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How to Write a School Supplies Business Plan [Sample Template]

Are you about starting a school supplies company? If YES, here is a complete sample school supplies business plan template & feasibility report you can use FREE. School supplies businesses sell and distribute teaching materials to schools, parents, teachers and students. These stores frequently carry a wide selection of educational materials and decorations for classroom teachers such as books, pencils, pens, etc.

With this type of business, you can choose to own a store/warehouse if you have the financial capacity to or you can choose to operate without a store. The bottom line is that you must own your own distribution truck/van, you should know how to source for school supplies and how to get them delivered to your customers.

Come to think of it, starting a school supplies business is profitable, it is a very easy business to start and it is not so capital intensive especially if you get the goods on trust from the production companies. Getting the right products that people want to buy and good networking and stock keeping records are the secrets of running a school supplies business.

So, if you have decided to start a school supplies business, then you should ensure that you carry out thorough feasibility studies and also market survey. This will enable you locate the business in a location with the right demography, network with school supplies retailers and then hit the ground running.

Business plan is yet another very important business document that you should not take for granted while launching your own school supplies business. Below is a sample school supplies business plan template that will give you the needed guide to write yours with ease.

A Sample School Supplies Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

Businesses in the School Supplies Wholesaling industry are involved in the sale and distribution of office tools, writing implements, stamps and stencils, stationery and loose-leaf paper, notebooks, binders and organizers and other related items.

If you have been keeping close tabs with happenings in the School Supplies Wholesaling industry, you would have noticed that the industry has struggled over the five years to 2018 with low demand and declining supply-chain relevance.

The School Supplies Wholesaling industry is a thriving sector of the economy of the united states of America and they generate a whooping over billion annually from more than 508 registered and licensed School Supplies Wholesaling businesses scattered all around the United States of America.

The industry is responsible for the employment of over 2,698 people. Experts project the industry to grow at a -2.0 percent annual rate within 2013 and 2018. It is important to state that the company holding the largest market share in the School Supplies Wholesaling industry is School Specialty Inc.

A recent report released by IBISWorld shows that over the past five years, the School Supplies Wholesaling industry has declined by -2.0 percent to reach revenue of $2bn in 2018. In the same timeframe, the number of businesses has declined by -0.2 percent and the number of employees has declined by -3.0 percent.

It is a fact that an estimated two-thirds of the United States’ gross domestic product (GDP) comes from retail consumption of which the School Supplies Wholesaling industry contributes greatly. This is why the United States of America’s economy is measured with the yardstick of how well the retailing business is fairing there.

When there is an unstable economy, purchasing power drops and it impacts the retailing / distribution industry negatively which may result in the closure of some of these businesses.

School supplies business is indeed a profitable business venture and it is open for any aspiring entrepreneur to come in and establish his or her business; you can choose to start on a small scale without a store/warehouse or you can choose to start on a large scale with standard store/warehouse, dozens of distribution trucks and a strong online presence.

2. Executive Summary

Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC is a registered distribution company that will be involved in the distribution of teaching resources to schools and retail centers. Our warehouse and store will be located around Los Angeles Unified – California which happens to be the district with the second highest number of schools (646,683 schools) in the whole of the United States.

We have been able to lease a warehouse facility that is big enough to fit into the kind of school supplies company that we intend launching and the facility is centrally located in the heart of town with easy delivery network.

Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC will distribute a wide range of school supplies at affordable prices from different brands. We will engage in the sale and distribution of office tools, writing implements, stamps and stencils, stationery and loose-leaf paper, notebooks, binders, organizers and other related items.

We are aware that there are several school supplies companies all around Los Angeles- California which is why we spent time and resources to conduct our feasibility studies and market survey so as to offer much more than our competitors will be offering. We have robust distribution network; strong online presence and our distributors are armed with the various payment options available in the United States.

Our customer care is going to be second to none in the whole of Los Angeles Unified – California and our deliveries will be highly reliable. We know that our customers are the reason why we are in business which is why we will go the extra mile to get them satisfied when they patronize our products.

Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC will ensure that all our customers are given first class treatment whenever they visit our warehouse or order school supplies from us. We have a CRM software that will enable us manage a one on one relationship with our customers no matter how large the numbers of our customers’ base and distribution network may grow to.

We will ensure that we get our customers involved in the selection of brands and also when making some business decisions that directly affect them.

Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC will at all times demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as a firm, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible. We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our client’s needs precisely and completely.

Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC is a family business that is owned by Regina Trent and her immediate family members. Regina Trent has a B.Sc. in Business Administration with over 8 years’ experience in the retailing and distribution industry, working for some of the leading brand in the United States.

Although the business is launching out with focusing on Los Angeles Unified – California, but there is a plan to expand our distribution network all across the state of California.

3. Our Products and Services

Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC is in the School Supplies Wholesaling industry and we will be involved in the distribution of a wide range of products from top manufacturing brands in the United States. Our products and services offerings are listed below;

• Writing implements, stamps and stencils
• Stationery (Pencil box, Crayons, Colored pencils, Washable markers, Ballpoint pens, Pencil sharpener, Erasers, Glue sticks, Ruler, Blunt-tipped scissors, Plastic folders, Assorted construction paper, Wide-ruled notebook or pad, Index cards, Loose-leaf paper)
• Notebooks, binders and organizers
• Lunchbox or bag

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our vision is to become the leading brand in the school supplies line of business in the whole of Los Angeles Unified – California.
• Our mission is to establish a highly reliable school supplies business brand that will distribute a wide range of teaching resources to schools and retail centers in Los Angeles Unified and other cities in California where we intend launching out.

Our Business Structure

Our intention of starting a school supplies business is to build a standard retail and distribution business in Los Angeles Unified – California. We will ensure that we put the right structure in place that will support the kind of growth that we have in mind while setting up the business.

We will make sure that we hire people that are qualified, honest, customer centric and are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all our stakeholders. As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our senior management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of ten years or more.

In view of that, we have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to occupy the following positions that will be made available at Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC;

• Chief Executive Officer (Owner)
• Warehouse Manager
• Human Resources and Admin Manager

Merchandize Manager

Sales and Marketing Manager

Information Technologist

• Accountants/Cashiers
• Customer Services Executive
• Drivers/Distributors

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer – CEO:

• Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results and developing incentives
• Creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
• Responsible for providing direction for the business
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Evaluates the success of the organization
• Reports to the board

Admin and HR Manager

• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
• Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
• Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
• Defining job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carrying out induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
• Oversee the smooth running of the daily office activities.

Warehouse Manager:

• Responsible for organizing the safe and efficient receipt, storage and dispatch of warehoused goods
• In charge of planning, coordinating and monitoring the receipt, order assembly and dispatch of goods
• In charge of coordinating the use of automated and computerized systems where necessary
• Responsible for keeping stock control systems up to date and making sure inventories are accurate
• Responsible for producing regular reports and statistics on a daily, weekly and monthly basis
• Ensures that proper records of goods are kept and warehouse does not run out of products
• Ensure that the warehouse facility is in tip top shape and goods are properly arranged and easy to locate
• Supervise the workforce in the warehouse floor.
• Manage vendor relations, market visits, and the ongoing education and development of the organizations’ buying teams
• Responsible for the purchase of office tools, writing implements, stamps and stencils, stationery and loose-leaf paper, notebooks, binders and organizers and other related items for the organizations
• Ensures that the organization operates within stipulated budget.
• Manage external research and coordinate all the internal sources of information to retain the organizations’ best customers and attract new ones
• Model demographic information and analyze the volumes of transactional data generated by customer purchases
• Identify, prioritize, and reach out to new partners, and business opportunities et al
• Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts
• Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
• Document all customer contact and information
• Represent the company in strategic meetings
• Help increase sales and growth for the company
• Manage the organization website
• Handles ecommerce aspect of the business
• Responsible for installing and maintenance of computer software and hardware for the organization
• Manage logistics and supply chain software, Web servers, e-commerce software and POS (point of sale) systems
• Manage the organization’s CCTV
• Handles any other technological and IT related duties.

Accountant/Cashier:

• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Provides managements with financial analyses, market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for the organization
• Serves as internal auditor for the organization

Client Service Executive

• Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Through interaction with customers on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
• Manages administrative duties assigned by the human resources and admin manager in an effective and timely manner
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the organizations’ products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to customers when they make enquiries

Distribution Truck Drivers

• Assist in loading and unloading stock
• Maintain a logbook of their driving activities to ensure compliance with federal regulations governing the rest and work periods for operators.
• Keep a record of vehicle inspections and make sure the truck is equipped with safety equipment
• Assist the transport and logistics manager in planning their route according to a distribution schedule.
• Local-delivery drivers may be required to sell products or services to stores and businesses on their route, obtain signatures from recipients and collect cash.
• Inspect vehicles for mechanical items and safety issues and perform preventative maintenance
• Comply with truck driving rules and regulations (size, weight, route designations, parking, break periods etc.) as well as with company policies and procedures
• Collect and verify delivery instructions
• Report defects, accidents or violations

6. SWOT Analysis

Our intention of starting out in Los Angeles Unified and distribute our goods only within the are is to test run the business for a period of 2 to 5 years to know if we will invest more money and then expand all around the state of California.

We are quite aware that there are several school supplies companies all over Los Angeles Unified and even in the same location where we intend locating ours, which is why we are following the due process of establishing a business.

We know that if a proper SWOT analysis is conducted for our business, we will be able to position our business to maximize our strength, leverage on the opportunities that will be available to us, mitigate our risks and be equipped to confront our threats.

Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC employed the services of an expert HR and Business Analyst with bias in retailing and distribution to help us conduct a thorough SWOT analysis and to help us create a Business model that will help us achieve our business goals and objectives. This is the summary of the SWOT analysis that was conducted for Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC;

Our location, the business model we will be operating (robust distribution network), varieties of payment options, wide range of products from top brands and our excellent customer service culture will definitely count as a strong strength for Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC. So, also our management team has what it takes to grow a business from startup to profitability with a record time.

A major weakness that may count against us is the fact that we are a new school supplies business and we don’t have the financial capacity to compete with leaders in the industry for now.

• Opportunities:

The fact that we are going to be operating our school supplies business in Los Angeles Unified – California provides us with unlimited opportunities to supply our school supplies to a large number of schools and retail facilities. We have been able to conduct thorough feasibility studies and market survey and we know what our potential clients will be looking for when they patronize our products and services; we are well positioned to take on the opportunities that will come our way.

Just like any other business, one of the major threats that we are likely going to face is economic downturn. It is a fact that economic downturn affects purchasing / spending power. Another threat that may likely confront us is the arrival of a similar business in same location where ours is located. We are not ignoring the fact that unfavorable government policies can also affect our business.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

A broader trend toward ecommerce has been particularly pronounced in this industry, which resulted into encouraging more consumers to circumvent retailers and the wholesalers that supply them. In addition to that, brick-and-mortar retail sales have increasingly shifted to big-box department and discount stores who also retail school supplies.

They have been able to overtime make use of their purchasing power to source products directly from manufacturers, internalizing distribution functions and eliminating independent wholesalers from the school supply chain.

It is now a common phenomenon for distribution companies to leverage on technology to effectively predict consumer demand patterns and to strategically position their business to meet their needs; in essence, the use of technology has helped businesses like school supplies to maximize supply chain efficiencies.

8. Our Target Market

The school supplies wholesaling industry has a wide range of customers. In view of that, we have positioned our school supplies company to service schools and retail centers in Los Angeles Unified – California and every other location we will cover.

We have conducted our market research and we have ideas of what our target market would be expecting from us. We are in business to retail (distribute) a wide range of school supplies from different production companies to the following businesses;

• Retailers of school supplies

Our competitive advantage

A close study of the school supplies industry reveals that the market has become much more intensely competitive over the last decade. As a matter of fact, you have to be highly creative, customer centric and proactive if you must survive in this industry. We are aware of the stiff competition and we are prepared to compete favorably with other leading school supplies businesses in and around Los Angeles Unified – California.

One thing is certain; we will ensure that we have a wide range of products available in our warehouse at all times. One of our business goals is to make Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC a one stop school supplies company. Our excellent customer service culture, timely and reliable delivery services, online presence, and various payment options will serve as a competitive advantage for us.

Lastly, our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category (startups school supplies businesses) in the industry meaning that they will be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our aims and objectives. We will also give good working conditions and commissions to freelance sales agents that we will recruit from time to time.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC is in business to retail (distribute) a wide range of school supplies from top production companies to schools in Los Angeles Unified – California. We are in the school supplies wholesaling industry to maximize profits and we are going to go all the way out to ensure that we achieve or business goals and objectives.

We will generate income for the business by retailing and distributing;

10. Sales Forecast

One thing is certain when it comes to school supplies business, if your business is centrally positioned coupled with effective and reliable distribution network, you will always attract sales and that will sure translate to increase in revenue generation for the business.

We are well positioned to take on the available market in Los Angeles Unified – California and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income / profits from our first six months of operation and grow the business and our clientele base.

We have been able to examine the school supplies wholesaling industry, we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast.

Below are the sales projections for Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC, it is based on the location of our business, the list of school supplies and other factors as it relates to school supplies startups in the United States;

• First Fiscal Year: $240,000
• Second Fiscal Year: $350,000
• Third Fiscal Year: $600,000

N.B : This projection was done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and there won’t be any major competitor offering same products and customer care services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

Before choosing a location for Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC, we conducted a thorough market survey and feasibility studies in order for us to be able to penetrate the available market and become the preferred choice for schools, teachers, students and parents in Los Angeles Unified – California.

We hired experts who have good understanding of the retailing and distribution industry to help us develop marketing strategies that will help us achieve our business goal of winning a larger percentage of the available market in Los Angeles Unified – California.

In summary, Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC will adopt the following sales and marketing approach to win customers over;

• Open our business in a grand style with a party for all.
• Introduce our business by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to small – scale school supplies retailers, schools, teachers, students, households and key stakeholders in Los Angeles Unified – California
• Ensure that we have a wide range of school supplies from different brands within and outside the United States at all times.
• Make use of attractive hand bills to create awareness business
• Position our signage / flexi banners at strategic places around Los Angeles Unified – California
• Create a loyalty plan that will enable us reward our regular customers
• Engage on roadshows within our neighborhood to create awareness for our school supplies business.

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

Despite the fact that our school supplies business is well structured and well located, we will still go ahead to intensify publicity for the business.

Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC has a long-term plan of opening distribution channels all around the state of California which is why we will deliberately build our brand to be well accepted in Los Angeles Unified School District area before venturing out.

Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on to promote and advertise Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC;

• Place adverts on community – based newspapers, radio and TV stations
• Encourage the use of word of mouth publicity from our loyal customers
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and other platforms to promote our business.
• Ensure that our we position our banners and billboards in strategic positions all around Los Angeles Unified – California
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas in and around schools within Los Angeles Unified school district areas
• Brand all our official cars and distribution vans/trucks and ensure that all our staff members wear our branded shirt or cap at regular intervals.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Pricing is one of the key factors that gives leverage to distribution companies and retailers, it is normal for retailers to purchase products from distribution companies where they can goods at cheaper price. We will work towards ensuring that all our goods are distributed at highly competitive prices compared to what is obtainable in the United States of America.

We also have plans in place to discount our goods once in a while and also to reward our loyal customers from time to time.

• Payment Options

The payment policy adopted by Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America.

Here are the payment options that Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC will make available to her clients;

• Payment via bank transfer
• Payment with cash
• Payment via credit cards
• Payment via POS machines
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via bank draft

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our client make payment for our products without any stress on their part. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional materials

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

From our market research and feasibility studies, we were able to come up with the following financial projections and costing as it relates to establishing a standard school supplies business in the United States of America;

• The total fee for registering the business in the United States of America – $750.
• Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services (software, P.O.S machines and other software) – $3,300.
• Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC in the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of $3,580.
• The cost for hiring business consultant – $2,500.
• The cost for insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $2,400.
• The cost for payment of rent for 12 months at $1.76 per square feet warehouse facility in the total amount of $105,600.
• The total cost for warehouse facility remodeling (construction of racks and shelves) – $20,000.
• Other start-up expenses including stationery ($500) and phone and utility deposits ($2,500).
• Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $60,000
• The cost for Start-up inventory (stocking with a wide range of office tools, writing implements, stamps and stencils, stationery and loose-leaf paper, notebooks, binders, organizers and other related items) – $100,000
• The cost for store equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $13,750
• The cost of purchase and installation of CCTVs – $5,000
• The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, Sound System, tables and chairs et al) – $4,000.
• The cost for the purchase of distribution vans / trucks – $25,000
• The cost of launching a website – $600
• The cost for our opening party – $7,000
• Miscellaneous – $10,000

We would need an estimate of $350,000 to successfully set up our school supplies business in Los Angeles Unified – California.

Generating Funds/Startup Capital for Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC

Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC is a private business that is solely owned and financed by Regina Trent and her immediate family members. They do not intend to welcome any external business partner which is why she has decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital to 3 major sources.

• Generate part of the startup capital from personal savings
• Source for soft loans from family members and friends
• Apply for loan from the bank

N.B: We have been able to generate about $100,000 (Personal savings $80,000 and soft loan from family members $10,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $250,000 from our bank. All the papers and documents have been signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited with the amount.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of a business lies in the number of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and competence of their employees, their investment strategy and business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business (company), then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.

One of our major goals of starting Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running. We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to distribute our school supplies a little bit cheaper than what is obtainable in the market and we are prepared to survive on lower profit margin for a while.

Regina Trent® School Supplies Company, LLC will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our workforce is at the top burner.

We know that if we diligently put in place all that is stated above, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

Check List/Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check: Completed
• Business Registration: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
• Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
• Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Leasing of warehouse facility and remodeling the facility: In Progress
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating capital from family members: Completed
• Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
• Writing of Business Plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
• Printing of Promotional Materials: In Progress
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of furniture, racks, shelves, computers, electronic appliances, office appliances and CCTV: In progress
• Purchase of distribution vans: Completed
• Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
• Opening party/launching party planning: In Progress
• Compilation of our list of products that will be distribute: Completed
• Establishing business relationship with school supplies manufacturing companies within and outside of the United States of America: In Progress

More on Education

How to Start a School Supply Store

Students across the world require a wide array of school supplies. From binders to book covers, pens, pencils, and rulers, school supply store businesses provide students with the supplies they need to be academic superstars.

Ready to turn your business idea into a reality? We recommend forming an LLC as it is the most affordable way to protect your personal assets. You can do this yourself or with our trusted partner for a small fee. Northwest ($29 + State Fees) DIY: How to Start an LLC

Start a school supply store by following these 10 steps:

• Plan your School Supply Store
• Form your School Supply Store into a Legal Entity
• Register your School Supply Store for Taxes
• Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card
• Set up Accounting for your School Supply Store
• Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses for your School Supply Store
• Get School Supply Store Insurance
• Define your School Supply Store Brand
• Create your School Supply Store Website
• Set up your Business Phone System

We have put together this simple guide to starting your school supply store. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.

Exploring your options? Check out other small business ideas .

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

What will you name your business?

• What are the startup and ongoing costs?
• Who is your target market?

How much can you charge customers?

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don’t already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our School Supply Store Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship , you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name , we recommend researching your business name by checking:

• Your state's business records
• Federal and state trademark records
• Social media platforms
• Web domain availability .

It's very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

Find a Domain Now

Powered by godaddy.com, what are the costs involved in opening a school supply store.

A store space must be rented or purchased. Alternatively, you can launch the business online in the form of a website. If you take the online route, you must pay for the domain name and website maintenance. School supplies ranging from staplers to paper, book covers, pencils, pens, markers, binders and beyond are necessary. Budget money for marketing along with a website, point-of-sale systems, retail display fixtures, inventory tracking software, a business license/permit, insurance, and labor. A handful of laborers will be necessary at the company's launch. Laborers include cashiers and those who stock the shelves. You can add more people to the payroll as the business grows.

What are the ongoing expenses for a school supply store?

Ongoing expenses include store rent, employee wages, supplies, insurance, utilities, high-speed internet and marketing. If you opt to rent your store rather than purchase the site where it will operate, you will likely spend between $700 and $1,500 or more per month in rent. The exact figure hinges on the location of your store and its size. Most employees will earn $8 to $12 per hour. If you hire a marketing professional, store manager or accountant, they will earn a salary in the range of $30,000 to $50,000 or more. The cost of supplies hinges on the size of your store and the number of customers you attract. Budget at least a thousand dollars per month for supplies and adjust the figure accordingly as time progresses. Budget at least a couple hundred dollars per month for utilities including high-speed internet. Allocate at least $200 or more per month for marketing efforts.

Who is the target market?

The preferred client is a parent with multiple school-age youngsters. In some instances, teachers shop for classroom supplies on their own. Both of these customer types are inclined to spend a significant amount of money at your school supply store business.

How does a school supply store make money?

The business makes money by selling school supplies to students, parents of students, teachers, and schools.

Your school supplies will sell at a wide range of prices. Something as simple as a bookmark will sell for as little as fifty cents. A fancy binder portfolio will cost upwards of $30. However, most school supplies fall in the price range of a couple dollars to $10.

How much profit can a school supply store make?

A school supply store has the potential to earn a profit of $20,000 to $50,000 or more in the first year. Grow the business, add another location, and profits can double in the ensuing year(s). Develop the business across the region and it is possible to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars or even a profit in the million dollar range.

How can you make your business more profitable?

You can branch out by selling academic texts, backpacks and toys like fidget spinners. Consider offering sales through your website. Customers can either pick up their online orders in-person at the brick-and-mortar location or you can deliver the items to the local purchaser. You can also try to sell office supplies along with holiday and party items to keep your store busy during the months in which school is not in session.

Want a more guided approach? Access TRUiC's free Small Business Startup Guide - a step-by-step course for turning your business idea into reality. Get started today!

STEP 2: Form a legal entity

One crucial aspect that cannot be overlooked when starting your school supply store is the importance of establishing a solid business foundation. While sole proprietorships and partnerships are the most common entity types for small businesses, they're a far less stable and advantageous option than LLCs.

This is because unincorporated business structures (i.e., sole proprietorships and partnerships) expose you as an owner to personal liability for your busines's debts and legal actions, while LLCs protect you by keeping your personal assets separate from your business's liabilities.

In practice, this means that if your school supply store were to face a lawsuit or incur any debts, your savings, home, and other personal assets could not be used to cover these costs. On top of this, forming your business as an LLC also helps it to appear more legitimate and trustworthy.

More than 84% of our readers opt to collaborate with a professional LLC formation service to kickstart their venture. We've negotiated a tailored discount for our readers, bringing the total down to just $29.

Form Your LLC Now

Note: If you're interested in more information before getting started, we recommend having a look at our state-specific How to Start an LLC guide (DIY) or our in-depth Best LLC Services review (for those opting for a professional service).

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It's really easy and free!

You can acquire your EIN through the IRS website . If you would like to learn more about EINs, read our article, What is an EIN?

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil .

Open a business bank account

Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:

• Separates your personal assets from your company's assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
• Makes accounting and tax filing easier.

Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank or credit union.

Get a business credit card

Getting a business credit card helps you:

• Separate personal and business expenses by putting your business' expenses all in one place.
• Build your company's credit history , which can be useful to raise money later on.

Recommended: Apply for an easy approval business credit card from BILL and build your business credit quickly.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

Make LLC accounting easy with our LLC Expenses Cheat Sheet.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

State & Local Business Licensing Requirements

Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate a school supply store. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA’s reference to state licenses and permits .

Most businesses are required to collect sales tax on the goods or services they provide. To learn more about how sales tax will affect your business, read our article, Sales Tax for Small Businesses .

Certificate of Occupancy

A school supply store is generally run out of a storefront. Businesses operating out of a physical location typically require a Certificate of Occupancy (CO).  A CO confirms that all building codes, zoning laws and government regulations have been met.

• If you plan to lease a location :
• It is generally the landlord’s responsibility to obtain a CO.
• Before leasing, confirm that your landlord has or can obtain a valid CO that is applicable to a school supply store.
• After a major renovation, a new CO often needs to be issued. If your place of business will be renovated before opening, it is recommended to include language in your lease agreement stating that lease payments will not commence until a valid CO is issued.
• If you plan to purchase or build a location :
• You will be responsible for obtaining a valid CO from a local government authority.
• Review all building codes and zoning requirements for your business’ location to ensure your school supply store will be in compliance and able to obtain a CO.

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance . This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance . If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers' Compensation Coverage.

FInd out what types of insurance your School Supply Store needs and how much it will cost you by reading our guide Business Insurance for School Supply Store.

STEP 8: Define your brand

Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.

If you aren't feeling confident about designing your small business logo, then check out our Design Guides for Beginners , we'll give you helpful tips and advice for creating the best unique logo for your business.

Recommended : Get a logo using Truic's free logo Generator no email or sign up required, or use a Premium Logo Maker .

If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator . Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.

How to promote & market a school supply store

Market your school supply store across an array of mediums. Advertise in the local paper and on local radio. It is also advisable to build a highly polished, easy-to-use website that appeals to youngsters, parents, and teachers alike. Optimize all of your online content for search engines (SEO). This means the website should be laden with keywords and key phrases pertaining to your locale, your inventory, and your customers. The website should also feature a regularly updated blog and links to your social media accounts. Update your social media accounts several times per week with information about sales, new inventory, special offers, and links to information that relates to academics.

How to keep customers coming back

The best way to attract customers is to position the business by several schools, universities, malls, and other businesses/organizations that attract youngsters. If your store is located far away from prospective customers, it will prove awfully difficult to attract a steady stream of business. Once you pinpoint the perfect location, get your name out there through a wide-ranging marketing push. Advertise in the local paper, on local radio, in flyers, on billboards, and on the web. In terms of retaining customers, make sure your inventory is high-quality and your prices are competitive with other local school supplies stores. Make sure you have a wide array of supplies that appeal to grade school students, junior high school students, and university students.

STEP 9: Create your business website

After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business .

While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it’s out of their reach because they don’t have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.

Here are the main reasons why you shouldn’t delay building your website:

• All legitimate businesses have websites - full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
• Social media accounts like Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
• Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don’t need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.

Recommended : Get started today using our recommended website builder or check out our review of the Best Website Builders .

Other popular website builders are: WordPress , WIX , Weebly , Squarespace , and Shopify .

STEP 10: Set up your business phone system

Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That’s not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.

There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. We’ve reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use. Check out our review of the Best Business Phone Systems 2023 to find the best phone service for your small business.

Recommended Business Phone Service: Phone.com

Phone.com is our top choice for small business phone numbers because of all the features it offers for small businesses and it's fair pricing.

Is this Business Right For You?

This business is ideal for an individual who has a passion for academics and youngsters. There is plenty of money to be made by selling school supplies. Yet this business also plays an important role in the community as it provides students with the materials they need to learn and grow.

Want to know if you are cut out to be an entrepreneur?

Take our Entrepreneurship Quiz to find out!

Entrepreneurship Quiz

What happens during a typical day at a school supply store?

A school supply store business owner does everything from researching supplies to ordering supplies, pricing inventory, positioning inventory for sale, delegating duties to employees, handling payroll, and marketing the business.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful school supply store?

Keep your finger on the pulse of the local academic community. Interact with students, teachers, parents of students and distributors to stay on top of school supplies trends. Establish relationships with teachers who can steer students and their families to your store. It will also help to be a marketing guru. A substantial portion of your success hinges on your ability to market the school supply store business to those who need school supplies.

What is the growth potential for a school supply store?

This business has the potential to expand to new locations across the city in which it launches. It is even possible for the business to grow across the region and even the nation.

TRUiC's YouTube Channel

For fun informative videos about starting a business visit the TRUiC YouTube Channel or subscribe to view later.

Take the Next Step

Find a business mentor.

One of the greatest resources an entrepreneur can have is quality mentorship. As you start planning your business, connect with a free business resource near you to get the help you need.

Having a support network in place to turn to during tough times is a major factor of success for new business owners.

Learn from other business owners

Want to learn more about starting a business from entrepreneurs themselves? Visit Startup Savant’s startup founder series to gain entrepreneurial insights, lessons, and advice from founders themselves.

Resources to Help Women in Business

There are many resources out there specifically for women entrepreneurs. We’ve gathered necessary and useful information to help you succeed both professionally and personally:

If you’re a woman looking for some guidance in entrepreneurship, check out this great new series Women in Business created by the women of our partner Startup Savant.

What are some insider tips for jump starting a school supply store?

Take some time to figure out how you can offer value that separates you from the competing school supplies businesses. Perhaps you can establish alliances with local schools and teachers that lead to significant sales. Maybe you can connect with vendors that sell trendy school supplies that students demand. Do not stop interacting with potential suppliers, customers and business partners. The growth of these relationships will help you procure low-cost supplies, ramp up sales and develop a loyal customer base.

How and when to build a team

A team is necessary right off the bat. You can't do it all on your own. Bring people aboard to man the cash registers, stock the shelves and answer the phone. You can handle accounting, marketing, inventory ordering, and administrative duties in the initial months. However, an accountant and a marketing professional will be necessary as time progresses. If your store succeeds, you might become too busy to handle store management duties. Bring on a store manager so you can focus on executive level duties.

Useful Links

Industry opportunities.

• The School Place Franchise opportunity
• Education Market Association
• National Education Association

Real World Examples

• Successful chain
• Chicago business
• NYC business

Further Reading

• Tips For Starting a Teacher Store
• A Guide to School Stores

Have a Question? Leave a Comment!

6 Tips On How To Start And Manage A School & Office Supplies Store

Many school and office supplies store owners say that this type of business is almost as stable as any food business. While many have closed their physical stores due to the pandemic, shifting to an online store still leads to profits. Even during a recession, students and offices will still need supplies such as paper, notebooks, pens, etc.

If you’re interested in starting a school and office supplies store, we listed 6 tips that could help you.

1. Business Plan

You might be excited to start this business that you’re already full of ideas. To get those ideas working, you need to have a well-research business plan . This will put together all your thoughts, ideas, plans, projections, actions to be done, requirements, and more. Basically, a business plan will be your guide on how to plan, operate, market, and earn. In your business plan, you can include the following:

• Financial statement
• Projected Sales
• List of suppliers
• Marketing and promotion
• Target Market
• Competitors (price comparison, advantage, etc.)

2. Offer Value

Part of making your business plan is researching the market and your competitors. Think of something that your customers will value. Maybe lower price, better customer service, convenience, etc. These are important because they will set you apart from your competitors.

3. Order From Direct Suppliers

Often, pricing and variety are keys to a successful school and office supplies store. The target market for these businesses is often students who are working on a budget. Whenever possible, order directly from a manufacturer or importer, so you can obtain your goods at a lower price. However, keep in mind that they often require a minimum number of items. So, it’s best to research which suppliers suit your budget and funds.

4. Have A Market-Based Pricing Strategy

A tip to help make your business more profitable is to survey the market-based price. Research the market price of your items by knowing the price of your competitors. From there, you can play around with your profit margin. Remember that your customers don’t know the actual cost of your goods from suppliers but they know the price of your competitors.

5. Keep Up With Trends

The retail business is dynamic and always changing, so you still need to keep up with the trends. Research for new items to sell and discontinue slow-moving items in your inventory.

6. Look For Reliable Suppliers

There are tons of suppliers, and stores that offer paper products, school supplies, office supplies, and general merchandise in retail and wholesale. The popular go-to places when looking for the most affordable supplies are:

• Commonwealth Market
• 168 Mall Binondo
• Marikina Riverbanks

You can also reach out to local school and office supplies companies such as:

• JB Merchandising Inc. (JBM)
• Goldwings Stationery Products
• Risco Stationery Trading
• Crown Supply Corporation
• NGBROS Enterprises

If you prefer online stores, there are tons of suppliers on Lazada, Alibaba, etc. You just have to inquire about their rules and requirements.

The school and office supplies business has great potential if you do it right. Like any business, always research and learn. Good luck!

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Stationery Shop and Office Supplies Business Plan [Sample Template]

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business ideas » Wholesale and Retail Industry » Stationery Shop

Are you about starting a stationery shop? If YES, here is a complete sample stationery shop & office supplies business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE .

Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a stationery shop . We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample stationery shop marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for stationery shops. So let’s proceed to the business planning section .

Starting a business comes cheap to some people, whilst to other people it is a herculean task. If you fall amongst the latter and you truly want to become your own boss, then one of the many businesses that you can launch with little stress is a stationery shop and office supplies business.

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Simply put, a stationery store and office supplies business is a place where books, magazines, newspapers, text books, writing pads, greeting cards/postcards and stationery are retailed. Some book stores even go ahead to secure license to operate a mobile money center or a money transfer center.

Starting a stationery shop and office supplies business is just like starting any other retailing business; it will require startup capital, planning (feasibility studies, market survey, budgeting), and of course time. Stationery store and office supplies businesses have become an essential part of our world.

The items that are sold in stationery stores are in demand all over the world, making them a good and profitable business to start. If you are considering starting this type of business, then you must hunt for the right location, especially in a school cum office environment; a location with the right demographic composition.

With the right location, items in stock, and good pricing structure, you can start making profit as soon as possible after opening your stationery store and office supplies business. Below is a sample stationery shop and office supplies business plan template that will help you successfully write yours without much stress.

A Sample Stationery Shop and Office Supplies Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

The office supply stores industry comprises of stores that predominantly retail stationery, school supplies and office supplies. It is important to note that some stationery stores and office supply business may also sell a combination of new computers, office equipment, furniture and supplies.

IBISWorld estimates that in 2017, 63.8 percent of total industry operators will be non – employing, including family-owned, individual proprietorships and partnerships. This high share of smaller firms within the industry indicates that capital costs of establishing a retail outlet are not substantial relative to other retail industries.

Furthermore, there are no licensing requirements to enter the industry and as such, the Office Supply Stores industry has limited barriers to entry.

However, industry competition and market awareness, while not regarded as formal barriers to entry, can pose a threat to new potential entrants. Currently, the top two players (Office Depot, Staples) are estimated to account for about 80.9 percent of the total revenue.

Research shows the concentration level for the office supply stores industry has wavered over the last 5 years resulting to some businesses in the industry closing shop or creating additional source of income alongside running a stationery store and office supply business.

As the revenue generated in the book industry continues to nosedive over the last 5 years, many small businesses in the industry struggled to remain profitable, and eventually had to consolidate or exit the industry all together. Larger businesses have also struggled to stay in business, as revealed by the 2011 Borders bankruptcy.

The office supply stores industry is indeed a very large industry and pretty much thriving in all parts of the world. Statistics have it that in the united states of America alone, there are about 10,613 legally registered stationery stores and office supply businesses responsible for employing about 72,499 employees and the industry rakes in a whooping sum of $13bn annually.

It is important to state that the industry experienced a – 7.4 percent growth. Office Depot and Staples have the lion share in the USA market, but no single operator has control over the pricing trend, advertising trend, distribution model or customer loyalty et al in the industry.

Over the years, stationery stores and office supply businesses are active in all cities in the United States of America. In response to the ever-growing demand for items sold in stationery stores, players in the industry are now opening additional stores thereby creating chains of stores across different cities.

They are always ready to expanded into new markets and of course adapt to the changing trend in consumer tastes and increase sales.

2. Executive Summary

Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. is a neighborhood stationery store and office supply that will be located in a centralized area in-between a busy educational district and business office district in downtown Phoenix – Arizona. We conducted our feasibility studies and market survey and we came to the conclusion that Phoenix – Arizona is the right location for us to launch our stationery shop and office supply business.

We are in the stationery store and office supply business to make profits and at the same to give our customers value for their money. We want to give people who patronize our stationery store and office supply business the opportunity to choose from a wide range of office supplies and stationery.

We will engage in retailing office supplies, stationery, books (including e-books), newspapers, magazines and other periodicals and we will also trade books, religious goods (including books), textbooks and other merchandise. Aside from retailing items, we will secure license to carry out money transfer and mobile money services.

We are aware that there are several small stationery stores and chains of stationery stores all around Phoenix – Arizona, which is why we spent time and resources to conduct our feasibility studies and market survey so as to enable us locate the business in an area that will support the growth of the business and also for us to be able offer much more than our competitors will be offering.

We ensured that our facility is easy to locate and our outlet is well secured and equipped with the various payment of options available in the U.S.

Beyond retailing quality and affordable items in our stationery store, we will ensure that our customer care is second to none in the whole of Phoenix – Arizona. We know that our customers are the reason why we are in business which is why we will go the extra mile to make them satisfied and get what they are looking for whenever they visit our store.

Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. will ensure that all our customers are given first class treatment whenever they visit our store. We have a CRM software that will enable us manage a one on one relationship with our customers no matter how large the number of our customer base may grow to.

We will ensure that we get our customers are involved in the selection of brands that will be on our racks and also when making some business decisions that will directly or indirectly affect them. Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. is owned by Olivia Jason and her immediate family members.

She has successfully managed several stationery stores and office supply businesses both in Phoenix and New York prior to opening her own stationery store and office supply business. She has a Degree in Business Administration and she will run the business alongside her immediate family members.

3. Our Products and Services

Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. is going to operate a standard and registered neighborhood stationery store and office supply business that will retail a wide range of items from both local and international manufacturers just like any other standard stationery store in the United States.

Aside from retailing items, we will secure a license to carry out money transfer and mobile money services. We are in the office supply stores industry to make profits and give our customers value for their money. These are some of the products that we will retail in our stationery store:

• Retailing of stationery
• Office supplies and other related merchandise (Pens – blue, black, red, Highlighter Stationery for small or home office
• Permanent marker (Texta/Sharpie)
• Pencil and pencil sharpener
• Colored pencils, pens and markers
• Eraser, Correction tape/fluid/Liquid Paper
• Mechanical pencil and spare leads
• Plain paper (for printer)
• Notebooks, ruled paper, binder books,
• Scrapbook, art book, Ruler, Glue, Sticky tape + dispenser
• Packing tape + dispenser, Bulldog/Fold back clips
• Stapler and staples
• Rubber bands, Paper clips, Hole punch, Drawing pins
• Plastic pockets, Manila folders, Storage pockets, Arch folders
• Folder dividers, Hanging files, Filing trays, Sticky labels (e.g. Avery) for addressing or filing, Post-Its/yellow stickies
• Index cards, Label maker and spare tape, Scissors, Box cutter/utility knife/Stanley knife
• Guillotine, Calculator, Printer toner, Tissues, Paper towel, Postage stamps
• Envelopes, Rubber stamps (return address, entered, paid), Laminator and spare pouches
• USB memory sticks
• Batteries (for electronic equipment, for wireless keyboard and mouse), Calendar, wall planner, Desk pad
• Blu-tack /green tack, Wall hooks (e.g. ‘Command’), Whiteboard/dry erase markers, Whiteboard eraser and cleaning fluid et al).

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our vision is to establish a one stop stationery and office supply business in Phoenix – Arizona and in other cities in the United States of America where we intend opening chains of stationery stores.
• Our mission is to establish a stationery store and office supply business that will make available a wide range of office supplies and stationery from top brands at affordable prices to the residents of Phoenix and other cities in the United States of America where we intend opening our outlets and selling our franchise.

Our Business Structure

Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. do not intend to start a mom and pop business around the street corner; our intention of starting a stationery store and office supply business is to build a standard store that will be a one – stop shop for stationery and offices supplies which is why we will ensure that we put the right structures in place that will support the kind of growth that we have in mind while setting up the business.

We will ensure that we only hire people who are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all our stakeholders.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of five years or more especially when we start selling our franchise or running chains of stationery stores. In view of that, we have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to occupy the following positions;

• Chief Executive Officer (Owner)

Store Manager

Merchandize Manager

Sales and Marketing Manager

Information Technologist

• Accountants/Cashiers
• Store Attendant/Customer Services Executive

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer – CEO (Owner)

• Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results; developing incentives; developing a climate for offering information and opinions; providing educational opportunities.
• Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
• In charge of  providing direction for the business
• Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• In authority of signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Evaluates the success of the organization
• Responsible for managing daily activities in the store
• Ensures that the store facility is in tip top shape and conducive enough to welcome customers
• Checks stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products
• Interfaces with third – party providers (vendors)
• Controls the sales floor inventory
• Ensures that goods and products are properly arranged
• Supervise the entire sales staff and workforce
• Handle any other duty as assigned by the CEO
• Manages vendor relations, market visits, and the ongoing education and development of the organizations’ buying teams
• Helps to ensure consistent quality of stationery and office supplies on our rack
• Responsible for the purchase of stationery for the organization
• Responsible for planning sales, monitoring inventory, selecting the merchandise, and writing and pricing orders to vendors
• Manages external research and coordinate all the internal sources of information to retain the organizations’ best customers and attract new ones
• Models demographic information and analyze the volumes of transactional data generated by customer purchases
• Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new partners, and business opportunities et al
• Answerable to supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
• Changes, execute and evaluate new plans for expanding sales
• Documents all customer contact and information
• Helps to increase sales and growth for the company
• Manages the organization website
• Handles ecommerce aspect of the business
• Responsible for installing and maintenance of computer software and hardware for the organization
• Manages logistics and supply chain software, Web servers, e-commerce software and POS (point of sale) systems
• Manages the organization’s CCTV
• Handles any other technological and IT related duties.

Accountant/Cashier

• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
• In charge of financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensures compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for the organization
• Serves as internal auditor for the organization

Store Attendant/Client Service Executive

• Ensures that all contacts with customers provide the clients with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Through interaction with customers on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
• Manages administrative duties assigned by the store manager in an effective and timely manner
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to our customers when they make enquiries
• Responsible for cleaning the store at all times
• Ensures that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
• Cleans both the interior and exterior of the store facility
• Handles any other duty as assigned by the store manager

6. SWOT Analysis

Our intention of starting just one outlet of our stationery store in Phoenix – Arizona is to test run the business for a period of 2 to 4 years to know if we will invest more money, expand the business and then open other stores all over Arizona and perhaps also sell franchise.

We are quite aware that there are several stationery stores all over Phoenix – Arizona and even in the same location where we intend locating ours, which is why we are following the due process of establishing a business.

We know that if a proper SWOT analysis is conducted for our business, we will be able to position our business to maximize our strength, leverage on the opportunities that will be available to us, mitigate our risks and be welled equipped to confront our threats.

Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. employed the services of an expert HR and Business Analyst with bias in retailing to help us conduct a thorough SWOT analysis and to help us create a Business model that will help us achieve our business goals and objectives. This is the summary of the SWOT analysis that was conducted for Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc.

Our location, the business model we will be operating (one stop physical store and online store), varieties of payment options, wide range of office supplies and stationery from local and international manufacturing brands and our excellent customer service culture will definitely count as a strong strength for Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc.

A major weakness that may count against us is the fact that we are a new stationery and office supply business in Phoenix – Arizona and we don’t have the financial capacity to engage in the kind of publicity that we intend giving the business.

• Opportunities:

The fact that we are going to be operating our stationery store and office supply business in one of the busiest business and school districts with the right demographic composition in Phoenix – Arizona provides us with unlimited opportunities to sell our items to a large number of people.

We have been able to conduct thorough feasibility studies and market survey and we know what our potential customers will be looking for when they visit our store.

We are quite aware that just like any other business, one of the major threats that we are likely going to face is economic downturn. Another threat that may likely confront us is the arrival of a new stationery store in the same location where ours is located or even the arrival of a mall where office supply and stationery are retailed.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

One notable trend in the stationery store and office supply industry is the ever-changing consumer behavior and of course increasing competition from e-commerce and alternative retailers like mass merchandisers et al. This trend is part of what is responsible for the decline in the revenue generated by stationery stores.

Although these trends are forecast to continue over the next 5 years, some stationery stores will benefit from increasing demand for new technologies, such as e-readers.

Beyond every reasonable doubt, the stationery store companies that can successfully flow with the trend and keep up with consumer and technology trends will definitely fare well in the coming years, while the continued decline in physical book sales will keep the overall industry in steady decline.

If you keep tab with stationery store and office supply business, you would have noticed that it is now a common phenomenon for stationery stores to leverage on technology to effectively predict consumer demand patterns and to strategically position their stores to meet their needs; in essence, the use of technology help retailers to maximize supply chain efficiency.

Another common trend in the stationery and office supply stores industry is the pricing system. Asides from having varieties of items in a stationery store, one of the easiest ways for players in this line of business to sell their supplies is to ensure that the prices of their items are a bit lower than what is obtainable elsewhere.

For example, it is common to see office supplies or stationery with prices in this format; $3.99, $99.99 and $199.99 et al as against $4.00, $100 and $200.

8. Our Target Market

When it comes to selling stationery, there is indeed a wide range of available customers, so our target market can’t be restricted to just a group of people, but all those who reside in the locations where we intend opening our stationery stores. One thing is certain, we will ensure that we only retail quality and affordable items in our store.

In view of that, we have positioned our stationery store and office supply business to service offices and the residents of Phoenix – Arizona and every other location where our stationery stores and office supply business will be located all over the United States of America and Canada.

We have conducted our market research and we have ideas of what our target market would be expecting from us. We are in business to retail items to the following groups of people;

• Schools and Students
• Corporate Executives
• Business People
• Government officials

Our Competitive Advantage

Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. is launching a standard stationery store and office supply business that will indeed become the preferred choice for offices in Phoenix – Arizona.

Our stationery store is located in a corner piece property on a busy road directly opposite one of the largest residential estates and office district in Phoenix – Arizona and few meters away from a busy school district. We have enough parking space that can accommodate well over 10 cars per time.

One thing is certain, we will ensure that we have a wide range of quality and affordable items available in our store at all times. It will be difficult for customers to visit our store and not see the items that they are looking for. One of our business goals is to make Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. a one stop stationery store and office supply business.

Our highly experienced and qualified management, customer service culture, online store, various payment options and highly secured facility with enough packing space will also serve as a competitive advantage for us.

Lastly, all our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category in the industry. It will enable them to be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our business aims and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the office supply stores industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to sell a wide range of stationery and office supply related products to a wide range of customers.

Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. will generate income by retailing the following items;

10. Sales Forecast

It is important to state that our sales forecast is based on the data gathered during our feasibility studies, market survey and also some of the assumptions readily available on the field. One thing is common with the stationery store and office supply business, the larger a stationery store, the larger the number of customers that will patronize them.

Although we may not be as large as the biggest stationery stores or retailers in the United States, but we will ensure that within our capacity we will make available a wide range of items from different brands both local and foreign in our store. Below are the sales projections that we were able to come up with for the first three years of operations;

• First Fiscal Year: $120,000
• Second Fiscal Year: $250,000
• Third Fiscal Year: $450,000

N.B: This projection was done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and the arrival of a competitor in the same location as ours within the period stated above. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

Before choosing a location for Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. we conducted a thorough market survey and feasibility studies in order for us to penetrate the available market and become the preferred choice for offices in Phoenix – Arizona and in every other city where our chains of stationery stores will be opened.

We have detailed information and data that we were able to utilize to structure our business to attract the number of customers we want to attract per time.

We hired experts who have a good understanding of the stationery stores industry to help us develop marketing strategies that will help us achieve our business goal of winning a larger percentage of the available market in Phoenix – Arizona.

In other to continue to be in business and grow, we must continue to sell the products that are available in our store which is why we will go all out to empower or sales and marketing team to deliver. In summary, Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. will adopt the following sales and marketing approach to win customers over;

• Introduce our stationery store by sending introductory letters to schools, residents, business owners and organizations in and around Phoenix – Arizona
• Open our stationery store with a party for people in the community
• Advertise our business in community based newspapers, local TV and radio stations
• List our business on yellow pages ads (local directories)
• Leverage on the internet to promote our business
• Engage in direct marketing
• Encourage word of mouth marketing (referrals) from satisfied and loyal customers

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

Despite the fact that our store is well located, we will still go ahead to intensify publicity for the business. We are going to explore all available means to promote our stationery store and office supply business.

Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. has a long-term plan of opening chains of stationery stores in various locations all around the United States of America and Canada which is why we will deliberately build our brand to be well accepted in Phoenix – Arizona before venturing out.

As a matter of fact, our publicity and advertising strategy is not solely for winning customers over but to effectively communicate our brand to the public. Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on to promote and advertise Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc.;

• Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community programs
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, twitter, et al to promote our brand
• Install our billboards in strategic locations all around Phoenix – Arizona
• Engage in roadshows from time to time in and around the location of stationery store
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas in the community where our stationery store is located
• Position our Flexi Banners at strategic positions in the location where our stationery store is located.
• Ensure that all our workers wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded with our organization’s logo

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Pricing is one of the key factors that gives leverage to stationery stores and retailing businesses generally, it is normal for consumers to go to places where they can get items at cheaper rates which is why big player in the stationery stores cum office supply stores industry will attract loads of consumers.

We know we don’t have the capacity to compete with other bigger stationery stores, but we will ensure that the prices of all the items that are available in our stationery store are competitive with what is obtainable amongst stationery stores within our level and in our location.

We are aware that there are office supply contracts from corporate organizations and government agencies, we will ensure that we abide by the rules and pricing model governing the bidding processes for such contracts.

• Payment Options

The payment policy adopted by Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America.

Here are the payment options that Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. will make available to her clients;

• Payment via bank transfer
• Payment with cash
• Payment via credit cards
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via mobile money transfer
• Payment via bank draft

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our client make payment for our products without any stress on their part. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional materials.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

When it comes to starting a stationery store and office supply business, the major areas that you should look towards spending the bulk of your cash is in renting or leasing a standard store facility. Aside from that, you are not expected to spend much except for paying of your employees and the stocking of your store.

These are the key areas where we will spend our startup capital;

• The total fee for registering the Business in the United States of America – $750
• Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services (software, P.O.S machines and other software) – $1,300
• Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. in the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of – $3,580
• The cost for hiring Consultant – $2,500
• Insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $2,400
• The cost for payment of rent for 12 months at $1.76 per square feet in the total amount of $105,600
• The cost for Shop remodeling (construction of racks and shelves) – $20,000
• Other start-up expenses including stationery ( $500 ) and phone and utility deposits – ( $2,500 )
• Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $60,000
• The cost for startup inventory – $70,000
• The cost for store equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $13,750
• The cost of purchase and installation of CCTVs – $5,000
• The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, Sound System, tables and chairs et al) – $4,000
• The cost of launching a Website – $600
• The cost for our opening party – $7,000
• Miscellaneous – $10,000

We would need an estimate of $250,000 to successfully set up our stationery store and office supply business in Phoenix – Arizona.

Generating Startup Capital for Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc.

Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. is a family business that is solely owned and financed by Mrs. Olivia Jason and her immediate family members. They do not intend to welcome any external business partners which is why she has decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital to 3 major sources.

• Generate part of the startup capital from personal savings
• Source for soft loans from family members and friends
• Apply for loan from the bank

N.B: We have been able to generate about $100,000 ( Personal savings $75,000 and soft loan from family members $25,000 ) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $150,000 from our bank. All the papers and documents have been signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited with the amount.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of a business lies in the number of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and competence of their employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business, then it won’t be too long before the business closes shop.

One of our major goals of starting Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running.

We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to sell our office supplies, stationery and other merchandise a little bit cheaper than what is obtainable in the market and we are well prepared to survive on lower profit margin for a while.

Olivia & Jason™ Stationery Store, Inc. will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our organizations’ corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our workforce is at the top burner.

We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

Check List/Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check: Completed
• Business Registration: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
• Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
• Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Leasing of facility and remodeling the store: In Progress
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating capital from family members: Completed
• Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
• Writing of Business Plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
• Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging and Promotional Materials: In Progress
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of furniture, racks, shelves, computers, electronic appliances, office appliances and CCTV: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
• Opening party planning: In Progress
• Compilation of list of products that will be available in our store: Completed
• Establishing business relationship with wholesale suppliers of various brands of products that we intend retailing: In Progress

• Resources for Entrepreneurs > Become an Entrepreneur > Entrepreneur Ideas

Opening a School Supplies & Equipment Retail Business

Entrepreneur Ideas

Opening a school supplies retailer is your ticket to owning a good, stable business if you do it right. Here is a friendly, comprehensive guide to give you a jump-start on planning for your business.

Thinking about opening a school supplies retailer? We tell you what you need to know to get started.

Creating a Business Plan for a School Supplies Retailer

A common mistake for an entrepreneur is to not create a business plan.

The key benefit of writing a business plan is that it establishes both a framework and a roadmap for your business. If you don't have a business plan, your leadership will be handicapped, choosing short-term opportunities at the expense of long-term benefits.

Before you make another business decision and before you start writing a business plan, you need to create a mission statement . Once you're satisfied with your school supplies retailer's mission, the other piece of the business plan puzzle will begin to fall in place.

Review Competitors

Prior to launching a school supplies retailer in your area, it's a smart move to see how you will fit in the competitive landscape. We've provided the link below to help you get a list of local competitors near you. After clicking on the link, type in your city, state and zip code to get a list of school supplies retailers near you.

• Locate School Supplies Retailers Near You

Prior to opening your doors for business, be sure you fully understand the competitive landscape and where your new business will fit in.

Turning Competitors Into Collaborators

If you are seriously contemplating launching a school supplies retailer, it's a wise move to learn as much as you can from somebody who is already in the business. Local competitors are not going to give you the time of day, mind you. The last thing they want to do is help you to be a better competitor.

However, an entrepreneur who owns a school supplies retailer in a different city can be a great learning resource for you, once they realize that you are not going to directly compete with them in their community. In that case, the business owner may be more than happy to discuss the industry with you. Our estimate is that you may have to contact many business owners to find one who is willing to share his wisdom with you.

How do you go about finding a school supplies retailer entrepreneur in a different locale who can assist you?

Simply, try our helpful link below, type in a random city/state or zipcode, and start calling.

• Find School Supplies Retailer Owners Who Might Advise You

Benefits of Buying a School Supplies Retailer

On a percentage basis, more entrepreneurs intend to enter school supplies retailer ownership through a startup than through a business purchase. However, many new entrepreneurs aren't experienced for the rigors of a startup operation.

There are a lot of factors that need to be considered in buying vs. starting a business . By buying a profitable school supplies retailer, you'll shorten the amount of time it takes to achieve a return on your investment because you'll have the advantage of a proven operation and an existing customer base.

Consider Buying a Franchise

If you want to tap into an existing brand name and a proven system, your best bet may be exploring going the franchising route.

Before you get too far along in your plan to open a school supplies retailer, a smart move is to investigate whether franchising might be worth investigating.

The link below gives you access to our franchise directory so you can see if there's a franchise opportunity for you. You might even find something that points you in a completely different direction.

• Franchise Businesses

Entrepreneur Interviews

These interviews should be of interest to you.

• Interview with Sandra Ann Harris, Founder of ECOlunchboxes

Other Useful Articles for Startup Entrepreneurs

These additional resources regarding starting a business may be of interest to you.

Questions to Ask Before Starting a Business

LLC Advantages

How to Find Start-Up Capital

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Start a School Supply Store

Rekindle Your Inner Child: Dive into the World of a School Supply Store

SCHOOL SUPPLY STORE

Related business ideas, discover your perfect domain, school supply store mini business plan, expected percent margin:, earnings expectations:, required actions to achieve these numbers:, inventory management:, marketing and customer acquisition:, sales and customer service:, cost control:, business operations:, not what you had in mind here are more ideas, grab your business website name, step 1: determine if starting a school supply store is the right endeavor, breakdown of startup expenses, breakdown of ongoing expenses, examples of ways to make money, step 2: name the business, step 3: obtain licenses and permits, apply for necessary licenses and permits, maintain licenses and permits, seek professional assistance, step 4: find a location, researching the local market, negotiating a lease, securing the location, step 5: create a business plan, step 6: secure financing, cost of financing, other considerations, step 7: purchase supplies, tips on what supplies to purchase, step 8: market the business, step 9: open the store, explore more categories, take the next steps.

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Executive Summary of School Supplies Business Plan [2024]

• February 23, 2024
• Office Supplies

Imagine a world without school supplies. No pencils, no notebooks, no backpacks. Chaos, right? That’s why the school supplies business is not only profitable but also essential for students, parents, teachers, and schools. In this comprehensive guide, we will provide you with an executive summary of a school supplies business plan, covering everything you need to know to start and succeed in this industry.

Table of Contents

Quick answer, quick tips and facts, background and history of the school supplies business, why start a school supplies business, market analysis and target audience, choosing the right products, setting up your business, marketing and promotion strategies, pricing and financial considerations, managing inventory and suppliers, customer service and retention, expanding your business, recommended links, reference links.

Starting a school supplies business can be a profitable venture that is easy to start and not capital-intensive. By providing essential teaching materials to schools, parents, teachers, and students, you can make a positive impact on education while building a successful business. With the right products, marketing strategies, and customer service, you can establish yourself as a trusted supplier in the industry.

CHECK PRICE on: Pencils , Notebooks , Backpacks

• The school supplies business is essential for students, parents, teachers, and schools.
• Starting a school supplies business is profitable, easy to start, and not capital-intensive.
• The industry overview highlights the struggles and growth projections of the School Supplies Wholesaling industry.
• The target market includes retailers, schools, and households.
• Marketing strategies such as grand opening events, distribution of flyers, loyalty plans, and roadshows can help promote your business.
• Pricing strategy should focus on competitive pricing and occasional discounts.
• Payment options should include bank transfer, cash, credit cards, and online payments.
• Startup expenditure budget should include costs for setting up the business.

The school supplies business has been around for centuries, evolving alongside the education system. From simple writing implements to advanced technology, school supplies have played a crucial role in facilitating learning. In recent years, the industry has seen significant growth, driven by the increasing demand for quality educational materials.

Starting a school supplies business offers numerous benefits. Not only is it a profitable venture, but it also allows you to make a positive impact on education. By providing essential teaching materials, you contribute to the success of students, teachers, and schools. Additionally, the school supplies industry is relatively stable, with consistent demand throughout the year.

Before starting your school supplies business, it’s essential to conduct a thorough market analysis. Identify your target audience, including retailers, schools, and households. Understand their needs, preferences, and purchasing behavior. This information will help you tailor your products and marketing strategies to meet their specific requirements.

Choosing the right products is crucial for the success of your school supplies business. Consider offering a wide range of products, including writing implements, stationery, notebooks, binders, backpacks, and lunchboxes. Research the latest trends and innovations in the industry to stay ahead of the competition.

To help you make informed decisions, we have evaluated various school supplies based on consumer feedback. Here is a comprehensive rating table:

Now, let’s dive into the in-depth analysis of each rated feature:

• Design: Pencils with ergonomic designs and comfortable grips are highly preferred by students and teachers.
• Functionality: Smooth writing, easy sharpening, and break-resistant leads are essential features of high-quality pencils.
• Performance: Pencils that don’t smudge or smear, even with heavy use, are highly rated by consumers.
• Cost-effectiveness: Affordable pencils that offer good quality and durability are favored by budget-conscious customers.
• Design: Notebooks with sturdy covers, attractive designs, and various sizes are popular among students and teachers.
• Functionality: Notebooks with high-quality paper that is easy to write on and doesn’t bleed through are highly rated.
• Performance: Notebooks that can withstand frequent use without falling apart or losing pages are preferred.
• Cost-effectiveness: Affordable notebooks that offer good paper quality and durability are in high demand.
• Design: Backpacks with ergonomic designs, adjustable straps, and multiple compartments are preferred by students.
• Functionality: Backpacks with padded laptop sleeves, water bottle holders, and durable zippers are highly rated.
• Performance: Backpacks that can withstand heavy loads and daily use without tearing or breaking are favored.
• Cost-effectiveness: Affordable backpacks that offer good storage capacity and durability are popular choices.

By offering high-quality products that excel in design, functionality, performance, and cost-effectiveness, you can attract and retain customers in the competitive school supplies market.

Setting up your school supplies business requires careful planning and execution. Here are the key steps to get started:

Business Registration: Choose a business name and register it with the appropriate authorities. Consult with a legal professional to ensure compliance with local regulations.

Business Structure: Determine the legal structure of your business, such as sole proprietorship, partnership, or limited liability company (LLC). Consult with an accountant or attorney to choose the best option for your situation.

Funding: Assess your financial needs and explore funding options. Consider personal savings, loans from family and friends, or bank loans. Create a detailed startup expenditure budget to estimate your initial costs.

Supplier Research: Identify reliable suppliers who can provide high-quality school supplies at competitive prices. Establish strong relationships with suppliers to ensure a steady supply of products.

Inventory Management: Implement an efficient inventory management system to track stock levels, monitor product performance, and avoid stockouts or overstocking.

Online Presence: Create a professional website and establish a strong online presence. Utilize social media platforms to engage with your target audience and promote your products.

Logistics and Shipping: Develop a streamlined logistics and shipping process to ensure timely delivery of orders. Consider partnering with reliable shipping providers to enhance customer satisfaction.

Effective marketing and promotion strategies are essential for the success of your school supplies business. Here are some strategies to consider:

Grand Opening Events: Organize a grand opening event to generate buzz and attract customers. Offer special discounts, giveaways, and interactive activities to engage with your target audience.

Distribution of Flyers: Design and distribute flyers in schools, community centers, and other relevant locations. Highlight your unique selling points and special offers to entice potential customers.

Loyalty Plans: Implement a loyalty program to reward repeat customers. Offer discounts, exclusive deals, or freebies to encourage customer loyalty and repeat business.

Roadshows: Organize roadshows in schools and educational events to showcase your products. Provide demonstrations, product samples, and educational resources to engage with students, parents, and teachers.

Online Marketing: Utilize digital marketing strategies such as search engine optimization (SEO), social media advertising, and email marketing to reach a wider audience. Create engaging content that educates and informs your target audience.

Pricing your school supplies competitively is crucial for attracting customers and generating revenue. Consider the following factors when determining your pricing strategy:

• Cost of Goods Sold (COGS): Calculate the cost of acquiring or producing your products, including manufacturing, shipping, and storage costs.
• Market Analysis: Research the prices of similar products in the market to ensure your pricing is competitive.
• Profit Margin: Determine the profit margin you want to achieve and factor it into your pricing calculations.
• Occasional Discounts: Offer occasional discounts or promotions to attract new customers and encourage repeat business.

Additionally, consider financial considerations such as payment options, cash flow management, and budgeting to ensure the financial stability of your business.

Efficient inventory management is crucial for the smooth operation of your school supplies business. Implement the following strategies to effectively manage your inventory:

• Regular Stock Checks: Conduct regular stock checks to monitor inventory levels and identify any discrepancies or potential stockouts.
• Supplier Relationships: Maintain strong relationships with your suppliers to ensure a steady supply of products. Communicate regularly and address any issues promptly.
• Demand Forecasting: Use historical sales data, market trends, and customer feedback to forecast demand and adjust your inventory levels accordingly.
• Just-in-Time (JIT) Inventory: Consider implementing a just-in-time inventory system to minimize storage costs and reduce the risk of overstocking or obsolescence.

By effectively managing your inventory and suppliers, you can ensure that you always have the right products in stock to meet customer demand.

Providing excellent customer service is crucial for building a loyal customer base. Here are some tips to enhance your customer service:

• Prompt Responses: Respond to customer inquiries, feedback, and complaints promptly and professionally.
• Personalized Service: Tailor your service to meet the specific needs and preferences of your customers. Offer personalized recommendations and assistance.
• Hassle-Free Returns: Implement a hassle-free return policy to instill confidence in your customers and encourage repeat business.
• Customer Feedback: Encourage customers to provide feedback and reviews. Use this feedback to improve your products and services.

By prioritizing customer service and retention, you can build a strong reputation and establish long-term relationships with your customers.

Once your school supplies business is established, you may consider expanding your operations. Here are some strategies to consider:

• Online Expansion: Expand your online presence by selling through e-commerce platforms or launching your own online store.
• Wholesale Opportunities: Explore opportunities to supply school supplies to retailers, schools, and other businesses in bulk.
• Diversification: Consider diversifying your product offerings to cater to a wider range of customer needs. Research new trends and innovations in the industry.
• Geographic Expansion: Expand your business to new locations or target new markets to reach a larger customer base.

By strategically expanding your business, you can maximize your growth potential and capitalize on new opportunities.

How do you write a business plan for a school?

Writing a business plan for a school supplies business involves several key steps:

Executive Summary: Provide an overview of your business, including your mission, vision, and goals.

Company Overview: Describe your company’s structure, management team, and legal considerations.

Market Analysis: Conduct a thorough analysis of the school supplies market, including your target audience and competitors.

Product Strategy: Outline your product offerings, including their unique selling points and competitive advantages.

Marketing and Sales Strategy: Detail your marketing and sales strategies, including pricing, promotion, and distribution channels.

Financial Projections: Provide financial projections, including revenue forecasts, expenses, and profit margins.

Implementation Plan: Outline the steps you will take to launch and grow your school supplies business.

Read more about “Can You Make Money Selling School Supplies? …”

What are the supplies in a business plan?

A business plan for a school supplies business should include the following key sections:

Executive Summary: A concise overview of your business plan, highlighting the main points.

Company Description: An overview of your company, including its mission, vision, and legal structure.

Market Analysis: A detailed analysis of the school supplies market, including your target audience and competitors.

Product Strategy: A description of your product offerings, including their unique selling points and competitive advantages.

Marketing and Sales Strategy: A plan for promoting and selling your products, including pricing, promotion, and distribution channels.

Financial Projections: Financial forecasts, including revenue projections, expenses, and profit margins.

Implementation Plan: A step-by-step plan for launching and growing your school supplies business.

How do you write a company overview?

When writing a company overview for your school supplies business, consider including the following key elements:

Company Name and Legal Structure: Provide the name of your company and its legal structure (e.g., sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC).

Mission and Vision: Clearly state your company’s mission and vision, outlining the purpose and goals of your business.

Management Team: Introduce the key members of your management team, highlighting their qualifications and relevant experience.

Products and Services: Describe the products and services your company offers, emphasizing their unique features and benefits.

Competitive Advantage: Explain how your company stands out from the competition, highlighting your unique selling points.

Target Market: Identify your target market, including retailers, schools, and households, and explain how your products meet their needs.

Growth Strategy: Outline your plans for growth and expansion, including geographic expansion, product diversification, or wholesale opportunities.

By providing a comprehensive company overview, you can effectively communicate the value and potential of your school supplies business.

Is school supplies a good business in the Philippines?

Yes, the school supplies business is a good business in the Philippines. With a large population and a strong emphasis on education, there is a consistent demand for school supplies throughout the year. By offering high-quality products, competitive pricing, and excellent customer service, you can establish a successful school supplies business in the Philippines.

Read more about “The Disadvantages of School Supplies Business …”

Starting a school supplies business can be a rewarding and profitable venture. By providing essential teaching materials to schools, parents, teachers, and students, you can make a positive impact on education while building a successful business. Remember to choose the right products, implement effective marketing strategies, and prioritize customer service. With careful planning and execution, you can establish yourself as a trusted supplier in the school supplies industry.

Now that you have a comprehensive executive summary of a school supplies business plan, it’s time to take action and turn your entrepreneurial dreams into reality. Good luck on your journey!

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• School Supplies Business Plan [Sample Template] – ProfitableVenture

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Executive summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. it describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">.

Green Office addresses the market need of environmentally-friendly office supplies. Green Office has been formed as an Illinois Corporation with Stan Cooksey as the main shareholder. Green Office will service a wide range of customers including corporations and government agencies.

Products Green Office will sell eco-friendly products that use recycled materials, reuse “recharged” existing parts, or use non-toxic alternatives. Green Office will sell recycled paper ranging from notepads to envelopes to copier paper, a wide range of laser toner, inkjet cartridges and common office supplies such as correction fluid.

Customers Green Office has identified three market segments. The first is corporations, with an 8% growth rate and 12,000 potential customers. The second is government agencies, with a 11% growth rate and 7,886 possible customers. The last category is assorted customers with a 7% growth rate and 56,888 possible customers.

Competitive Edge Green Office will offer a complete range of office supplies, to become a one-stop shopping place for supply needs. Green Office will offer an unprecedented level of customer attention. It recognizes that shopping must be the the most trouble free, pleasant experience if it expects to form long-term relationships with customers.

Management Green Office will be lead by Stan Cooksey. Stan received his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago. Stan worked for Symantec Software as the Regional Sales Manager for the Government Agency Unit. While working at Symantec, Stan received his Executive MBA.

Green Office is supported by a proven business model, carefully identified market segments, and a top notch management team. Green Office has forecasted sales for year two of $818,000, rising to $1,004,000 in year three. We will become profitable in the second year.

1.1 Objectives

• To become the premier source of environmentally-friendly office supplies.
• To offer green office supplies that cost no more than a 10% price premium, often at the same price as non “green” supplies.
• Quickly grow in size and become a profitable business within the first two years.

1.2 Mission

It is Green Office’s mission to become a leading vendor of environmentally-friendly office supplies. Green Office will become a market leader offering a wide, price competitive selection with the finest customer service.

1.3 Keys to Success

• Offer environmentally-friendly office supplies at competitive prices.
• Secure large contracts with corporations and government agencies.
• Ensure fiscal efficiency through strict financial controls.

Company Summary company overview ) is an overview of the most important points about your company—your history, management team, location, mission statement and legal structure.">

Green Office is an Illinois corporation founded by Stan Cooksey.

2.1 Start-up Summary

Green Office will incur the following start up expenses:

• Office desk sets with chairs and assorted supplies (6)
• Workstations and a central file server, two laser printers, and Internet connection (6)
• Copier, fax machine
• Assorted pieces of office furniture
• Assorted shipping material
• Unit phone system with answer service (7)
• Shelving units for storage
• Used fork lift
• Intercom system
• Warehouse build out

Start-up funds will be supported predominantly through equity investment, but in addition Stan will obtain a $50,000 SBA backed loan to assist in the purchase of start-up inventory.

2.2 Company Ownership

Green Office is a privately held corporation owned by Stan Cooksey. Green Office has been incorporated in Illinois.

Green Office offers a wide range of office supplies, all of which are environmentally friendly, they either use recycled content materials, sustainable products, or substitute toxic chemicals with non-toxic substitutes. Products include:

• Recycled clip boards
• Non-toxic correction fluid
• Recycled note pads (small and legal size)
• Recycled paper clips
• Recycled copier and printer paper
• Recycled envelopes
• Erasable boards
• Reusable coffee filters
• Recycled, refillable laser toner cartridges and inkjet cartridges
• Solar calculators
• Refillable pens and pencils made out of recyclable materials
• And many other items

Market Analysis Summary how to do a market analysis for your business plan.">

Green Office believes that it faces a market with many opportunities and significant demand. Green Office’s three main customer segments will be corporations, government agencies, and others which is a “catch all” category.

The office supply industry operates with several different large companies and many small ones. Within the office supplies industry there exists a niche of environmentally-friendly companies that Green Office competes against. Some of these companies serve local markets, others are Web-based for broader coverage.

4.1 Market Segmentation

Green Office has identified three customer segments that it will go after:

• Other: This is a catch all segment that contains a wide range of entities such as small companies, individuals, school districts, etc.

4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy

As mentioned previously in the Market Segmentation section, three customer groups have been identified. Two of these, corporations and government agencies are quite attractive as customer segments. The third is used as a “catch all” category. The strategy will be the use of a targeted sales campaign that uses specific sales agents each of whom are responsible for a specific customer group.

The hiring process for these sales agents will be done with the specific group in mind. The agent responsible for the government agencies will be chosen based on his past experience and proficiency in selling to government agencies if possible. Green Office will therefore provide each experienced sales person with an exclusive territory, assisting them in achieving high sales marks for the respective customer group.

4.3 Industry Analysis

The broader industry that Green Office competes in the office supplies industry. Within that industry there are several market leaders:

• Office Depot

4.3.1 Competition and Buying Patterns

Competition comes from two sources, direct and indirect competitors. Direct competitors are companies that offer similar lines of environmentally-friendly products. The main companies are:

• EcoProducts
• The Good Humans

The indirect competitors are companies within the office supplies industry who offer eco supplies, but do not concentrate on these products. Customers’ buying patterns are based on two main factors:

• Price: Both a relative comparison to standard office supplies as well as eco-friendly ones.
• Convenience: Ease of ordering, shipping schedule, variety of products.

Strategy and Implementation Summary

Green Office’s goal of becoming a major vendor of environmentally-friendly office supplies is an ambitious but achievable goal. Green Office will leverage its two part competitive edge to achieve this goal. The first edge is an unbeatable selection of green office supplies.

This all inclusive product catalog creates a compelling one stop shopping venue. This wonderful product selection will be supported by a customer-centric company culture. The marketing and sales strategies support these two competitive edges.

The marketing strategy seeks to develop an awareness of Green Office and its ability to offer a wide selection of eco-friendly office products. All products will be priced competitively, often at the same low price as non eco-friendly products.

The sales strategy will use specially engineered economic incentives that channel account manager behavior into the mode of ensuring, happy, long-term customers. This entire strategy is based on the company’s philosophy that it is far cheaper to maintain a current customer than it is to attract new ones.

5.1 Competitive Edge

Green Office competitive edge is two fold, a wide selection of office supplies making it a one stop shopping place and a strong customer service oriented organization where the customers are assigned a specific sales agent/account manager to assist them.

By offering a strong product catalog, customers are able to place all of their office supplies orders at one place instead of having to contact multiple vendors each week or month, whatever the interval may be. Creating the perception that all of the company’s office supply needs can be met by one company, Green Office has a competitive edge.

The second edge is Green Office’s focus on customer service. The company recognizes that if long-term sustainable growth is desired, the customers must feel like that they are being offered the finest service. This will ensure the building of a loyal customer base that will assist Green Office in becoming a sustainable operation.

5.2 Marketing Strategy

The marketing strategy will be based on a communication effort that announces Green Office’s two competitive edges, their selection and customer service. To be able to order all of an office’s supply needs from one easy-to-work-with vendor is a significant value. Backing up the extensive product catalog with top rate customer service will retain customers.

Green Office will undertake a marketing campaign that communicates its competitive edge. The campaign will rely primarily on print advertising. The media outlets to be used will be determined based on the readership levels and targeted companies. The campaign will develop an awareness of Green Office to the targeted customers. The development of an awareness or image of Green Office is the first step in the implementation strategy, the second step is the sales strategy detailed in the following section.

5.3 Sales Strategy

Green Office’s sales strategy will be based on the conversion of qualified sales leads into paying customers. The key emphasis here is customer service. Green Office recognizes that customers desire that their needs are taken care of.

Additionally, customers want a seemless experience where their expectations are managed. Green Office will accomplish these lofty goals by assigning a specific account manager/sales agent to each customer (assigned by the customer type). The sales agent receives a commission not just for the individual sale but also using a complex formula that takes into account long-term customer satisfaction of the client.

Green Office therefore has developed an economic incentive for its account managers to develop long-term customers. This incentive based system is key to the sales strategy because it creates an incentive for the sales agent to take into account Green Office’s strategic survival, not just the agents short-term compensation. In addition, long-term customers are more profitable than new customers.

5.3.1 Sales Forecast

Green Office adopted a conservative forecast for the business plan. These conservative estimates will help ensure that the company does not face any cash flow shortages within the first couple of years The sales forecast also takes into account that Green Office is a start-up organization and it will take time to generate a level of sustainable sales. Sales will increase at a slow but steady rate. Please see the three following table and charts for graphical representation of the sales forecasts.

5.4 Milestones

Green Office has identified four specific milestones that will serve as goals for the organization to achieve. While the milestones are lofty in terms of qualitative standards and the timeline deadline, they are achievable.

• Business plan completion.
• First major government agency account.
• $200K in sales.
• Profitability.

Web Plan Summary

The website will be developed to offer customers a product catalog for online orders. The overriding design philosophy of the site is ease of use. Green Office wants to make the process of placing an order as easy and fast as possible thereby encouraging increased sales. Green Office will incorporate special features such as a section that is specific to each customer so the customer can easily make purchases of repeat items. Instead of going through the website every month and locating their monthly needs, the site captures regularly ordered items for that specific customer, significantly speeding up the ordering process. This ease-of-use feature will help increase sales as customers become more and more familiar with the site and appreciate how easy it is to place an order.

6.1 Website Marketing Strategy

The marketing strategy for the website will begin initially with a simple strategy of search engine submissions and the use of pay-per-clicks which is a service of Google and Overture where the company pays the search engine every time a surfer clicks through to the Green Office site.

6.2 Development Requirements

Green Office has secured a start-up website design company to design and develop the site. As a result, the company is able to negotiate a favorable rate for the development and maintenance of the site.

Management Summary management summary will include information about who's on your team and why they're the right people for the job, as well as your future hiring plans.">

7.1 personnel plan.

• Stan: Operations, business development, some finance, some accounting.
• Willma (Stan’s wife): Procurement, marketing.
• Sales: Account manager functions.
• Accounting: Part-time accounting clerk.
• Shipping: Responsible for order filling.
• Administrative/customer support.

Financial Plan investor-ready personnel plan .">

The following sections will outline important financial information.

8.1 Important Assumptions

The following table details important Financial Assumptions.

8.2 Break-even Analysis

The following table and chart show our break-even analysis.

8.3 Projected Profit and Loss

The following table will indicate Projected Profit and Loss.

8.4 Projected Cash Flow

The following chart and table will indicate Projected Cash Flow.

8.5 Projected Balance Sheet

The following table will indicate the Projected Balance Sheet.

8.6 Business Ratios

The following table shows common Business Ratios, specific to Green Office as well as to the industry as a whole.

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School Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

School Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their schools.

If you’re unfamiliar with creating a school business plan, you may think creating one will be a time-consuming and frustrating process. For most entrepreneurs it is, but for you, it won’t be since we’re here to help. We have the experience, resources, and knowledge to help you create a great business plan.

In this article, you will learn some background information on why business planning is important. Then, you will learn how to write a school business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What is a School Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your school as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategies for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for a School

If you’re looking to start a school or grow your existing school, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your school to improve your chances of success. Your school business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Schools

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for schools are donations and gifts, tuition, personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to ensure that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for schools.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for a school.

If you want to start a school or expand your current one, you need a business plan. The guide below details the necessary information for how to write each essential component of your school business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your executive summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the kind of school you are running and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a school that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of schools?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan.

• Give a brief overview of the school industry.
• Discuss the type of school you are operating.
• Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers.
• Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team.
• Offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Overview

In your company overview, you will detail the type of school you are operating.

For example, you might specialize in one of the following types of schools:

• Private K-12 school : this type of school typically charges tuition, and may be affiliated with a religious organization, or specialize in a particular learning method.
• Charter school: this type of school offers primary or secondary education for a tuition, and may receive some public funding, and/or donations. These schools require their students to take state-mandated exams.
• Special subject school: this type of school specializes in teaching a specific subject, such as driving, first-aid, self-defense, fine arts, language, or general tutoring.
• Preschool: this type of school typically serves children who are aged 3 and 4. These schools prepare young children to enter formal education, and are funded by some combination of tuition, donations, and government grants.

In addition to explaining the type of school you will operate, the company overview needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of students served, the number of students accepted into elite formal education institutions, etc.
• Your legal business Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry or market analysis, you need to provide an overview of the school industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the school industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your marketing strategy, particularly if your analysis identifies market trends.

The third reason is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your school business plan:

• How big is the school industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential target market for your school? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your school business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: families with elementary-aged children, families with high-school-aged children, families with preschool children.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of school you operate. Clearly, families with high schoolers would respond to different marketing promotions than families with preschoolers, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the potential customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can recognize and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other schools.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t directly competing with your product or service. This includes public schools, virtual schools, and families who do homeschooling. You need to mention such competition as well.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their business and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as

• What types of students do they serve?
• What type of school are they?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide specialized instruction, either in subject or in method?
• Will you offer courses or services that your competition doesn’t?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a school business plan, your marketing strategy should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of school that you documented in your company overview. Then, detail the specific products or services you will be offering. For example, will you provide religious-focused K-8 education, college preparatory courses, or single-subject instruction like driving or fine arts?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your plan, you are presenting the courses and/or extracurricular activities you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the site of your school. Document where your company is situated and mention how the site will impact your success. For example, is your school located in a growing neighborhood, in the city center, or will you operate purely online? Discuss how your site might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your school marketing plan is where you will document how you will drive potential customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertise in local papers, radio stations and/or magazines
• Reach out to websites
• Distribute flyers
• Engage in email marketing
• Advertise on social media platforms
• Improve the SEO (search engine optimization) on your website for targeted keywords

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your school, including answering calls, planning and delivering instruction, applying for grants, fundraising, performing administrative tasks, overseeing instructors, handling discipline, scheduling and monitoring extracurricular activities, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to enroll your Xth student, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your school to a new city.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your school’s potential to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing schools. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in running a school or experience with public school administration or who has served on a public school board.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenue and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you enroll 100 or 1,000 students per semester, and/or offer extracurricular activities? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your school, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a lender writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and ensure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

When creating your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a school:

• Cost of equipment and supplies
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Other start-up expenses (if you’re a new business) like legal expenses, permits, computer software, and equipment

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your school location lease or a list of elective courses or extracurricular activities you will offer.  

Writing a business plan for your school is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will understand the school industry, your competition, and your customers. You will develop a marketing strategy and will understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful school.

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your School business plan?

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Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.   Click here to learn about Growthink’s business plan writing services .

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How To Start a Student-Run School Supply Store

Starting a school store is about more than just selling merch and school supplies. A school store is a unique opportunity to teach students a variety of useful life skills, like entrepreneurship, financial management, customer service, time management, team building, and more. School stores can also bring in much needed revenues for cash-strapped schools that need basic supplies or want to add more enrichment activities for students. At GEDDES , we’ve been helping schools stay well stocked since 1924, so we have some pretty extensive experience with successful school stores. In this post, we’ll give our top tips for starting a student-run school supply store.

Incorporate the Store Into an Appropriate Class

One of the best ways to start a school store is to build it into the curriculum of a relevant class. This is easiest at the high school level, where classes related to business, accounting, and entrepreneurship can easily incorporate the school store as a long-term lesson. High school administrators may even decide to create an elective course just for students who want to help with the school store. However, even in middle and elementary school, math teachers can use a school store to reinforce math concepts and introduce new ones. By linking the school store to an existing class, there will always be a teacher and students to operate the store and it won’t need to be re-planned each year.

Involve Students in Every Step

While the school store will need an adult to keep an eye on everything, have the final word on disagreements, and make sure the store is operating smoothly, it’s still extremely important to involve students in every step of the school store planning and operations. When students are involved from step 1, they feel a stronger connection to the outcome and are more motivated to help.

Create a School Store Plan & Propose it to Administrators

The first step in starting a student-run school store is to get approval from the school’s administration. They’ll have to sign off on things like an initial budget, location, and operating hours, so getting their official buy-in in the beginning is important. Have the students involved in the store’s planning to draw up a business plan for the store. This is a great way to teach students in a business-related class about how business plans work and how to format one. Once the plan is ready, schedule a formal meeting with school administrators and let students present the business plan.

Create a Brand Kit

Now that administration has approved your store, you’ll need to create brand kit materials using the school logo to use for merch and promotional materials. This is a perfect opportunity to have a school-wide art contest, allowing students to enter their ideas for promotional materials and advertisements and then vote for the best ones. Once students have chosen the most popular ad designs, have students from a graphic design or computer class add the school logo to merchandise, brand kit materials, and promotional materials, then coordinate printing.

Set Up Financial Management Software

In the past, all school store financial transactions were kept up with a paper ledger, requiring students to write down each and every transaction by hand. While some schools may still use this method, most are now transitioning to financial management software. Intuit offers free financial literacy programs for high school students that include free access to some of their programs, including Quickbooks and MailChimp. Get students in accounting-related classes to set up Quickbooks for the school store and handle the account reconciliation each month. Students in marketing-related classes can help setup programs like MailChimp to promote the store to students, staff, parents, administrators, and other interested parties. These hands-on projects are much more likely to stick with the students over textbook reading assignments and lectures.

Hire Store Staff

The store will need to be staffed during its operating hours, and preferably that staff will always include at least one student. Some high school students may be able to run the store independently, while lower-level students will probably need an adult’s assistance, especially with handling payments. This is a great time to have students create resumes and really apply for the different store positions. Post a job application for the needed staff on the school website, in the school newsletter, using flyers posted around the school, or any other way that will reach students. Once the application period closes, conduct real interviews with the student applicants. This real-world experience will be invaluable when they embark out on their own and start applying for jobs as an adult.

Select Merchandise

This is another step where student input is critical. Merchandise in the typical school store includes clothing with the school’s logo, school supplies , art supplies , novelty items , drinks, and snacks. Students will have the best insight on what their peers will want to buy, and allowing them to choose the merchandise that will be offered while keeping the budget in mind is great practice for both their personal lives and upcoming careers. Once they’ve chosen what they want to offer in the store, let them help with the ordering process, including monitoring the shipments and checking that everything was included in the deliveries. Once the school store merchandise has all arrived, have students price the items based on a set formula using the item’s cost and create a spreadsheet with the item pricing information.

Promote the Store

Now that all the prep work has been laid, it’s time to let everyone know that the store will soon be open. Use the promotional materials that the students voted on during the art contest to advertise the new school store with flyers, emails, social media posts, posts on the school website, letters mailed to student homes and local businesses, and more. This is another step where graphic design and computer students can really help out. Don’t forget to take advantage of Intuit’s free access to MailChimp if you signed up for their free financial literacy courses.

It’s Opening Day!

Make opening day a big deal with special deals and lots of fanfare to drum up enthusiasm for the new store. Give away school-branded clothing to spread school spirit, have drawings for door prizes, or even do a raffle for a larger store item. Make sure the store’s operating hours are clearly posted so students and staff will know when they can visit, and solicit student feedback on the new store and merchandise.

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How to start a School Supply Store Business?

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Why write a business plan?

• Business Plans can help to articulate and flesh out the business’s goals and objectives. This can be beneficial not only for the business owner, but also for potential investors or partners
• Business Plans can serve as a roadmap for the business, helping to keep it on track and on target. This is especially important for businesses that are growing and evolving, as it can be easy to get sidetracked without a clear plan in place.
• Business plans can be a valuable tool for communicating the business’s vision to employees, customers, and other key stakeholders.
• Business plans are one of the most affordable and straightforward ways of ensuring your business is successful.
• Business plans allow you to understand your competition better to critically analyze your unique business proposition and differentiate yourself from the market.
• Business Plans allow you to better understand your customer. Conducting a customer analysis is essential to create better products and services and market more effectively.
• Business Plans allow you to determine the financial needs of the business leading to a better understanding of how much capital is needed to start the business and how much fundraising is needed.
• Business Plans allow you to put your business model in words and analyze it further to improve revenues or fill the holes in your strategy.
• Business plans allow you to attract investors and partners into the business as they can read an explanation about the business.
• Business plans allow you to position your brand by understanding your company’s role in the marketplace.
• Business Plans allow you to uncover new opportunities by undergoing the process of brainstorming while drafting your business plan which allows you to see your business in a new light. This allows you to come up with new ideas for products/services, business and marketing strategies.
• Business Plans allow you to access the growth and success of your business by comparing actual operational results versus the forecasts and assumptions in your business plan. This allows you to update your business plan to a business growth plan and ensure the long-term success and survival of your business.

Business Plan Content

• Executive Summary
• Company Overview
• Industry Analysis
• Consumer Analysis
• Competitor Analysis & Advantages
• Marketing Strategies & Plan
• Plan of Action
• Management Team

The financial forecast template is an extensive Microsoft Excel sheet with Sheets on Required Start-up Capital, Salary & Wage Plans, 5-year Income Statement, 5-year Cash-Flow Statement, 5-Year Balance Sheet, 5-Year Financial Highlights and other accounting statements that would cost in excess of £1000 if obtained by an accountant.

The financial forecast has been excluded from the business plan template. If you’d like to receive the financial forecast template for your start-up, please contact us at [email protected] . Our consultants will be happy to discuss your business plan and provide you with the financial forecast template to accompany your business plan.

Instructions for the Business Plan Template

To complete your perfect School Supply Store business plan, fill out the form below and download our School Supply Store business plan template. The template is a word document that can be edited to include information about your School Supply Store business. The document contains instructions to complete the business plan and will go over all sections of the plan. Instructions are given in the document in red font and some tips are also included in blue font. The free template includes all sections excluding the financial forecast. If you need any additional help with drafting your business plan from our business plan template, please set up a complimentary 30-minute consultation with one of our consultants.

Ongoing Business Planning

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A Guide to Social Media for School Supply Store Businesses

School Supply Store Business Plan Template FAQs

What is a business plan for a/an school supply store business, how to customize the business plan template for a school supply store business, what financial information should be included in a school supply store business plan, are there industry-specific considerations in the school supply store business plan template, how to conduct market research for a school supply store business plan, what are the common challenges when creating a business plan for a school supply store business, how often should i update my school supply store business plan, can i use the business plan template for seeking funding for a school supply store business, what legal considerations are there in a school supply store business plan.

My best friend and I are both elementary teachers and although, we love our students, the "rat race" of administration, the state department, and No Child Left Behind have stressed us out and made us reevaluate our current employment. Since both of us hold a degree in Elementary Education My wife is very interested in starting a school supply business. She is a stay at home mother, also attending nursing school. A couple days ago she helped a young mother supply her child with school supplies. Create a business plan Calculate start up cost Back in the day teachers and students were supplied all the items they required for a quality education, however, those days are well behind us and now teachers and students spend a lot of their own money on workbooks, antibacterial wipes, scissors, pencils, markers, construction paper, lined paper, crayons, glue sticks and last but not least; tissues. Before opening your teacher store, you will want to consider your business plan and ensure you have adequate financing. You will need to ascertain what support your teachers and students require and if you have enough teachers in your immediate area to supply. Check our office locations, apply a sensible budget and line up a reliable wholesale supplier. Do you need a website for this business and if so how much of your budget is needed for the setup? Try and make sure your business name reflects your goals, what is your target audience, is it elementary school or are you aiming for higher education? If you are aiming at elementary then you can have a more fun company name but if you are targeting higher education then your name should have a more professional edge. Once you have hashed this out have a quick check with your state office to make sure the name isn't already taken and you may also need to check with the US Patent and Trademark Office online. If you are going to need financing for this new venture you will need a well presented business plan to present to your bank manager, this plan will help them determine if your business if a high or low risk, you should outline your goals, your mission, your potential teacher market, the marketing strategy on how you will reach your potential audience, your competition and your operating plans. Nobody likes to walk into a cluttered store and this is your first impression when your customers walk through the door. A well stocked and well laid out shop floor will allow your customers to find what they need and quickly., this applies to a brick and mortar store or an online store. Location, location, location, this is absolutely vital, are you wanting walk in business or will you be mainly online? If you are depending on walk in business then a store at the back and beyond of an industrial estate won't cut it so you need to ensure your location is near schools, campuses and training facilities. Check out your local malls and where the local fairs or expos generally take place. Once you have chosen your desired location you can apply for your license. Check out a few local suppliers and some which are more national and compare prices and deals, usually when you buy in bulk you can apply for a better discount or perhaps you need to set up a trading account where they will ask you for references, now would be a good time to get those in order. Do you need staff for your store, there are many challenges you will face when hiring staff, it all depends of course on the level of skill you require, retired teachers could be a valuable option for you as they will also come with knowledge which is great for your customers, You could also consider other support resources such as an accountant or book-keeper or an inventory specialist. You need to determine how you will reach teachers in your area, could you approach the schools and ask for an inclusion in the teacher association newsletters, network with educators and tutors linked to the schools. Contact your suppliers and ask to be included in any of their mailings or newsletters. Contact as many local business owners as you can find, you will find someone who is willing to share their knowledge. How to Set Up a School and Office Supplies Store   A school and office supplies store is almost as stable as the food business, because students and offices will continue to consume needed supplies even if there is a recession. Even better is that the products sold are non-perishable.   Below are some of the important things to note if you plan to get into this business:   • A suitable location. Remember that school and office supplies stores sell convenience goods. People will buy from the nearest outlet that sells at a reasonable price. Your location must be near your potential consumers, and so being near schools and commercial establishments is an advantage. While malls are the best locations, a start-up may find it hard to meet the rental rates. There are smaller malls that may still be affordable for a small business.   • Negotiate the lease contract. If you will be renting your store spaces do not just accept the contract given by the landlord. In most cases there is room for negotiation. Do not be shy to haggle with the rental rates, escalation clause, repairs, etc.   • Invest in display fixtures. Some display fixtures are expensive but they are your silent sales force. Not only do they make your merchandise more attractive but they also serve to secure against theft.   • Plan your layout. For those with self-service, this is critical. Study similar stores and see where they place the different categories of merchandise. Plan where to place your merchandise to induce the largest sales and profits. This is why some place the most sought after items at the back so that consumers will see the other items first.   • Buy direct whenever feasible. It may be more convenient to buy from a wholesaler but, generally speaking, the fewer middlemen, the cheaper you can obtain your goods. So try buying directly from the manufacturer or importer if you can meet their volume.   • Always be sourcing new items to sell. Retailing is a dynamic business and you must always be on the lookout for new items to sell. You should also be prepared to discontinue slow moving inventory.   • Have a market-based pricing strategy. Survey your competitors continuously regarding their pricing. Consumers do not know your cost but they know the price of your competitors.   • Have a Point of Sale (P.O.S.) System . Do not be left behind by technological advances. With the rapid decrease in prices in POS equipment, even the small entrepreneur can afford this now. Since you will be dealing with thousands of items it will be impossible to track each one without a computerized system. Buy software with an inventory management and purchasing module integrated with your POS.   • Have a planogram for your merchandise display. A planogram is a drawing or diagram that shows the ideal placement of merchandise. It may be done manually or with a computer program. Having this template will enable you to maximize revenue and profits from your display. Not only will your store look more orderly but this will assist in inventory control as the location of an item will be easier to determine.   • Protect against both internal and external theft. Deploy CCTVs at strategic locations and have rules and procedures to minimize the risk of theft. It is important to have these control measures in place as early as possible because applying them later may cause employee resentment and resistance.   The school and office supplies business has great potential but there are many other things to learn if you want to start a school and office supplies business.   If you want to know more, BusinessCoach Inc., a leading business seminar provider, is conducting seminars on this venture.   Click here to view details of the training program on: How to Start and Manage a School and Office Supplies Store »   *Originally published by the Manila Bulletin. Written by Ruben Anlacan, Jr. (President, BusinessCoach, Inc.) All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or copied without express written permission of the copyright holders. School Business Plan Template Written by Dave Lavinsky School Business Plan You’ve come to the right place to create your school business plan. We have helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their schools. Sample Private School Business Plan Below is a school business plan template to help you create each section of your own education business plan. Executive Summary Business overview. Southside Academy, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a private school that has been providing quality education to the community’s school children since 2017. Southside Academy teaches elementary, middle school, and high school students in a wide range of subjects including mathematics, science, and history. We aim to provide a welcoming and inviting environment where every student can reach their highest potential. We promote academic, artistic, and athletic excellence in a close-knit learning environment, with a challenging curriculum that cultivates intellectual curiosity. Furthermore, we offer a low teacher-to-child ratio, where teachers can build close connections with their students as they help them excel. We develop confident, continual learners by establishing behavioral supports and the social culture needed for students to achieve social, emotional, and academic success. Service Offering Southside Academy offers a premium private education at an affordable tuition fee. We provide a challenging education where students can explore their true potential and a safe space where they can freely discover and express themselves. Our students range from 1st grade to 12th grade and we teach a wide variety of subjects including: Basic Mathematics Physical Education Customer Focus Southside Academy primarily serves families within a 5-mile radius of the school’s location. The area is home to thousands of middle and upper-class families looking for high-quality education for their children. Before the school was built, the area was underserved and many children had to travel far to attend quality private schools. Management Team Southside Academy’s founder is Mike Brown who has been working as a teacher for more than 20 years. Mike has taught at several public schools in the region but saw a great demand for private education. He noticed that the current location of the school was underserved and set out to create a school to serve this population. Mike Brown has successfully led Southside Academy as its principal since the school’s inception and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Mike Brown is supported by a team that has experience teaching students, managing finances, and running businesses. Specifically, our team has solid experience in being effective teachers, connecting to different types of students, and achieving key goals. Success Factors Southside Academy is able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages: Location: Southside Academy’s location is near the center of town, giving members of our community easy access for parents and their children. Passionate and Skillful Teachers: Southside Academy hires teachers with strong academic backgrounds who are skillful in handling all types of children. Low teacher-to-student ratio: We provide a low teacher-to-student ratio so that every student gets personal attention from teachers to reach their highest potential. Affordable, quality education: Most of the schools in the area offer their services at a very expensive price. Our fees will be moderately low so that good education is accessible to all families. Financial Highlights Southside Academy is currently seeking additional donations of $600,000 in order to fulfill our mission. The breakdown of the funding may be seen below: Salaries: $200,000 School Materials (books, toys, desks, chairs, etc): $180,000 Administrative Expenses: $120,000 to pay for lease costs, ongoing operational expenses, and marketing. Working capital: $100,000 The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for Southside Academy. Company Overview Who is southside academy, southside academy’s history. Southside Academy started as an idea from a group of school teachers, including Mike Brown. The teachers were university pals who are passionate about teaching and children. They have seen the gaps in education in St. Paul, Minnesota, and wanted to create a school that elevates the academic environment for the children of this area. Their plans to build a school started in 2015, but it was only until April 2016 that they finally completed all the paperwork and met the legal requirements. Since then, Southside Academy has achieved the following milestones: Found a location and built the school Developed the school’s name, logo, and website Determined curriculum Hired teachers and other key employees Southside Academy’s Services Industry analysis. Education is an essential foundation for a thriving society. It’s more important than ever before that every child has access to affordable, high-quality education. While public schools are an essential option for many low-income families, the education provided by private schools often results in higher test scores and more students moving on to top-tier universities. The private school industry has experienced steady growth in the past five years. The key industry drivers are economic growth, the rise in numbers of K-12 students, an increase in the number of families with both parents working, and government initiatives to support education. According to Polaris Market Research, this growth is expected to continue with a forecasted compound annual growth rate of 6.6% from now until 2030. This shows that Southside Academy has great potential to keep growing and expanding. We will have ample opportunities to grow our curriculum and offer services to students that help them reach their highest potential. Customer Analysis Demographic profile of target market. Southside Academy serves the families and children of St. Paul, Minnesota. The area is mostly populated by young couples and new families that have disposable income and can pay a premium for their children’s education. The precise demographics of the town in which our location resides are as follows: Total Percent     Total population 1,680,988 100%         Male 838,675 49.9%         Female 842,313 50.1%         20 to 24 years 114,872 6.8%         25 to 34 years 273,588 16.3%         35 to 44 years 235,946 14.0%         45 to 54 years 210,256 12.5%         55 to 59 years 105,057 6.2%         60 to 64 years 87,484 5.2%         65 to 74 years 116,878 7.0%         75 to 84 years 52,524 3.1% Customer Segmentation We primarily target the following three customer segments: Young children Young couples Competitive Analysis Direct and indirect competitors. Southside Academy faces competition from other schools with similar profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.   Waters Independent School Founded in 1968, Waters Independent School is a non-profit and tax-exempt independent school system. The school is governed by an independent Board of Trustees and offers preschool through eighth-grade programs. WIS is accredited by the state’s Council of Independent Schools (FCIS). Waters Independent School has small class sizes with low student-to-teacher ratios. Further, WIS’ Programs include a strong academic foundation coupled with programs in the arts, physical education, media/technology, foreign language, and extracurricular areas.   Hill Preparatory School Founded in 1923, Hill Preparatory School is a private, non-sectarian, coeducational, college preparatory day school. It offers PK-12 programs in a safe, student-centered environment. HPS supports its students through the challenges of the school year with one-on-one attention from dedicated faculty, robust services like The Learning Center and the College Center, and the most advanced educational technology. The campus spans 28 acres and has a new 60,000+ square foot facility.   Future Leaders Preparatory School Founded in 1968, Future Leaders Prep is a private school for PreK3-8th grade. FLPS offers preschool, elementary school, and middle school programs and offers the International Baccalaureate program of study for all students. Teachers are endorsed in gifted education through a master’s level grant with [local University]’s College of Education Gifted Program. In addition to the school, Future Leaders offers community programs such as music, dance, art, and theater lessons through the Community School of the Arts, youth sports in the Community School for Sports, and the 7-week summer camp. Competitive Advantage There are many schools in St. Paul, Minnesota but none of them provides the same quality of education that Southside Academy provides, specifically the following: Marketing Plan Brand & value proposition. The Southside Academy brand will focus on the school’s unique value proposition: Providing premium education at an affordable price Providing a supportive and challenging place for children to learn Giving parents the assurance that their children will reach their full potential Promotions Strategy The promotions strategy for Southside Academy is as follows: Social Media Southside Academy will invest heavily in a social media advertising campaign. The school will utilize social media accounts and invest in ads on all social media platforms. It will use targeted marketing to appeal to the target demographics. Publications The school will place print advertisements in key local publications, including newspapers, area magazines, and business newsletters. Additionally, Southside Academy will print brochures and place them in specific locations frequented by target individuals. Website/SEO Southside Academy will invest heavily in developing a professional website that displays all of the features and benefits of Southside Academy. It will also invest heavily in SEO so that the school’s website will appear at the top of search engine results. Direct Mail Southside Academy will blanket neighborhoods with direct mail pieces. These pieces will provide general information on Southside Academy and incentives to enroll. Southside Academy prices its tuition at a moderate price so our students and their families feel they are getting great value when choosing our school. Operations Plan The following will be the operations plan for Southside Academy. Operation Functions: Mike Brown is the school Principal. He manages the teachers, directs the direction of education, and serves as the head of the school. Mike is joined by Amanda Johnson who acts as the Administrative Assistant for the school. She helps Mike with the operations of the school as well as the marketing and administrative functions. Mike has hired an extensive team of highly qualified educators. Together, they teach dozens of subjects, including biology, chemistry, social studies, and mathematics. Every teacher that works for Southside Academy is passionate about education and pushing their students to reach their highest potential. Milestones: Southside Academy expects to achieve the following milestones in the following six months: 3/202X Kickoff of promotional campaign to attract new students 4/202X Start donation campaign 5/202X Hire new teachers for the upcoming year 6/202X Achieve donation/funding goal 7/202X Finalize list of incoming students for next year 8/202X Start next school year Financial Plan Key revenue & costs. Southside Academy’s revenues come from student tuition fees and donations from both individuals and corporations. The major costs for the company will be staffing, marketing expenses, location maintenance, equipment, and materials. Funding Requirements and Use of Funds Southside Academy is currently seeking additional fundraising and capital of $600,000 in order to fulfill our mission. The breakdown of the funding may be seen below: Key Assumptions The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and to pay off the startup business loan. Year 1: 200 Year 2: 300 Year 3: 400 Year 4: 500 Year 5: 600 Tuition rate per year: $10,000 Financial Statements Income statement. FY 1 FY 2 FY 3 FY 4 FY 5 Revenues Total Revenues $360,000 $793,728 $875,006 $964,606 $1,063,382 Expenses & Costs Cost of goods sold $64,800 $142,871 $157,501 $173,629 $191,409 Lease $50,000 $51,250 $52,531 $53,845 $55,191 Marketing $10,000 $8,000 $8,000 $8,000 $8,000 Salaries $157,015 $214,030 $235,968 $247,766 $260,155 Initial expenditure $10,000 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total Expenses & Costs $291,815 $416,151 $454,000 $483,240 $514,754 EBITDA $68,185 $377,577 $421,005 $481,366 $548,628 Depreciation $27,160 $27,160 $27,160 $27,160 $27,160 EBIT $41,025 $350,417 $393,845 $454,206 $521,468 Interest $23,462 $20,529 $17,596 $14,664 $11,731 PRETAX INCOME $17,563 $329,888 $376,249 $439,543 $509,737 Net Operating Loss $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Use of Net Operating Loss $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Taxable Income $17,563 $329,888 $376,249 $439,543 $509,737 Income Tax Expense $6,147 $115,461 $131,687 $153,840 $178,408 NET INCOME $11,416 $214,427 $244,562 $285,703 $331,329 Balance Sheet FY 1 FY 2 FY 3 FY 4 FY 5 ASSETS Cash $154,257 $348,760 $573,195 $838,550 $1,149,286 Accounts receivable $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Inventory $30,000 $33,072 $36,459 $40,192 $44,308 Total Current Assets $184,257 $381,832 $609,654 $878,742 $1,193,594 Fixed assets $180,950 $180,950 $180,950 $180,950 $180,950 Depreciation $27,160 $54,320 $81,480 $108,640 $135,800 Net fixed assets $153,790 $126,630 $99,470 $72,310 $45,150 TOTAL ASSETS $338,047 $508,462 $709,124 $951,052 $1,238,744 LIABILITIES & EQUITY Debt $315,831 $270,713 $225,594 $180,475 $135,356 Accounts payable $10,800 $11,906 $13,125 $14,469 $15,951 Total Liability $326,631 $282,618 $238,719 $194,944 $151,307 Share Capital $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Retained earnings $11,416 $225,843 $470,405 $756,108 $1,087,437 Total Equity $11,416 $225,843 $470,405 $756,108 $1,087,437 TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY $338,047 $508,462 $709,124 $951,052 $1,238,744 Cash Flow Statement FY 1 FY 2 FY 3 FY 4 FY 5 CASH FLOW FROM OPERATIONS Net Income (Loss) $11,416 $214,427 $244,562 $285,703 $331,329 Change in working capital ($19,200) ($1,966) ($2,167) ($2,389) ($2,634) Depreciation $27,160 $27,160 $27,160 $27,160 $27,160 Net Cash Flow from Operations $19,376 $239,621 $269,554 $310,473 $355,855 CASH FLOW FROM INVESTMENTS Investment ($180,950) $0 $0 $0 $0 Net Cash Flow from Investments ($180,950) $0 $0 $0 $0 CASH FLOW FROM FINANCING Cash from equity $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Cash from debt $315,831 ($45,119) ($45,119) ($45,119) ($45,119) Net Cash Flow from Financing $315,831 ($45,119) ($45,119) ($45,119) ($45,119) Net Cash Flow $154,257 $194,502 $224,436 $265,355 $310,736 Cash at Beginning of Period $0 $154,257 $348,760 $573,195 $838,550 Cash at End of Period $154,257 $348,760 $573,195 $838,550 $1,149,286 School Business Plan FAQs What is a school business plan. A school business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your school business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections. You can easily complete your School business plan using our School Business Plan Template here . What are the Main Types of School Businesses? There are a number of different kinds of school businesses, some examples include: private K-12 school, charter school, virtual schools, independent schools, primary school, secondary education, or preschool. How Do You Get Funding for Your School Business Plan? School businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding. What are the Steps To Start a School Business? Starting a school business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster. 1. Develop A School Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed school business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.   2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your school business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your school business is in compliance with local laws. 3, Register Your School Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your school business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your school business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms.  5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations.  6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events.  7. Acquire Necessary School Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your school business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation.  8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your school business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising.  Learn more about how to start a successful school business: How to Start a School Other Helpful Business Plan Templates Nonprofit Business Plan Template Updated Terms of Use New Privacy Policy Your Privacy Choices Closed Captioning Policy Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by  Factset . Powered and implemented by  FactSet Digital Solutions .  Legal Statement . This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. FAQ - New Privacy Policy Financial pressures are impacting back to school supplies shopping Spending on technology is expected to drop 11%. FOX Business Flash top headlines for July 15 Check out what's clicking on FoxBusiness.com Families – already grappling with tight budgets – are navigating back to school shopping in a whole new way.  With the cost of school supplies increasing, up 24.5% over the past four years according to the labor department, parents are already weighing the cost of certain necessities and their priorities in preparation for the new year, according to Deloitte's 2024 back to school survey. Parents are projected to spend $31.3 billion collectively on back-to-school shopping, according to the survey. When broken down, parents will be doling out a hefty $586 per K-12 student. That's up nearly $60 from 2020, and is only exacerbating the strain on families living on a tight budget.  BACK-TO-SCHOOL SHOPPING TO COST AMERICANS MORE THAN EVER AMID INFLATION SPIKE A cashier scans school supplies for a customer at a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. location in the Porter Ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Thursday, August 6, 2015.  (Patrick Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images) According to Deloitte's report, parents are projected to spend $20 billion on clothing and school supplies alone. Both categories are slated to account for most of the back-to-school spending.  Spending on technology, meanwhile, is projected to drop 11%., which Deloitte says could be dey to the fact that many parents invested in tech products during the pandemic and may not be in the market for replacements or upgrades.  WHERE ARE HIGH PRICES STILL HITTING AMERICANS THE HARDEST? But spending on products, such as personal hygiene items and educational furniture, is also projected to climb 22% year-over-year, according to Deloitte.  Andrea Toch, a parent of two children in Arizona, told FOX Business, that not only have expenses for back-to-school supplies "seem to have skyrocketed" but "the supply lists from schools feel like they’re getting longer each year."  Melville, N.Y.: Close-up of a pencil on a page of an SAT college entrance exam preparation book, taken on August, 6, 2017 in Melville, New York.  (Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM via Getty Images / Getty Images) The cost for supplies this year alone is amounting to over $220 for her two sons, one of whom is entering third grade and the other fifth grade, Toch said.  "That doesn’t even include backpacks, lunch boxes, clothes, shoes, etc. which adds several more hundred dollars to our anticipated back-to-school budget," she said, adding that some items on the list, like "Ziploc bags and baby wipes, could be removed to help reduce costs on families."  While Toch argued that she doesn't ever want to see a teacher foot the bill for these supplies, given that they "are so underpaid for their important work as it is."  Dr. RJ Webber, superintendent of the Northville Public School district in Northville, Northville, Michigan, believes parents shouldn't be paying for supplies at all.  "Public schools should be paying for every supply that is truly necessary for a student," Webber told FOX Business. "No parent should have to purchase anything that their kid would need in school, period. Webber argued that if schools can't, then we should question whether schools are being funded adequately. Shoppers peruse notebooks and other back-to-school items in a Wal-Mart store July 28, 2003 in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.  (Tim Boyle/Getty Images / Getty Images) In order to foot the bill, parents are prioritizing value over brand and retailer loyalty and starting earlier than ever before. In fact, the data shows that the majority, 66%, of spending is projected to occur by the end of July, which is up from 59% last year, according to the survey.  A sperate survery from the National Retail Federation (NRF), shows that a majority, 85%, of shoppers plan to use Prime Day and other retailer sales this month to buy notebooks, pencils and other classroom staples. GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE About 62% will shop at a more affordable retailer, and about half say they will shop for private labels over name brands, according to Deloitte.   The Supply Side: Back-to-school shopping comes earlier by Kim Souza  ( [email protected] ) 6 seconds ago 0 views   As soon as the July 4 holiday ends, families often switch their spending intentions toward back-to-school. A recent survey by JLL found parents plan to spend 21.8% more on back-to-school shopping this year, a good sign for retailers in a tepid year for discretionary sales. The JLL survey is an early read on consumer spending expectations. The National Retail Federation will release its back-to-school spending predictions in late July. JLL also found consumers plan to start shopping early this year to spread out the costs over multiple pay periods. The survey found that parents across all income groups — especially those with higher incomes — intend to allocate a larger share of their budgets to discretionary products rather than school-required items. “For the second consecutive year, parents are increasing their per-child spending from $390 to $475, despite concerns about inflation,” said Keisha Virtue, senior analyst of Retail Research at JLL. “Our survey demonstrates that parents are prioritizing back-to-school essentials and will continue to play a crucial part in driving consumer spending and foot traffic.” When it comes to choosing where to shop, Walmart, Amazon and Target remain top choices for parents. Other top retailers include Costco, Old Navy and Dollar General, the report notes. Almost 90% of parents will use physical stores in some way for their back-to-school shopping, emphasizing the continued importance of brick-and-mortar retailers in this sector. Parents will spend more than 63% of their shopping budgets in stores versus online, and this is especially true of high-income shoppers. BACK TO THE MALL The report also reveals consumers are looking for sales, deals and coupons, and about 48% of parents will buy fewer products or purchase second-hand to save money. There also is an increase in the number of parents planning to visit multiple stores to get the best deals. The survey found malls have gained popularity for back-to-school shopping, with 6% more parents planning to shop at malls this year. The average budget for mall shoppers is forecast at $656, and 45.8% said they plan to visit four or more stores. “The mall offers parents a wider variety of options and allows them to have a more comprehensive shopping experience for their back-to-school needs,” said Kristin Mueller, president of JLL Retail Property Management. “With a multitude of retailers offering deals throughout the back-to-school shopping season, we can expect the malls to be a go-to shopping destination this season.” JLL also found 75% of parents have begun their back-to-school shopping after July 4, and 25% said they began a bit earlier than that. “We are seeing a positive shift in parents’ shopping habits for back-to-school,” said Naveen Jaggi, president of JLL Retail Advisory Services. “With the hefty rise in parents shopping in physical stores and the availability of multiple retail options, parents are taking advantage of sales, deals and coupons while also exploring different store options to find the best value for their back-to-school needs.” Data insights firm Resonate also recently surveyed consumers regarding back-to-school spending and found that 14% of respondents plan to look for discounts on everything from pencils to apparel. The summer sales events from giants such as Amazon, Target and Walmart are also designed to draw in bargain hunters. Resonate reports that 70% will purchase clothing, 45% plan to buy personal items and 31% cited electronics on their back-to-school shopping lists. The top retailers that respondents cited as shopping destinations included T.J. Maxx, Kohl’s and Aldi. Aldi will feature back-to-school items in late July offering families savings on private brand accessories and supplies. SALES TAX BREAK Arkansas will hold its sales tax-free weekend Aug. 3–4, providing sales tax exemptions on certain electronic devices, school supplies, art supplies, school instructional materials and clothing. All retailers are required to participate and may not charge tax on items that are legally tax-exempt during the sales tax holiday. Amy Wagner with Allworth Financial said early July is not too early to begin shopping for back-to-school items because procrastination does not pay especially when retailers are holding summer sales, and states will also offer tax-exempt weekends that help family budgets go farther. Wagner suggests families make a list now of items they know they are going to need. She said families can reuse school items from one year to the next. She suggests families collect all the unused pencils, crayons and other school supplies at the end of the school year and store them away until the fall semester and that will cut down on some items. “Because back-to-school can kind of creep on us, it pays to think ahead for these more expensive times in the year. I like to invest in a sturdy backpack that can be used for multiple years. We also tend to shop the summer sales for shorts and T-shirts that kids will need to wear through September and into early October. Families can put off buying those hoodies and jeans until they go on sale in the fall,” Wagner said in her blog post. Editor’s note:   The Supply Side section  of Talk Business & Politics focuses on the companies, organizations, issues and individuals engaged in providing products and services to retailers. The Supply Side is managed by Talk Business & Politics and sponsored by  Firebend . What is a 529 plan? How does a 529 plan work? How much can you contribute to a 529 plan? Tax deductions for 529 plan contributions Potential drawbacks to 529 plans What is a 529 Plan? A Comprehensive Guide to Saving for College Paid non-client promotion: Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate investing products to write unbiased product reviews. 529 plans are state-run, tax-advantaged accounts earmarked for educational expenses. 529 plan account earnings and withdrawals are tax-free; some states also allow deductions on contributions. 529 plan funds can affect financial aid and can incur tax penalties if withdrawn for the wrong uses. You can use a 529 plan to invest and earn money tax-free, then pay for eligible academic expenses — not just college, but a range of schools — without owing any taxes. In a sense, it's like a specialized Roth IRA : Your funds are targeted towards a purpose, then grow and can be withdrawn tax-free. Also, you could be penalized for ineligible withdrawals or uses of the money.  You can also check out Business Insider's roundup of the best 529 plans available.  Understanding 529 plans A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged financial account for educational expenses. Money contributed to it grows tax-deferred within the account. "The 529 plan offers income tax-deferred investing, and if distributions from the plan are for expenses that meet IRS criteria, tax-free investing," says Sandi Bragar, CFA and chief client officer at Aspiriant . Qualifying expenses for 529 plan savings Withdrawals are tax-free when used for appropriate ("qualified" in IRS-speak) educational expenses, such as: Tuition for college, graduate school, or vocational school K-12 tuition and fees Book and other school supplies Room and board Campus meal plans Student loan payments Traditionally, these accounts were designed solely to fund secondary education (i.e., a four-year college or university) tuition and related expenses. However, in recent years legislation expanded their uses to apply to K-12 tuition and fees, as well as technical schools, trade schools, and apprenticeships offered through community colleges.  ABLE savings plans Similar to a 529 plan, ABLE Saving plans (otherwise referred to as 529A accounts) are municipal fund securities. ABLE plans and 529 plans are regulated by the Municipal Securities Board . ABLE plans are designed for disabled individuals to save for disability-related expenses (such as job training, health care, and education) without interfering with Medicaid and/or Supplemental Security Income benefits.  If need be, funds from a 529 plan can be rolled over to an eligible ABLE Savings account. See our list of ABLE Savings plans by state. How 529 plans work While named for a section of the federal tax code, 529 plans are run by the states. You can establish one at a bank or financial services/investment company like Fidelity , Vanguard , or T. Rowe Price.  A 529 plan usually offers several investment options (typically mutual funds or ETFs , ranging from conservative to aggressive). Many also offer pre-defined portfolios, like target-date funds , that are age-based: They grow more conservative the closer your child gets to college age. Plans are either advisor-sold (offered through a licensed financial advisor) or direct-sold (offered through the state and/or financial institution). From there, 529 plans come in various forms:  Education savings plan: This is the most common type of plan. Money is invested in a pre-selection of investment options (usually mutual funds or ETFs from one or more investment firms). Prepaid tuition plan: This type of plan can function differently depending on the state it is issued out of. Generally, prepaid plans allow you to pay for the cost of tuition or credits at the current rate, and its value grows over time.  529 plan contribution rules and taxation The IRS does not technically limit how much you can contribute to a 529 plan. Most people limit their annual 529 plan contributions to $18,000 per child. Married couples can each contribute $18,000 per child, for $36,000 per year. Here's why: Contributions to a 529 plan are considered gifts, so most people plan their deposits to dovetail the annual gift tax exclusion of $18,000 per recipient in 2024. The annual gift tax exclusion allows people to give money, getting out of their taxable estate, without having to pay any gift tax.  For those who can afford it, it is possible to supersize contributions using the five-year election strategy. With this move, you can make five years' worth of contributions in a single year. "When it fits with their goals and circumstances, we'll recommend clients take advantage of a special election which allows them to contribute up to five years' of annual exclusive gifts," Bragar says. This strategy provides an immediate reduction in your estate and enables more money to start growing tax-free in the 529 accounts right away. You contribute to a 529 plan with after-tax dollars — that is, you don't get a federal income tax deduction on the contribution at the time you make it. That's the trade-off for the balance growing tax-free. However, you might qualify for a tax break on your state income tax return. Some 36 states allow at least some sort of deduction of your contribution. The amounts allowed by the state vary widely and the maximum deductions range from a flat figure (like $5,000 per taxpayer) to a percentage of the contribution (like a 20% tax credit), to the full dollar amount of the contribution.  In these states, a 529 plan offers triple tax benefits. Your contributions are tax-deductible, the money grows tax-free, and withdrawals for eligible expenses are tax-free. You may be able to establish a 529 plan outside of your home state. But as a non-resident, you won't qualify for any state tax deductions or credits.  Disadvantages of 529 plans As advantageous as 529 plans can be, there are some drawbacks to this college savings tool. You can face penalties for withdrawing the money for the wrong uses, the balances may affect financial aid, and it can get complicated if college plans change. There's also a chance that your 529 plan doesn't perform as well as you expected or could even decline in value.  Penalties for unqualified withdrawals If you withdraw the money for an ineligible use — or withdraw too much money (in cases where you're limited to $10,000 a year), and the IRS finds out, you pay a 10% penalty on the amount withdrawn. Plus, you will have to pay taxes on any gains. "Fortunately, the excess funds remain available for the beneficiary, " says Bragar. "And, beginning in 2024, if the 529 plan has been open for 15 years and the beneficiary is eligible to make Roth IRA contributions, the beneficiary may roll over funds over a period of years." How 529 plans affect financial aid Yes, 529 plan accounts do factor into financial aid and scholarship considerations. The good news is that plans owned by a parent or another adult factor less into the equation of financial assistance than if the student owned the plan.  Also, the plan money counts as assets; overall, a parent's income weighs more heavily into the calculation for financial aid eligibility than assets do. No more than 5.6% of parental assets are included, compared to 22% to 47% of a parent's income. Assets held in someone else's name, like a grandparent, are considered income for the beneficiary and may affect financial aid. "If a student will be relying on financial aid for college funding, it's a good idea to address the 529 plan account ownership situation before the student's senior year of high school. This allows some time to evaluate and execute a change to the 529 plan owner if that's desirable to maximize financial aid," says Bragar. If the child has won scholarships for their undergraduate degree, 529 money can be saved for graduate school or additional qualified education expenses later in life. Or to pay off student loans, if they incurred them. What happens if your child doesn't go to college Since the use of 529 funds is earmarked for education, a child not attending or dropping out of school could be a problem.  However, there are options. The money can continue to grow tax-deferred in the 529 plan to be used later — there's no time limit to them.  Also, a 529 plan can be transferred to another beneficiary, including yourself. As long as the new beneficiary is an immediate family member or family member's spouse, they qualify for a tax-free transfer of the 529 plan.  Most 529 plans allow the beneficiary to change once per year. There are some disadvantages to opening a 529 plan. Owning a 529 plan account can factor into any financial aid or scholarship considerations, but household income affects these considerations more. You could also be charged a 10% penalty if you were to withdraw for an ineligible use or even withdraw too much at once.  A 529 plan is a good idea to save for future education expenses, like college tuition or student loans. Funds from a 529 plan are withdrawn tax-free, and you may be eligible for a tax deduction benefit from your state.  You should not use a 529 plan for investing purposes other than educational goals. Funds from a 529 plan should only be withdrawn for eligible expenses such as tuition, books, supplies, private schools, and room and board.  If the beneficiary wins a scholarship or doesn't go to college, you won't lose the funds from your 529 plan. If a scholarship covers the cost of your tuition, you can still use the funds for other educational expenses like books and necessary supplies. A 529 plan can also be transferred to a new eligible beneficiary. As long as you're of legal age and meet the state's residency requirement, anyone can open a 529 plan. The 529 plan account is opened and owned by an adult on behalf of the child, who's deemed the account beneficiary. It does not have to be owned by the child's parent — grandparents are common 529 account holders — but personal information for the child (e.g., date of birth and Social Security number) is necessary to open the account. You can have more than one 529 plan at a time, and there's no limit to the number of accounts you can have for one beneficiary. However, the IRS says you can't contribute more to a 529 plan than is necessary to pay the higher education costs for the beneficiary. It's not usually practical to open more than one 529 plan for a single beneficiary. But if you feel it is necessary to receive certain benefits, the option is available. Credit cards Investing apps Retirement savings Cryptocurrency The stock market Retail investing Points and miles travel Investing in stocks, bonds and real estate Insurance and risk mitigation Early retirement Small business strategies Bankruptcy law Main content The essential 2024 school supplies list: Top picks by grade Families are spending more than ever on school materials. With major back-to-school sales like Prime Day, summer is the perfect time to shop (and save). Which items do kids need the most? Which products offer the most bang for your buck? Use our easy back-to-school shopping list to get everything they need from elementary to high school. Plus, product recommendations, where to buy, and how to save money on school supplies. .css-26rqae{font-weight:500;} Parents are spending more What is the average cost of school supplies. The amount people spend on back-to-school shopping varies depending on who you ask. According to the JLL Back to School Shopping Survey, families will spend an average of $475 to get their kids back in the academic groove. A survey commissioned by NerdWallet estimates that parents and students will spend closer to $541 on average. However, data from Statista projects an even higher number – $890 toward school expenses per American household. How to save money on back-to-school shopping We have lots of ideas to trim your school supply budget (more on that later). First up: Shop smarter, not harder. Focus on the absolute necessities for your child’s school. While many schools send out supply lists over the summer, all schools are different, and many of those lists include extras and “nice to haves.”  Start with our one-stop shopping list of the most common items kids need by grade, plus specific recommendations to fit different budgets .  Elementary school supplies list The earlier years are all about learning new routines and preparing to become a “big kid.” Remember your backpack and lunchbox, drink water, and wash your hands. So the materials are more basic. Consider whether you want to invest upfront in more durable products that can last a few years or just enough to get them through one academic year, knowing they’ll grow out of them faster than shoes.   Cool and cute are the two most important factors for most kids when choosing elementary school supplies. These picks address a range of budget, fashion, and durability features. Essentials and top picks: Grades 1-3 Heavy textbooks usually don’t arrive until 6th grade. Before that, you want a bag that can withstand everyday wear and tear and the stuffing of folders, paperback books, a water bottle, and a sweatshirt or sweater. By grades 4-5, some kids carry school-issued laptops, so you may need a sturdier padded bag at some point.  Wildkin - Simple one-compartment design for littles still mastering zippers Pottery Barn Kids - Sturdy and customizable with optional matching accessories like lunch boxes and water bottles L.L. Bean Original Book Pack - High-quality marks from multiple review sites that say its water bottle holder is the best  Lands' End - Solid bang for your buck during summer sales  For easier cleaning, choose a washable fabric or plastic lunchbox. But check that the interior liner is food-safe (some waterproof liners aren’t).  L.L. Bean - Comes in an expandable version for a few bucks more Pottery Barn Kids - Long-lasting and lots of cute colors and patterns Bentgo plastic or stainless steel bento boxes HydroFlask insulated kids’ lunchbox or lunch bag   Water bottle (insulated, waterproof) Yeti Jr. 12 oz - Ultra-durable CamelBak Eddy+ insulated; non-insulated Simple Modern Pencil box   Monster! Easy zip and adorable  Cute cat standing pencil pouch Sterilite plastic pencil box Colored pencils Pre-sharpened No. 2 pencils Glue sticks Scissors (kid-safe) Washable markers Composition notebook Essentials and top picks: Grades 4-5 Larger-capacity pencil case   No. 2 pencils and mechanical pencils Two-hole pencil sharpener Highlighters - Stabilo makes kid-size ones in cute colors and patterns Art erasers or a basic pack of 12  Three-ring binder - Or get wild with colorful designs . Lined notebooks Sketch pad   Plastic folders Washable glue  Student scissors (pointed) Nice to have / worth the investment Stick-on labels - Label Daddy makes 100% dishwasher, laundry, and microwave-safe labels in customizable variety packs.   Mira - 1 for $20 or 2 for $34 Thermos Funtainer, $21 Cooling elements Construction paper Tissues to-go Middle school supplies list Middle school is a huge leap in responsibility . Many kids have multiple teachers for the first time, changing classrooms throughout the day. Some will have lockers and need to swap books and supplies between classes. All this juggling and multi-tasking requires organization and time management tools. This list is designed to set kids up for success from the jump.  Essentials and top picks Gear-Up Backpack Pottery Barn Teen The North Face - For kids who walk or bike  Columbia Zigzag - Laptop sleeve and all the pockets  C alculator pouch  EASTHILL - Big enough for a calculator and large-size scissors; multiple compartments CICIMELON - Washable, large capacity with carrying straps Double-insulated Freezable Velcro-close Hot food storage Simple Modern thermal food jar with handle Thermos Food Flask Pens and Pencils Ballpoint pens   No. 2 pencils ( Target , Walmart , Amazon ) Mechanical pencils with erasers ( Amazon , Walmart ) Manual pencil sharpener   Erasable highlighters - Make thin and thick lines Single-subject spiral notebooks or hard-cover spiral notebook Zipper binder Five Star Binder Case-It Mighty Zip Scissors for ages 12+ Textbook covers (stretchy, non-adhesive)  Student planner Three-ring binders White-out correction tape Make budgeting a family affair Build smart money habits with Greenlight – the debit card and app that teaches how to earn, save, and invest. Try Greenlight free . High school supplies list At this stage, kids develop a greater sense of identity and independence. High schoolers often have more responsibilities as academics and extracurricular activities become more demanding and future planning comes into play. Organization is key to balancing it all. These high school supplies are designed for multi-tasking teenagers. Backpacks   Patagonia Refugio - Lightweight, comfortable, stylish with a large capacity Herschel Classic XL - No-frills, cool, and roomy, with a lifetime warranty Fjallraven Kanken - Retro, rugged, built to last Lunch containers for teens (categorized by vibe) Canvas brown bag Looks like an iPhone Lunch in a purse Steel canteen Freeze it ahead Keep it cool Thermos King Insulated containers Zojirushi full-size thermos - Keeps things warmer longer Stanley Adventure To-Go - 24 or 36 oz. Notebooks and organizers Academic planner or journal - Rifle Paper Co. makes keepsake-worthy planners and paper products you can have monogrammed for your child. They also make beautiful graduation gifts. Ring binder Subject tab organizers with pockets Hard-cover spiral notebooks High-quality ballpoint pens Permanent markers Multi-color performance highlighters Graphing calculator Advanced: Texas Instruments TI-84  Beginners: Texas Instruments TI-83 Under $50: Casio 9750GIII Graph paper or graphing notebook More ways to save on school supplies Start early.  Nearly 25% of parents in a Retail Dive report started their back-to-school shopping before the current school year was even over. About 22% start in June, followed by 20% in July and 16.8% in August. Follow the sales. In 2024, 68% of back-to-school shoppers plan around retail sale events like July 4 and Labor Day. Shop office supply stores. Office retailers like Office Depot and Staples stock many of the same products for significantly lower prices than department stores. You can find big deals on basics like paper, pens and pencils, folders, and organizers.  Hit the dollar store. You can get a good portion of your basics for less than $1 each at stores like Dollar General, The Dollar Store, and 99 Cent Store. Think pens, pencils, markers, crayons, glue, folders, stickers, notepads and notebooks, lunch bags and boxes, and snacks. You can also get basic self-care stuff like shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, hairbrushes, and hair clips.  Look for sales tax holidays. Some states offer tax-free days when you buy certain things without paying sales tax. Check out the 2024 sales tax holidays for tax-free clothing and other school supplies in your area. Teachers usually have to pay out of pocket for classroom supplies: Don’t sweat the small stuff. Most schools provide basic supplies like pencils, crayons, and paper. Don’t worry if you can’t get every item on the list before the first day of school. Want more smart money tips and parenting hacks? Visit the Greenlight Learning Center for more resources on family, finances, and fun. How we made the selections: We crowd-sourced the research so you don’t have to, surveying a combination of popular review sites, customer reviews, quality and customer service reports, and independent research. We’ve also included a healthy mix of small businesses and large retailers. This blog post is provided "as is" and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice. Some content in this post may have been created using artificial intelligence; however, every blog post is reviewed by at least two human editors. Hey, $mart parents 👋 Teach money lessons at home with Greenlight’s $mart Parent newsletter. Money tips, insights, and fun family trivia — delivered every month. Related Content 16 online jobs for teens to work from home. 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Ebooks, Guides & Templates Grow better with hubspot today. Aviation summit opens amid jet shortages, supply chain turbulence Medium Text Global aviation chiefs flock to Farnborough air show Bumper aircraft orders not expected as industry struggles Military firms eyeing Britain's defence review POLITICAL TURBULENCE Sign up here. Reporting by Joe Brock, Tim Hepher, Joanna Plucinska, David Shepardson and Allison Lampert; Editing by Stephen Coates Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Apple's China smartphone shipments drop 6.7% as Huawei surges, data shows Apple's smartphone shipments in China fell by 6.7% in the second quarter of 2024, as the tech giant faced intensifying competition from rivals like Huawei (HWT.UL), according to data from market research firm Canalys. Andrew Call Named New Dean of Leventhal School of Accounting Call plans to build upon Leventhal’s storied legacy as accounting education leader Andrew Call will be the incoming Alan Casden Dean’s Chair for the Leventhal School of Accounting [Photo courtesy of Andrew Call] Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on Twitter Copy url to clipboard Copied! Stay Informed + Stay Connected Andrew Call will be the new Dean of the Leventhal School of Accounting starting September 1. Call is known for his inclusive decision-making, innovative teaching, and influential research — hallmarks he’ll emphasize at USC as well as further cultivating the sense of belonging among Leventhal’s close-knit community. “Andy’s career has been remarkable. He is a distinguished scholar, an award-winning teacher, and a proven, collaborative leader,” Dean Geoff Garrett said. “As a champion of faculty, staff, students, and a dynamic academic culture, he is perfectly positioned to lead Leventhal to even greater heights as a global leader in accounting education, research, and thought leadership.” Call is joining USC from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Since becoming director of the school of accountancy in 2018, Call recruited and retained more top research and teaching professors than ever in the school’s history, greatly increasing the faculty’s racial and gender diversity. He also launched a scholarly conference to enhance the school’s reputation and grow opportunities for faculty and Ph.D. students, led the development of multiple pathways that expanded access to education and careers in accounting, and elevated his department to top ten worldwide in accounting research productivity. The prestige of Leventhal and the academic quality of its students are well known across academia and the accounting profession. It drew Call to USC. “It’d be an honor to join this faculty in any role. To join as the dean is a huge opportunity, a unique challenge,” Call said. “I look forward to building on the school’s long-standing reputation through impactful education, research, and access that ensures our students continue the Leventhal legacy of excellence.” Named the Alan Casden Dean’s Chair, Call will succeed William W. Holder who is retiring and returning to the faculty after 13 years of service. Dean Holder believes Call’s track record and multifaceted experience strikes the perfect balance to become the next leader of Leventhal. “The noble profession of accounting is more than just numbers. It is the backbone of every business, propelling forward important decision making in terms of investments, resources, and growth,” Holder said. “Andy has his finger on the pulse of what’s now and what’s next in our industry, and his vision will further the Leventhal School’s long and rich tradition of excellence that sets our students up for success.” It’d be an honor to join this faculty in any role. To join as the dean is a huge opportunity, a unique challenge.  — Andrew Call Incoming Leventhal Dean Strengthening the Pipeline Once he arrives this fall, Call plans to “listen and learn” as the school continues to embrace its role in growing the talent pipeline to meet industry demand. Call will highlight the new and exciting career pathways the profession has to offer for graduates, including ESG and risk management and other areas of accounting that are making an impact on society, highlighting accounting as an attractive major for students. “We need to think outside the box as to what the future is,” Call remarked. “Accounting is an unbelievable way to start your career in business, even if you’re not going to be an accountant.” Within his more than 20 years in academia, Call has a dedicated focus on teaching students, instructing undergraduate, graduate, and PhD level students. For Call, success means ensuring that Leventhal’s curriculum remains cutting edge. Technical fluency stands out as an important focus and Call wants to dispel the myth that technology will automate accounting into obsolescence. “Accounting firms are leaning in because technology helps make them be more productive, expanding the scope of services they can provide clients,” Call explained. According to the incoming dean, the financial industry will gravitate toward Leventhal’s tech-savvy graduates. “The future is really bright for people who see the vision of what’s coming to the profession. For those students who can marry new advancements in tech with their accounting expertise, the sky’s the limit,” Call added. “Our students will be choosing which of the many great offers they’ll be taking out of college. That’s a huge opportunity, and an attractive advantage for Leventhal.” People Business People are the most important asset in any organization, especially academia. Ensuring the Leventhal community succeeds will be Call’s most important job function. Another value Call plans to champion is student access. The incoming dean sees it as his duty to bring higher education to people who are often left out. At ASU, Call spearheaded partnerships with accounting professionals to support community college students as they transferred into the School of Accountancy. He also led a significant redesign of master’s programs’ curricula, incorporating real-world learning, data analytics, and sustainability topics. His integrating technology into the undergraduate accounting program increased the school's U.S. News rankings by nearly 10 places during his tenure. “What’s important to me, just as part of my own DNA and value system, is supporting our people, of course primarily, our students and their career trajectories,” Call said. “But it’s a lot more than that; it’s our faculty and our staff, and all of these people who make Leventhal so special.” Making that one of his top priorities has already made an impression. “Dean Call’s sincere commitment to creating a supportive and thriving environment was evident throughout our meetings,” said Smrity P. Randhawa , the Patrick Grismer Teaching Chair in Accounting. “Given his passion for our people, the faculty will be excited to work alongside him.” Call believes good things happen when you have the right people in place, including the school’s connections with USC’s vast alumni base. “The strength of the commitment from the Trojan Family, but also within Leventhal, has been so impressive,” he added. Call holds a doctorate in accounting from the University of Washington and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in accounting from Brigham Young University. In addition to his roles at ASU, he served as an assistant professor at the University of Georgia’s J.M. Tull School of Accounting at the Terry College of Business. Call is an editor of The Accounting Review, the flagship journal of the American Accounting Association. As an award-winning scholar, Call has focused on various financial reporting topics, including the role of equity analysts in the capital markets and the role of whistleblowers in the discovery of financial misconduct. Born and raised in Southern California, it’s an exciting homecoming for Call, but the opportunity to join and lead Leventhal is what compelled him to return. The incoming dean will bring his love of Chipotle, pickleball, and golf to Los Angeles this summer, when his wife, Charis, and their four children make the move to the Golden State. Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More Continue in Browser Get hyperlocal forecasts, radar and weather alerts. Please enter a valid zipcode. Florida's Back-to-School Tax Holiday: What you need to know FLORIDA — Families will have the opportunity to stock up on various school supplies tax free as the 2024 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday takes place from July 29 to Aug. 11. During the holiday, shoppers can purchase clothing items, footwear, and accessories with a sales price $100 or less per item, certain school supplies with a sales price of $50 or less per item, learning aids and jigsaw puzzles with a sales price of $30 or less, and personal computers and related accessories with a sales price of $1,500 or less. The tax holiday does not apply to any otherwise eligible items bought within a theme park or entertainment complex, public lodging establishment or airport.  Here's what you need to know about the tax holiday: There is no limit on the number of times that items can be purchased tax-free during the holiday Items purchased online also qualify for the tax holiday Layaway items are also eligible for tax exemption View more details about the Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday from the Florida Department of Revenue below: Start free trial Sell school supplies online Start, run, and grow your school supply business. Get the training, tools, and support you need to build the school supply business you’ve always wanted. Try Shopify free for 3 days, no credit card required. By entering your email, you agree to receive marketing emails from Shopify. Everything you need to sell school supplies Free resources. Learn at your own pace with on-demand courses from Shopify Academy, and with other business owners on the Shopify Community forums. Find answers to your questions on the Shopify blog, or in our comprehensive guides. Professional tools Create an online school supply store that reflects your unique brand with over 70 customizable and responsive themes. Efficiently manage your inventory and process customer orders all from one unified dashboard. Smart marketing Grab your customers’ attention with targeted marketing campaigns on social media and Google. Make sure customers can find your school supply store by using Shopify’s built-in SEO tools and integrated blogging. Award-winning support Shopify support is available 24/7, no matter which plan you're on. You'll also have access to help docs, webinars, blog posts, and online courses to guide you along the way for your school supply business encounters. Learn more about selling school supplies How do i sell school supplies online. It's easy to start selling school supplies through your own online store, whether you're looking to sell backpacks, pencils or notebooks, or selling specific supplies and textbooks for college and university classes. Shopify online stores allow you to set up your store in minutes, with more than 80 mobile-friendly website templates — no design or coding education required. Where can I sell school supplies online? You can sell school supplies directly to students, schools or other educational institutions online through your Shopify store. Shopify has thousands of apps to help you customize the shopping, checkout and delivery experience for your customers. Can I sell school supplies on Shopify? Yes, you can sell a range of school supplies through your Shopify ecommerce store. How do I price school supplies? School supply prices vary from a few cents for a pencil to thousands of dollars for a desk, depending on the product and use. Consult Shopify's profit margin calculator to come up with prices that work for you. Powerful apps Showcase your school supplies with professionally edited photos or build customer loyalty with rewards programs. With over 6000 options in the Shopify App Store, you can customize your store experience and test for success. Sell everywhere Sell your school supplies online, in-person, and wherever your customers are. Quickly accept payments, view sales, fulfill orders, and track inventory with the Shopify POS app—no matter where you sell. Scalable pricing plans For school supply businesses at every stage and size Show Plan Prices as Pay yearly (save 25%)* Subscription Rate For solo entrepreneurs Card rates starting at 2% 3rd-party payment providers For small teams 1% 3rd-party payment providers As your business scales 0.6% 3rd-party payment providers Start your school supply business with Shopify today Try Shopify free for 3 days, and explore all the tools and services you need to start, run, and grow your business. Discover how Shopify can help you do more with your business—no matter what you sell. 450 IMAGES Business Action Plan School Operational Plan School Supplies: 50 Essential School Things for Students A 3-Step Plan for Collecting School Supplies Business plan for elementary students School Supplies Business Plan VIDEO Financial advisor shares tips on how to stretch money for school supplies PUHUNAN REVEAL Magkano Puhunan para sa School Supplies Section ng Sari SCHOOL AND OFFICE SUPPLIES BUSINESS Budgeting for Back-to-School Supplies 🤑 #School #Essentials #BackToSchool #Skit #StreetCents What is a school franchise? How does the school franchisee model work? Need it all done right? OD does it™ COMMENTS School Supplies Business Plan [Sample Template for 2022] A Sample School Supplies Business Plan Template 1. Industry Overview. Businesses in the School Supplies Wholesaling industry are involved in the sale and distribution of office tools, writing implements, stamps and stencils, stationery and loose-leaf paper, notebooks, binders and organizers and other related items. How to Start a School Supply Store STEP 2: Form a legal entity. The most common business structure types are the sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), and corporation. Establishing a legal business entity such as an LLC or corporation protects you from being held personally liable if your school supply store is sued. 6 Tips On How To Start And Manage A School & Office Supplies Store If you're interested in starting a school and office supplies store, we listed 6 tips that could help you. 1. Business Plan. You might be excited to start this business that you're already full of ideas. To get those ideas working, you need to have a well-research business plan. This will put together all your thoughts, ideas, plans ... Stationery Shop and Office Supplies Business Plan [Sample Template] The cost for Shop remodeling (construction of racks and shelves) - $20,000. Other start-up expenses including stationery ( $500) and phone and utility deposits - ( $2,500) Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) - $60,000. The cost for startup inventory - $70,000. Opening a School Supplies & Equipment Retail Business Creating a Business Plan for a School Supplies Retailer. A common mistake for an entrepreneur is to not create a business plan. The key benefit of writing a business plan is that it establishes both a framework and a roadmap for your business. If you don't have a business plan, your leadership will be handicapped, choosing short-term ... How to Start a School Supply Store Step 3: Obtain Licenses and Permits. The third step in starting a school supply store is to obtain all necessary licenses and permits. It is important to research the types of licenses and permits that are required for a business of this type. Depending on the location, the business may need to obtain a business license, a seller's permit, a ... Executive Summary of School Supplies Business Plan [2024] A business plan for a school supplies business should include the following key sections: Executive Summary: A concise overview of your business plan, highlighting the main points. Company Description: An overview of your company, including its mission, vision, and legal structure. Market Analysis: A detailed analysis of the school supplies ... Office Supplies Retail Business Plan Example Explore a real-world office supplies retail business plan example and download a free template with this information to start writing your own business plan. ... This is a catch all segment that contains a wide range of entities such as small companies, individuals, school districts, etc. Market Analysis: Year 1: Year 2: Year 3: Year 4: Year 5 ... Start a school supply store by following these 10 steps: STEP 2: Form a legal entity. The most common business structure types are the sole proprietorship , partnership , limited liability company (LLC), and corporation. Establishing a legal business entity such as an LLC or corporation protects you from being held personally liable if your school supply store is issued. School Business Plan Template [Updated 2024] Marketing Plan. Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P's: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a school business plan, your marketing strategy should include the following: Product: In the product section, you should reiterate the type of school that you documented in your company overview. How To Start a Student-Run School Supply Store The first step in starting a student-run school store is to get approval from the school's administration. They'll have to sign off on things like an initial budget, location, and operating hours, so getting their official buy-in in the beginning is important. Have the students involved in the store's planning to draw up a business plan ... How to start a School Supply Store Business? A business plan for a School Supply Store business is a written document that outlines the goals, strategies, and financial projections for starting and operating a school supply store. It provides a roadmap for entrepreneurs to follow, helping them define their business concept, target market, competitive advantage, and marketing strategies. 3 Practical Ways to Start a School Supplies Business In 2020, the average back-to-school spending hovered around $727.However, it was a drop from $919 recorded in 2019, caused by the pandemic. Despite the decrease, that shouldn't discourage you from starting a school supply business if you want to. The most important thing is to gather as much information as possible to get the supply store running. How to Start a School Supplies Store Online Step 1 - Get a Business Plan. If you have no idea how a school supplies business operates or you are a first time online business owner, I recommend downloading a business plan from BPlans.com. Their plans outline exactly how the business is supposed to work and what you should expect. If you are excited about starting, you can buy The $5 ... How to Sell School supplies Online Business plan template. Link in bio tool. QR code generator. What's new. Changelog. Your source for recent updates. Summer '24 Edition. ... Start your school supply business with Shopify today. Try Shopify free for 3 days, and explore all the tools and services you need to start, run, and grow your business. How To Start A Teacher Supply Store: Business Plan, Start Up Cost Create a business plan. Calculate start up cost. Back in the day teachers and students were supplied all the items they required for a quality education, however, those days are well behind us and now teachers and students spend a lot of their own money on workbooks, antibacterial wipes, scissors, pencils, markers, construction paper, lined ... PDF How to Start and Manage a School and Office Supplies Store office and school supply store will provide a much needed guidance to this very ... business How to Start and Manage a School and Office Supplies Store Reserve now! Call us at: Tel. (02) 8.727.56.28 / (02) 8.727.88.60 Mobile Numbers: Globe: 0915-205-0133 / Smart: 0908-342-3162 Final Business PLAN A BUSINESS PLAN OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES INTERPRISE JICK LLOYED MELLORIA. Submitted in the fulfilment of the Requirements in Economic Planning and Strategies in Social. Studies. Bukidnon State University. College of Education. Bachelors in Secondary Education. Malaybalay City. August 7, 2017. Chapter 1. How to Set Up a School and Office Supplies Store » Business Seminars by How to Set Up a School and Office Supplies Store A school and office supplies store is almost as stable as the food business, because students and offices will continue to consume needed supplies even if there is a recession. Even better is that the products sold are non-perishable. Below are some of the important things to note if you plan to ... School Business Plan Template School Materials (books, toys, desks, chairs, etc): $180,000. Administrative Expenses: $120,000 to pay for lease costs, ongoing operational expenses, and marketing. Working capital: $100,000. The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for Southside Academy. Financial pressures are impacting back to school supplies shopping Families - already grappling with tight budgets - are navigating back to school shopping in a whole new way. With the cost of school supplies increasing, up 24.5% over the past four years ... The Supply Side: Back-to-school shopping comes earlier A recent survey by JLL found parents plan to spend 21.8% more on back-to-school shopping this year, a good sign for retailers in a tepid year for discretionary sales. ... school supplies, art supplies, school instructional materials and clothing. All retailers are required to participate and may not charge tax on items that are legally tax ... What Is a 529 Plan? Pros, Cons, and How to Withdrawal 529 plans are state-run, tax-advantaged accounts earmarked for educational expenses. 529 plan account earnings and withdrawals are tax-free; some states also allow deductions on contributions. The essential 2024 school supplies list: Top picks by grade These high school supplies are designed for multi-tasking teenagers. ... In 2024, 68% of back-to-school shoppers plan around retail sale events like July 4 and Labor Day. Shop office supply stores. Office retailers like Office Depot and Staples stock many of the same products for significantly lower prices than department stores. You can find ... HubSpot HubSpot's CRM platform contains the marketing, sales, service, operations, and website-building software you need to grow your business. Aviation summit opens amid jet shortages, supply chain turbulence Aviation leaders will meet at a marque summit outside London on Monday as the industry struggles with supply chain disruptions, aircraft delays and floundering plans to reduce carbon emissions. No Sign Microsoft Plans to Limit Crowdstrike Access to Windows After US News is a recognized leader in college, grad school, hospital, mutual fund, and car rankings. Track elected officials, research health conditions, and find news you can use in politics ... Andrew Call Named New Dean of Leventhal School of Accounting Call is joining USC from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Since becoming director of the school of accountancy in 2018, Call recruited and retained more top research and teaching professors than ever in the school's history, greatly increasing the faculty's racial and gender diversity. Florida's Back-to-School Tax Holiday: What you need to know FLORIDA — Families will have the opportunity to stock up on various school supplies tax free as the 2024 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday takes place from July 29 to Aug. 11. During the holiday ... How to Sell School supplies Online Business plan template. Link in bio tool. QR code generator. What's new. Changelog. Your source for recent updates. Newsroom. All company news and press releases. ... Start your school supply business with Shopify today. Try Shopify free for 3 days, and explore all the tools and services you need to start, run, and grow your business. assignment essay homework paper phd report review speech thesis