Starting a t-shirt business could be a great way to merge creativity and retail sales.

Just about everyone has a favorite t-shirt.  Business options that target a t-shirt niche can expand very quickly with the right marketing, materials and design.

The t-shirt business has really opened up in recent years.  People buying t-shirts in record numbers – heck, they're even buying t-shirts for their dogs.  But, Internet has made it possible for just about anyone to make their ideas come to life and walk out the virtual door in 100% cotton. 

Letting others do the work for you
One of the biggest innovations in the t-shirt business is the service provided by companies such as CafePress.  All you need to provide is the design.  Such online companies will print the t-shirt for you on-demand whenever one is ordered.

The advantage to this is that your t-shirt business start-up cost is essentially nothing when using an online service.  You don't even have to make a web site of your own to conduct business online.  Most sites provide web-space templates that you can modify as your virtual store.

Be careful to read the agreements very carefully.  Some services will actually retain the rights to your artwork in exchange for using their service.  If you do have a break-away hit, this can end in heartache.

Sending the shirts out for printing
Another option is to use a professional screen-printer to do the work for you.  This is an especially good option if you'll be doing single color line drawings or words on a variety of shirt colors  Full-color printing with a screen-printer is very expensive and is usually only suitable for high-end concerts where people won't mind paying upwards of $50 per shirt.  This simply isn't an option for the vast majority of startup t-shirt businesses.

Apparel print shops are available in most urban areas.  You may also order the shirts online and have them shipped to you for on-site retail sales.  Many t-shirt business models will involve having the merchandise drop-shipped directly to the customer.  Often, the print shop will include your own tag or label, for a small fee.

Heat transfer and Flock lettering
A viable niche market for a t-shirt business is the application of full-color photographs to t-shirts and other clothing or apparel items.  Like the low-end consumer kits that come with some printers, these are printed on a normal ink-jet printer that is outfitted with water-resistant inks that hold up to washing. 

Unlike home kits, you cannot get professional results from using an iron for the transfer – you'll need a professional heat-press for your t-shirt business.  You'll also want to make sure you have suitable equipment for trimming around the designs, especially with dark colored shirts.  Otherwise, the results won't look very professional.

Flock lettering is the trade-name of the velvety heat-transferred numbers and letters that have graced recreation-league t-shirts since the 1970s.  As long as they're applied correctly and perfectly straight, these look very professional without a lot of equipment or training.

Standing out in the crowd
Because it's become so easy to start up a t-shirt business in the 'aughts, the competition (especially online) is extremely fierce.  So much so that very few people are able to make a full-time living with either t-shirt design or sales.

There are several things a new t-shirt business can do to make success more likely.  For instance, it's always a good idea to make a real effort to get hip to what your target demographic really is wearing these days – don't guess. 

Furthermore, you're far more likely to make a quick impact by focusing on a very particular market segment.  It's not enough to market your t-shirt to “young people.”  You'd do better to focus on a very specific niche market such as “young people with motor scooters” or “Irish-American skateboarders.”

You can come up with designs yourself or partner with local artists to share the profits.  Even if you don't have any talent with design software or drawing, you can make designs that feature words only.

Marketing for success
Though competitive, many people are able to make a nice side-income from t-shirt business opportunities.  Many who do so eventually branch out into other items of apparel.  For instance, if you've invested in screen-printing equipment, you can pay the extra for large-format equipment that allows you to make banners and signs. 

The only thing holding you back is a marketing effort.  All t-shirt business models should include quite a few free-samples and plenty of innovative give-aways to get people to pay attention.  Don't be afraid to hit the pavements and get your t-shirts on as many backs as possible.  Never be afraid to hand out your cards.

See Also: How to Start A Business : Business Idea of The Day

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