How To Start A T Shirt Business

My primary focus in the T Shirt Design business has been on the online side of things as this is where I spend most of my energy and time. I use CafePress as my print on demand company, as anyone who has read previous posts knows, but there is another side of the business that I feel gets left out. Fifteen years ago if you were starting a t shirt business you were opening a brick and mortar store front or working out of your garage and soliciting clients thru traditional advertising methods. Perhaps you printed up a dozen shirts specific to different companies or organizations and mailed it to them hoping to land a bulk order from one of them. Inserts in mid-week advertising flyers, small newspaper ads, radio, and many other forms of old school communication were necessary to get the word out that you were there. With the amazing ease of print on demand publishing anyone with $60 and a few design ideas can break in to the online side of things. This probably isn't the best route to go, however, for the bulk order from a local group. If you are using CafePress or any of the other POD's I'm sure your focus is strictly on search engine optimization techniques, ad words, and other forms of online traffic generation. So what does the business owner who wants to have a real world shop do these days?

I'm happy to say that the report of the death of small t shirt shop has been greatly exaggerated. Believe it or not there is still plenty of money to be made locally, or in printing your own t shirts. The online POD method has it's flaws.

1. Pricing - It's nearly impossible for a CafePress shopkeeper to compete with someone printing shirts in their garage, the cost comparison is too far off. CafePress base price currently for a standard white t shirt is $14.99, add a few bucks profit and you are at $17.99, well above what a local creation can sell for.

2. Local Orders - You are unlikely to get a local church group to order 20 shirts from your CafePress store and pay over $360. But if you are making them yourself with a cost outlay of around $6, and you sell them for $12 it costs them $240, and maybe you give them a break for the larger order.

3. Personable - Some people still don't buy online or do business online. There are many people out there who want that personal connection when they are making a purchase. It wouldn't take you much time at all to get a shirt made that was a test shirt for a group to make sure it looks as they want it to, if you did that with an online POD you are talking more money and a waiting period for shipping.

My point is there is money to be made in the local market or even making the shirts yourself for online distribution. You can sell them for less money, but it will be more hassle taking care of payments, shipping, returns, etc.

In a previous post I discussed the heat press and ink jet printer transfers that you could use to make test designs. I feel this is a great option for people out there and with the costs of heat presses dropping you can get in to this for around $600, including the press, ready made transfers, and some blank ink jet transfers. This is a cost that you can easily recoup in a short amount of time with a few good orders. In my opinion the designer who is using the heat press at home method and POD online is covering a much broader market and opening themselves up for more chance of success.

So what is the best way to get started with your at home t shirt business? I have partnered with a young lady who has successfully traversed the waters you are thinking of swimming in and she arrived safely on the sandy beaches of accomplishment island. There is no reason to set out on a journey without a GPS or road map. Others have been there and found the way. Others have experienced the pitfalls and made the mistakes. It's worth quite a bit to have them share those experiences with you and guide you down the quick path to reaching your goals. I invite you to take a look at her information and put it to use. This Mega Pack E-Book she has put together from her own real world experiences is worth a bunch to you, but it will cost you less than an annual Premium Shop subscription on CafePress. Think of this as your road map to success in your new business. Let me know how you like it. Happy Designing!