coverage options. If you’re applying for a mortgage or leasing business property, often hazard insurance will be required. You can add it to your business owner’s policy. Does SBA require hazard insurance? Yes. When applying for a loan from the Small Business Administration (SBA), you are required to provide evidence of your Hazard Insurance coverage. Without this coverage, your application for an SBA loan will not be approved. Read More: best small business insurance companies Image: Depositphotos This article, "Do You Need Business Hazard Insurance?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

You might be surprised and unhappy to learn that hazard insurance is not included in your existing business insurance policies. Business hazard insurance is often included in your commercial property insurance policy. If you have a mortgage, obtaining business hazard insurance is likely a requirement. Check the specifics of your policies with your insurance company. What is Hazard Insurance for Business? A hazard insurance policy protects small businesses against accidents. Accidents can encompass natural disasters like those resulting from wind damage or wildfires. Business hazard insurance can also safeguard you against associated damages, including losses from power outages, explosions, theft, riots, and vandalism. Benefits of a Hazard Insurance Policy for Small Businesses If you own a business property, your worries don’t end when you lock the doors. Business insurance should cover you for things – like accidents – that are beyond your control. That’s where hazard insurance cost is worth its benefits: Peace of mind Protection of business property Protection against natural disasters Ability to recoup the business property damages due to looting and vandalism Financial protection – Through the insurance company, less time to wait before being reimbursed. How to Find Out if You Already Have Hazard Insurance Hazard insurance may be included within existing policies. Check your commercial property insurance policy and/o your business property insurance. If you operate your business from home, review your homeowner’s insurance policy to determine if it includes business hazard insurance. In addition to your homeowner’s insurance, you will also need general liability insurance. If your homeowner’s insurance does not cover business hazard insurance, you may need to purchase it separately. Check with your insurance company. What is Covered by Small Business Hazard Insurance? What does business hazard insurance cover? Business insurance coverages with a hazard policy include: Costs for equipment repair and replacement – Coverage may extend to damages resulting from building collapses or interior flooding caused by hurricanes. Property damage – Coverage can include repairs to the building exterior and entryways. Inventory damage – Inventory can include finished products, such as clothing, as well as the materials to make the products. Damage to outdoor landscaping, including fencing and lighting. Lost income – if you can’t open your business due to damages, you may be able to make a claim to recover financial losses. What is Not Covered by Business Hazard Insurance? Equipment breakdown coverage – If a machine malfunctions and you experience production delays, that situation is not covered. However, if a tornado or severe windstorm leads to a tree falling on the building and damaging the machine, hazard coverage would apply. To protect against production losses due to breakdowns, you can obtain business interruption insurance. Damages to personal property. For example, your personal vehicle is parked at the entrance, and a windstorm causes a tree to break and fall on the vehicle. Your personal auto policy would cover that. If it’s a business vehicle, it would be covered. Injuries sustained on your property, bodily injury suffered by clients or visitors, and ensuring medical bills. Injuries or damages caused by your products or services. For that, you’ll need professional liability insurance. That type of insurance is often called Errors and Omissions insurance. Any “unnamed” hazards. Your business hazard insurance policy will specify certain hazards. If an accident, hazard, or natural disaster occurs that is not specified in your policy, you will not be covered. Read More: how much does business insurance cost How Much Does Hazard Insurance Cost? When you begin to shop with an insurance company, you’ll be pleased to learn that hazard coverage isn’t very expensive. As a general estimate, you can anticipate a monthly payment of approximately $60, accompanied by a $1,000 deductible and a claim payment limit of $60,000. The cost will be higher if you live in a high-hazard area, such as a coastal area. How to Choose the Right Hazard Insurance Company for Your Business As previously stated, start your research with a call to your insurance company. See if you already have hazard insurance through your existing business property insurance. Business owners need hazard insurance and often have enough through existing policies. If you don’t have hazard insurance coverage, start a list: Analyze your risks, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and/or flood insurance. Through area business organization, network with other small business owners. Find out how they handle this issue, and which insurance company they use. Seek insurance advice. You may find a small business insurance specialist who bundles commercial property insurance with general liability coverage, workers’ compensation insurance, property coverage (including business equipment), business owner’s policies, cyber insurance, professional negligence, and other types of business insurance. With just a phone call, you can shop amongst insurance providers and find your best fit. Schedule an in-person meeting with your insurance agent. While property insurance coverage is crucial, having an attentive and responsive agent is equally important. Analyze the policies offered, comparing costs involved such as deductibles. Also, pay close attention to how loss or damage to business equipment and/or inventory is covered – would be receive the actual cash value or the replacement cost? How to Get Hazard Insurance If you shop online, you can use tools to easily compare insurance policies. With the policy’s benefits and costs displayed side by side, you can more easily choose the right coverage as a small business owner. Check with several reputable providers, including State Farm, Nationwide, Travelers, Allstate, and Farmers. In just a few clicks, you can review the details of what each company provides. Is Hazard Insurance the Same as Commercial Property Insurance? No, it’s not the same. It may be included within a commercial property insurance policy, or you may need additional coverage. Is Hazard Insurance Essential? Yes. You can’t predict or prevent an accident or natural disaster. As your business grows, you’ll have more reasons to add Hazard coverage options. If you’re applying for a mortgage or leasing business property, often hazard insurance will be required. You can add it to your business owner’s policy. Does SBA require hazard insurance? Yes. When applying for a loan from the Small Business Administration (SBA), you are required to provide evidence of your Hazard Insurance coverage. Without this coverage, your application for an SBA loan will not be approved. Read More: best small business insurance companies Image: Depositphotos This article, "Do You Need Business Hazard Insurance?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Wi-Fi chipset leader MediaTek is sharing its Wi-Fi 8 vision for boosting performance in everyday environments. The post New white paper: MediaTek highlights Filogic Wi-Fi 8 features for enhancing reliability & real-life performance appeared first on Wi-Fi NOW Global. View the full article

Middle managers have had a hard go of it over the past five years. There was the upheaval of the pandemic, followed by ongoing changes in the workplace as companies adjusted to remote work and then, in many cases, eventually brought employees back into the office. Amid all these fluctuations, managers have been tasked with mitigating low morale, parrying employee discontent, and juggling their mounting responsibilities, especially as recurring layoffs thin their ranks. It doesn’t seem like the challenges middle managers are facing will disappear anytime soon, which could lead to high rates of turnover in the very near future. And it’s also not clear whether a new generation of workers is ready—or willing—to take their place if managers leave their posts. In surveys, Gen Z workers have indicated they have little interest in middle management and that high rates of anxiety might keep them from taking on those jobs. “As managers struggle, Gen Z sees the toll of the job and backs away, leaving fewer employees to rise into management roles,” writes entrepreneur Jan Bruce. “This puts more pressure on remaining managers.” Bruce argues that many companies could be facing a “manager crash” this year that would have far-reaching effects, particularly if younger employees don’t want to step into those roles. But there are some things employers can and should do to help support their current middle managers, as well as those who might take their place in the future. Invest in programs that support middle managers One thing leaders can do is evaluate psychosocial risk, according to Bruce, which can identify some of the biggest stressors facing managers at the company. That can include everything from tight deadlines to workplace conflict or excessive workloads. Managers are also often expected to oversee day-to-day tasks while also taking on more strategic, long-term projects. Being explicit about mental health resources and other workplace benefits can also be an important aspect of supporting middle managers, who often report feeling invisible and underappreciated. Mandatory vacations or “disconnect periods” can help alleviate some of the burnout and stress that managers are likely feeling. Beyond that, however, they also need adequate support from their higher-ups. “Making sure managers have consistent, supportive check-ins with their own supervisors can help reduce isolation,” Bruce writes. Train the next generation of managers In order to make middle management more appealing, companies also need to think about how to cultivate a new crop of workers who are equipped to step into those roles. Bruce notes that it is important to focus on some of the skills that are most valuable in managers and perhaps underdeveloped among Gen Z employees. “We have found the employees most skilled in handling change and challenge—the realities that managers deal with daily—have the highest levels of those very skills: emotion control, stress management, engagement, and positivity,” Bruce says. “These are the specific, actionable areas to focus Gen Z training efforts on in order to improve their ability to handle management demands.” What managers can do If you’re a manager looking for guidance, there are also steps you can take to better manage your workload and schedule. To avoid toggling between different tasks, management expert Lia Garvin recommends scheduling similar meetings on the same day. “When our calendar looks like Swiss cheese, we can get in the habit of slotting in meetings whenever we have a free moment, but this reinforces the overwhelm of having to operate at so many different levels in one day,” she writes. Since managers are often hopping from meeting to meeting, it can be difficult to accommodate more strategic work or long-term projects. It can help to pencil that work into your schedule instead of assuming you’ll be able to carve out time in your day. Senior leaders can also help address this pain point by limiting meetings to certain days. “Instead of fitting work in where you can, plan for it,” Garvin says. “Find and schedule one to two hours every week for project time, during working hours, that you don’t schedule over.” Perhaps the most important strategy managers can adopt, however, is to delegate more and spend less time involved in the details of projects that don’t require close attention. Think of this as a way to give your employees new opportunities while also freeing up time in your day—and hopefully making your job the slightest bit easier. “Ultimately, the middle manager’s role is to empower their teams to grow,” Garvin adds. “It’s impossible to do this when we’re too stuck in all the details and barely able to come up for air.” View the full article

Longevity with freelancing is entirely possible if you’re intentional, adaptable, and development-oriented. Freelancers should think of themselves as a business of one as opposed to an outsourced employee for other companies. And it’s import to always be improving that business. As E-Myth Revisited author Michael Gerber once wrote, “Most entrepreneurs fail because they are working in their business rather than on their business.” There’s always going to be more competition, new technology, shifting market conditions, and stuff happening in your life that will impact your career as a freelancer. After nearly 12 years of freelancing, here are my recommendations on how to level-up your approach and ensure self-employment remains a sustainable option in 2025. Look for new sources of leads You don’t need to be everywhere, but building a consistent flow of outreach from clients who want to hire you happens when you’re visible on multiple platforms. Any marketing channel or relationship that’s led to you landing a project will ebb and flow with time and at some point become less reliable as a way of attracting clients. To offset the risks of a downturn in client outreach, I’ve found that actively using two different promotional platforms makes all the difference. A promotional platform could be a Slack community, social media network, local networking group, hosting a podcast, running a newsletter, or freelancer marketplace. What matters is that it’s a place where clients are looking for your products or services, and you can show up consistently to communicate the value of your offerings and expertise. Marketing yourself takes time and resources, so identify another promotional avenue where you don’t need to start from scratch and could repurpose existing insights there. Provide certainty and reliability It’s fair to feel like we live in uncertain times. Now more than ever, you can help offset this shared feeling by aiming to make your engagements and interactions with clients and partners frictionless. Showing up as a source of certainty and reliability can help others see you as a valuable partner who’s easy to work with and makes their jobs easier. This can play out in small ways like always showing up on time or sharing meeting invites in a client’s time zone to save them the effort, so engaging with you is seamless. And of course, this can be expressed in big ways like delivering outcomes you’ve promised on a project and when possible, exceeding those expectations. Getting hired again by a past customer is often because you were enjoyable to work with the first time, delivered as expected, and helped them look good for hiring you. Check-in with past clients It’s up to you to stay in touch with past colleagues and clients. Often that’s the touchpoint needed for them to remember to hire you again and retain your services. Be intentionally persistent by following up with them in non-invasive ways like inviting them to a coffee, interacting with their LinkedIn content, or sending them an email. Sometimes you’ll pitch them on how you can provide them value through another project, but most of the time that’s not the goal. Most of this outreach should be checking in on their progress, delivering them help like free advice or support of some kind, and genuinely maintaining the relationship. Long-term, these connections you’ve built can deliver more client referrals, provide partnership and mentorship opportunities, and help you grow professionally. Find your own networking style Networking doesn’t have to be awful like many make it out to be. In fact, it’s one of the ways you’ll be able to sustain a business as an independent contractor when done right. But don’t wait until you’re between clients to start—that’s what’s most important. It doesn’t need to be cringy or self-serving: Just staying in touch with people you actually like or have common interests with, or ideally both. It’s up to you to make it happen though. Most people put it off at all costs, so take the lead here. Don’t have clients you actually like or have anything in common with? Put yourself out there and fix it so networking is more enjoyable and less of a cumbersome task. Reach out to someone connected to a colleague, attend a workshop in your area, or tap into your alumni network. There’s no shortage of options. Just get started. Befriend other freelancers Working on your own brings a lot of benefits, like having more control over your schedule. But one downside is that you can feel isolated. It’s helpful to connect with other freelancers. Whether they do the same work you do, or provide adjacent services and skills, these relationships can provide you with motivation, friendships, or opportunities to learn. Sometimes these connections can even refer you to relevant projects or keep an eye out for opportunities you should consider—just don’t go into this looking for that directly. Re-examine your offerings Once or twice a year, I take a look at how I’m framing my services in terms of the structure of packages, pricing options, and how I’m communicating the benefits. Early in my freelancing journey I’d set standards like, I’m not taking on this type of work for less than this dollar amount or unless it’s a project of this kind of duration. It can be helpful to set limits on the kinds of work you’re open to so you’re not inundated with low-paying engagements or misaligned clients. But sometimes, these self-imposed limitations can be too rigid or misaligned to what the market is currently interested in. As a result, you could miss out creatively and financially. For a while, I only took on marketing consulting projects where I worked with a client on a month-to-month basis and partnered with their team to build out a strategy. Each month was centered on completing a set of agreed upon deliverables from making the marketing plan to training their team to execute on the programs over a few months. While this was a successful way to frame this kind of project for large companies with the budget and resources to collaborate in this way, many other firms couldn’t afford to work with me in this capacity. To capture this business, I reframed this offering to include two options, one is high-touch and low-touch consulting. High-touch was the original offer where I worked closely with the company over a few months to build out their strategy, best suited to large, well-resourced teams. The new option—low-touch consulting—offers similar support but at a lower cost and provides advice and counsel across a set number of meetings per month. Instead of working closely with the team on deliverables, I’m providing them with strategic direction across select meetings, and it’s up to them to put our work into action. As a result, I was able to land more of these clients when I offered more options suited to businesses with a wider range of circumstances. And at the same time, I’m protecting my bandwidth and ensuring I’m not taking on more than I can handle by setting different constraints for these kinds of projects. Structure and limitations are essential to a smoothly running business, but get more creative with how you’re framing your projects to adjust them to your client’s circumstances. Look beyond social media Social media is often the go-to method of promoting your work as a freelancer, but it’s far from the only choice. More professionals, for a variety of justified reasons, are trying to spend less time using social media personally or for work. There’s many other options out there as long as you choose destinations where your audience is spending time and that align with the way you prefer to share your ideas. If you’re more of a talker than writer, create your own podcast or become a regular guest of podcasts in your industry. If writing is your strong suit, you can contribute thought pieces to a trade publication. If you enjoy being in front of the camera, you could periodically host webinars. Look out for AI susceptible projects AI hype is exhausting at times. Don’t let it lead you to tune out. What’s important to focus on is areas of your work that are most likely to be disrupted by AI so you know where to scale back or adjust. Review what you offer to clients and identify any aspects of your work that are execution-based, repetitive, formulaic, or require a little active thinking. These are the types of tasks most likely to be entirely replaced or change significantly with the integration of AI, and it’s necessary you’re not overly reliant on this kind of work. For a freelance web designer, this might be a task like creating the initial wireframe for a website, which is an outline of sorts that details a site’s structure and hierarchy. While critical to the early stages of planning the design of a website, AI can create a comprehensive wireframe quickly and adapt it to a particular client’s needs. Combining your expertise and AI might help you deliver quality wireframes at a faster pace and streamline the design process for clients in the process. However, if a majority of your freelance work is wireframing without AI, I’d strongly recommend reducing your focus on this output and diversifying your offerings to clients. That’s one instance of the kind of work that is likely to dry up in the not so distant future, and the goal is to avoid being in that position. Instead, prioritize delivering work that’s centered on strategic problem solving, leverages your unique perspective shaped by your experience and skills, taps into your relationship building capacity, and draws on your emotional intelligence. And of course, consider hybrid services where you’re using AI-powered processes and your professional expertise to deliver outcomes with more speed, efficiency, and accuracy. Always be learning The number one way to maintain a career as a freelancer, and really most career paths, is prioritizing ongoing skill development. No matter the industry, enhancing your existing skills and acquiring new, complementary ones is what ensures you remain relevant in the workplace. Change has always been a constant across industries, but the speed at which conditions are shifting is intensifying and requires you to make learning a regular habit. Direct your efforts towards passive and active learning, two modes of professional development that’ll better equip you to stay ahead of the curve. Passive learning is one-way engagement with educational materials where you’re not immediately applying the learnings, getting hands on, and engaging with others. This involves asynchronous courses, reading articles, listening to podcasts, and consuming newsletters, and should be a daily or weekly practice of absorbing new information. Easier to incorporate into your workday and completely self directed, you create the curriculum that aligns with your expertise as a freelancer. Active learning is two-way interactions with instructional materials through engaging with others by discussing, analyzing, and applying the lessons learned. More time-intensive, active learning happens in cohort-based courses, networking, masterminds, group workshops, coaching, and educational bootcamps. Its deeper immersion into the subject matter and focused on collaborating with other learners, instructors, mentors, or coaches to help explore and integrate the material. Aim to incorporate active learning once a quarter or every few months to explore new skills more comprehensively. Adding both to your routine will help make you a more adaptable and dynamic freelancer better suited to meet the ever-evolving demands of your industry. View the full article

Whether you’re already a sticker enthusiast or you’re looking for a unique niche to start your own small business, starting a sticker business offers a variety of opportunities. The sticker market is larger than you might think, and just about anyone can learn to create stickers. Not only are they a popular hobby for collectors of all ages, but stickers are a valuable marketing tool used by businesses around the world. Read on for everything you need to learn how to start a sticker business: Key Steps to Starting a Sticker Business So, you’ve decided to start a sticker business. Congratulations! But while it might seem like you can just buy some paper and a printer and start selling, starting a successful sticker business is more involved. The following key steps are necessary as part of the startup checklist for your sticker business on the right foot. Choose Your Niche All stickers are not created equally. Sure, there is value in most stickers, but the market is huge, and you can’t possibly target every type of customer. After all, more than 3 million sticker products are sold on Etsy alone… that’s a lot of competition. Instead, try to target one or two slices of the sticker market and choose the type of stickers you will sell, or your business niche, whether they be colorful decals marketed to kids or standardized shipping labels created for a manufacturer. Know Your Target Audience Just as you want to choose a niche of stickers to sell, you also should determine your target customer. To whom will you primarily market your stickers? Will you sell them to consumers, and if so, what demographic? Or, will your sticker business market toward a commercial target audience, creating stickers for other small businesses? Name Your Sticker Shop Your sticker business is no different from any other small business, and it needs a name to succeed. Your business name is important because it serves as customers’ first introduction to your company, it makes your business stand apart from the competition, and it tells people what your small business is all about. Design a Logo Branding is important to survive in a competitive market, and the first step to branding your sticker business is designing a logo. The logo will visually represent your company to the market, so its design should signify your small business’s products, values, and vision. With an artistic eye, you can design your own logo, or you can rely on a variety of logo design tools and logo design services to help you create the perfect logo for your sticker business. Create a Business Plan Before you can acquire funding for your sticker business, you’ll need to establish a business plan. Even if you plan to start small without help from a bank or investor, writing a business plan will help you define your business, identify your target market, and create effective business strategies. Part of a business plan for your sticker business should include an overview of your business, including a general description of your company, products, and financial projections, as well as a description of your target market, the products you will sell, and your general marketing plan. Include a Financial Projection Create detailed financial projections, including startup costs, pricing strategy, revenue forecasts, and break-even analysis. This will help you understand the financial viability of your sticker business and plan for future growth. Buy the Necessary Equipment Technically, you can start selling stickers with little more than certain paper and a basic printer, but if you want a successful sticker business, you probably want to provide higher-quality products that require better equipment. Therefore, some new business owners will opt to outsource their printing until their business becomes profitable, as opposed to risking the initial investment before the business is established. When you are ready to invest in the type of equipment needed for creating high-quality stickers to sell, you’ll need to buy: Printer – While just about any basic printer will print stickers, a small business owner typically will want a higher-quality printer that not only works with multiple types of paper, but also uses high-quality yet affordable ink and includes other advanced features. Cutting machine – Without a cutting machine your stickers are nothing more than printed paper. A plethora of electronic cutting devices are available to make stickers, each with its own features, functions and capabilities. Sticker paper – There are no stickers without paper, so of course, you’ll need an ongoing supply of this basic material. Determine what types of sticker paper you want to offer to your customers, including choices like what material and whether you want a matte or glossy finish. Packaging – Even if you outsource the printing of your stickers, you’ll need packaging supplies to deliver them. Most sticker businesses send their products to customers using the mail or a delivery service like FedEx or UPS, so you’ll need packing materials like envelopes and tissue paper for each order. You might also want to include marketing materials in your shipments to promote business growth. Other materials – To offer professional-quality stickers to your customers, you’ll want a few other basic materials, including a cutting mat and clear vinyl laminate to protect your products from damage. Create Sticker Designs Will you create your own sticker designs, or will you purchase designs from another artist or graphic designer? If you choose to create your own designs, a variety of visual design and digital imaging software programs like Circuit and Sillouette are available to assist you. Other software options include Adobe’s Photoshop and Illustrator. Artists can choose whatever program they prefer, as long as the software can create a JPG or PNG file. Explore Design Trends and Customer Preferences Keep abreast of current design trends and customer preferences. Consider offering personalized or custom stickers, which can be a unique selling point. Use customer feedback and market research to continually evolve your design offerings. Set Your Prices No matter where you decide to sell you stickers, you’ll need to establish how much they will cost. Will you charge the same price for all stickers, or will your prices vary based on a sticker’s design or size? Will you charge customer’s separate shipping charges? If not, be sure to consider this cost when determining your pricing. Look at the market and see what competitors are charging for similar products if you’re unsure what to charge. Choose Your Packaging How will you send your stickers to your customers? Will you use a simple envelope, or will you invest in custom shipping materials for your sticker business? Keep in mind that packaging can serve as an important marketing and branding asset. Sustainable and Attractive Packaging Options Consider using eco-friendly and aesthetically pleasing packaging. This not only appeals to environmentally conscious consumers but also enhances the overall customer experience. Branded packaging can also serve as a marketing tool. Set Up a Business Bank Account Before you start sending or receiving money as a business, be sure to open a business bank account. A business bank account offers a level of professionalism to your small business. It separates your business and personal finances, which helps to protect the business and keep it legally compliant. Similarly, a business credit card can assist in financing your business during slow times and allow you to purchase inventory before you start making a profit. Register for Taxes To keep your business legally compliant, it’s important to ensure that you and your customers are paying the appropriate taxes. Small businesses can be subject to a variety of local, state and federal taxes, including property taxes, state and federal income taxes, sales tax and employment taxes. Be sure to register for a Federal Tax ID and any applicable state tax IDs. Get Business Insurance Inerent risks accompany running a business. What if there is a natural disaster that destroys your inventory? What if you hire an employee who gets injured on the job? What if an artist sues your sticker company for selling a design similar to their own? You’ve likely invested a lot of time and money into the success of your business, so you’ll want to obtain business insurance to protect that investment. You might want to consider insurance types including property insurance, liability insurance and cyber insurance if you are selling stickers in the online marketplace. Apply for Permits and Licenses Will you need any permits and licenses to operate your sticker business? Because requirements for businesses to obtain various types of permits and licenses vary by state and locality, there’s no simple answer to that question. Be sure to check on the business requirements in your locality and apply for any applicable permits and licenses. Compliance with Online Sales Regulations If you plan to sell stickers online, ensure you’re compliant with e-commerce regulations, including sales tax collection and privacy policies. Stay informed about laws governing online businesses in your country and in any international markets you serve. Create a Business Entity What type of business entity will you create for your sticker business? What is the structure of your small business? Do you plan to operate your sticker business as a sole proprietorship, a partnership, an LLC, or a corporation? The type of business entity can determine precisely how your company is taxed and the overall structure of the organization. The business entity can also impact what happens if the business is sued, how easily you can get a loan or investment to support the business, and how the business is insured. Market Your Business How will you tell your target audience about your new business? You can’t just set up your own sticker shop on Etsy or launch a website to sell stickers online and expect customers to automatically find you. You have to market your stickers for your online business to succeed. Social media offers a simple platform to advertise stickers, and business owners should be sure they establish profiles on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other relevant social networks. Sticker business owners can also use traditional advertising methods to market their sticker sheets, including paid advertisements and even attendance at shows, fairs and conventions. Include a Robust Online Marketing Strategy Use digital marketing techniques such as search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing (blogging about sticker design, usage tips, etc.), and email marketing campaigns to reach a wider audience. Utilize social media platforms to display your stickers, highlight customer reviews, and interact with your audience. Scale Your Business How will you scale your business? It doesn’t take much to start your own sticker business, but once you start to turn a profit, you’re going to want to expand and increase your earning. Perhaps you started off selling physical stickers, but you decide to expand into the digital sticker realm. Or maybe you started off selling stickers on Etsy, and you’ve become so successful you want to open a series of your own sticker shops. Maybe you started off selling a specific sticker design, and you’ve found so much success you want to start offering custom sticker printing, too. The sky is the limit for your sticker business, so be prepared to scale. Explore Additional Sales Channels Beyond your primary sales platform, consider additional channels like craft fairs, local boutiques, or collaborations with other businesses. Partnering with influencers or artists for a limited-edition sticker series can also expand your reach. Continuously Monitor and Adapt Regularly analyze your business performance using metrics such as sales data, website traffic, and customer feedback. Be ready to adapt your strategy, whether it’s adjusting your product line, exploring new marketing tactics, or scaling up your production capacity. Types of Stickers You might have a specific vision in mind when you think of a sticker, but it actually comes in a variety of forms. Stickers can be made from a variety of materials, take a variety of shapes and be used for a variety of purposes, ranging from standard manufacturing labels to designer custom stickers. What types of stickers do you plan to sell? Some of the most common types of stickers include: Vinyl Stickers – Vinyl is one of the most favored materials among sticker artists because it is weatherproof and durable. Additionally, vinyl adheres to nearly any surface, making vinyl stickers highly versatile options for customers. Bumper Stickers – If you have a statement to make or a quick wit to share, you might sell it on a bumper sticker in your sticker shop, which customers can use to decorate their cars or other surfaces, sharing your eloquent words with the world. Planner Stickers – An entire community of planning enthusiasts use stickers to decorate their schedules, planners and calendars, mapping memories and expressing emotion through colorful decals. Die-Cut Stickers – These colorful cut-outs are popular among sticker hobbyists and can be stuck to practically anything. Die-cut stickers are cut to the shape of the design, and so customization options are endless. Logo Stickers – Brands love to buy logo stickers to market their companies. Most logo designs are perfectly suited for printing on stickers, and some sticker businesses specialize in supplying these commercial labels to fellow organizations. Photo Stickers – Photo stickers are a popular custom sticker option for customers to paste their favorite memories to notebooks, bottles, laptops, phone cases and practically any solid surface. Sticker TypeDescriptionPreferred MaterialVersatilityCustomization OptionsPopular Use Cases Vinyl StickersPopular medium for sticker artists, weatherproof and durable, sticks to almost anything, versatile choice for customers.VinylHighLimited by design shapeDecorate laptops, water bottles, phone cases, car windows, and more. Bumper StickersStatement-making and witty, used to decorate cars and surfaces, share messages with the world.VinylMediumLimited by design sizePersonal expression, political messages, humor, advocacy, and more. Planner StickersUsed by planning enthusiasts to decorate schedules, planners, and calendars, express emotions through colorful decals.VinylMediumLimited by design sizeOrganizing, memory mapping, expressing emotions in planners and diaries. Die-Cut StickersColorful cut-outs, popular among hobbyists, can be stuck to almost anything, endless customization options.Vinyl or PaperHighWide range of shapesCrafting, DIY projects, personalization of belongings. Logo StickersBrands use to market their companies, perfect for printing logos, some businesses specialize in supplying commercial labels.VinylMediumLimited by logo designBrand promotion, product packaging, marketing materials. Photo StickersCustom option for customers to paste favorite memories on various surfaces like notebooks, bottles, laptops, and phone cases.VinylMediumLimited by photo sizePersonalizing belongings, capturing memories on everyday items. Where to Sell Your Stickers What should you do once you’ve finished printing your stickers? Where will you establish your sticker shop? Those days of needing a physical space in a local mini-mall or community marketplace are long gone. In fact, the era when sticker sellers were required to sell physical stickers at all is also over. You can sell stickers your own stickers online through a variety of platforms, including your own website, social media pages, and online marketplaces like Etsy or Amazon. While these platforms typically charge sellers a fee for listing or selling their products, they are highly cost effective compared to designing, establishing and marketing an individual website. Etsy Etsy is a global online marketplace where people can sell their arts and crafts, although the community has expanded far beyond cross-stitch and paper mache to include unique products of all types. Etsy features an entire section of its platform devoted to sticker shops, where sticker businesses can set up an Etsy shop to sell stickers online. Amazon Handmade Amazon Handmade is an online marketplace where artists can sell their products to a world audience. Everything sold on Amazon Handmade must be made by hand or altered by hand, no mass-produced products allowed. Therefore, it’s the perfect place to set up an online shop for your sticker business. Sticker You Sticker You is a sticker-dedicated platform where people can buy and sell their favorite decals. It offers a great place for sticker businesses to sell their wares at the Sticker You Store, a free marketplace that is connected to the Sticker You website and the Sticker You physical retail store. Redbubble Redbubble is an online print-on-demand marketplace where artists can list their designs, and customers can order them printed on all sorts of products. The artist is then paid a royalty on the use of their artwork. A sticker designer can spend their time designing stickers and listing their works on Redbubble without the need to manufacture their own stickers. eBay eBay might have started off as an online auction website, but it is now a global online marketplace where people can buy and sell almost anything under the sun… including stickers. Sticker businesses can list their products on eBay, knowing the brand recognition of the platform will attract buyers. Shopify If you don’t want to rely on online marketplaces for your sticker shop location, you can set up your own online store using a platform such as Shopify, which offers a variety of web-based tools to help small businesses run their online stores. By establishing your own online sticker store, you gain even more control over business aspects like operations, branding, and marketing. Understanding Copyright and Licensing for Sticker Designs As you venture into the world of sticker business and start creating designs, it’s crucial to understand the complexities of copyright and licensing. While designing stickers can be a creative and enjoyable process, it’s essential to respect the intellectual property rights of others and protect your own designs. Here’s what you need to know about copyright and licensing for sticker designs: Copyright Basics Copyright law protects original creative works, including art, designs, and graphics, as soon as they are created and fixed in a tangible medium (e.g., paper, digital file). As the creator of a sticker design, you automatically own the copyright to that design. This means you have exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works based on your design. Licensing Your Sticker Designs When you want to sell or distribute your sticker designs to others, you have the option to license your work. Licensing allows you to grant specific permissions to others while retaining your copyright. There are various licensing models you can choose from, each with its own terms and conditions. Some common types of licenses include: Personal Use License: This allows customers to use your stickers for personal purposes only and prohibits commercial use or redistribution. Commercial Use License: This permits customers to use your stickers for commercial purposes, such as on products they sell, as long as they adhere to the terms of the license. Royalty-Free License: Under this type of license, customers pay a one-time fee to use your sticker design without ongoing royalty payments. This is common in stock image and design marketplaces. Exclusive License: With an exclusive license, you grant a customer sole rights to use your sticker design, and you cannot sell or license it to anyone else during the specified term of the agreement. Using Others’ Artwork and Designs As you build your sticker business, you may come across artwork or designs created by others that you’d like to use in your stickers. It’s essential to remember that using someone else’s copyrighted work without permission is illegal and can lead to legal consequences. Always seek permission from the copyright owner before using any artwork that you did not create yourself. Protecting Your Own Designs To protect your sticker designs, consider taking the following steps: Register Copyright: Although copyright protection is automatic, registering your designs with the copyright office provides additional legal benefits and remedies if your work is ever infringed upon. Use Watermarks or Copyright Notices: Adding watermarks or copyright notices to your digital images can deter unauthorized use and remind people that your designs are protected. Terms of Use: Clearly outline the terms of use for your sticker designs on your website or selling platform. This will help customers understand the permissions they have when purchasing your stickers. Watch for Copyright Infringement: Consistently check online marketplaces and social media platforms to confirm that your designs are not being utilized without your consent. By understanding and respecting copyright and licensing principles, you can build a successful sticker business while protecting your intellectual property and respecting the rights of others. Remember to consult with a legal professional for advice specific to your situation and jurisdiction. Image: Depositphotos This article, "How to Start a Sticker Business" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Whether you’re already a sticker enthusiast or you’re looking for a unique niche to start your own small business, starting a sticker business offers a variety of opportunities. The sticker market is larger than you might think, and just about anyone can learn to create stickers. Not only are they a popular hobby for collectors of all ages, but stickers are a valuable marketing tool used by businesses around the world. Read on for everything you need to learn how to start a sticker business: Key Steps to Starting a Sticker Business So, you’ve decided to start a sticker business. Congratulations! But while it might seem like you can just buy some paper and a printer and start selling, starting a successful sticker business is more involved. The following key steps are necessary as part of the startup checklist for your sticker business on the right foot. Choose Your Niche All stickers are not created equally. Sure, there is value in most stickers, but the market is huge, and you can’t possibly target every type of customer. After all, more than 3 million sticker products are sold on Etsy alone… that’s a lot of competition. Instead, try to target one or two slices of the sticker market and choose the type of stickers you will sell, or your business niche, whether they be colorful decals marketed to kids or standardized shipping labels created for a manufacturer. Know Your Target Audience Just as you want to choose a niche of stickers to sell, you also should determine your target customer. To whom will you primarily market your stickers? Will you sell them to consumers, and if so, what demographic? Or, will your sticker business market toward a commercial target audience, creating stickers for other small businesses? Name Your Sticker Shop Your sticker business is no different from any other small business, and it needs a name to succeed. Your business name is important because it serves as customers’ first introduction to your company, it makes your business stand apart from the competition, and it tells people what your small business is all about. Design a Logo Branding is important to survive in a competitive market, and the first step to branding your sticker business is designing a logo. The logo will visually represent your company to the market, so its design should signify your small business’s products, values, and vision. With an artistic eye, you can design your own logo, or you can rely on a variety of logo design tools and logo design services to help you create the perfect logo for your sticker business. Create a Business Plan Before you can acquire funding for your sticker business, you’ll need to establish a business plan. Even if you plan to start small without help from a bank or investor, writing a business plan will help you define your business, identify your target market, and create effective business strategies. Part of a business plan for your sticker business should include an overview of your business, including a general description of your company, products, and financial projections, as well as a description of your target market, the products you will sell, and your general marketing plan. Include a Financial Projection Create detailed financial projections, including startup costs, pricing strategy, revenue forecasts, and break-even analysis. This will help you understand the financial viability of your sticker business and plan for future growth. Buy the Necessary Equipment Technically, you can start selling stickers with little more than certain paper and a basic printer, but if you want a successful sticker business, you probably want to provide higher-quality products that require better equipment. Therefore, some new business owners will opt to outsource their printing until their business becomes profitable, as opposed to risking the initial investment before the business is established. When you are ready to invest in the type of equipment needed for creating high-quality stickers to sell, you’ll need to buy: Printer – While just about any basic printer will print stickers, a small business owner typically will want a higher-quality printer that not only works with multiple types of paper, but also uses high-quality yet affordable ink and includes other advanced features. Cutting machine – Without a cutting machine your stickers are nothing more than printed paper. A plethora of electronic cutting devices are available to make stickers, each with its own features, functions and capabilities. Sticker paper – There are no stickers without paper, so of course, you’ll need an ongoing supply of this basic material. Determine what types of sticker paper you want to offer to your customers, including choices like what material and whether you want a matte or glossy finish. Packaging – Even if you outsource the printing of your stickers, you’ll need packaging supplies to deliver them. Most sticker businesses send their products to customers using the mail or a delivery service like FedEx or UPS, so you’ll need packing materials like envelopes and tissue paper for each order. You might also want to include marketing materials in your shipments to promote business growth. Other materials – To offer professional-quality stickers to your customers, you’ll want a few other basic materials, including a cutting mat and clear vinyl laminate to protect your products from damage. Create Sticker Designs Will you create your own sticker designs, or will you purchase designs from another artist or graphic designer? If you choose to create your own designs, a variety of visual design and digital imaging software programs like Circuit and Sillouette are available to assist you. Other software options include Adobe’s Photoshop and Illustrator. Artists can choose whatever program they prefer, as long as the software can create a JPG or PNG file. Explore Design Trends and Customer Preferences Keep abreast of current design trends and customer preferences. Consider offering personalized or custom stickers, which can be a unique selling point. Use customer feedback and market research to continually evolve your design offerings. Set Your Prices No matter where you decide to sell you stickers, you’ll need to establish how much they will cost. Will you charge the same price for all stickers, or will your prices vary based on a sticker’s design or size? Will you charge customer’s separate shipping charges? If not, be sure to consider this cost when determining your pricing. Look at the market and see what competitors are charging for similar products if you’re unsure what to charge. Choose Your Packaging How will you send your stickers to your customers? Will you use a simple envelope, or will you invest in custom shipping materials for your sticker business? Keep in mind that packaging can serve as an important marketing and branding asset. Sustainable and Attractive Packaging Options Consider using eco-friendly and aesthetically pleasing packaging. This not only appeals to environmentally conscious consumers but also enhances the overall customer experience. Branded packaging can also serve as a marketing tool. Set Up a Business Bank Account Before you start sending or receiving money as a business, be sure to open a business bank account. A business bank account offers a level of professionalism to your small business. It separates your business and personal finances, which helps to protect the business and keep it legally compliant. Similarly, a business credit card can assist in financing your business during slow times and allow you to purchase inventory before you start making a profit. Register for Taxes To keep your business legally compliant, it’s important to ensure that you and your customers are paying the appropriate taxes. Small businesses can be subject to a variety of local, state and federal taxes, including property taxes, state and federal income taxes, sales tax and employment taxes. Be sure to register for a Federal Tax ID and any applicable state tax IDs. Get Business Insurance Inerent risks accompany running a business. What if there is a natural disaster that destroys your inventory? What if you hire an employee who gets injured on the job? What if an artist sues your sticker company for selling a design similar to their own? You’ve likely invested a lot of time and money into the success of your business, so you’ll want to obtain business insurance to protect that investment. You might want to consider insurance types including property insurance, liability insurance and cyber insurance if you are selling stickers in the online marketplace. Apply for Permits and Licenses Will you need any permits and licenses to operate your sticker business? Because requirements for businesses to obtain various types of permits and licenses vary by state and locality, there’s no simple answer to that question. Be sure to check on the business requirements in your locality and apply for any applicable permits and licenses. Compliance with Online Sales Regulations If you plan to sell stickers online, ensure you’re compliant with e-commerce regulations, including sales tax collection and privacy policies. Stay informed about laws governing online businesses in your country and in any international markets you serve. Create a Business Entity What type of business entity will you create for your sticker business? What is the structure of your small business? Do you plan to operate your sticker business as a sole proprietorship, a partnership, an LLC, or a corporation? The type of business entity can determine precisely how your company is taxed and the overall structure of the organization. The business entity can also impact what happens if the business is sued, how easily you can get a loan or investment to support the business, and how the business is insured. Market Your Business How will you tell your target audience about your new business? You can’t just set up your own sticker shop on Etsy or launch a website to sell stickers online and expect customers to automatically find you. You have to market your stickers for your online business to succeed. Social media offers a simple platform to advertise stickers, and business owners should be sure they establish profiles on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other relevant social networks. Sticker business owners can also use traditional advertising methods to market their sticker sheets, including paid advertisements and even attendance at shows, fairs and conventions. Include a Robust Online Marketing Strategy Use digital marketing techniques such as search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing (blogging about sticker design, usage tips, etc.), and email marketing campaigns to reach a wider audience. Utilize social media platforms to display your stickers, highlight customer reviews, and interact with your audience. Scale Your Business How will you scale your business? It doesn’t take much to start your own sticker business, but once you start to turn a profit, you’re going to want to expand and increase your earning. Perhaps you started off selling physical stickers, but you decide to expand into the digital sticker realm. Or maybe you started off selling stickers on Etsy, and you’ve become so successful you want to open a series of your own sticker shops. Maybe you started off selling a specific sticker design, and you’ve found so much success you want to start offering custom sticker printing, too. The sky is the limit for your sticker business, so be prepared to scale. Explore Additional Sales Channels Beyond your primary sales platform, consider additional channels like craft fairs, local boutiques, or collaborations with other businesses. Partnering with influencers or artists for a limited-edition sticker series can also expand your reach. Continuously Monitor and Adapt Regularly analyze your business performance using metrics such as sales data, website traffic, and customer feedback. Be ready to adapt your strategy, whether it’s adjusting your product line, exploring new marketing tactics, or scaling up your production capacity. Types of Stickers You might have a specific vision in mind when you think of a sticker, but it actually comes in a variety of forms. Stickers can be made from a variety of materials, take a variety of shapes and be used for a variety of purposes, ranging from standard manufacturing labels to designer custom stickers. What types of stickers do you plan to sell? Some of the most common types of stickers include: Vinyl Stickers – Vinyl is one of the most favored materials among sticker artists because it is weatherproof and durable. Additionally, vinyl adheres to nearly any surface, making vinyl stickers highly versatile options for customers. Bumper Stickers – If you have a statement to make or a quick wit to share, you might sell it on a bumper sticker in your sticker shop, which customers can use to decorate their cars or other surfaces, sharing your eloquent words with the world. Planner Stickers – An entire community of planning enthusiasts use stickers to decorate their schedules, planners and calendars, mapping memories and expressing emotion through colorful decals. Die-Cut Stickers – These colorful cut-outs are popular among sticker hobbyists and can be stuck to practically anything. Die-cut stickers are cut to the shape of the design, and so customization options are endless. Logo Stickers – Brands love to buy logo stickers to market their companies. Most logo designs are perfectly suited for printing on stickers, and some sticker businesses specialize in supplying these commercial labels to fellow organizations. Photo Stickers – Photo stickers are a popular custom sticker option for customers to paste their favorite memories to notebooks, bottles, laptops, phone cases and practically any solid surface. Sticker TypeDescriptionPreferred MaterialVersatilityCustomization OptionsPopular Use Cases Vinyl StickersPopular medium for sticker artists, weatherproof and durable, sticks to almost anything, versatile choice for customers.VinylHighLimited by design shapeDecorate laptops, water bottles, phone cases, car windows, and more. Bumper StickersStatement-making and witty, used to decorate cars and surfaces, share messages with the world.VinylMediumLimited by design sizePersonal expression, political messages, humor, advocacy, and more. Planner StickersUsed by planning enthusiasts to decorate schedules, planners, and calendars, express emotions through colorful decals.VinylMediumLimited by design sizeOrganizing, memory mapping, expressing emotions in planners and diaries. Die-Cut StickersColorful cut-outs, popular among hobbyists, can be stuck to almost anything, endless customization options.Vinyl or PaperHighWide range of shapesCrafting, DIY projects, personalization of belongings. Logo StickersBrands use to market their companies, perfect for printing logos, some businesses specialize in supplying commercial labels.VinylMediumLimited by logo designBrand promotion, product packaging, marketing materials. Photo StickersCustom option for customers to paste favorite memories on various surfaces like notebooks, bottles, laptops, and phone cases.VinylMediumLimited by photo sizePersonalizing belongings, capturing memories on everyday items. Where to Sell Your Stickers What should you do once you’ve finished printing your stickers? Where will you establish your sticker shop? Those days of needing a physical space in a local mini-mall or community marketplace are long gone. In fact, the era when sticker sellers were required to sell physical stickers at all is also over. You can sell stickers your own stickers online through a variety of platforms, including your own website, social media pages, and online marketplaces like Etsy or Amazon. While these platforms typically charge sellers a fee for listing or selling their products, they are highly cost effective compared to designing, establishing and marketing an individual website. Etsy Etsy is a global online marketplace where people can sell their arts and crafts, although the community has expanded far beyond cross-stitch and paper mache to include unique products of all types. Etsy features an entire section of its platform devoted to sticker shops, where sticker businesses can set up an Etsy shop to sell stickers online. Amazon Handmade Amazon Handmade is an online marketplace where artists can sell their products to a world audience. Everything sold on Amazon Handmade must be made by hand or altered by hand, no mass-produced products allowed. Therefore, it’s the perfect place to set up an online shop for your sticker business. Sticker You Sticker You is a sticker-dedicated platform where people can buy and sell their favorite decals. It offers a great place for sticker businesses to sell their wares at the Sticker You Store, a free marketplace that is connected to the Sticker You website and the Sticker You physical retail store. Redbubble Redbubble is an online print-on-demand marketplace where artists can list their designs, and customers can order them printed on all sorts of products. The artist is then paid a royalty on the use of their artwork. A sticker designer can spend their time designing stickers and listing their works on Redbubble without the need to manufacture their own stickers. eBay eBay might have started off as an online auction website, but it is now a global online marketplace where people can buy and sell almost anything under the sun… including stickers. Sticker businesses can list their products on eBay, knowing the brand recognition of the platform will attract buyers. Shopify If you don’t want to rely on online marketplaces for your sticker shop location, you can set up your own online store using a platform such as Shopify, which offers a variety of web-based tools to help small businesses run their online stores. By establishing your own online sticker store, you gain even more control over business aspects like operations, branding, and marketing. Understanding Copyright and Licensing for Sticker Designs As you venture into the world of sticker business and start creating designs, it’s crucial to understand the complexities of copyright and licensing. While designing stickers can be a creative and enjoyable process, it’s essential to respect the intellectual property rights of others and protect your own designs. Here’s what you need to know about copyright and licensing for sticker designs: Copyright Basics Copyright law protects original creative works, including art, designs, and graphics, as soon as they are created and fixed in a tangible medium (e.g., paper, digital file). As the creator of a sticker design, you automatically own the copyright to that design. This means you have exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works based on your design. Licensing Your Sticker Designs When you want to sell or distribute your sticker designs to others, you have the option to license your work. Licensing allows you to grant specific permissions to others while retaining your copyright. There are various licensing models you can choose from, each with its own terms and conditions. Some common types of licenses include: Personal Use License: This allows customers to use your stickers for personal purposes only and prohibits commercial use or redistribution. Commercial Use License: This permits customers to use your stickers for commercial purposes, such as on products they sell, as long as they adhere to the terms of the license. Royalty-Free License: Under this type of license, customers pay a one-time fee to use your sticker design without ongoing royalty payments. This is common in stock image and design marketplaces. Exclusive License: With an exclusive license, you grant a customer sole rights to use your sticker design, and you cannot sell or license it to anyone else during the specified term of the agreement. Using Others’ Artwork and Designs As you build your sticker business, you may come across artwork or designs created by others that you’d like to use in your stickers. It’s essential to remember that using someone else’s copyrighted work without permission is illegal and can lead to legal consequences. Always seek permission from the copyright owner before using any artwork that you did not create yourself. Protecting Your Own Designs To protect your sticker designs, consider taking the following steps: Register Copyright: Although copyright protection is automatic, registering your designs with the copyright office provides additional legal benefits and remedies if your work is ever infringed upon. Use Watermarks or Copyright Notices: Adding watermarks or copyright notices to your digital images can deter unauthorized use and remind people that your designs are protected. Terms of Use: Clearly outline the terms of use for your sticker designs on your website or selling platform. This will help customers understand the permissions they have when purchasing your stickers. Watch for Copyright Infringement: Consistently check online marketplaces and social media platforms to confirm that your designs are not being utilized without your consent. By understanding and respecting copyright and licensing principles, you can build a successful sticker business while protecting your intellectual property and respecting the rights of others. Remember to consult with a legal professional for advice specific to your situation and jurisdiction. Image: Depositphotos This article, "How to Start a Sticker Business" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

It’s almost time for the most heartfelt accolades of Hollywood’s award season. The Screen Actors Guild Awards, hosted by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), is set to take place tonight (Sunday, February 23) at 8 p.m. ET. This tribute to actors gets its emotion from the fact that it is put on by actors. For the nominees, there’s something extra moving about being honored by a group of your peers who have been in the same foxholes as you. So grab the tissues—especially for those “I am an actor” opening monologues—and keep reading so you know how to tune in and go into the ceremony prepared. Who are the SAG Awards nominees this year? Like the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards honor performances in television as well as films. For movies, Wicked leads the pack with five nominations. Shōgun is the most celebrated television series, also with five nominations. Because of its performance focus, the SAG Awards nominations also honor actors whom the Oscars have overlooked or snubbed, such as Queer’s Daniel Craig, The Last Showgirl’s Pamela Anderson and Jamie Lee Curtis, and Wicked’s Jonathan Bailey. Stunt personals also get some love here with shows and films such as Fall Guy and The House of the Dragon up for awards in these categories. You can find the full list of nominations here. Beyond the competitive categories, actor and activist Jane Fonda will be presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Her impressive resume already includes two Oscars, two BAFTAs, seven Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. What about the SAG Awards pre-show? Since 2023, Netflix has been responsible for airing the ceremony. It also has the official pre-show coverage. This kicks off one hour before the official awards show, so tune in at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT to catch it. Hosts Lilly Singh and Sasheer Zamata will guide viewers through all the fashion and interviews, and even announce the stunt award winners. Another alternative is to stream People and Entertainment Weekly’s live-streamed coverage on YouTube. This will feature Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Bronwyn Newport’s hot take on the evening. She will be joined by People editor at large Janine Rubenstein, EW general manager Patrick Gomez, and EW editorial director of TV and music Gerrad Hall. Who is the host of the SAG Awards? The SAG Awards don’t always have a host, but this year Kristen Bell is stepping up to the plate. This isn’t her first rodeo and she initially balked at the idea of having awards ceremonies after the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that greatly impacted large portions of the Los Angeles area in the beginning of the year. She later had a change of heart and saw the bigger picture. Beyond the glamour and spectacle, award shows create and drive a massive ecosystem of professionals and services. “I realized these awards shows are a huge part of Los Angeles’ economy, employing hundreds, if not thousands, of gig workers: drivers, hair and makeup artists, musicians,” Bell stated to USA Today. Tune into Netflix at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT to see Bell and the rest of the acting community in action. View the full article

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Economic forecasting has never been an easy task, and it becomes even more challenging when confronted with unprecedented economic events like COVID-19 lockdowns and unparalleled levels of government intervention, followed by a rapid cycle of interest rate hikes. Look no further than recent mortgage rate forecasts. Last year marked the third year in a row that mortgage rates ended the year higher than forecasters expected. Will they finally get it right this year? ResiClub’s latest roundup of quarterly mortgage rate forecasts shows that most forecasters still expect mortgage rates to gradually decrease over the next 18 months. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate as of Thursday was 6.96%. By the final quarter of 2025, Fannie Mae expects that to slide to 6.6%. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo’s model expects 6.5%, and the Mortgage Bankers Association estimates 6.5%. But even if those forecasts are right, it would mean that housing affordability would still remain strained in 2025 and 2026. View the full article

Your insurance needs change over time. The policies that work for a single, 20-something professional renting an apartment with three roommates may be completely wrong for the same person after marriage, babies, and a cozy mortgage in a good school district. If you’re struggling to determine how your coverage should change over time, the following guidelines can help. Auto insurance: Follow the bell curve Basic car insurance offers liability coverage, in case you cause an accident that injures a third party or damages their property. This is the kind of insurance that nearly every state in the nation requires drivers to carry. While liability coverage protects your finances if you cause an accident, it’s legally mandated because it offers protection for accident victims. But drivers can also purchase “full coverage” car insurance. This typically includes collision coverage, which pays for damages from a collision that doesn’t include another vehicle (such as running into a tree), and comprehensive coverage, which pays to repair or replace your car if it’s damaged by something other than an accident, such as extreme weather or theft. Deciding how much auto insurance you need can feel overwhelming, especially considering the high cost of car insurance coverage. While all drivers must carry no less than the minimum required liability insurance—and should also consider increasing the liability limits to further protect themselves and others—it can be difficult to figure out if you need full coverage or other optional add-ons. To help you figure out your changing need for auto insurance coverage, think of this kind of insurance as a bell curve that corresponds with age. Young drivers Young drivers pay the highest premiums of any age demographic—since these wet-behind-the-wheel motorists are the most likely to get into accidents. That means purchasing full coverage when you’re young is going to cost a pretty penny. In addition, teens and 20-somethings are more likely to be driving beater cars. (No, your cousin’s 1992 Buick Le Sabre is not vintage even if it does qualify for historic plates.) These vehicles have low actual cash values, which means a minor fender bender could render it a total loss. In other words, if your vehicle’s cash value is lower than the cost of your favorite Starbuck’s order, there’s no reason to purchase collision and comprehensive coverage. Midlife motorists The auto insurance calculation changes as you hit your 30s and beyond. To start, the cost of auto insurance starts to go down for most middle-age drivers, provided they have a clean driving record. Midlife also represents your prime earning years, as well as the time you’re most likely to be starting a family. Not only does that mean the interior of your vehicle will be permanently covered in a thin layer of crushed Goldfish crackers, but you’re also more likely to be driving a car that is worth the cost of fixing. In other words, you have more to lose financially as a midlife driver than you did while you were still rocking the Le Sabre. That means carrying higher levels of coverage makes more sense in midlife than it did in your 20s. Seniors on the road Since older drivers tend to have the most experience and are least likely to make impulsive driving decisions, they enjoy the least expensive auto insurance of any age group. Seniors are also more likely to have a higher net worth and easier access to cash, which means they’re in a better position to pay out of pocket for a car repair (or even replacement) after a collision. All of which is to say that most senior drivers have a lower need for auto insurance coverage than their middle-age counterparts. Adjust your deductibles Your insurance deductible is the amount of money you’re responsible for paying before the insurance coverage kicks in to pay for the rest. Nearly every type of insurance has a deductible, from health insurance to auto insurance to homeowners, renters, umbrella, and business insurance. And for each type of insurance you carry, you need to be prepared to pay the deductible if you make a claim. But insurance policyholders have some control over the size of their deductible. You can lower your deductible—meaning you’d pay less before your insurance company has to open its own wallet when you make a claim—by paying a higher premium. You can also lower your monthly premium by increasing your deductible. Typically, most people will opt for the higher premium and lower deductible when they are young, since dealing with a monthly premium cost that’s a little higher is easier than keeping a spare $1,000 (or more) kicking around in case of an emergency. But as you age, you are likely to become more financially settled, which includes having a more robust emergency fund. Once you’re in a place where you can afford a higher deductible, you can lower your premium–which reduces your monthly outflow. Since we can all be victims of set-it-and-forget-it thinking, it can be easy to forget to check the deductible levels on long-standing insurance policies. But there’s no need to pay your insurance company a higher premium when you can easily afford a higher deductible. Self-insurance Just as your financial stability can help you outgrow the need for a low deductible, increasing wealth may also allow you to self-insure instead of relying on insurance policies. With this strategy, which is similar to creating an emergency fund, you set money aside to use in case of an unexpected loss, rather than paying a premium to an insurance company to assume the risk for you. If you don’t experience a loss, self-insurance saves you money, since you’re not out the cost of premiums and you still have the full pot of self-insurance money available to you. Additionally, you can potentially invest your self-insurance money—as long as it’s in an investment that you can liquidate in a hurry—and let the money grow for you. Self-insurance can be a risky strategy for any kind of serious financial loss, such as liability, flooding, or healthcare. But depending on your financial situation and assets, you may choose to self-insure for things like long-term care or full-coverage auto insurance. Know your insurance needs Recognizing how your coverage needs change can help you get the insurance you need while saving money. For auto insurance, remember that your coverage level will probably look like a bell curve, with younger and senior drivers purchasing lower levels of coverage while middle-age drivers go for more comprehensive coverage. For all of your insurance policies, remember that your ability to afford a higher deductible as you gain more financial stability means you can reduce your premium. And a higher level of wealth can open up the possibility of self-insurance for some types of hazards. View the full article

German carmaker’s review follows UK plant closures by Honda, Ford and JLR over the past decadeView the full article

Police in Munich are investigating a mystery: More than 1,000 stickers were put on gravestones and wooden crosses at three cemeteries in the German city, without any indication of where they came from or why. The 5×3.5-centimeter (1.95×1.2-inch) stickers are printed with a QR code, that, when scanned, shows the name of the person buried in the grave and its location in the cemetery — but nothing else. “We haven’t found any pattern behind this yet. The stickers were put both on decades-old gravestones and very new graves that so far only have a wooden cross,” police spokesperson Christian Drexler told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “People who have witnessed anybody putting the stickers on the graves are asked to reach out to the respective cemetery’s administration,” Drexler said. The stickers surfaced in recent days at the Waldfriedhof, Sendlinger Friedhof and Friedhof Solln cemeteries. Police are not only trying to find out who is behind the stickers, but are also investigating property damage, because the gravestones were partially damaged and discolored when the stickers were removed. View the full article

National Leadership Day, which takes place every Feb. 20, offers a chance to reflect on what truly defines leadership – not just strategy or decision-making, but the ability to build trust. In an era of rapid change, when teams look to leaders for stability and direction, trust is the invisible currency that fuels organizational success. As an economist, I know there’s a lot of research proving this point. I’ve conducted some myself, including work on how trust is essential for leaders in cross-cultural business environments. In an expansive study of China’s fast-paced restaurant industry, my colleagues and I found that leaders who cultivate trust can significantly reduce employee churn and improve organizational performance. While my study focuses on one sector, its lessons extend far beyond that. It offers insights for leaders in any field, from corporate executives to community organizers. Understanding the impact In China, as in the U.S., the restaurant industry is known for high turnover rates and cutthroat competition. But our study found that managers who demonstrate trustworthiness can keep employees from fleeing to rivals, creating a more stable and committed workforce. First, we conducted a field experiment in which we asked managers at around 115 restaurants how much money they were willing to send to employees in an investment game – an indicator of trust. We then found that for every 10% increase in managers’ trust-driven actions, employee turnover fell by 3.7 percentage points. That’s a testament to the power of trust in the workplace. When managers are trustworthy, workers tend to be more loyal, engaged in their job and productive. Employees who perceive their managers as trustworthy report higher job satisfaction and are more willing to exert extra effort, which directly benefits the organization. We also found that when employees trust one another, managers get better performance evaluations. That makes sense, since trust fosters improved cooperation and innovation across the board. Practical steps to foster trust Fortunately for managers – and workers – there’s a lot of research into how to be a more trustworthy leader. Here are a few insights: • Empower your team. Let employees take ownership of their responsibilities and make decisions within their roles. This not only boosts their engagement but also aligns their objectives with the broader goals of the organization. Empowerment is a key strategy in building trust. • Be fair and transparent. Managers should strive to be consistent in their actions, address concerns promptly and distribute rewards equitably. Those practices can create a psychologically safe and supportive work environment. • Promote collaboration. Encourage an atmosphere in which employees can openly share ideas and support one another. Activities that promote team cohesion and open communication can significantly enhance trust within the team. • Measure and manage trust. Implementing regular surveys or feedback sessions can help assess and manage trust levels within an organization. Consider integrating trust metrics into performance evaluations to emphasize their importance. Some takeaways for National Leadership Day Whether helming a business, a nonprofit or a local community initiative, leaders should recognize that being trustworthy isn’t just a “soft skill.” It’s a measurable force that drives success. By making trust-building a deliberate goal, leaders can create stronger, more resilient teams. So this National Leadership Day is a good time to reflect: How do you build trust in your leadership? And how can you foster a culture of trustworthiness? Managers should commit to leading with trust, acting with integrity and fostering workplaces where people feel valued and empowered. The impact will speak for itself. Yufei Ren is an associate professor of economics at the Labovitz School of Business and Economics at the University of Minnesota Duluth. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. View the full article

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Investments continue in combustion and hybrid engine vehicles amid lengthy wait for EVs to become mainstreamView the full article

Andrew Brodsky is a management professor at McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also CEO of Ping Group and has received numerous awards, including being chosen by Poets & Quants as one of the Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors of 2023. What’s the big idea? Instant messaging, email, video calls, and other digital tools have largely replaced in-person communication for most workplaces. We have all become virtual communicators, and with this comes a new set of rules for interpersonal success. The PING framework distills best practices for optimal outcomes when relying on technology to communicate. Below, Andrew shares five key insights from his new book, Ping: The Secrets of Successful Virtual Communication. Listen to the audio version—read by Andrew himself—in the Next Big Idea App. 1. P is for perspective taking. When interacting virtually, misinterpretations and misunderstandings are more likely. But this is due to more than the commonly cited fact that we pick up on fewer nonverbal behaviors. In person, it is hard to forget that you are interacting with a human being because they are standing right in front of you. But when looking at a thumbnail-sized video of the person you are interacting with, hearing only their voice through the phone, or seeing nothing but their words in an email, it can be easy to forget that another person is on the other end of your communication. As a result, there’s a tendency to be more self-focused virtually than when interacting in person. To see this in action, think of a song you are confident other people would recognize. Then, tap out that song on the nearest hard surface. Once you’ve done that, estimate how likely it would be for someone else to identify the song if you tapped it out again. This same scenario was played out by Stanford researcher Elizabeth Newton. She found that participants expected 50 percent of listeners would be able to correctly identify their song. However, listeners only recognized the song three percent of the time. This huge discrepancy happens because we hear the music in our heads as we are tapping it out, so it seems obvious to us. All the listeners are just hearing a series of taps. The same applies to virtual communication. We may think our meaning was clear, but because we are so self-focused when interacting from behind a screen, we don’t realize the person on the receiving end doesn’t have the same context for accurately understanding our meaning. What you think is an obviously friendly and supportive email may come off as condescending to your coworker if they aren’t privy to all the same information as you. The solution is pausing to consider the recipient’s perspective before sending or speaking a message virtually. One research-proven strategy for this in text-based communication is reading aloud what you wrote in a different tone than you intended, such as sarcastic or enthusiastic. Does the meaning drastically change? Knowing that the voice someone hears when reading a message isn’t necessarily the same one you heard while composing it will help avoid self-focused overconfidence that leads to misinterpretations. 2. I is for initiative. You may have heard about the Fyre Festival debacle in 2017, when a team led by Billy McFarland created hype for a festival that was supposed to have the best of the best in food, music, celebrities, and even buried treasure. What festivalgoers actually found when they arrived were barren parking lots, soggy cheese sandwiches in Styrofoam containers, and a lack of bathroom facilities. Pretty disappointing for what was billed as the “biggest FOMO-inducing event” of the year. This incredible mismatch in expectations and reality resulted in a $26 million fine and jail time for McFarland. In virtual communication, there’s often a disconnect between impressions and reality. Consider how these disconnects can make someone who works incredibly hard seem like a low performer. Imagine you are a manager with two subordinates. From one, you get a single five-paragraph email each Friday about the work they did for the week. From the other, you get a few-sentence email each day, updating you on their tasks. Which one seems to be a harder worker? “To show effort and engagement, take the initiative to communicate more frequently.” Despite the fact that both employees sent the exact same amount of text, if you are like most managers, you will say the employee who sends a brief few-sentence update each day is a harder worker because that employee seems like they are likely working each day. The one who sends the longer Friday update might just be doing all their work at the end of the week. This is why an important strategy in virtual communication is taking initiative in showing your effort. Whether sending an email to your boss while working remotely or sending them an instant message from the next cubicle over, without taking this kind of initiative you end up in the of out of sight, out of mind pitfall. To show effort and engagement, take the initiative to communicate more frequently. Also, turning on your camera during meetings can help to show that you are physically and mentally present. These small steps make it more likely that those you interact with will perceive your work as a high-end lobster feast as opposed to a Fyre festival soggy cheese sandwich. 3. N is for nonverbal. A Canadian farmer got himself into trouble when he responded to a customer’s text about an order of flax seed with a thumbs-up emoji. The issue was that the customer thought the thumbs up meant the contract was accepted. The farmer disagreed, saying he hadn’t planned on accepting it just yet. The court sided with the customer, stating that the thumbs up constituted a legally binding agreement. The farmer had to pay almost $62,000. Undergraduates and MBA students often ask me, “Should I use emojis in my virtual communication?” The answer isn’t simple because research shows emojis can help or hurt depending on the situation. Don’t focus so much on what cues are best or worst. Rather, pay attention to how the person you are interacting with communicates and become a conversational chameleon. If they fill their texts with emojis and exclamation points, then feel free to do the same. If they use business jargon, follow their lead. If they take a more formal approach, it can behoove you to do the same. A study led by Kate Muir found that negotiators who mimicked their partner’s behavior style by using similar nonverbal behaviors improved their individual outcomes by 39 percent and joint outcomes by over 30 percent. These mimicry effects are driven by two factors. First, we generally all think that our own communication style is the best, so when someone else communicates like us, we think they are doing it effectively. Second, we trust people who are similar to us, so when someone communicates in a way that feels familiar, we tend to trust them more. Even in the barest of virtual communication modes, nonverbal behavior plays a central role in how our messages are perceived. 4. G is for goals. Should you schedule a meeting or send an email? Is phone or video better for reconnecting with old contacts? What’s the best mode to use when meeting someone for the first time? Too often, people thoughtlessly approach these and similar questions by defaulting to whichever mode is right in front of them without considering the consequences. A while back, I was giving a talk to a group of retail executives, and someone asked a great question: what’s the best mode choice when you need to display emotions you might not really be feeling? Such as needing to seem excited during a customer interaction, even when you may be stressed or frustrated for unrelated reasons. “Telephone seems much higher effort and thus more authentic than email, yet it allows you to avoid leaking nonverbal behavior indicating your true emotions.” I ran a series of studies on this topic, using study contexts including negotiators, coworkers, and teachers and parents from international schools in Vietnam. Imagine you are a teacher in a school where parents pay a lot of money for their child to attend. Now, you have to tell one of these parents why their perfect angel is failing your course and being suspended due to serious misbehavior. Despite your frustrations with the student—and the parents for not helping improve matters—you need to put on your best smile to ensure the interaction goes smoothly. There were three key findings in these studies. First, if you are being authentic, then the richest mode of interaction—face-to-face or video—is best as it comes off as the highest effort and lets your authenticity shine through. If you need to fake it, I found that many people choose email, but that is the worst choice because email seems so low effort that it comes off as most inauthentic. For those who aimed to appear authentic while masking underlying emotions, audio interactions were the sweet spot. Telephone seems much higher effort and thus more authentic than email, yet it allows you to avoid leaking nonverbal behavior indicating your true emotions. This choice was consequential as in my studies. It determined everything from parent satisfaction with their teacher, how much coworkers were willing to engage with each other going forward, and to what degree negotiators punished one another with severe counteroffers. By defining your interaction goals, you will be able to strategically select the right mode and message to improve outcomes and avoid situations that risk you making bad impressions. 5. AI will never replace the human touch. Imagine receiving a sympathy email from a colleague after the death of a loved one. The email is supportive, but you immediately recognize the message was AI-generated because your colleague doesn’t normally use formal words like “elevate” and “profound.” After making this observation, you probably think your colleague doesn’t really care about you because they did not write the message themselves. When it comes to the most important interactions, there’s no replacement for the human touch. Researchers have found that people instinctively think of everything from songs to recipes to paintings as more authentic when we believe they were created by a human, as opposed to identical ones that were AI-generated. When something is hand-crafted, it seems more effortful and special. In the vast majority of interactions, it will be impossible for others to tell that you used AI to create something on your behalf, but all it takes is one slip up for your interaction partner to suspect you did not write the message personally. Then, they will question every single virtual interaction you’ve had with them and wonder whether you were simply outsourcing your communication and not putting effort into the relationship. They will ask themselves why they interact with you personally in the first place if all they are doing is speaking with an AI. There are times when AI increases productivity, such as using AI as an assistant for ancillary aspects of communication—such as generating ideas, editing, and summarizing conversations. This can free up valuable time and mental energy for more complex, nuanced interactions. But, as AI replacing human communication becomes more common, adding that human touch to core parts of communication is likely to become an ever-more-valuable signal of how much you value a relationship and how vital you are as a person to that interaction. This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission. View the full article

Cambridge Innovation Capital’s fund counts Aviva Investors and an arm of British Business Bank as backersView the full article

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Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats are poised to win, as the Social Democratic Party faces its worst result since 1887View the full article

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