How to Start a Trophy Company

August 21st, 2020

Trophies come in many shapes and sizes, from wearable medals to wall-mounted plaques to tall, ornate statues. For someone starting their own business, though, there’s no more precious trophy than the first dollar you make.

How do you get to that point, though? More importantly, how do you grow your business into a successful company that will continue bringing in dollars for many years to come? It’s never easy, but shopVOX’s business management software can make it a lot less difficult.

A comprehensive suite of practical management tools, shopVOX brings together every aspect of business—advertising, scheduling, communications, production, payment processing, and more—so you can easily stay up to date, keep in contact with customers and suppliers, make modifications to current projects, and keep records of every dollar spent and every dollar earned. Running a company from a single digital dashboard has never been easier.

If you’re looking to start your own trophy company, here are four things that, along with shopVOX, will help guarantee future success.

Do Your Research

The first and most important step to take when entering any new business endeavor is to educate yourself as completely as you can. Consider what the market for custom trophies is like and what customers are looking for. Find out who your competitors are and watch what they do. Take notes about their most and least popular products, and how much they charge for them. Figure out what permits you need, what advertising avenues are available to you, the cost of raw materials, and how much capital you’ll need to invest. The more you know now, the fewer mistakes you’ll make later.

Craft a Game Plan

Once you’ve learned all you can about the trophy industry, it’s time to decide what you want your place within it to be. What products will you offer? What will your prices be? To whom will you be marketing? In what will you specialize? It’s important to craft everything meticulously, from your advertising strategy to your screen printing workflow, but it’s also important to leave room for changes down the road. Even the best-laid plans often require editing due to unexpected circumstances, so don’t be afraid of deviation or adaptation. The wisest plan is often to expect the unexpected.

Gather Your Resources

Now that you know what you’re going to do, there’s nothing left except to go ahead and do it. After you’ve saved up enough money or gotten approval for a business loan, it’s time to buy or rent property with enough space to accommodate your specific needs. From there, you should busy yourself with filling that space with whatever equipment and employees you’ve concluded are essential to helping you achieve your goals. Next, get in contact with suppliers and start ordering raw production materials. Finally, open up an online storefront and wait for the order to start rolling in. You’re almost at the finish line.

Make Connections

Did we say “wait for the orders to start rolling in?” Change that to “make the orders start rolling in.” The last key step in turning your fresh-faced start-up into a successful company is to start putting yourself out there and never stop putting yourself out there. As a trophy manufacturer, you’ll want to reach out specifically to sports organizations, competitions, schools, athletic departments, and the like; everything from science fairs to karate classes to company bowling teams and beyond. Advertising is obviously vital, but it’s a good idea to communicate with potential customers directly, to put a friendly face on your business. Customer retention is equally important. Stay in touch with one-time clients if you want to turn them into repeat clients.

Start Your Trophy Business Today with shopVOX

Whether you’re a first-time business owner or a veteran entrepreneur, shopVOX’s affordable business printing software can help you take your company to a whole new level of productivity, efficiency, and success.

Never miss another appointment or miss out on potential sales leads. Never get stuck sorting through a disorganized file system or struggling to customize a rigid production process. Most importantly, never let your knowledge and control of your business slip through the cracks. shopVOX can help you stay on top of things.