by Kevin Cook

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Last Updated on: 3rd April 2024, 12:10 am

Do you want to know how a screen printing business went from making a hundred dollars a month to more than $400,000 in revenue by expanding their business?

Brent and his wife, Tara, are the people behind Locknane Incorporated. Together, they’ve expanded their family business into Lock Promo and Apparel. Both of their companies have been growing every year since then. One of their core values is: “If you can’t get repeat business, you don’t have a business”.

They have got huge customers that do huge bulk orders.

And now, we are going to give you a quick sneak peek at what strategies they followed and made a million-dollar screen printing business.

1. A business plan is the first step:

A business plan defines your company’s goals and strategies.

Its purpose is to drive screen printing decisions, secure funding, and build partnerships with other companies.

A constantly evolving and flexible business plan is a great approach to the process, allowing companies to pivot as needed. Here are some resources to help you with this procedure.

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2. Which is the Best Way to Start?

The first step in the process of opening a screen print shop is to do your research to determine if it is right for you. Screen printers can make a lot of money, but every business owner has a different mindset.

You may want to run a group-focused store that caters to everyone, such as your company’s t-shirts, or a warehouse that focuses on e-commerce.

You are not limited to just one type, your chosen artwork type will influence all your future decisions.

Many consumers are starting to shop online, so consider starting your clothing line in a store that sells clothes in person or allows you to sell them online.

3. Focus on Specific brands:

This is the type of printing Locknane Incorporated does. Printers focus on printing specific brands.

Business plans using this model usually focus on a niche. Focus on meeting your client’s needs and can later expand into other markets while maintaining the same brand.

4. Retail T-shirt Print Shops:

Printers that operate this way can be found in malls and stores that typically serve retail customers with small order sizes.

Boston based custom slide sandal maker has become $10 Million company using an online designer and unique growth marketing.

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Although the price per t-shirt tends to be higher, this is because screens and design-related costs are processed in fewer orders than high-volume print orders.

The rise of e-commerce is challenging in this part of the industry. According to Moneywise, retail closures have increased over the past three years.

Nevertheless, Digital Commerce reports that retail sales have increased by approximately 3% annually since 2007. This means that stores that remain open are profitable.

This business model works with franchisees and stores operating in small circles. They typically require $40,000 in sales per month. Otherwise, you’ll probably want to start differently.

5. Learn how to screen print:

Before starting a screen printing shirt, you need a design for a screen printing machine or another type of printer.

T-shirt designs are typically developed using digital software such as Photoshop or Illustrator. Adobe has many guides for using both.

If you are using a stencil printer, create a stencil based on the pattern you will see later. There are other types of printers to avoid this step.

For example, a direct garment printer costs approximately $22,000 for the printer and software. This equipment allows you to move instantly from design to print.

6. Production and printing skills:

Your screen printing business must produce T-shirts, and so will you.

Otherwise, you should look at print-on-demand companies like Printful. If you are not printing clothes yet, you must learn to work with different types of machines.

Printsome has a nice infographic about the technology you want to use.

The best way to learn these screen printing and thermal transfer techniques are to either buy the machine yourself or find someone to teach you. Another way to learn t-shirt printing techniques like thermal transfer is through YouTube videos and manufacturer training courses. Just type in “Screen Printing Training Course” and you will find great resources.

7. Investments in Technology:

We’ve seen people investing $25,000 on tech investments not getting what they want. Before you start, it’s important to understand the technical aspects.

This information is very important to understand how to start a T-shirt printing business. With great websites and software, you can save time and expand your customer base nationwide or globally.

Most tech companies offer free trials or low-cost tutorials on how to use the software. Please be sure to use it. They were built to help you get the most out of what they have to offer.

8. Location of your print shop:

Finding a location depends on the type of screen printing business you run. For example, if you are targeting specific key accounts, it may be beneficial to be close to them.

Otherwise, it is good to choose a location based on the distribution of wealth in the area and the price of the land or to choose a central location suitable for more people.

When deciding to rent space for your clothing line, consider the following:

• How do you store your equipment and inventory?
• Is there room for a home office?
• Do customers come to my place? How much stock do you have?
• How much exhibition space do you need?
• How much space do you need to store your inventory?

If you want to start the screen printer, you need to rent a nearby space. Whether the space is a warehouse or a storefront, you need to plan to ensure proper setup.

9. Marketing:

Marketing is about helping your target audience become aware of screen printing services.
Marketing can be done both online and on other channels.

Three of the largest marketing companies expect digital marketing to account for more than half of all advertising spending by 2024.

• You need to be familiar with the biggest places to market your print shop:
• Facebook/Instagram -Direct-to-Consumer traffic
• Google – Search Traffic
• Amazon – Largest Retailer, great for private brands
• LinkedIn – Great for B2B sales

It is important to establish a social media account or join a reputed forum when starting a screen printing business. They raise awareness, provide channels to connect with customers, and allow you to set up a store to sell your products.

Every website has a lot of resources to educate people about marketing tools. Make sure you are familiar with them. Otherwise, you will be in the dark and waste a lot of money.

Marketing focuses on raising awareness of the organization and turning those who are aware into paying customers.

Final Words:

We hope that such success strategies will help other printers follow and establish their core values for a print business success.

Lastly, you need to establish yourself as a young print shop. Maybe entrepreneurship is the hardest job but is also the most rewarding job you will be able to choose,

Do you have printers? Are those printers sitting idle?

Become a Print-on-Demand dropshipping app like Printful or Printify. Dropship your merchants' orders.

Know more