Start Your Custom Shirt Business Fast!
Starting a custom t-shirt business can be fast and simple and you don't need much money to get it started!
Step 1 Find a Heat Press
The biggest potential expense is a heat press. You can start with a Cricut Easy Press or even a basic heat press off of Amazon. Don't worry about buying the most expensive one to start with, just get something that fits in your budget. If a 16x20 heat press is within your budget, it is a the perfect size for about 98% of your projects! Click here is a general search on Amazon for Heat Presses.
If you don't have the money to purchase a heat press right away, consider using our press on demand service. This will help to generate revenue, awareness of your service and even prove to you this is a valid business model. Then reinvest your initial profits into a heat press.
The other option is look around your home and gather the things you no longer use. Have a garage sale! You might be surprised at how much "money" is hanging around your house and will help you get your business off the ground!
When you are ready to upgrade your heat press, we recommend HeatPress Nation. We have purchased several heat presses from them and they always provide excellent tech support.
Step 2 Define Your Audience
Start with your own social media connections, local businesses you frequent, groups or organizations that you and your family are a part of like Church, organized sports, Clubs, etc.
You can increase your profits faster by thinking of different groups of people that will need shirts instead of just individuals. Selling individual shirts is fun but think about making a dozen or more shirts for the moms of a local high school football team. Not only will this be a nice boost of revenue in one sale but you were also able to provide your service to a larger group of people that didn't know you before.
Step 3 Share Your New Service with Everyone
Let everyone know that you can provide them with custom shirts! It's easiest to focus on groups like your local mechanic shop that needs tshirts for their crew, a friend that is organizing a family trip or reunion, the moms sitting in the bleachers watching their kids play sports and more. Once you start consciously looking for opportunities around you, you'll be amazed and excited at the possibilities!
You can even use the Ready to Press design transfers on our website to host a presale and collect orders from your connections. Feel free to scrape the generic watermark images off of our website and share them on social media to generate interest.
Think of holidays and celebrations that are coming up that you know your friends and family will be excited to celebrate. These people can also help you launch your business by providing you with reviews and photos of themselves wearing the shirts so you can continue to share their experiences on social media and the cycle just continues!
Step 4 Order Blank Tshirts and DTF Transfers
Hopefully, this is where we'll come in. 😊 We pride ourselves on delivering high quality DTF transfers and excellent customer service. When you partner with We Print U Press, you are not entering into this adventure alone. We are here to help! Not only with transfers and blanks but with new blog articles and live videos that will provide you with tips and tricks to help you be successful!
Our team can help you learn how to build gang sheets when you need custom transfers with your customers logos or designs. We can also help improve art by converting logos to vector images when your client doesn't have print ready files.
Step 5 Join our Facebook Group and ask questions!
You are not alone! We have over 10,000 members in our Facebook group. Everyone is at a different stage in this journey. Some are just getting started and others are long term veterans. We are all excited to help when the need arises. Just post your question and it will be approved for the group to respond. (Unfortunately, we've had spammers and scammers try to post things in the group to take advantage, so we now have to review posts before allowing them to go live.)
Step 6 Do you want to Create Your Own Custom Designs?
If you want to try your hand at creating your own custom artwork, we have a free Canva Basics Training for Shirt Makers available here.
This is not a required step because there are so many resources out there. So if you aren't feeling artistic, don't let that keep you from getting started!
If you are excited and want to start use the code STARTER20 at checkout to save 20% off our Ready to Press design transfers and gang sheets. Think of events and holidays that are coming up in the next 4-8 weeks. Search our Ready to Press design transfers for designs that will fit these upcoming events and holidays to get started! Shop Now
