Silk-screening and the T-Shirt business follow-up
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On the entrepreneurship forum, a new reader has asked some interesting questions that deserve an article of its own. Even if you're not interesting in the custom T-shirt or silk-screening business, the questions can be important to any new entrepreneurship.
The reader, Mahyar, asks about a book he found on Amazon: How to Print T-Shirts for Fun and Profit!
I checked the book out with some of my local silk-screen business friends, and was surprised to find that almost all of them have the book. It seems that it covers many of the important questions regarding the T-shirt market. I am usually not a fan of most "how-to" business books (they don't get deep enough) but this one seems like a winner. I'll be getting a copy today to read and review.
Mahyar also asks about the fine line of copyright protection. In the past, I've "acquired" headlines from major newspapers to make fun of society -- the Janet Jackson boob garbage was a big seller. Yet one has to be very careful what one borrows from the works of others before printing. Copyright is a very complicated set of laws that makes it very hard to use ideas that others have created. It is sometimes OK to make a parody, but it is definitely not OK to lift logos, photos or anything considered artistic. When I made funny knock-offs, they were always parodized enough to be free from copyright protection, but I was always careful. Don't make bootlegs, make fun of common items.
Mahyar asked about how to promote or sell your creations -- when I started printing T-Shirts, I didn't have access to eBay or the web, I had to go out and do it. I still think this is the best way to sell your work, especially if you have a decent group of friends ("real" social networking). I was able to sell shirts in so many groups that it was almost always profitable for me. I sold shirts at small local concerts (at some you can rent a table for under US$50 per night). I sold shirts at little league baseball games (slogans for parents, slogans for friends of players). I sold shirts at community fairs and carnivals, and I sold shirts even out of the trunk of my car at the local car club meets. If you get out enough, you'll find a market wherever people get together.
For many new T-shirt makers, they can also use the internet to create a market, but it is a very competitive market. Differentiating yourself from the millions of other sites and sellers is very hard, and I'm not sure if I personally would get involved there until I had experience and success in the local market. How a slogan or company gets popular is very difficult to understand and track -- sometimes you just get lucky. That luck can come from working hard at learning the basics of graphic design and social trends. Both come from trial and error.
If you're not good a graphics design, this is one place where you can learn a lot by mimicing and even directly copying a famous logo or ten. Pick up a simple vector graphics program (Corel Draw is very commonly used) and learn to make an exact duplicate of any logo you like. Don't use it for anything other than learning, but during the process you'll find the harmony of a good logo or design. Even the best selling plain slogan T-shirts at Target have a unique look and feel -- size of fonts, colors of cloth and inks, drop shadows, etc.
Even better, look into hiring a friend to do graphics for you. For most student graphic designers, you can help them get their portfolio built while not spending a huge portion of your budget. The idea of teaming up to design and sell together sounds tempting, but I'm not a fan of partnerships -- they can quickly fall apart. I also find that graphic designers have their own style that is quite visible, and it makes sense to change it up once in a while, especially if you build a following.
In the short run, just learning to silk screen is the best first step -- even before you have a business plan. See if it is something you like to do. Make a few dozen shirts, sell them or give them away to friends, and see how it works out. Some people have the talent (and patience), some don't. For every 1 success I know 10 failures because they didn't want to invest the time and patience to building a market. Over time, a popular local market can turn into a very lucrative national one. A look at any punk or trendy T-shirt seller online will find you dozens of companies and logos that started in the basement (or living room) just a few years ago.
Discuss this article at the entrepreneurship forum.
The reader, Mahyar, asks about a book he found on Amazon: How to Print T-Shirts for Fun and Profit!
I checked the book out with some of my local silk-screen business friends, and was surprised to find that almost all of them have the book. It seems that it covers many of the important questions regarding the T-shirt market. I am usually not a fan of most "how-to" business books (they don't get deep enough) but this one seems like a winner. I'll be getting a copy today to read and review.
Mahyar also asks about the fine line of copyright protection. In the past, I've "acquired" headlines from major newspapers to make fun of society -- the Janet Jackson boob garbage was a big seller. Yet one has to be very careful what one borrows from the works of others before printing. Copyright is a very complicated set of laws that makes it very hard to use ideas that others have created. It is sometimes OK to make a parody, but it is definitely not OK to lift logos, photos or anything considered artistic. When I made funny knock-offs, they were always parodized enough to be free from copyright protection, but I was always careful. Don't make bootlegs, make fun of common items.
Mahyar asked about how to promote or sell your creations -- when I started printing T-Shirts, I didn't have access to eBay or the web, I had to go out and do it. I still think this is the best way to sell your work, especially if you have a decent group of friends ("real" social networking). I was able to sell shirts in so many groups that it was almost always profitable for me. I sold shirts at small local concerts (at some you can rent a table for under US$50 per night). I sold shirts at little league baseball games (slogans for parents, slogans for friends of players). I sold shirts at community fairs and carnivals, and I sold shirts even out of the trunk of my car at the local car club meets. If you get out enough, you'll find a market wherever people get together.
For many new T-shirt makers, they can also use the internet to create a market, but it is a very competitive market. Differentiating yourself from the millions of other sites and sellers is very hard, and I'm not sure if I personally would get involved there until I had experience and success in the local market. How a slogan or company gets popular is very difficult to understand and track -- sometimes you just get lucky. That luck can come from working hard at learning the basics of graphic design and social trends. Both come from trial and error.
If you're not good a graphics design, this is one place where you can learn a lot by mimicing and even directly copying a famous logo or ten. Pick up a simple vector graphics program (Corel Draw is very commonly used) and learn to make an exact duplicate of any logo you like. Don't use it for anything other than learning, but during the process you'll find the harmony of a good logo or design. Even the best selling plain slogan T-shirts at Target have a unique look and feel -- size of fonts, colors of cloth and inks, drop shadows, etc.
Even better, look into hiring a friend to do graphics for you. For most student graphic designers, you can help them get their portfolio built while not spending a huge portion of your budget. The idea of teaming up to design and sell together sounds tempting, but I'm not a fan of partnerships -- they can quickly fall apart. I also find that graphic designers have their own style that is quite visible, and it makes sense to change it up once in a while, especially if you build a following.
In the short run, just learning to silk screen is the best first step -- even before you have a business plan. See if it is something you like to do. Make a few dozen shirts, sell them or give them away to friends, and see how it works out. Some people have the talent (and patience), some don't. For every 1 success I know 10 failures because they didn't want to invest the time and patience to building a market. Over time, a popular local market can turn into a very lucrative national one. A look at any punk or trendy T-shirt seller online will find you dozens of companies and logos that started in the basement (or living room) just a few years ago.
Discuss this article at the entrepreneurship forum.
posted by A. B. Dada at 2:34 PM
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