Re: Where do you get your capital/money from starting out?
Way back when, when I started my online t-shirt business, I just used credit cards to buy my first batch of t-shirts printed with my design, pay for my webhosting account and domain name. I had already learned HTML, so I designed the website myself.
After a while (ideally) the business pays for itself and become self sustaining (and profitable).
There are definitely other ways to go about it, that's just the way that sounded good at the time.
Re: Where do you get your capital/money from starting out?
I am old and I retired and I asked my wife if we should do this. She said yes, anthing so you don't keep bothering me all day. Go find something to do.Ahhhh, retirement. Ok, I am not that old. I used money from my cat site website that was in my paypal account and bought what I needed. id websites partime and my own hosting so that part was easy. I actually have 7 websites of my own.
Re: Where do you get your capital/money from starting out?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rodney
You don't wanna know how many websites I have
I do! I owned a traditional business before, with a physical warehouse and phone lines. That lasted a while but just couldn't compete because of high overhead. Now at 28, I have a real job during the day but slowly building a side business so I can work from home. Good thing I'm very sociable so I have a lot of friends to help me out with little things. That and my awesome wife of course LOL It's amazing to see how many things you need for a small business, from paperclips to computer network. I've been with the current company for about 6 years now. It's fun but I rather not spend my entire career here.
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Re: Where do you get your capital/money from starting out?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rodney
You don't wanna know how many websites I have
I know for a fact that they are many!
Lots of them I have found by accident, Mr. "Circle R"!
Personally, I've just used discretionary income.
I'm fortunate enough that my wife and I both have full-time jobs, and can live very comfortably on 1 income. So we break the other income into personal savings and business capital.
Also, every penny that we have made selling shirts has gone back into the business account.
Re: Where do you get your capital/money from starting out?
Depending on how much you're looking for, you can always turn to your chamber of commerce. They've got a plethora of information on starting your own business, plus they can direct you to local funding companies. These companies are funded by our government or the SBA (Small Business Administration) who is funded by the government. I myself am working with a company called SEED (Sout Eastern Economic Development) in MA. They specialize in helping entrepreneurs through funding, workshops and one-on-one counciling. And best of all... It's free! Well except for the borrowing, but even that's much better than going through a bank, plus I get support when I need it. Some might take a deeper interest in your business where they try to tell you what you can and cannot do, so do your homework. SEED has been phenominal to me in so many ways. My payment each month is actually less than half my car payment! So for a little help, it was worth it to me rather than trying to do it on a shoe string or borrow from family...ugh... Hope this helps!
How do you all get money to get your business running for the first time??
I personally believe that the credit card route is the best way of obtaining start-up cash. You can usually get your first 12 months with 0 APR as long as you pay the minimum balance. Hopefully after that your t-shirts will pay for themselves. The only risk is putting your credit score on the line if you cant pay after the 12 months/minimu balance during.
Re: Where do you get your capital/money from starting out?
I stopped Super Sizing my lunch and dinner and learned how to make hot dogs. I also canceled my Satellite TV and my Blockbuster Movie subscription, stopped text messaging on my cell and only call people at night.
OK, I'm just kidding, I never did learn how to make a good tasting hot dog, but my point is that sometimes coming up with money to start a new business can be as simple as not wasting money on everything else. Especially one with such low startup costs.
Now if I could just get my hands on a DTG printer before my van breaks down again.
Re: Where do you get your capital/money from starting out?
Get ready for reality.... It's NOT FREE
Limit yourself! Don't waste a bunch of $$$. Talk to a pro (in person) and weigh your options.
Put your $$$ into 5 shirts. Let them fund the rest. GOOD LUCK
Re: Where do you get your capital/money from starting out?
Personally, I don't do debt at all.
I don't know if you guys have heard of Dave Ramsey. He's a financial counselor here in Nashville with a national radio show. He's been on Oprah, 60 Minutes, and is about to get a CBS reality show helping people with their finances.
I've been listening to Dave since I was a teenager (I'm now 31!) and he preaches no debt, and saving and investing (mutual funds) like crazy. That's what I've always done. So I don't do the credit card thing or business loans.
Re: Where do you get your capital/money from starting out?
Well, there are good debts and bad debts. The goal is to use money to generate more money, even if you have to initially borrow the money. Borrow a lot of money to buy an expensive car that will depreciate is a bad debt, but borrowing $5k to invest in initial equipment for your business is considered a good debt. Also, of course you don't want to borrow way over your head.
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This is a discussion about Where do you get your capital/money from starting out? that was posted in the General T-Shirt Selling Discussion section of the forums.
Re: Where is everyone from 
I owned a traditional business before, with a physical warehouse and phone lines. That lasted a while but just couldn't compete because of high overhead. Now at 28, I have a real job during the day but slowly building a side business so I can work from home. Good thing I'm very sociable so I have a lot of friends to help me out with little things. That and my awesome wife of course LOL It's amazing to see how many things you need for a small business, from paperclips to computer network. I've been with the current company for about 6 years now. It's fun but I rather not spend my entire career here.
