How to make money t shirt business

Three years ago, Glen Zubia was stuck under a mountain of student loan debt, living with his parents and struggling to scrape together car payments. Now, the year-old has his own four-bedroom house in El Paso, Texas. He even co-hosts a weekly podcast where he tells listeners all about how he turned his finances. Zubia is a master of passive income through print on demanda system in which designers link up with sites like Amazon, Teespring and Redbubble to sell shirts and other items. Companies handle the production and customer service while paying out royalties, meaning people like Zubia can earn big without much investment or upkeep. Zubia is no stranger to making money off of the internet. While he was in college, he sold custom action figures on eBay; while trying to pay off credit cards, he tried writing books through Kindle Direct Publishing. But in his fourth month, he got a check. He used Adobe Illustrator on his iMac to crank out a catalogue of 2, designs — a process that involved seemingly endless brainstorming, researching, designing and saving. No way would it happen if I were messing. When the cash started coming in, he put it aside.

1. Design the Shirt

Nearly every night after dinner for eight straight months, Glen Zubia brewed a cup of coffee, turned on heavy metal music, and made T-shirts. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays he designed in Adobe Illustrator. It was grueling, but it paid off. Eventually, Zubia had a 2,item catalog of designs, slogans, and illustrations online that people could purchase on T-shirts and hoodies. Also called print on demand, this method of passive income works differently than, say, renting out real estate or playing the stock market. Companies like Teespring , Redbubble , and Merch by Amazon have sprung up this decade to fuel the passive income industry. Say you take a scenic photo on vacation — a long-exposure image of the Fontaines de la Concorde in Paris, or maybe a shot of waves breaking on the shores of Waimea Bay in Oahu. Instead of letting it collect virtual dust on your desktop, you can upload it to one of these sites. You have to know how to play the game. After earning a modest living in college selling custom action figures on eBay, he graduated with a graphic design degree and worked as a marketing coordinator.

9 Steps to Creating and Selling T-Shirts for Profit

Student loan debt led him to pursue e-commerce, which in turn introduced him to Merch by Amazon. That was his breakthrough moment. Zubia quit his marketing job and now runs a YouTube channel called Hustler Hacks. His favorite part is that he can make his own schedule. More and more people are diving into the passive income world. So what is it? A lazy way for the masses to try to get rich quick, or a sophisticated business model for a select few? But when the Tulsa-based seller became a mom about a year ago, she cut back on the number of illustrations she was uploading to her profile.

1. When you see an opportunity, jump

So, spend some time brainstorming and coming up with cute design ideas, clever puns, or laugh-out-loud jokes that you think people would enjoy wearing in their day-to-day. You can riff off popular TV and movies but make sure you steer clear of copyright infringement , capture cultural moments or movements, or take advantage of local pride with community-specific designs. If you have a talent for art, developing the actual visual design for the t-shirt is all part of the fun. You can still have the t-shirt business of your dreams.

2. Start with what already works

Merch is the creme de la creme of online shops for those trying to make money selling t-shirts. They have over products that you can choose for your shop in various quality and price ranges from large brands to Spreadshop’s own private label. If you can afford to give away free products, you can contact the owners of blogs or websites that are relevant to your T-shirts and offer to send free shirts for giveaways. You can riff off popular TV and movies but make sure you steer clear of copyright infringementcapture cultural moments or movements, or take advantage of local pride with community-specific designs. She has published works with a number of online and print publishers. Select a printer. Home Business Home Business Ideas. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English. Small Business — Chron. Another option is to research printing options in your local area. The Jacob brothers struggled with their t-shirts until they finally hit on a basic premise Life is Good and the character of Jake. There are so many ways to create your t-shirt, sell your t-shirt, and market your t-shirt — and my post should give you a leg up on throwing yourself into this exciting new venture! There are licensing and taxes to consider. Here are tips and resources to starting your own successful t-shirt business from home.

Taking advantage of the resources available to me

In the late s, Bert and John Jacob were driving up and down the east coast trying to sell their t-shirts to college students and not having much success.

Legend has it that after graduating from college, Catesby Jones maxed out his credit cards to mame a t-shirt company depicting a frog with international flag designs known as Peace Frogs TM. Today, with the Internet and digital printing resources, starting a t-shirt business is easier and more affordable than.

In fact, resources exist that allow you to design a shirt using print-on-demand and drop shippingso you don’t have to invest a lot of money or space for inventory.

Creating a t-shirt that speaks to the masses and selling it still requires a plan. Here are tips and resources to starting your own successful t-shirt business from home.

The Jacob brothers struggled with their t-shirts until they finally hit on a basic premise Life is Good and the character of Jake. Jones chose the frog because it is a symbol of peace and good luck. It can be difficult to know what sort of design or saying will resonate with the public, so you may need to test different ideas.

Be sure to create a high quality resolution design that will look good at the size you want it on your t-shirt. While a design might look okay on your computer, it might not show up well on a t-shirt. You might consider hiring a designer to create a high quality image.

Before investing time and money, do market research to determine if your t-shirt will appeal to buyers. First, decide who the ideal buyer for your t-shirt idea would be, and then seek out members of that market to get their feedback on your idea. You don’t just want to know if they’d buy your t-shirt, but also, what price they’d pay. Your business plan outlines your product, the ideal market, your financial projections and sales goals.

You can create and start makw t-shirts online in a matter of gow, but if you plan to make a living at it, you should create an official business. Starting a business begins with coming up with a business.

Your name should reflect your t-shirt, but not limit your ability to expand on your t-shirt line. While you may set up shop through a digital t-shirt printing company, you may want to set up your own website as well, and for that, you’ll want to buy the domain.

Along with a business name, you need hiw determine your business structure i. Business licenses are issued by your local city or county business office.

Review different t-shirt creation options i. The price you pay will depend on the size and number of colors of the design, the type of printing you choose, and the quality of t-shirt you select. Based on your cost, price your t-shirt so that you can cover mke costs not just t-shirt expenses, but other business costs such as marketing and other overhead. Keep in mind what the market will pay, as. You don’t want to end up with a price that people won’t pay.

Many offer an online store from which to sell your shirt as. Another option is to research printing options in your local area. Marketing ideas include Facebook or other PPC advertisingcraft shows or bazaars, Etsyand ecommerce site.

Spread Shirt. Home Business Home Business Ideas. By Leslie Truex. Article Suirt of Contents Skip to section Expand. Design your t-shirt. Test your design. Write a business plan. Create a business. Make your business legal. Protect your design. Price your t-shirt. Select a printer. Market your t-shirt. Online Resources. Continue Reading.

N ot too now ago, I knew nothing about running a Facebook ad to sell a product. Okay, maybe I just tried it. I ran an ad for an iPhone app I had get more shidt.

I had my tipping point

I was probably doing it all wrong. Still… I tried. One day in March, I came across someone selling a course about how how to make money t shirt business make money selling your own t-shirts online. This seller was your typical internet shirr. He said how easy it. He made it seem like anyone could do it. He knew how to sell. So my eyes got big and I dreamt about the money I could earn if I sold my own designs. Selling t-shirts had been on my mind for many years. I just never thought I could make that much money from it. I bought the course, which was really cheap. The course was just okay, but Shirrt knew nothing, so anything was a step up. Soon I had my first t-shirt design uploaded and ready to sell. I created it myself with basic Photoshop skills.