Are you a graphic designer or entrepreneur with a good graphic designer, and want to use that talent to incorporate into an awesome T Shirt business?  Designing a t-shirt is much like painting on a blank canvas or drawing on a fresh sheet of paper.   For the most part you have the freedom to do what you’d like.  But simply putting graphics on a shirt does not mean you have a solid Business plan.  Here are some tips that might help new entrepreneurs.

Plan your business

Thinking about and having a solid plan should be your first step prior to launching your business.  Don't jump on your inspirations too fast.  Let your ideas soak in.  There are tons of shirt businesses out there.  Think of a good name, good Brand, good designs, creating a fancy, good performing website, and a niche or niches that if you were the customer, would want to buy.

Think of a good brand

Your brand is a reflection of your business and the products you create.  Think hard about your logo and a catchy name for your business.  Give it some meaning, something others will remember.

Set your brand apart from the rest.  Whether it be your graphics or the high quality material or printing in your shirts, give your products traits that set you apart and give you something to brag about.

Your website should be as awesome as your designs

Choose a good web designer and ensure that your host is optimized in performance and security.  An online store should be easy to use, secure, emphasize your products, and make things easy to find.  Categorize your genres and display your most popular items.  Performance-wise, images should load quickly, and checkout should be seamless.  No one likes a website with bugs or one that might hang on checkout.  Something as simple but annoying as that can deter any potential customers.

Information about your company, a return policy, and contact information, are all important for building trust with your customer and giving your business some additional credibility.

Quality

Quality in your work and in your t shirts is important for gaining return customers.  If you deliver a great product with nice packaging, it can help with gaining regular customers.

Good packaging can also make an item appear to be worth more.  Find nicely fitting shirts and a good t shirt printer that can print your graphics to last through many washes.

Offer other products besides t shirts

You might want to supplement your product line with other accessories or printable items.  Graphics can work well on other mediums as they do t shirts.  For example, pillows, stickers, posters, etc.  Experiment and see what your customers gravitate to.

Good Pricing

As with any product, a competitively or low priced product is important for customers.  If you are new to the t shirt business and have not yet built a brand for yourself, nor have an audience, you might consider specials for your products, like free shipping or buy 2 get 1 free.  Deals and promotions can be attractive for upselling and getting new or repeat business.

Focus on what works

Focus on your strengths and what tends to be popular in your business.  For example, if your niche is in movie graphics and movie t shirts, focus on more of those designs.  Think of clever movie phrases and slogans.  If these phrase require permission, find out what it would take to license them.

Learn from mistakes

You don't really know how your brand is going to do.  Analyze performance and tweak your operations to focus on what is effective.  Gravitate to what works in social media and what your audience wants to see and likes.

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