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FieldDress · November 3rd, 2008

Great post. Number #3 resonates hard with me and something I look back on often. Stick to your brand or identity...whatever your dream for the company my be. It's your vision and sometimes just making a buck isn't worth it. I had a big box retailer interested in a 10,000 unit test order, but with what they wanted to price the tees, I thought it would cheapen the brand. Its easlier to go down in price and offer sales or close-out pricing than go up from an initial low price point. Stick to your instincts and work hard at making your identity yours.

mikelmorgan · November 4th, 2008

I am a printer not a marketer. What I mean is that I think that you can only be good at one thing. If I spend time selling shirts I won't have time to print them and vise versa. I know that there are companies that do both well. I am not large enough to do that. I am the best in my area at printing but not the best at selling. I have gotten orders because of the quality and service I provide and lost orders because I am not a good sales person. My input is to be good at one thing and let someone else who is good at the other do the other. You know build a better mouse trap thing. If you are a printer get someone to market the tees, if your a good sales person get someone to print them.
Good luck to all in what ever you do.

INKSCREENS · November 4th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikelmorgan


	I am a printer not a marketer. What I mean is that I think that you can only be good at one thing. If I spend time selling shirts I won't have time to print them and vise versa. I know that there are companies that do both well. I am not large enough to do that. I am the best in my area at printing but not the best at selling. I have gotten orders because of the quality and service I provide and lost orders because I am not a good sales person. My input is to be good at one thing and let someone else who is good at the other do the other. You know build a better mouse trap thing. If you are a printer get someone to market the tees, if your a good sales person get someone to print them. Good luck to all in what ever you do.

That's a very good point. I agree that you should let the experts do there thing so that you leave enough energy and focus into marketing. (Marketing is what generates sales).

imahottee · November 7th, 2008

One thing has been hinted at here, but I think it should be emphasized: You should have something that makes you different, and should be able to describe it in a single sentence. In addition to running my shop, my day job is reading scripts for movie studios. In Hollywood, they call that something different "the unique attractor," or The Hook. "Ghostbusters" has a great hook, for example; so did "Back to the Future" and "Jaws."

So if you take a look at the different huge tee companies out there - Busted Tees, T-Shirt Hell - they've both got easy one-sentence pitches. Whether or not you like their stuff, it's hard to deny the power such a resource has for marketing and branding purposes. I always knew I wanted to have a humor tee company, for example, so I decided to do only clean humor to set myself apart. The company's called I'm a Hot Tee, and our slogan's "Hot Tees You Can Take Home to Mom!" So it's a pun and it's memorable - two other things that can really go a long way.

How about you guys? Do you agree about the idea of having a simple-to-pitch unique attractor?

countit · November 7th, 2008

I certainly agree with you Imahottee. My company is called Count It...and it's sportswear for the female athlete. We are beginning with basketball and it will encompass all sports, specifically where points are scored. The men have and1 and the women now have Count It!

INKSCREENS · November 9th, 2008

After another crazy busy week, I finally have time to add some more tips:

1. After you have the designs for your collection, organize it with a template. Stock t-shirt templates can be found here: Blank Vector Clothing | Vector T Shirt Template | T-****rs Vector | Outlaw Design Blog - A Graphic Design Blog

Royalty free stock images | Lightbox 't-shirt templates for designers' managed by circler | iStockphoto.com

I just googled t-shirt templates and those two links stuck out the most. A template for your designs will help you approach printers and allow your printers to have a better idea of what printing techniques you are looking for. It also lets them know the locations of your prints as well which can be hard to explain without visual aid.

2. Once you have your collection templates complete, think about other things you wish to have done for your branding. Do you want custom neck labels? Do you want hang tags? If so, this is the time to design those things before approaching anyone.

3. Now that you are fairly organized with your line, approaching printers, tag makers, and other vendors will be a lot easier because you know what you want. Always know what you want before presenting yourself to garment embellishers.

4. Now you might want to think about creating look books, a look book contains your new seasons collections that you can promote your brand with. (this is an option if you plan to sell to retailers). If you do not want look books, another option would be to create a simple website with an online collection portfolio so that your perspective buyers can instantly check your brand out.

5. Don't be cheap on your final garments, most clients work so hard to design and promote their brand, but shy away on spending money on final quality products. Afterall your product IS your brand.

vexx78 · November 11th, 2008

Great tips! Wow I love this site! I'm a noob btw, if you didn't notice. Anyways great to be here! :P

tshirttex · November 15th, 2008

what is the least expensive way to trademark?

absurditees · November 16th, 2008

hi there thanks for all that information. it was a useful read. im just testing the water at the moment, got my first sale yesterday on my first day

but in the uk the tshirt market is very saturated, and everybody is sceptical of a brand or website of its not a big name, so im keeping my fingers crossed for another.

ozzymac · November 16th, 2008

Thanks for all threads you guys.

I've been in running Tees design for a couple years and I'd love to tell you one more thing I've learned from my experience.

" Always do the design one for to show what you are and what's your theme (90% of all your tees)
and one for to make money (10%) [what people want; V-neck, black tees, yellow tees, .etc. for the example ] "

HoustonPrideWear · November 19th, 2008

Great idea about the pen tablet. You can also go to Istockphoto and purchase different design components that you can modify yourself if you have Adobe Photoshop or AI.

INKSCREENS · November 27th, 2008

1. I just wanted to share this site for those who are just starting out and aren't so great with color schemes. This site should help pick your the colors for your designs.

COLOURlovers :: Color Forums

2. I'm not quite sure if this has been mentioned before, but if you are looking for a specific quality, fit, feel, and prices on your blank garments, feel free to request samples from your printer or vendor. Of course you will probably need to pay for them, but at least you can compare them for yourselves instead of asking just for recommendations.

3. If you are going to make an online catalog, a lookbook, or anything else that will showcase your clothing, take the time to do it right. There is nothing worse then to see all the effort put into a clothing line, but their final presentation is horrifying as if the photos were taken with a cell phone camera. If you can't afford a professional photographer, try searching for a photographer who might barter for some free shirts, or someone looking for portfolio work. If not, you can always ask a designer to photoshop them on a model/blank t-shirt.

4. I don't think pricing has been brought up so here goes. Although the retail price of your garment is soley up to you, there is a general rule you should follow. If you decide that your retail price will be $20, your wholesale price may be $10. Basically your retail price is 2x your wholesale price.

5. Don't price your apparel too cheap. Customers love low prices, but this is where psychology comes into play. Tshirt prices below $10 may be perceived as a cheap quality tshirt that will rip with a few washes. $20-25 tshirts is a good median, not too high, not too low for most clothing brands and the customer will feel as if they are paying for a decent quality tshirt. $20 is enough to cover your costs, and make a profit (of course this is all relative, but generally speaking).
Tshirts costing $35 and above, should be for clothing brands who are playing in the higher class sector. There is a growing audience for $35 tshirts, so don't be shy! If you believe your brand is worthy of $35 tshirts, then your customers will probably pay for it.

6. Research a bit about preparing your artwork for your printer. I just saw a video from Linty Fresh about preparing artwork which may be helpful to you guys: The LF Blog. He also has a good point where he says that your printer will be more willing to work with you if you save them a lot of the headachs and take some easy steps before approaching your printer. Knowing the process of the printing method you choose will also help you design for your print method.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving holiday break! I sure did!

Katie Taylor · November 29th, 2008

I agree, everyone who is starting a clothing line, brand, or an artist needs an official Pantone book, Coated & Uncoated. PMS Colors are always the same so your communication with your printer will be clear.

UpNorthOutfitter · November 29th, 2008

Thanks for the helpful information!!

dltshirtsco. · November 30th, 2008

wow this thread is helpfull. Im just starting out and have lots of questions. More about the legal aspect of things. So i make a business name, but should one incorporate the business or just make it an LLC? I want to stay away from being a sole proprietorship, but im going to be the only one working on this for a while. I may be selling them to retailers or just directly to customers via the internet.

So wat is the best for a small one person company, i am planing on owning all my equipment, and putting my own money into it. Doing the designing myself, the printing, and the marketing. A big job? is it to much to jump into at first?

thanks, from the young entrepreneur

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