How To Start A Yard Card Business | The ABCs To Yard Signs

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You’ve seen them in your neighbor’s yards: the bright, colorful, and beautiful displays celebrating birthdays or new babies. Those are yard cards and they are a booming business in this gig worker economy. How do you start a yard card business? Here are the ABCs of Yard Card 101 that you need to know! Affiliate links are included in this post. 

fabulous 16th birthday yard card fairfax va

How To Start A Yard Card Business

If March of 2020 found your income incredibly impacted (hello, I’m a travel agent specializing in Disney vacations over here!), you might be looking for a new way to bring money into your home. 

Or you might think it’s time to pivot for other reasons, and bringing joy to others sounds right up your alley. 

Yard Cards became that source of joy and income for me, and I know when I started I had #allthequestions. 

Luckily for me, I also had a good resource for those answers: my sister has been in the yard card business for 4 years now, and she guided me through all those questions. 

how to start a yard card business.

Like you, I needed to know answers to yard card questions like:

  • Do I need a website?
  • How do I start a business?
  • Should I join a franchise?
  • How much and what kinds of inventory do I need?

Welcome to this Yard Card 101, or as I call it, the ABCs of Yard Carding (get it?).

ABCs of Yard Carding | A 101 To Starting a Yard Card Business

1. How To Start Your Yard Card Business

Before you get in too deep, you need to decide if this will be a business or a hobby and decide how to proceed based on that factor. 

I assume you are in this as a business, and therefore, you may need guidance on what to do next. 

While I cannot give business creation advice for YOUR personal situation (locations and circumstances vary widely), I would advise you to seek out a small business council in your area.

It may be called a Small Business Development Center or something similar. 

These organizations are experts in the matter of creating a small business and can help you decide if you should be a sole proprietor or an LLC. They may also be able to advise you if one of the yard card franchises is more appropriate for you. 

I already had an established LLC, so I chose to work under that company and did not explore the franchise options.

I prefer to be my business owner and not be beholden to other entities, but I know plenty who work in that arena as franchisees who are perfectly happy with it! 

noguilt yard card is a division of No-Guilt Enterprises llc

But talk to someone in the small business council in your area first.

They can talk you through the plans of creating a company that might have employees or if it will be something you handle on your own. 

If you are looking for legal representation for setting up your business, you may want to ask in local Facebook groups if there is a lawyer with small business experience.

Some suggestions to consider when it comes to getting your business set up:

  • Obtaining an EIN for tax purposes
  • Checking your local and state requirements for business licenses. I was able to apply for mine online and found it with an easy Google search. 
  • You may need a home business occupation permit. Check with your city on the rules regarding running a business from your home.
  • Get liability insurance. You need this. It’s non-negotiable. State Farm has the best rates I’ve seen so far and they are familiar with Yard Cards as a business. You’ll want to be covered in case you damage property while staking a yard. 
  • Set up a separate bank account for your business for tax and accounting purposes.
  • Check with your state and local government to determine if you must collect sales tax.

How Much Does Starting a Yard Card Business Cost?

This will vary based on your decisions for your business setup. 

But you are looking at a minimum investment of $3,000 to start, with a more likely number landing in the $4000-$10,000 range. 

no-guilt yard cards springfield va what we do

2. Do You Need A Website For Your Yard Card Business?

You could be successful without a website, but when people are looking for something, they naturally turn to Google.

That’s probably how you found this post. 

Referrals and word of mouth are not to be downplayed- they are the lifeblood of this industry! But a professional website will help your yard card business be found and stand out. 

You can create your own fairly easily, but hiring someone to create a gorgeous site can be money well spent. And you’ll need a reliable host for your new site.

  • Website hosting recommendation: New Blog Hosting is a great company I’ve used for years as a blogger. They are affordable and responsive, with packages starting at $50 a year.  
  • Website creation: chat with Kayla at Kayla B Designs. She is also affordable and works quickly to get you up and running online. 

On your website, be sure to include a rental contract or your policies and procedures. 

Make this something clear and concise so there are no questions when it comes to how your experience will run. 

how to start your yard card business. Happy 80th Birthday in red and black sign set up in front yard.

3. How Do You Want To Get Paid?

There are many ways to collect payment with a yard card business. 

Cash works, naturally, but for accounting and credit card payments, you’ll likely want to look at other options. 

Some suggested apps:

  • Venmo
  • PayPal
  • CashApp
  • Stripe
  • Website direct options

Talk to your web designer if you want to integrate payment via order forms on the website if that’s what you choose to do. 

By taking payment through an app many people have access to, you’ll be able to receive payment for the bookings quickly. 

That is: you’ll be making it easier for people to give you money.

It’s not hard: they have the money, they want you to have the money, so make it easy for them to give it to you.

You will also share a small percentage of the payment with the app or company you choose to work through, so keep that in mind as you price things out. 

happy birthday yard card sign

4. Determine Your Market and Competition Levels

All marketplaces will have competition, and you should go into yours with open eyes. 

Do a Google search, check local Facebook groups, and see if you can find other yard card companies running in your location. 

Check this national yard card directory as well.

If your area is highly saturated with established businesses, then you will want to determine how your business will be different than the others.

I wouldn’t suggest undercutting the established companies (because ultimately, you, too, want to get paid your worth!) but I would suggest knowing what you can offer to make your cards stand out. 

Some suggestions: 

  • Offer longer rental periods
  • Include personalized notes to be left at the address
  • Offer solar spotlight lighting for night viewing of the yard card
  • Include the option to upcharge to a flamingo flocking
  • Add a small thank you or birthday gift for the recipient
  • Boo, Gobble, or Elf packages. Small, quick sets can help bring visibility to your business. Here’s an example of Halloween Booing with Yard Cards

Where you can truly stand out will be in customer service and inventory. 

solar spot light

5. Build Your Yard Card Inventory- What Should You Start With?

This is a huge undertaking and will eventually come down to the question of what your area is into. 

Splatter paint and slime might be huge hits where you live, but rose gold and black might be more popular in other areas. 

You’ll want to think about the trends and colors that seem to work in your local area. 

A. Black Letters & numbers are the little black dress of yard cards.

Everyone needs black letters, so let’s just put that down as a given.

You’ll use these as your workhorse and go-to’s on almost all signs.

congratulations yard card in springfield va

B. Add Some Colors.

I’d suggest pink, blue, and yellow as essentials since they can be used for almost all situations.

New babies, birthdays for boys or girls, women and men can find something to love with these basic colors. 

But if those do not appeal, a great place to start is with local school colors. 

We have blue, orange, yellow, purple, and gold around here- so that’s where my inventory started. 

happy yard sign in purple lorton, VA

C. Add Flairs- And Be Smart About It!

Look, I’ll be candid.

This yard card business is addicting- you want to have something for everyone who contacts you. 

Speaking from experience, it’s really easy to run up quite a large inventory bill if you aren’t careful!

So what do you need to get started? 

The most popular requests for yard cards are going to be for birthdays.

So think presents, balloons, stars, cupcakes, and cakes. 

If you have loads of these and enough letters to spell out a message, you should be good to go. 

happy 11th birthday annie yard card business 101

C. Stakes for Yard Cards

Yard cards are made of corrugated plastic, which has fluted channels inside the sign.

You’ll need a variety of sizes of H stakes for your sign creations. 

Generally, you can find H stakes in the following sizes (some are even on Amazon):

You’ll want to get a minimum of 100 stakes in a variety of sizes to start your business. 

H stakes in a flash sign yard card

D. Additional Tools For The Yard Card Trade

Again, every area will be different. 

Some locations have hard, rocky yards; some have yards that stake smooth as butter! 

But you’ll be surprised every time you go out because each yard is different. 

Here are some helpful tools to make Yard Carding 101 a little easier on you:

  • Painters tape, Gorilla tape, or duct tape. Use this on the back of the letters to help keep them straight and together- especially on windy days. 
  • U-Pins can be used in place of tape.
  • Rubber mallet. If you can’t push a stake in past some rocks, give it a few whacks with the mallet. Boom! You’re staked. 
  • Hand drill. Some areas DO indeed require the drilling of holes into the ground for signs. Consider this if you run into multiple hard-to-stake yards. 
  • Yard Card Stands. You can make these yourself or order them through other companies. These are useful when you are in an area with extremely hard ground or challenging weather conditions. Set the yard cards into the stands and go!
  • Zip ties. Use these to keep my sign groupings together when I have multiple signs in one night to set up. Don’t forget something to cut the zips off, though!
  • Veno Bags can also be used instead of zip ties. We put each card into a bag and it makes it easy to carry to the set up location in the yard.
  • Electric fence posts to brace tall signs in the wind.
mallet tape zip tie for yard card placement

6. Transportation For Yard Cards

To be successful, you’ll want reliable transportation to cover your service areas. 

While having an SUV or mini-van or truck is helpful, you can fill a sedan with staked yard cards quite easily. 

The priority here is to keep the signs flat and damage-free.

Sometimes I have to use my back seat vs my trunk for larger and longer signs, but you can get by with a 4-door sedan. 

If you have the luxury to car shop, choose something that gets decent gas mileage and has plenty of storage for your signs in the back. 

retirement yard card she did not change her mind

A, B, C- Go Card Some Yards!

This is a basic rundown of how to start your Yard Card business.

It can be overwhelming to start, but once you figure out the Yard Card 101 basics for your business, you’ll be ready to card some yards, bring some joy to your community, and make some money.

For additional details and yard card resources, a companion e-book is in the works.

This will go even deeper into the yard card experience giving suggestions on yard card vendors to buy from as well as marketing strategies. 

Think glossary of terms, places to buy your stakes and signs, set up tips, DIY yard card making and marketing options. 

hadley-10th-birthday-yard-card-alexandria-va

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20 Comments

  1. I was hoping to find out how to make/manufacture the yard cards or where to have them printed! Can’t start a yard card business without the yard cards!

  2. Excellent information to start, any idea how to make or where can printed the accessories, we can do the letters but how to make the others and do it waterproof and weatherproof please. Thank you 🙂

  3. This is a fantastic article. Only one vital piece of information is missing…where do I buy the inventory? Or how do I make the inventory? That information would make this article complete. Thanks

  4. This information has been extremely helpful!!! Thank you sooooo much! I’ve been praying for revelation on a business to help bring income into my home and a business that I would enjoy. Moreover, I want to bring others joy. I’m an event planner and decorator. The Pandemic has halted my ability to earn income in that arena. I believe the Yard Card business is something I can singlehandedly do and be successful!

  5. Bravo Girl….
    This is a fantastic overview of how to start a yard card business. We still need to connect by the way. Much to catch up on.
    The only thing I would add to your epic overview is that cost of entry doesn’t have to be $3000.0. I believe it can be as low as $1500.00. Assuming you are able to rent a number of displays out of the gate. Don’t spend your own money, re-invest your earnings, and purchase additional signs if you feel compelled. Go ALL-In with the #joybusiness. Keep smiling. R-

  6. Thank you for the tips! I do have one question…where and how do you store the signs when not in use? Trying to think of a way to be organized & efficient without taking up an entire room or garage! Thank you!

    1. Mine are stored in the basement. But plenty of people have them hanging from peg boards in the garage or other locations. Some use storage bins (no lids). And some folks have rented a storage locker as well!

  7. what about the chance of spiking someone’s sprinkler system with the stakes? do you need insurance to cover that risk?

  8. How to keep up with the new styles of displays coming out/changing weekly? I feel like I am not making a profit as I am trying to fulfill orders and request of my clients. Please advise.

    1. I think you have to balance building an inventory your area wants with making money. Definitely do not buy to fulfill every request, but if you have something that gets requested multiple times- go ahead and add that item in! Good luck!

  9. Thank you this was a great start!! I just have one question I want to have enough letters so I can offer names as well with happy birthday etc. How many of each letter should I need just starting up? Thank you, Niki

    1. I’d personally want 2 of each letter, just in case! There are some vendors who offer sets with extra letters for the most commonly used letters, then you can get a supplemental set with more of those.You rarely need 2 Zs but when you do, you’ll be glad you have them!

  10. Hello. I am in the process of starting this business venture because it’s brand new where do I get pics of work or examples of what I can create? I would need these for a new website or to even create a flyer. There are a number of wonderful examples that come up during this article. Are these pics copyrighted or can they be used by a new designer for promotion purposes? If they can’t be used can you recommend where i can find samples to use for promotion?

    1. Hi there! These are my pictures and are copyrighted. Please do not use them on your website. I suggest checking with the vendors you plan to buy from. Many offer mockups you can use on social media and websites for this purpose! 11th Street Design is one you can find on Facebook, Yard Card Supply has a Facebook group and so does Sign Swag. I know these three for sure will allow you to use the images they create for this purpose. Good luck!

  11. I assume you need permission from a property owner before you enter their yard and put out the signage? I’m sure most people would like this to be a surprise.

    How do you handle this?

  12. Hi there,
    When my husband and I started our yard sign business earlier this year, this article was beyond helpful. Thank you so much for posting. Based on your suggestion we decided to start making yard stands for easier sign set up. We are going to start selling them and wanted to see if you would consider adding us to this article. We don’t sell any other competing products. Just Yard Sign stands. Here is a link to our page, if you’d like to check it out.

    yardsoffuntexas.com/vendorfriends

    Thanks again!

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