I enjoy answering questions from readers so today I’m going to answer a question that several people have asked me over these last few months…“How do you start a t-shirt business?”
Since I quit corporate America many moons ago to work for myself, I have primarily earned income in 4 ways:
1. I have made multiple six-figures from blogging.
2. I have made multiple five-figures with a service business (developing websites).
3. I have made multiple five-figures with a t-shirt business that started off as a whim to teach my kids about entrepreneurship.
3. I have also worked for others from home (including as a “Parenting Expert” for Disney’s ParentZone for three years and as a camp administrator for my church for a couple of years.)
The t-shirt business has been easy and fun! In this post, I’m going to focus on that income stream (#3). The truth is that there are many different ways to start a tee business. I’m of the “do and then teach” mindset so I’ll share you how to start a print-on demand t-shirt business like I did.
1. Choose a Printing Company
Merch by Amazon
I chose the print on demand route because it’s simple. I specifically chose the Merch by Amazon program to start because it is linked with Amazon. I don’t have to think about taxes for each sale, returns and the like. I simply research, design and upload my pieces. When they sell, Merch prints and ships the items and I get a royalty based on how much I charged above their base prices.
Since I joined the program a couple of years ago, they have added a variety of products in addition to t-shirts (i.e. v-necks, hoodies and tank tops) that I can also add designs to with a simple click.
While there are many “pros” to Merch, there are also certain “cons”. For instance, Merch shut down its printing facilities due to coronavirus issues for a couple of months during my best-selling seasons (Mother’s Day and Father’s Day) this year. That hurt! Another thing that is not great is that there are so many copycats on Merch. I don’t stress it that much though because ideas are plentiful.
Ultimately (for me) the Amazon Merch advantage is that they already have shoppers on their site. With other sites, you will have to drive your own traffic. If you already have your own audience though, that shouldn’t be super difficult.
Other Royalty Print on Demand Companies
Merch isn’t the only print on demand company around. Other royalty-paying sites include the following:
-CafePress
-TeeSpring
-Zazzle
-Teepublic
-Spreadshirt
-Threadless
-Redbubble *I really like this site and will probably start designing some face masks on it since Merch doesn’t offer them.
-Gearbubble *I like this site because they sell mugs and offer higher royalties.
-ViralStyle
-Sunfrog
-CustomizedGirl
-Society6
Dropshipping From Your Own Website
If you want to establish a brand and sell primarily from your own website, Printful and Printify are the top POD dropshipping options. Steve Chou, a brilliant e-commerce trainer, has a helpful post on his blog My Wife Quit Her Job about this – 10 Best Print On Demand Companies For Custom Products In 2020.
2. Come Up With Design Ideas
There is something to be said for the idea that “the riches are in the niches”. If you have one particular niche that you are passionate about, immerse yourself in it and create for that audience.
That’s not me though. I’m a generalist so I get inspiration from all over the place. I’m going to share a couple of my sellers that have each made thousands of dollars and share how I came up with the ideas. You’ll be surprised at how simple they are!
I made this design last year, but hundreds of people bought it this year for Valentine’s Day.
As you can see, ideas are plentiful. If coming up with ideas is a challenge for you though, I have a list of 50 Places To Find T-Shirt Design Ideas. It’s only $4.97 so email me (kcoleman@mominthecity.com) if you’re interested.
3. Check for Trademarks!
I read many posts and listened to many teachings about t-shirt training when I started out. (I still do!) Most of them failed to stress the importance of checking trademarks before you sell a design. I was so clueless the first year or so. I’m just lucky that I didn’t get sued! I’m going to show you how to do a basic trademark check.
Search the USPTO.gov trademark database (TESS). Here’s a shortcut to check if a word or phrase is trademarked for t-shirts. Only concern yourself with the LIVE trademarks. The DEAD ones don’t matter. (The t-shirt category is 025.)
SAFE
DON’T USE
**Note that even if your proposed word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination thereof, passes a trademark search, you aren’t in the clear. You can’t legally use these things if they are already well-known due to a movie, television show, etc. either. (I literally took down all of my direct “Black Panther” references when I learned this!)
You will see people violating other folks’ trademarks often. Don’t be those people.
4. Create Your Graphic
Once again, there are many ways to do this depending on your design skills. Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator are used by design professionals. Once again, that’s not me. I do most of my designs using the Over app on my phone.
One thing that I want to note (that many tee course teachers forget to emphasize) is make sure that the fonts and images that you use in your design are for commercial use.
One thing that really bugs me is that some of the best t-shirt teachers suggest that people use WordSwag to create their designs. Be careful though because many of the WordSwag fonts are not licensed for commercial use!
5. Upload Your Design
Each print on demand site has its own upload instructions. Make sure that your image is designed the right size and follow your chosen site’s directions.
Etc.
There is much more that I could write about this topic but these are the basics. Other things to consider include your product descriptions and how you are going to market your tees.
Regarding the latter, I would say test and land on what works best for you. SEO, social media, marketplace (Amazon’s AMS or Etsy) ads, Facebooks ads and influencer marketing are some of the more popular options.
I know creators who are making so much profit with Facebook ads and by hiring Instagram influencers. For me, SEO from blog articles, Pinterest and Amazon’s AMS ads work the best.
Anyway, I hope that this brief overview has been helpful. As always, if you have any specific questions, please let me know. With this current economy, we moms definitely need multiple streams of income!
Special Offer
Since I have had my t-shirt business for 3 years now (time flies), I’m offering a 30+ Merch Resources To Help You Easily Grow Your T-Shirt Business pdf for just $2.97. It includes helpful Facebook groups, websites, newsletters, tools and more. While it is specific to Merch by Amazon, many of the principles are helpful for other print on demand companies that pay royalties. If you’re interested, simply email me (kcoleman@mominthecity.com).