Local packaging bag distributor

Grocery and convenience stores, restaurants, delis, retail shops, janitorial suppliers and other local businesses that reorder regularly.

You sell cases or part-pallets at a markup on your bulk cost. Delivery and the convenience of local stock let you keep margins, and regular standing orders build steady income.

• Sales and relationship building
• Inventory and cash flow management
• Comfortable driving and lifting

• Plastic bag bans and fees vary by state and city, so check rules where your customers operate
• Check your state's sales tax and resale certificate rules, and collect certificates from customers
• General liability, commercial property and commercial auto insurance, plus workers' compensation once you hire
• Tying up cash in stock, and storage fire safety rules, so check with your local fire department
• Competition from big distributors and online suppliers on price, so compete on service and speed
• Check any local business license needed for a warehouse and delivery vehicle

Startup costs are typically around $10,000 to $50,000, depending on your unit rent, the pallets of stock you buy and your delivery vehicle. These are estimates, so your own costs will vary with the size of range you carry.

Monthly revenue is typically around $8,000 to $40,000, depending on how many regular customers you win and how large their orders are. These are estimates of revenue, not profit, and tying up cash in stock can affect what you keep.

Plastic bag bans and fees vary by state and city, so check rules where your customers operate. Check sales tax and resale certificate rules, any local business license, storage fire safety with your fire department, and insurance including workers' compensation once you hire.