by Kevin Cook

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Last Updated on: 10th November 2024, 09:42 pm

Do you want to achieve a goal of $500 in profit per day by starting a custom t-shirt printing business using a direct-to-garment(DTG) printer?

If yes, then you can achieve it with a multi-faceted strategy. You need to reduce costs for both t-shirts and shipping, diversify sales channels to include online, in-person, and passive methods, and expand your customer reach. 

Despite initial expectations of immediate orders, you may quickly need to build a customer base that takes time and effort. While the first orders came from friends and fans, if you want a sustainable growth, then you would require attracting customers beyond your immediate circle like strangers. So, you make business better, grow better by selling to strangers.

1. Make more money by paying less for materials

One key strategy for increasing profits in any business is to reduce material cost. While this may seem challenging, it’s not impossible. Many entrepreneurs find creative ways to source their supplies at lower prices. That impacts their bottom line. 

In the case of a t-shirt printing business, finding affordable, and quality shirts. However, it’s important to note that some suppliers prefer to keep their competitive pricing confidential. Which means, you may not find everything online. You need to approach them in-person to get to know their prices. 

Remember, smart growth often comes from a combination of smart sourcing, efficient operations, and delivering value to customers.

2. Stop Spending on Designers or spend your time on customizing products:

You have two ways to customize a product. Either you or your designer team do the customization/product design stuff,  or you allow your customers to design items directly from your online store using the product design tool or design right at your offline store using the kiosk app.

Do you have printers? Are those printers sitting idle?

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The latter option is the most affordable, convenient and error free because you do not have to spend on hiring designers or spend your time designing or rectifying design errors. Rather your customisers design the product themselves, you will receive the high-resolution print file and do the print job. 

Therefore, this saves most of your production-based expenditure, check errors and product delivery delays. 

3. Save on shipping:

Reducing shipping costs is another effective way to boost profits in an e-commerce business. 

For small businesses, especially those in the custom t-shirt printing industry where margins can be tight. 

Therefore,  finding such cost-saving measures in shipping can make a significant difference in overall profitability.

4. Doing business with kids shirt:

Suppose, you are about to invest $350 in purchasing a platen to fulfill two or three orders. Like a specialized printing surface for kids. 

But it is advised to invest money unless it is generating proper revenue. 

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

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So, in the above case, you would need a small platen to print on kids clothes. Therefore, the alternate solution to buying a new one is attempting to stretch a child’s shirt on existing equipment as a temporary solution.

Therefore you should emphasize the importance of cautious investment, adapting to customer needs, and finding creative solutions in small business operations. 

It also touches on the potential benefits of networking and community support in the business world.

5. Investing on the printer:

It is better to partner with an existing Direct-to-Garment (DTG) printing shop before investing in your own equipment. 

At an initial phase, this helps you to build your client base and understand your order volume without the upfront cost of purchasing DTG machinery. 

While you won’t maximize your profit margins initially, you’ll gain valuable insights into your business’s potential. 

Once you have a clear picture of your customer demand, you can make an informed decision about when to invest in your own equipment and which options best suit your needs.

The second approach is starting with a low-cost, low-volume DTG solution if you want to test the market with minimal risk. 

This enables you to learn the production process and workflow on a smaller scale and with a lower initial investment. 

However, it’s important to be prepared for potential growth. If your business expands successfully, you should plan to upgrade to a more advanced printer within about 18 months to meet increased demand and improve efficiency.

Final Words:

Moreover, you can expand your business in several ways. You can seek local orders using Facebook Marketplace and groups in their hometown. 

Additionally, you can start offering merchandise for YouTubers through Printful. Moreover, you can set a new goal of reaching $1,500 in profit for the next month,  to grow their business further.

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