This section of the forum is for discussing the business and finance issues of the t-shirt industry. Which business structure to use (sole proprietor, LLC, S Corp, etc), how to handle billing, where to register your business and get the proper licensing, etc.
Iam on a VERY limited budget yet have found a way to start my business with the following equipment. I know some people will question my choice of heat pressess but, I just cant afford a better one right now. This press came recommended by a few forum members.
u have 2 start somewhere man. always remember, every start-up is different just like every human has different finger prints. any startup resources you have 4 your biz that supports your core customers and your bizness plan is always a good start. some people can't make it that far. A small start can equal big rewards, only if you work hard every single day. believe in your equipment and it will take u far.
1. KISS= KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID and watch your money grow!
2. ALWAYS DESIGN A PRODUCT 4 PROFIT!
3. LLL = LOOK, LISTEN, & LEARN
4. Honor thyself. B loyal 2 yourself and those elements will shower into the bizness and your staff.
5. u in the bizness to make a profit for your company and your investors every single day. keep everyone happy with continued growth and innovations.
6. Smile, even when its tough
7. if u believe in it, drive the non-believers 2 believe
I like it.
You have two things going for you, your hungry and you will have no big debt expense every month.
at $2 ea you can buy 25 blank shirts!
Sell 2 doz and wear one to promote yourself!
You could skip the hat press till you sell the first 2 doz shirts and reduce your start up more or buy a better heat press with the $150.
You can use the profit from the first 2 doz shirts to buy your hat press
Lots of big companies have started with less.
Best of luck!!!
Just because you cant produce all of a particular order doesn't mean you cant take that order...you can always sub it out. Just make yourself very familiar with the prices of services you will offer...you should know how much it would cost you to have it done by larger companies.
When it comes to your business...think BIG!! Always present your company in a professional manner and get those big orders. you can still make money without doing all the work, generate some profits to start small expansions and start getting all of the equipment to do the orders you send out.
10 shirts? What are you trying to accomplish? With the setup you've described, you'll learn how to print a few transfers, and that's about it.
If that's the goal, buy more paper and instead of buying shirts, buy shirt material at the fabric store. You'll get more for your money. You will still need more capital to seriously get started.
If you have a solid idea that you think you can sell, take the $600 and have your design printed by a good printer. I don't care what people might tell you -- they will look a million times better than what you'll get from inkjet transfers.
You can probably print around 100 shirts for the same money and hopefully turn a small profit if your hunch is right. Do this a few times and you'll have enough to get started. Be frugal and you can pick solid secondhand equipment as time goes by.
I plan to practice on old shirt I have lying around. Than once I have the technique down I plan to put designs on the 10 shirts and sell them via ebay or other places. Once those are sold I will re-invest the money for more shirts etc....
I know 10 isnt allot but you have to start somewhere.
I plan to practice on old shirt I have lying around. Than once I have the technique down I plan to put designs on the 10 shirts and sell them via ebay or other places. Once those are sold I will re-invest the money for more shirts etc....
I know 10 isnt allot but you have to start somewhere.
I'm not trying to dissuade you, just being realistic. There's more to t-shirts than just slapping something on a shirt and expecting people to buy it.
Let's say you clear $5 a shirt and you sell them off. Your profit would be $125. With 100 you'd be at $500. Granted, the odds of selling every single one is not high. I would cut those numbers by 50% for your first run.
BQ, I would take Jose's advice into consideration, there's a lot of good advice there. I would also add that you sound like me when I started. I knew how much money I had and I made a lot of purchases that didn't need to be made. If you have designs with 1-4 colors, screenprinting will definitely be the way you want to go for the most professional product. You can a lot more colors with screen printing, but with a limited budget, 1-4 is a great place to start. If you have a lot of colors, or photo designs, try dtg. There are severaly members on here that know there machines upside down and could give you a great product.
Don't be in a rush to spend money on equipment. What if you spend all of your money and figure out that heat transfers aren't the way that you want to go? Then you'll probably be in a mad rush to sell it off and get back whatever you can. It just may not be the smartest move at this point.
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Hard labor kills, make t-shirts instead.
Thxs for the advice. Let me assure yha I have been in no rush. Those that know me well know I have spent about 60 days (3-5 hrs a day) researching this. My family tells me I have become infactuated (they are right).
I didnt include this in the initial post but the transfers are indeed for practice. However, I do plan to buy some professional transfers and apply them to the sirts Iam buying for resale. I will probably continue doing this until Iam confortable to print the transfers myself.
Again, thanks for ALL the advice I have received, both on this post as well as others - YOU GUYZ ARE GREAT!
Initial start up costs for by business 
