Now that you’ve made up your mind regarding starting a T-shirt printing business, the next step is to consider the right equipment. Let me let you in on a powerful business secret: if you want to be successful, you have to have the right equipment for the right products, for the right time, for the right customers. I know that the repetition of the word “right” in that sentence seems a bit tedious and overly repetitive. Please excuse me, but it’s the absolute truth.
Business success is never an accident. The reason why there are so many “rights” in the secret that I shared with you is because it’s absolutely true. You have to hit the ball right out of the park the first time you swing that bat. Otherwise, your business is going to be a mediocre business. At best, you would be settling for cents on the dollar, at worst, you would continue to struggle until it makes more sense to shutter your business rather than to keep it limping along. I hope you can see where I’m coming from. I also hope you don’t find this discouraging or demotivating. However, a much needed dose of reality is important at this point in time.
At this point of your business formation, you’re probably all excited about investing the capital that you have on a hot T-shirt printing business. You probably have researched how big the industry is. You probably have some ideas as to how you would make your customers happy. Those are all well and good, but you also have to make sure that you follow the right steps to maximize your business’ chances of success.
Simply choosing to do things by the seat of your pants is not the way forward. Otherwise, you’re simply rolling the dice with your prospective business, and chances are quite good that it will fail. I don’t mean to depress you, but the vast majority of small business startups end up failing. If you don’t want to become another sad and sorry statistic, listen up. You have to invest in the right process to get your T-shirt printing business up and going the right way. Pay attention to the following.
Which Heat Press Machine are You Going to Use?
There are many heat press machine brands on the market. In fact, the way the manufacturers of these machines describe them, it would be very tempting to think that they are interchangeable. They are not. There is a big difference between high quality machines and low quality machines. There is a big difference between machines that are very scalable and flexible and ones that fail on both counts. You have to use the proper machine.
While I’m not going to recommend a particular brand of heat press machine, I will tell you to look for the following factors. First, you need to look for a machine that can accommodate the widest range of fabrics. Second, you need to pick a piece of equipment that would be able to accommodate the wide range of sizes of customers you will have. Third, you need to find a machine that has a brand that is known for durability. What’s the point of investing your hard earned dollars on a machine that is going to break down in a few months? You want to maximize your return on capital, this is why durability should be high on your list of considerations when picking out a best heat press machine review 2017.
Consider Your Target Market
Pay attention to the group of people you’re going to be selling T-shirts to. Are they looking primarily for commemorative T-shirts? Are the events being commemorated large scale events, or truly personal events? Pay attention to these different factors because they can play a fundamental role in helping you pick out a heat transfer machine. Some machines make better sense with certain audiences, others are geared towards larger audiences. It all depends on how specialized you want to become.
While being able to accommodate a wide range of customers is a good thing, specialization can help you jump start your business much faster. The more people believe that you are the “go to” source for a particular type of T-shirt, the higher the likelihood you will get more customers in the long run. It’s important to specialize in the right types of customers.
You wouldn’t want to specialize in people who have a birthday every once in a while that they want special T-shirts for. The profit margin in that type of market, assuming that there is no large volume, is going to be quite low. It’s much better for you to specialize in corporate or small business commemorative events because they tend to order in bulk, plus they tend to order more. A typical company would have many different events in the space of a year. Those events present unique opportunities for you to cash in. Consider your target market when looking to pick a shirt press machine for your business.
Can Your Equipment Make You Stand Out?
This is a weird way of phrasing the typical question of “what can you do to make your brand stand out?†By picking the right equipment, your heat press vinyl may offer options that will help your business stand out from the competition. If your shirt press machine offers a heat press vinyl option that is not available in your local market, this can make your brand stand out. This point of differentiation can drive many people to you, provided they are the right type of audience.
Another consideration you should keep in mind is the cost of materials. If the particular shirt press machine that you are using can be used only for pricey T-shirt materials, this can drive your profit margin down. While using high quality fabric and ink will boost your reputation, you should also try to find a supplier that can drive their prices down. Never compromise on quality. The key here is to reduce your costs as low as possible without reducing overall quality, or at least the perception of quality. Now, if you market your products correctly and you plan out things the right way, chances are, your T-shirt business will be a success.