How to Start a Designer T-shirt Business
If you have ever had a great idea for a T-shirt design and thought about starting your own T-shirt business, you are in good company. As far as fashion garments are concerned, T-shirts are some of the simplest items to design and create. However, the global market is highly saturated with T-shirt sales from both online vendors and boutique merchants. Starting a T-shirt company is relatively simple in theory, but challenging in practice. In order to succeed in this business, you will need more than a mediocre T-shirt design -- you will need business savvy and a strong brand that stands out from the crowd.
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Things You'll Need
- T-shirt designs
- Blank T-shirts
- Printing service or screen printing equipment
Instructions
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Create a unique design. Anyone can buy a plain T-shirt at the Gap or American Apparel. In order to be successful in the T-shirt business, you must stand out from the hundreds of thousands of other T-shirt companies out there. Research trends and come up with a truly unique idea or design. Sketch your idea out on paper or create a design using a computer and image creation software such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator.
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Have your design transposed onto T-shirts. There are three common ways by which this task can be completed. You can purchase blank T-shirts from a garment wholesaler such as American Apparel and have a screen printer transpose your design. This option requires more start-up capital than the options listed below, but has the most profit potential from a long term standpoint.
You can also purchase T-shirts from a garment wholesaler or craft supply store and screen print them yourself. This option requires purchasing screen printing equipment such as inks, dip tanks, drying racks and heat presses. This option is great if you are producing small runs of T-shirts with differing designs because you will reduce your printing costs. The downside occurs if and when your business begins to expand. If you are unable to keep up with demand, your business cannot grow.
Or you can use a T-shirt creation and sales website such as Cafepress.com. These all-in-one sites allow you to upload your design and sell T-shirts through an e-commerce site. The company takes a portion of the proceeds when you make a sale. You do not need to purchase blank T-shirts or find a printer as these services are provided for you. This option is the most convenient and requires no starting capital. The downside is that your profit potential is not as great compared to the first two options. Additionally, you are limited by the website's policies and e-commerce options.
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Obtain a storage facility. Unless you are using an all-in-one e-commerce site, you will need a location to store your printed T-shirts until they are ready to be shipped or sold. If you plan to sell from a retail location, make sure that it has adequate storage space. If you will be selling online, a room in your home or garage may be sufficient, depending upon the size of your operation. However, as your business grows, so will the amount of inventory that you will need to store.
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Decide how you will sell your T-shirts. It is not necessary to have a physical store front. Many T-shirt companies are selling their wares through e-commerce websites or at craft and trunk shows. Choose whichever sales platforms are compatible with your budget.
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Market and advertise your brand. T-shirt sales are subject to the whimsy of constantly changing fads and trends. If you want to run a successful T-shirt company, you must build a strong brand image and make efforts to increase your brand's visibility. There is no simple way to accomplish this task and volumes have been written on branding procedures and theory.
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