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JalmarKalmar
April, 2024

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I need your opinion

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Big.L
Posts: 703 - Karma: 15
I'm a 16 year old high school student, ive been taking art and graphic art classes. Ive always wanted to start my own business and recently i cant get this idea out of my head about starting a t-shirt company. i have everything figured out, and i mean everything. i know exactly what im going to need and i already have the money for a heat press, scanner/printer, ink, shirts, everything. i will be able to do t-shirts long sleeve shirts and hoodys, their all quality too. my art teacher and i have some pretty solid designs already and im in the process of getting them onto my computer. i know probly 90% of you guys reading this have thought about doing the same thing but im really about this. the whole reason im posting this though is to get your opinion because i know i can produce the shirts but i dont want to drop all this money, set up a website, and go broke. so do you guys think anyone would buy them?, ive talked to the dudes at my local skate/bike shop and they sounded siked but i dont want to do this if im only gonna sell 5 shirts to a couple friends of mine.
i'm a skier obviously (why else would i be on ns) but i also ride bmx, i also have alot of friends who skate. we always give eachother shit for wearing skate brands or bike brands, but i want this to be mutual. for skiers, skaters, bikers, even fruitbooters.

lemme know if you guys think if this is a good idea or a waste of money haha
Dec 17 2009 5:15PM
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Tinga
Posts: 11349 - Karma: 2,333
if your shops sound siked then set up dealer accounts with them. get a few more shops in a close area and boom you've already sold enough shirts.

you can also try to get pre orders. never hurts.
Dec 17 2009 5:21PM
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A.Eberhard
Posts: 4426 - Karma: 415
Mebay try and show the shop your designs and if they really like them they may order some. Get really tight with the shop owner, my brother's friend did this and started making skateboard decks and the shop started selling them and they were selling mebay try that start with one shop and see what happens.
Dec 17 2009 5:26PM
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*rkp*
Posts: 8198 - Karma: 257
Post some of your designs on here for feedback.

Kids printing shirts ("companies") are a dime a dozen these days.
Dec 17 2009 7:57PM
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skifree179
Posts: 769 - Karma: 17
If thats what you really want to do go for is and dont let up
Dec 17 2009 7:59PM
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SassySloth
Posts: 3753 - Karma: 2,095
go for it man. and post some shit up. id buy a shirt of 2
Dec 17 2009 8:00PM
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Jimmy.
Posts: 2888 - Karma: 27
i was thinking about starting a company like sag straps except with more product, more variety but i gave up. go for it.
Dec 17 2009 8:02PM
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Native
Posts: 191 - Karma: 18
That's exactly what my friend and I did, and it's working great so far. I have no problem in saying you can easily make the money back as long as you follow through. We went to some some local skate shops first off after we made a couple of our tees and talked to the managers and they were more than happy to support local businesses. Just meet in person and I'm sure that they'd give you a chance. Also if you have a broadcast class at your school or whatever see if they can run a piece on you, we did this and a ton of kids that we didn't even know wanted shirts. Just put your mind to it.
Dec 17 2009 9:15PM
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carbon.pulse
Posts: 3348 - Karma: 22
Whenever you try and cost everything for starting up a new business you should take the amount of capital you think you will need and times it by 1.5-2. There are so many unexpected costs that pop up. I'm not trying to deter you, quite the opposite, but make sure you have enough to cover what you expect and then some. If your local shop sound keen to stock it that is a great sign. If they want to stock them they can see people will want to buy them which shows you they are somewhat marketable.

I say go for it man. Even if it doesn't work out you will gain a huge amount of experience which cannot be gained any other way than putting your balls on the line and giving it a go.
Dec 17 2009 9:25PM
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Tinga
Posts: 11349 - Karma: 2,333
and they should be. i think the fact that someone across the country from me can have the same piece of clothing is ridiculous.
Dec 17 2009 9:38PM
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