Owning a business isn’t a pipe’s dream anymore. If you’ve always wanted to be your boss, set your work hours, and have more time, think about owning and starting a business. And one of the most popular are t-shirt-making services. You’ll need to put in the time and effort when you build that business from the ground up. But once systems are in place, and you find a way to automate your processes or improve them to be more efficient, you’ll have greater flexibility in your work. Here are five things you need before you get started.
Choose a Heat Press Machine
You need a printing machine before you can start churning out shirts for your business. Even if you use a rental printing machine right now to save on capital, it’s often better to invest in machines for your project in the long run. With heat presses that transfer designs with ease, you are a few steps closer to achieving your dream of making a living off your art.
Look for Durability
When you shop for a printing machine, find one that’s durable. Read the reviews. How long has the model been on the market? What are its features? Which of those features can provide the support you need? If you go over reviews and plenty of the feedback focus on how efficient, convenient, and helpful the printing machine is, you’re on the right track.
Prepare the Papers
Stock up on paper supplies before you start heat printing. The last thing you want is to stop with print jobs because you’ve run out of paper. Don’t let that happen. In addition, lack of supplies could break the momentum and discourage buyers. By the time you’ve stocked up on supplies and are ready to interact with your customers again, they may have already moved on.
Get a Vinyl Cutter
Make your processes more efficient. With a vinyl cutter, you can improve your speed in fulfilling orders every day. Start looking for options by reading reviews. Do those cutters have a warranty? How is the customer support? If you run into any problems with the cutter, can you expect assistance from the vendor? Do your homework to ensure you won’t buy the wrong equipment for your project needs.
Research the Competition
With more and more online businesses using heat transfer in their products, it won’t hurt to check which cutters and other equipment they use. Find out what gives them the edge over other companies—including yours—on the market. What are they doing right? Determine that so you can apply the same idea or elements to your business.
Buy Rolls of Color
You must have supplies of standard stock rolls. You’ll use them a lot, so be sure to order more than enough. It’s easy to get lost with such a wide range of style and color options. This is where your customer data comes in. If more of your buyers choose white shirts or navy ones, you’ll want to increase the rolls for those colors.
