So after a year and a half of pondering... my shirts will finally be ready at the end of this week, an initial batch of 350 shirts, with 4 colours and 6 different designs.
I've realized that I've made way too many mistakes, many of them out of ignorance, being unfocussed, and what my sister (a successful boutique owner), calls 'schoolfees'.
Here are some of the mistakes I've made so far. I'd like to hear yours and if applicable what you learned from them.
1) A patchy business plan document. Time and time again I've heard of the importance of this document, being like the rudder of a business. I did not spend enough time on planning.
2)No timeline. There was no rush in my mind and I ended up with periods of time where I did not do any work. The result is that my planned launch on 1 September is now only taking place on 15th December.
3)Too perfectionistic towards end product. Instead of taking a slightly inferior shirt type (for a good price) than the one I had in mind, I got 'the perfect shirt' at a ridiculous price from Cape Town (1000 miles from Johannesburg where I am). It had to be couriered (another ridiculous price). My price per tee has gone up considerably than what I planned originally and now either I'm making less profit, or I'll have to chuck the 'cheap introductory price' which I wanted for brand building.
4)Too much emphasis on tags. I had a 4 colour tag created that was way expensive. It was printed not woven, as I assumed it would be. A simpler tag was surely the way to go.
I made a few of the same mistakes you did, I waited until i launched pretty much to start my business plan!! So only then did i have targets and any real direction, maybe i could have made things easier for myself had i done this sooner! I hoped to launch in July but instead ended up launching in december, missing the summer, and i assume this is a good season to start trading!
I think i didn't shop around enough for certain services, causing me to have to wait ages trying to deal with some printers etc, and not really getting a good price, but I learned my lesson and ended up finding a really good supplier of tags at a good price.
In response to your number 3, I wouldnt settle for an inferior type shirt, just try to shop around for a better price, maybe look for somewhere more local to you so you can pick them up instead of having them delivered.
Alot of the same again, but I would say the biggest mistake I made was not getting my personal life in order first. I had alot of distractions, mostly stemming from failed relationships and exgirlfriends that would take all my attention from what I SHOULD be working on at the time.
I am focused now, and shutting out relationships for the time being (not counting family of course) and just spending all my energy on the business. That is what truly matters to me.
Not worrying too much about doing it all yourself from the start... don't be afraid of using a fullmilment service... then step it up when you are selling t-shirts and would like to take it further.
I am constantly seaching, looking, evaluating, rethinking what we do and most of that is in my head. Again, not recommending this but just stating what we do. I just don't take the time to right any of it down. So far it has worked for us but would probably be wrong for most people.
One thing we did wrong was trying to spread ourselves too thin too fast. You have to realize that you can't do it all and be in different places all the time. There is a limit to how fast you can expand your product offerings and/or your locations.
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John, I am afraid of suffering the very same thing. I have so many projects that I want to do, and eventually likely WILL do, but right now I need to remember that it is most important to slow down, and do one thing RIGHT. Once that is established, then I can move on to other projects. The trouble is, I see myself running a huge company with many different avenues, or hats in the air, but I forget that you have to start with the hat on your head first. If I just slow down and focus, I will be in much better shape.
John, I am afraid of suffering the very same thing. I have so many projects that I want to do, and eventually likely WILL do, but right now I need to remember that it is most important to slow down, and do one thing RIGHT. Once that is established, then I can move on to other projects. The trouble is, I see myself running a huge company with many different avenues, or hats in the air, but I forget that you have to start with the hat on your head first. If I just slow down and focus, I will be in much better shape.
Yep...I hear ya Tony!
It is just so hard to stay disciplined and focused!!
Especially when you are always running across new things on this forum!!
Maybe cloning might be an option....or growing more heads for more hats?
__________________ Big Daddy Screenprinting -Affordable contract Heat Press Services & Low Volume Screen Printing up to 4 spot colors with no setup or screen fees
I had the "dream" of a t-shirt website/company for about 3 years now. I was seeking funding from my parents, with no help. So I saved, now I'm taking my savings and forming my online business. I took the steps toward an online t-shirt business back in September, pretty much thinking of ideas, finding out where my customers will be hiding, where I want to advertise, investigating advertising rates and how many people will see them for the lowest possible cost, and many many many other things. I found a local company in my town so I avoid shipping to my place, and I also gave up special packaging/wrapping.
I planned on spending $4-$5.50 per t-shirt, another $4-5.50 per t-shirt in advertising, with a possible $10.00 +2/-2 profit per t-shirt.
I also have several ways of marketing my brand, and my products.
I estimate to sell 1,000 t-shirts within 1-year of January 1st, 2008. It does not seem like a lot, but that is 3+ t-shirts a day. Some days I estimate zero in sales, some days I estimate 10-20-30 shirt sales.
You really got to love doing this in order to make it work. You cannot start with 2-3 designs that you think are cool. You must put the customer first. If I have 5 designs, what good does that do? You must be very smart and think of more ideas. I'm launching my website with 20 designs, with about another 150 written down and ready to be designed, finalized, and sent to print. I want 2 new t-shirts a month to begin, with possibly 1 new shirt a week within 3-6 months.
I may of never done this, but I love it. It is challenging, exciting, and I've been learning a LOT. From how to run a business, to marketing and advertising, to customer service.
I do not look at it like a video game. This is money, and in order to make money you gotta spend money, and sometimes bust your b@lls in order to make it back.
1,000 shirts a year, after investment, is a decent bit of coin to live off of a year.
Learning from your mistakes 
Re: Learning from your mistakes 
