cyclonearts

I wish I knew about SEO tactics and affective promotion for t-shirts when I first started. This would have saved me a lot of time and money in the past. For anybody out there just starting, buy a good e-book on SEO or guerilla marketing, study it, and apply the methods (the way the book tells you to).

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out da box

They say "pay yourself first", this is true. It is hard, especially just starting, but it's a must. Depending on your circumstances, it can be next to impossible, but you must save something.
I have grown a business from scratch, starting with no money, AND no job or other source of income. I did have minimal equipment to start, though. And I had the knowledge and experience of the process, plus I'm a hell of a hustler. I am a screenprinter and graphic designer.

Making a small gross-smaller net, and still paying your personal bills and living expenses, on top of business expenses AND investing in the business is a miracle!

Still you should set aside something, even if it's $20 a month.

Just my .025 cents.

 

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dmm26

I just did my photoshoot over the weekend and I'm getting new stickers made up and business cards. Super Excited!!!!!!

I really wish that I had done all of this stuff before launching. Like having the website, posters, and freebies to give away as promo.


Basically what I'm saying is before you launch make sure you have everything in place so that you have an effective launch.

Be as complete as you can so that your not doing things piece by piece like I am and having to go back and do things over(like make new business cards). The more complete you look and are the more effective you can be at other things like marketing and dealing with snags as they arise.


Sure wish I had known this from the start!!!

I think I always did but never had the money to do it all in one shot as I'm sure most don't but I really wish that I had waited to launch instead of jumping into it and now having to do things kinda backwards. So don't get discouraged if it takes you longer or even a lot longer to launch than you had originally anticipated.

Hang in there good things take time!

 

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rusty

One thing I would add is to be sure and take into account what you will have to pay to have the blanks shipped to you. This is especially important if you do custom shirts and small orders. If somebody orders a shirt that you do not have in stock, you will usually have to pay a minimum or $8-$10 just to get it shipped to you. And if you are are only making $8-$10 on the job, then you just wasted your time for no profit, or even lost money on the job.

Whatever your process is, just make sure to incorporate the cost of getting the goods to you into your pricing. Shipping is very expensive these days. You can also save a lot of money by finding a local supplier.

 

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neighsayer2000

Amen to that. Hubby and I live in the South where the pay is how shall I say this nicely.....sucks. Being an electrician and never being able to find a job that wants to pay more than $8/hr, he decided to open a sporting goods business and we also sell t-shirts with outdoor themes. After draining his 401k (by the way, be prepared to pay a hefty penalty from the Govmt), he put everything in the business. We are still draining our bank accounts to make the store nicer and have more inventory. After doing our taxes today and feeling rather depressed, YOUR MESSAGE GAVE ME HOPE AND INSPIRED ME. Thank you thank you.

 

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LindaArtist

Great advice, and thanks for sharing your experiences. Three to five years is just about right...and that means sticking with it, never giving up, having faith in yourself and your product and knowing that with billions of humans living on this planet, that there are customers out there waiting for your product. It's all a matter of time. In this time of global internet marketing it's getting easier to "get out there." Good luck.

 

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callie74

I have a few more things that I've picked up on...

Set aside a portion of your budget for marketing costs.
The ol' build it and they will come might have worked for Kevin Costner, but in general, it takes strategic marketing to get people to visit your business, be it web or brick and mortar. You don't want to get to the end or near end of your cash barrel and find that now that you've realized that you Need to market your stuff, the funds you need to do so are not there.
So factor that in.
Also, why reinvent the wheel?
There are classes and books to help you get a handle on marketing strategies. Look into those. There are reasons why people go to school and get degrees in the field of marketing and then get paid bookoo bucks for their work.
Marketing=sales.
Sales=a happier you.

You might not be able to apply all of what you read/learn to your specific product/market, however, there are some great tips and tricks and basics to learn.
If possible, start on this at the same time you are developing your product so that you don't get to the end of production, so to speak, and you have down time where you're just NOW learning how to get yourself out there.
Sort of like that 10 second empty air space on tv or radio.
Bad.
That is 10 seconds someone goes somewhere else.

And if you're wondering, yes, I definitely wish we would have really understood these things before.
But hey, live and learn and grow from it right?

Also....
Coming here likely saved us A Lot of $ on services/products.
Thank you to the board for the open discussion on heat presses and heat pressing and whatnot. Very helpful.
So last one....
Research the ever loving heck out of something before diving in. You can't know everything, and probably shouldn't try (as it would take forever and there is something to be said for rolling up your sleeves and doing. As Yoda said: There is no try, only do.) but know enough to make an educated decision about what you're getting yourself into.

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An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. ghandi www.unspokenlove.com

 

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tranzadikt

Make sure you always ask your pprinter for samples of the printing technique you want

 

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boingboing069

One thing we've learned is advertising is a key...

There are alot of blogs and places that you can put your name out for free. Sometimes this is a trial thing or a one time shot to see how you do. Make sure you have a tracker so you can see where your trafic is coming from and then conisder those places with the highest trafic first to pay to put your add on.

 

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shopaholic12

yea i think time is the most important thing to consider here. like many people, i underestimated the amount of time and energy it would take!

 

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Sand

Quote: Originally Posted by sunnydayz One that is very very important is to get all of your business license and tax registration in order and learn the tax laws for your state, or you will be very confused come tax time and trying to figure out how much you owe your state or if you need to pay back to other states because of sales made there. Never charge tax to out of state customers as it will be really confusing come tax time. A little lesson I learned hehe. Bobbie

you need to be carefull now with this part. Chargeing out of sate. Come july they are changeing the out of state tax law on online orders. It was anounced today in the news out here in WA.

 

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EverLastingGifts

Quote: Originally Posted by Duds88 Sublimation..arrggg. I too started with Sublimation and the dreaded 1290, plus bulk feed. That was 2 years ago, now I am on printer number 5 due to blocked heads that just wont clean. My worst mistake was entering the sublimation game. I then made the best purchase ever, my Roland cad cutting machine and moved over to vinyl, Easy to use, easy to print and it's what people want. After 2 years working from home I've opened a shop (last monday 5th october) and am just completing my first week of being open. Biggest set back of opening a shop....deling with customers But the one thing I over looked was my nervousness with customers. I seem to panic when they enter the shop and ask about t shirts they want printing. At home I was relaxed, here I panic lol. But that will ease in a few days. My last customer today (friday) went away happy, with a smile and the promise to return for more items with his copmpany logo on. Week one and I've done 5 small jobs of averaging 5 shirts per job. It's a start. great forum by the way

Congratulations on doing 5 shirts a day on your first week! That is great!

I started 2 years ago, with sublimation. C88 of all things, and I am on my 3rd printer. I use a DC16 Interchangable Press, and I love what I do. The market is starting to pick up, unfortunately, not fast enough. Now we are looking into screen printing (which is how I found this forum!). I thought I would impart a few tid-bits to those that have never owned a business:

1. A great man once said, "Owning your own business is great! You only have to work half days... and it doesn't matter which half of the day it is!" And that is very true... be prepared to WORK. And, because this is a business/company you REALLY care about.... get ready to work harder than you ever have before!

2. Get to know your Reps. When you call a new supplier, get the name, direct line, and email of your sales Rep. Deal with them and only them. When you are not on a first name basis with your rep, then you may get "I have no idea why Jim said you could have those by yesterday, it is going to take atleast 3 more days to leave the warehouse."

3. Don't quit your day job. It will take you awhile to get profitable, you may need the extra income from "that other place" to help make ends meet.

4. Join Groups! Find a local Business Association and sign up. There are likely to be fees, but who better to know the local market trends, sales seasons, and community calendar than other local merchants?

5. ALWAYS - S T A Y - P O S I T I V E ! It can be easy to get discouraged. But remain positive! I don't mean to keep thinking wishful thoughts, but be positive in all things you do. "What You Think About, You Bring About." So you didn't make your daily minimum? Be thankful that you made half, or that you met that contact, or that you got a chance to re-arrange, catch up on books, do the dusting that REALLY needed done... Because, "Even if we did not succeed... We did not fail."

6. Know that you will NEVER be done with researching. There is always something new out there, or a different method that will work better for you.

7. That same wise man said "If a job is going to be very difficult, or if you just dont have the time, resources, or desire to do it... BID IT HIGH. Then, if you do actually get it, atleast it will be worth your while."

8. Every job/company will have bad days and people you wish you didn't have to deal with... even your own job/company. Just remember to step outside yourself, remain professional, look at the situation from ALL angles, listen COMPLETELY to all complaints before speaking, remain calm, and when all else fails, ask the other person what s/he would like to see happen to resolve it. Above all STAY CALM!

9. Treat every client like family, well, like your very close friend anyway. Do everything you can to make everything exactly how they want it, appologize if you cant, and give them an incentive to return (gift cert, percentage off, etc...)

10. Remember, you MUST make money! It can be easy to loose sight of that once you actually turn the OPEN sign over and greet your first, fortieth, and five-hundreth customer. You must have firm profits on your jobs. If you let 25% of your profits walk out the door everyday you will get no where fast! You deserve to get paid. You are a professional!

11. Sure, sometimes you must lose money to make the client happy, but I call that "Spending Money to Make Money" because , as you will soon find out, it is less expensive to keep a current customer than it is to find a new one to replace him! I guess that means that you will need to know when to bend and when you to hold!

12. Remember that you got into this business, whatever your business, to do what you love. To be your own boss. And for any number of perks that you have marked in your plan for the future... Keep all of those wonderful things in mind and..

HAVE FUN,

LEARN LOTS,

HAVE MORE FUN,

LEARN SOME MORE,

FIND A NEW WAY TO ENJOY YOUR JOB

TAKE A NEW CLASS

HAVE FUN

LEARN

HAVE FUN

LEARN...

......

... Do you see a pattern?

--Amber
Ever Lasting Gifts

 

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Flaire

I am sincerely grateful to all who share the ups and the downs of business as so many feel like the gateway to prospertity is cut throat and full of secrets as oppossed to giving and sharing. Which, in reality, giving is the one and only way to bring real riches and happiness.

I have owned a number of businesses and fully understand the importance of planning, organizing, and executing.

It's great to have an idea and an extrodinarily creative mind, but we must never forget that we are in Business and must utilize practical and effective practices (i.e.: licensing, tax laws, forecasting, etc.) in order to be successful. I have made many business mistakes in the past, some costing me valuable friendships, so I encourage everyone to focus on what really matters first and then have a blast as you: Triumph with your T's.

Peace,

Flaire

 

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lostasylum

i've only recently started my t-shirt business fulltime, but here are 2 things that i've learned along the way that really helped:

1. always have someone you can really depend for support and inspiration... a sort of muse almost. for me, my wife has been my biggest supporter and my biggest critic as well. her input is absolutely priceless and she always helps to put things in perspective....
2. don't be afraid of change. i think what all of us fear the most is change.... but not everything can stay the same.... so if something isn't working, CHANGE!

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Heath

The power of outsourcing!

If you don't absolutely love a particular job within your business, then find someone who does! If you love graphic designing, then find someone to print for you! If you're a printer, then find someone who loves to design! Maybe you have no interest in Online Marketing - then leave it to an expert!

Granted, this will cost you a little bit more, but you can't always do everything yourself - especially as you begin to grow! Besides if you don't absolutely love what you are doing, you will eventually want to give up. If you hate your day-to-day activities - then you won't last long in this business.

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Heath Sanchez - Writer of the T-Shirt Business Blog

 

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