How To Start a T-shirt Company Without Spending a Dime
In the age of declining attention spans and rising consumer choice, businesses that can offer flexibility, customization, and options will be the ones to thrive and cultivate brand loyalty. Yet how can a small e-commerce operation compete with the behemoths of retail that exist today?
The answer is print on demand services!
The benefits of using print on demand services are numerous. Integrity is maintained to your brand with effortless ease and through a fully automated, turnkey solution. The upfront risk is non-existent, as there are no upfront costs, membership fees, or order minimums required and with a free Storenvy store, there is literally no monetary risks involved when starting. Payment is automatically processed, and only when your customers place an order in real time. Print on demand services employ direct-to-garment (DTG) printing, a solution that increases creative possibilities by removing any color restrictions and allowing for print on both lights and darks.
A full spectrum of high quality garments are available, so you can continue to offer brands such as American Apparel, Next Level and other quality brands that your customers expect. The possibilities for product customization are flexible, more in depth and subject to fewer limitations. As mentioned, print on demand also offers a great alternative revenue stream and branding tool for companies not currently offering t-shirts or branded merchandise. Now startups, film festivals, non-profits, or artists can have people wear their message and propagate it publicly, with no added cost. The headaches and time previously spent on managing inventory, shipping, and logistics is no more! This allows for more time to do what you do best : creating great designs and offering great products.
This also relates to the singular objection some existing t-shirt providers face with print on demand, as a fully inclusive turnkey solution, which is marginally higher cost. But what about opportunity cost? A reasonable conjecture would assume that people who are in the t-shirt business did not get into it to make trips to the post office. No, people in this business got into it to share their creativity and design acumen with the world! Put simply, print on demand services give you back more time to engage with your passion, which to a designer is worth far more than saving a few dollars by managing inventory and shipping themselves. Print on demand services offer you the ability to instead focus on your core competencies, competitive advantage, creative output and most importantly, building your brand. The ability to put your energy into creating something lasting, something that truly represents you and your vision, is priceless.
The Process
As a store owner you simply start by selecting which types of garments you would like to offer and then upload your artwork to be printed. A customer then orders from your site as they normally would, which is processed automatically and seamlessly through your storefront, which is connected to a print on demand service such as Print Aura. The print on demand service then produces and ships your goods (usually within 3-7 business days), retaining the level of quality that you, and more importantly your customers, expect. Your customers will be happy, and since everything is branded as your company, there will be no indication that the order was fulfilled by a third party. (While this is mostly true for typical print on demand companies I can only guarantee this through Print Aura.)
If you are looking for a way to get your brand started or offer an expanded product range, print on demand services might just be the way to go! If you are currently a Storenvy store owner start by getting the Print Aura app installed here.
