Around April 2017 while looking for employment, I decided to start a sticker business. I’m an avid Magic the Gathering (MtG) fan, so putting decks together requires card organization – organizing cards is key for creating better and fun decks.

The business idea:
The idea sprang a bit before April, when I was making stickers for myself for organization. I asked myself a question, “could other people need the same stickers I was using.” MtG is a wonderful organization of card fulfillment but they are a little lax on giving players organization aid. Since I was a visual designer, I began associating set symbol with the set itself. I made several sizes working with 2 good online vendors (Moo.com, StickerMule.com)

Where is this symbol?
For non-MtG folks its the teeny-tiny symbol on every magic card created/printed. See the image below with red circle? That’s the latest symbol for Ravnica Allegiance. From a graphic design perspective, you can also see there is a lot going on within such a tiny piece of art.

Idea behind the name:
I didn’t want to spend a great deal of time since I wanted to launch faster and concentrate on the business and marketing. I’m a huge fan of ‘pedestrian’ names that use the term ‘Mr.’ or ‘King’, it was going to be Mr. Sticker of Sticker King, King of Stickers or something that would allow for a unique URL.

The idea behind the logo/mark:
Creative people usually spend a huge amount of time on names and branding – sometimes more time than a business remains active. I decided to take a first blush at making it simple based on what it is the business best represents. I started with different types of sticker graphics and ended up with the one below. The idea for the actual mark would change based on the latest set released. It would be a liquid and changing symbol – How cool is that? The type would be something that might also look pedestrian.

  

Closing the Business. 
The sticker business or perhaps what or how I might use stickers didn’t pan out as a huge need. Part of the reason, based research, was the price-point of each sticker. Since I had use an outside company and could only get the price-point in the competitive area, I’d have to invest more money at almost a Walmart proportion. This was not possible. After a year and half, an email arrived from Wizards of the Coast (WoC) and stated that I stop selling their art which is copyrighted. I still have the email and cherish as honorable as possible for being on the radar of such a huge mega-company which I actually dearly love.

What was this endeavor worth?
The experience was amazing on a number of levels.

1) I have a lot of spare cool sticker products that I use on other objects and give them away to other magic players. I still make new stickers, but just for myself and some friends.

2) I spent time, energy and a bit of money (not a lot – $20 a week) on paid social channel advertising. I learned a lot first hand how to chart social strategy and use the rhythm of paid/organic placement. I concentrated my efforts on Twitter and Facebook. The twitter account has a higher number of followers than some large companies. I compare their numbers to my own to show how low theirs really are. If can make my following grow with a tiny budget, I can make your company have a better value in social marketing.

3) The best part was by forming a Twitter Channel based solely into one channel, it created a channel in the MgT community. Today, I personally love to read and participate more in the StickerKing feed more than my other account based on me specifically/professionally.

I hope you enjoyed this story. I am currently looking for new employment for a UX Designer in or near the Indianapolis market. If you know of any opportunities please send them my way.