You would need a minimum of $298,900 to open an animation studio business in any city in the United States of America.
An animation studio is a company that is involved in the production of animated media. Such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sale or rental of their animation works.
This type of business is not capital intensive and you can start the business from your savings and from your home office.
If you are hardworking and you have the right network in place, you can generate your start-up capital from one business deal. One good thing about this type of business is that you can combine it with other businesses without over-working yourself.
Starting up a big-time animation studio business may not only require pretty huge startup capital, it also needs significant investment capital, solid planning, and attention to detail in order to keep your business profitable. If you are diligent enough and if you have good business/marketing strategies, you can build the business from scratch to profitability within record time.
Estimated Cost to Open an Animation Studio
In setting up any business, the amount or cost will depend on the approach and scale you want to undertake. If you intend to go big by renting a place, then you would need a good amount of capital as you would need to ensure that your employees are well taken care of, and that your facility is conducive enough for workers to be creative and productive.
This means that the start-up can either be low or high depending on your goals, vision and aspirations for your business or if you choose to purchase fairly used equipment or brand new equipment.
The tools and equipment that will be used are nearly the same cost everywhere, and any differences in price would be minimal and can be overlooked.
As for the detailed cost analysis for starting an animation studio business; it might differ in other countries due to the value of their money. These are the key areas where you are expected to spend your startup capital on;
- The total fee for registering the business in the United States of America – $750.
- Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services (animation software, P.O.S machines and other software) – $3,300.
- Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of the animation studio in the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of $3,580.
- The total cost for hiring a business consultant including writing a business plan – $2,500.
- The total cost for the purchase of insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $2,400.
- The cost for renting or leasing an office facility (studio facility) and that can accommodate the number of customers per time (Re – construction of the facility inclusive) will cost – $80,000.
- Other start-up expenses including, commercial satellite TV subscriptions, stationery ($500) and phone and utility deposits ($2,800).
- Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $40,000
- The cost for start-up inventory (stocking with a wide range of drinks and food) – $15,000
- The cost for store equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $4,750
- The cost of purchase and installation of CCTVs: $2,000
- Equipping the animation studio (different sizes and types of computers (desktop and laptops and pads), Wacom Intuos Draw, Huion OSU Tablet, XP-Pen Artist Pro Tablet, Animator, Internet Server, Flat Screen TVs, sound system, DVD players, Satellite dish and decoder, furniture (table, stools and sofas), telephones, filing cabinets) will cost – $80,000
- The cost of launching a website: $600
- Miscellaneous: $2,000
From the rough estimate as listed above, you would need a minimum of two hundred and ninety – eight thousand nine hundred USD ($298,900) to establish a medium – scale but standard animation studio business in any city in the United States of America. Please note that this amount includes the salaries of all the staff for the first three months of operation.
In Conclusion,
Please note that this is a rough estimate and we usually advise our readers who are interested in opening an animation studio to go to the market or directly contact wholesalers and suppliers of the types of computers (desktop and laptops and pads), Wacom Intuos Draw, Huion OSU Tablet, XP-Pen Artist Pro Tablet, Animator, and related gadgets they want to have in their animation studio in order to get the real time prices of these items.
The truth is that if you are a good bargainer, you can get a better deal that will help you beat down the estimated price as listed above.