Opening a shop
I’ve been running a letterpress department for a year now. I’m leaving the company to work outside for awhile and hopefully take on a trade school. On the side I really want to either open my own shop or run a letterpress as a hobby (Heidelberg Windmill). I love printing and really don’t want to give it up. Where should I start? Im 26 years old and really don’t know much about business or laws. If I decide to hobby print do I need permits to own a press? How do I get the proper electricity ran for the press? Any information for someone that loves to put ink on paper would help. Id really appreciate anything! Thank you!
this requires a lot more knowledge and experience. every job out there is different. every customer is different. there is no substitution for experience with this. without it, you can hurt yourself badly.
It is unlikely you could obtain valid legal advice from a forum like this, I would think that very few hobby printers have been required to have any sort of permit in order to operate equipment by themselves on their own premises.
If, however, you do seek to operate your shop as a business, the city or state you live in may have various zoning and sales tax regulations which could limit what you can do on your property. Please consult an attorney familiar with the regulations for your region before getting too far along with your business plan if a business is what you seek.
John Henry
Definitely consult your landlord if you are renting space. Mine required me to have a business insurance policy covering any potential damage. I also had an errors and omissions policy added to it, which would cover me in case of any job catastrophes that required re-printing or refunding money. I’ve never had to use it, but it could be a good thing to have if you do some high-volume jobs.
First you didn’t tell us the part of the world you are posting from.
But, in Houston, Texas USA, if a hobby, and you only charge for supply and not for profit you can have a shop in a place that work best for you.
If people start seeing trucks with equipment every week, and paper delivery trucks every week, it not a hobby and you need all the paper work to run a business in the are you have the shop.