| You've heard that selling T-shirts is a huge industry, | | | | as an experiment, the focus is more on your feeling |
| and you happen to have a little garage space, so you | | | | out the industry, rather than making a profit. |
| think to yourself, “Hey, I can make T-shirts in my | | | | Doing small experiments is a great way to gain a lot of |
| spare time and make a few extra bucks, too.” So | | | | insight without taking big risks. You can run |
| the next thing you do is scour the internet looking for | | | | experiments to find out many aspects of a business |
| information about custom T-shirts. All you need is | | | | proposition: Do you like the industry?, Can you sell the |
| some equipment, right? Hang on a second. | | | | product?, Can you make a plan that will bring in |
| There are a variety of ways you can go if you want | | | | profits?, and Are your ideas about production and |
| to make custom T-shirts. There's digital printers, plot | | | | logistics out of wack? You also can find out other |
| cutters, and even custom transfers, but screen printing | | | | subtleties like Are there kinds of supplies or equipment |
| is the best way to produce a lot of T-shirts at a very | | | | to avoid like the plague? and What are some |
| low cost per unit. All the other methods are good for | | | | not-so-obvious aspects of the industry that nobody is |
| short runs, but when it comes down to brass tacks, | | | | telling you? |
| their cost of consumables is staggering compared to | | | | Clearly, some industries are a lot more expensive to |
| the few cents in ink a screen print takes. But there's | | | | enter than others. As businesses go, custom T-shirts is |
| more to it than that: you have to consider make-ready, | | | | a very low-start-up-cost industry to enter, as most |
| floor space, and how time-consuming it is to custom | | | | beginning screen print shops can get away with |
| imprint T-shirts. | | | | spending less than $12,000 US to get good entry-level |
| The real truth about the T-shirt industry is that while | | | | equipment. Even going digital and using either direct to |
| you can make a lot of money, there are a huge | | | | garment printing or plot cutters will still keep you under |
| number of potholes along the way. Every business | | | | the $20,000 mark. |
| has them. All businesses even share common Do's | | | | However, dropping even just $12,000 on a |
| and Don'ts. For example: unless you are Walmart, don't | | | | garage-sized screen print shop is hardly a small |
| try to compete by being the cheapest guy on the | | | | experiment. If you want to do a T-shirt run test, you |
| block. Instead, offer something the other guy can't or | | | | might try something much smaller. You can pick up |
| won't deliver. | | | | supplies online or in a local art supply store, and for less |
| So how do you figure out the potholes of an industry | | | | than $300 you can spend the weekend rolling up your |
| without losing a ton of money in the process? There | | | | shirt sleeves. You may not be able to sell what your |
| are a few ways: hit the books; seek competent | | | | experiments produce, but if you are handy you just |
| advice; and also you could do a small experiment. You | | | | might. You may be able to run an experiment, have |
| can dip your toe in the water just a little to see how it | | | | fun doing it, learn a lot before leaping in, and if you don't |
| feels. For example, you could try to sell some T-shirts | | | | have a problem selling individual T-shirts for $15 to $20 |
| and contract out the job. You could also do a small | | | | each, you might even turn a small profit. |
| T-shirt project from the ground up. Whatever you do | | | | |
