You have a catalog of awesome designs. You’ve got plenty of great ideas. In your mind, you have a whole t-shirt business enterprise. But, where do you start? How do you make it happen? What do you do, or don’t do?
How do I start a t-shirt business?
Well, there is no need to fret. We have this one covered. When it comes to t-shirt printing, we’re kinda the pros. So, we’ve put together some comprehensive answers to the six most frequently asked questions on starting a successful t-shirt business.
1. How do I start my own t-shirt business?
This one is possibly the least cut and dry answer, so we thought we would jump straight in with it. There are three main ways that you can do this, and we have outlined those below. Remember you don’t have to pick one and stick solely to it. There are multiple shops, for example, which have both an online and offline store.
Offline
To set up an offline t-shirt business you need a few things. Once you have decided whether you intend to have a brick-and-mortar store or set up shop at a market or craft fair, you need to develop branding, make sure that people know where you will be and when. Finally, get your hands on enough of your stock in a variety of sizes to ensure you don’t run out.
An offline store is a limiting option, but it does have its benefits. When it comes to starting any kind of commercial business offline, there are some instant limitations that you will encounter, the main concerns being reach and location. You’re mostly limited to where your store is based, or at least where you can get to easily. The same goes for reach as well; you can print and drop flyers, etc. But again, there’s a limit to where the business is based.
Online
This method is similar to the offline method; however, rather than setting yourself up with a market stall or a store, you would create a website instead. You will still need to develop your branding and make sure that you get your name out there, and then stock up. Once everything is up and running, then you can do most of the day to day business from the comfort of your own home – at least in the early days.
Online retail gives you a much broader reach, as well as the ability to ship your product to more locations, anywhere your chosen delivery service will take your beautiful tees. It does stop the hands-on nature of the business, which means that people won’t be able to see and feel the item before purchase, so it’s important to make sure you accurately describe (and photograph, if possible) the products.
Drop-shipping
Drop-shipping is similar to the online model of starting your own t-shirt business. The main difference here is that there is no stock holding on your part. You would need to set up a storefront or website, develop your branding, and get yourself known just as you would with the online method; however, unlike the other two plans, there is no need to stock up here. The drop-shipper will send the product directly to your customer once the order has been placed.
Drop-shipping not only allows you to reach a broader audience than the offline version, but it takes some of the strain, especially financially, away from getting your company set-up and started. You don’t have to forecast sizing, you don’t have to fill your garage, kitchen, and every other inch of spare space with stock, and neither would you have to ship it out yourself.
2. Can you still make money selling t-shirts online?
To be honest, this all depends on what you have to offer. If you are offering the same products and designs that competitors offer in the same marketplace, especially if it’s at a similar or higher price point, then to be completely honest, it’s unlikely that you will make money doing so.
That being said, there is a huge market for t-shirt printing at the moment. More so than in previous years, people are using t-shirts as a way to express themselves, celebrate their fandoms, or spread a message. So if you have the right designs, then you can certainly make money selling your t-shirts online.
3. Is t-shirt printing profitable?
This is also a subjective question. As above, it does depend a lot on what you have to offer. It also depends on the t-shirt business model that you choose. If you’ve had to pay out for stock, it will take longer to replenish and start making a profit, whereas, with the drop-shipping model, you will start profiting quicker. If you have a physical store, then you will have overhead costs to take into consideration as well when working out what your profit is.
In all instances, it is entirely possible to build your own profitable t-shirt printing business empire. One of the main pieces of advice is to have a plan. It’s so easy to knock out a number of designs, upload them to a platform, and then do nothing; however, that’s not a method that will be profitable. You might get the odd sale here and there, but it certainly will not be something that you would consider a business.
4. What do I need to know to design t-shirts for my brand?
This is one very big, yet very simple question. The answer is your audience. It’s fine to create a t-shirt design that is full of shooting stars and planets, but if your target audience wants florals, then your business is not going to get very far.
Do some research. Don’t just research designs, but find out what color palettes are popular with your target audience. Think about where you are going to be promoting your t-shirt business. Think about your brand, your logo, your color scheme. Does the design fit? You want people to look at your t-shirts and immediately think of your business.
5. What is the resolution for t-shirt printing?
This will depend on who is printing your t-shirt. There are some guidelines and ballpark figures that you can aim for.
It has been said that three is a magic number, and the optimal print resolution follows that same trend. 300 dpi (dots per inch) is the golden ticket to t-shirt printing. This allows you to resize or alter your image without losing the quality.
You can usually print at a reasonable size with an image of around 150 dpi, but it won’t be as crisp an image, and you will be limited with the image’s maximum print size on the t-shirt. Some places can print as low as 72 dpi, but this will depend on the colors and size of both the image and the t-shirt.
6. How do you put a logo on a shirt?
There are a couple of different ways to do this, depending on how you want your logo to appear.
Breast-pocket logo
If you want a small breast-pocket style logo, then you will need to work out how big you want the logo to be. The Contrado design interface comes fully equipped with handy rulers, so you can see how big your logo will come out once printed. Upload your logo as an image, and position it where you want it located on the t-shirt. This is often easier to work out on the fitted style tees.
Main feature logo
If you intend for your logo to be the main design on your tee, then this is a very different story. You will want a much more enlarged logo, with a highly contrasting color scheme to that of the t-shirt, and you will also likely want it to be centered. Our design interface has a center button (located in the middle of the directional buttons) which will place your image precisely in the center of the t-shirt pattern.
Label Logo
If you want to make sure that your logo is on your t-shirt printing, but you don’t necessarily want it to be seen, then a label logo is a great solution. Almost all of our garments allow you to create your own custom label. This is a great way to provide a constant reminder to your customers where they got this great tee from without screaming it from the rooftops.
Create your own t-shirt business
If you have your plan, you know your audience, and you have the designs and want to get started with your very own t-shirt business, then you’re definitely in the right place. Check out the link below on how to become a Contrado seller and get your t-shirt business storefront set up. Alternatively, you can click here and start selling through Shopify as a drop-shipper.
