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Some Words from Cathy (Beyond Craft Vinyl)
My motivation when I started up my little biz in 2015 was that there were no vinyl suppliers available to hobbyists and was ordering my own project vinyl from the US with all the duty, exchange and high shipping costs and lead time delays. Attempting to purchase scraps from local sign shops was prohibitively expensive and they really weren’t interested in hobbyists as a customer base. So I started to research what it would take to become a Canadian alternative to these US online businesses since I had recently completed a web design certificate at North Island College.
I was one of the first two hobby suppliers of vinyl for cutter hobbyists in Canada. I can’t emphasize enough the need to research, getting to know your consumers and setting realistic goals.
I had a niche market with a generous market share with clients from Newfoundland to Yukon to locally here on Vancouver Island. Distributors in Canada were challenging to establish relationships with and receive fairer and more consistent pricing, but I believe I was instrumental with leading the way for negotiated reseller pricing and certification important to material manufacturers to maintain their brand strength and value.
As the interest in hobby cutters increased, big box businesses like Walmart and Michaels have started catering to the same consumer base which has diluted the marketplace somewhat. However, despite a smaller market share, I have been able to maintain a loyal customer base by focusing on customer service. I believe there is still room to grow and new products are evolving that will take clients beyond just cutting such as Siser DTV.
