Post: #1

For a number of years I've thought about building my own clothing company. I have a logo in mind already, and I bought a site domain and wordpress template theme. Overall, I already have a good idea of how to build an e-commerce website from the ground up. Also, I have a few graphic designers in mind for making t-shirt designs.

The only things I really need to figure out now is distribution and screen printing. I first want to start out with 4 to 5 shirt designs at minimum with an inventory of 12 shirts per design. From there I would have to find a reasonable enough screen printer/embroiderer.

Does anyone have a good idea where to start to make my dream a reality? What are some good sites where I can find quality distributors who will complete my order? I've checked sites like ali-baba and most of them want a minimum order of 50-100 shirts.

I personally don't want to invest more than $1000 in initial capital. Do you know any websites that do quality screenprinting/embroidery for small orders like the ones I'm suggesting.

Post: #2

Ideally, I don't want to spend >$10 a shirt.

Post: #3

(08-20-2014 01:08 AM)numanist Wrote:  Ideally, I don't want to spend >$10 a shirt.

I work in action sports retail part time.

First you need to know tshirt companies are a dime a dozen. Secondly it might be hard to make a tee <$10. The average tee in our store is $20 minimim.

I would look for a local screen printer first before I search online. There are typical 2 types of tees used thick AAA/Gilden tees and the softer versions (aka premium tees)

Who is your target audience ? What kind of designs are we talking about?

I would start creating tees and start giving them out for free to popular people you know in your target audience. Instagram is GOLD when it comes to marketing your clothing along with a mobile based website.

Organic/guerrilla marketing is the way to go, unless the design is super catchy and amazing and a retail store picks the line up or does consignment.

Post: #4

Thanks for that bit of advice. I was just wondering now what I have to do to incorporate and trademark my business?

Post: #5

I started an apparel company last year. We are building the brand so it can expand beyond clothing into relevant products matching the brand image. I used Legalzoom to form the LLC. I can break down different costs if you want.

Just make sure you pick a niche that has a gap in the market and is easy to scale. Every college bro tries to sell funny t shirts for random pub crawls/holidays.

I don't want to go into too much detail here, so PM me if you have any questions.

Post: #6

Try googling "screen printers" take a look at their websites and contact them.

Ask them questions on pricing, min order runs, etc.

Screen printers are a dime-a-dozen and you're going to have to do your legwork to find one that fits your goal.

Truthfully, that's why most businesses fail: the entrepreneur has a great idea but doesn't want to do the execution. I think a large part of the execution is doing the boring shit like making phone calls to get price quotes and then to market it at booths at local events, etc.

Post: #7

If you do decide to sell to a retailer instead of just selling yourself, only sell to one retailer. This will avoid price wars on your products specifically which end up hurting your bottom line.