Crafting a Cosplay Business

I’m about to celebrate my fifth anniversary as a cosplayer and prop maker. Really — five years! Looking back makes me wonder where all that time went. As busy as I was, I still wonder how much more I might have done if I pushed myself a little harder, worked a little later or planned farther ahead.

I don’t think this is uncommon for most of us who cosplay. There is so much to make and so little time! But what if you could devote more to your craft; spend more time in the garage or studio? What would it take to turn a hobby in to a full-time prop and cosplay business? Although I still have so many questions, it’s time for me to take the leap. This year I’ve decided to begin my own cosplay business, and I’m going to share my journey with you along the way.

How do I start a cosplay business?

Now I know you probably want to start by jumping in and MAKING THINGS!!! It’s tempting, I know, but starting a cosplay business requires more than just being a great costume- and prop-maker. It takes some natural business savvy, a dash of confidence, bucketfuls of support, and a heaping pile of dedication. So be prepared to make some trade-offs with your time. Yes, I’m talking about our beloved video games 😭.

The following list details the steps I’ve taken so far to start my own cosplay business. These are by no means the only way to go about starting a business, but should provide a basic foundation for getting off the ground. My goal for this article is to share what I’ve been going through, and hopefully shed some light on the initial steps it takes to start a small business making custom props and costumes. I’ll be sure to write more on the subject once I have a more complete report on my successes (and failures!) along the way.

1. Let’s get legal. ⚖️

To kick of my cosplay business adventure I went straight to Legal Zoom and registered my LLC. Having a legal business entity and proper federal (U.S.), state, and local identification and tax numbers was my first priority. It cost a chunk of change to be registered, so be prepared to pay a little up front if you choose to start on this route. Personally, it not only made me feel safer (legally), but also more official. Having a registered LLC made me feel like a true business owner, and as such, reminds me I am the sole individual responsible for my business’ future success. (…no pressure!)

After registering my LLC, I set up an appointment with a local accountant for advice, signed up for a business PayPal account, and opened a free, local business checking account. How much of this you do will be determined by the amount of time, money, and legalese you’re willing to wade through.

2. Make your cosplay business plan. 💼

With my EIN, state tax ID number, and local paperwork filed, I was ready to create my business plan. A business plan helps you *literally* define what your business does, so start by taking a look at where you fit into this community, as well as in your potential market. It’s crucial to start here and give yourself a 30,000-foot view of your potential. Ask yourself:

• What are my strengths and weaknesses? (This can be as simple as filling out a basic SWOT analysis)
• What products and/or services will I offer?
• What differentiates my cosplay businesses?

I started by typing out some very high level answers to these questions and continued to revisit them throughout my next steps — heck, I continue to revisit them today! Your initial gut answers probably wont be where your business lands in the end, and that’s perfectly okay. It’s important to remain flexible and bend to fit your vision and market whenever necessary.

3. Determine your audience. 💁‍♀️

This sounds easy at first, but consider it carefully. Who, actually, is your target audience? Do they like the same things you do? Maybe they have a specific income per year? Are they located in your city or in another country? Knowing your audience is essential to decision making throughout your core business set up and will help you make critical decisions along the way.

One way to easily break this down is to start with the list of products and services you created in step one. Next to each product or service, write a little about the audience that product targets. Then, dig deeper and see if you can identify any of their specific characteristics. Are they mostly women? Maybe within a specific age range? Do they share a common set of interests? With your list written out, you’ll begin to see connections across each product or service and ideally, a target or niche market will become apparent. And, your results may surpriuse you!

4. Create a marketing plan. 📈

This part seems daunting, but it doesn’t have to be! You’ve already identified your services, your audience, and what makes you unique. Creating a “Marketing Plan” just means determining how and where your audience will find you.

I actually started my plan by setting a handful of pie-in-the-sky goals for my business. These can be as simple as “gain 1000 followers on Instagram,” or “sell 50 products online.” These goals shouldn’t be so extreme that they become daunting, rather, they should be exciting and encouraging — something you can look back at and say to yourself: “it won’t be easy, but I’ve got this!!”

Now that you have your goals, you likely already have a basic idea of how to meet them. If you want 1000 more followers on Instagram, you’ll need to post on Instagram more often and with the proper hashtags. If you want to sell 100 products online, they’ll need to target your audience and be affordable for them. Once you have a good idea of what goals you’re targeting, you’ll be able to better determine where your cosplay business should be active. More importantly, you’ll be able to form a specific strategy, message, and budget for all your business activities, which is the basis of your marketing plan.

Once you have your brand ready, you can begin to think about all the fun ways to utilize it! Why not try some stickers?! Use this link to receive $10 off of your first purchase with Sticker Mule, on me!

6. Make a schedule. 🗓

We’ve determined our business goals, created a marketing plan, set up our branding and online identity. Now it’s time to move on to the planning phase and decide when to do all of it! For this step, I built myself a rough 365-day calendar to follow. I started with a basic spreadsheet in Google Docs, but you should use whatever tool is most comfortable for you. Remember, in order for the calendar to work you need to stick to it! So your method should be familiar to you and easy to come back to day after day.

On my “calendar,” I started with 3 key columns: Business Goals, Personal Goals (cosplay), and Content Goals (marketing) for each week. This made it easier to break down individual tasks per day, and prioritize them. I also included important dates such as TV show and video game releases, my posting schedule for social media, important business days (tax day is coming!), and even vacations and holidays I knew would detract from my work. Having a bird’s-eye view of all the tasks I wanted to accomplish over the next year made it feel SO much more manageable.

So now you’re all caught up with where I’m at with my cosplay business so far. I’m sure there will be more lessons to learn as I go, and I’ll report back any helpful insights I stumble upon along the way. One thing I can guarantee is I’ll be updating my calendar a lot along the way!!

To all of you out there looking to start your own business: I believe in YOU! Get out there and good luck!