Tips on How to Start a Custom T-Shirt Business

Many people forget that clothing is a direct expression of the times. Just like art, music, and any other type of artistic endeavour, clothing symbolizes the current epoch and the societal and economic challenges and prosperities that go along with it. Try to think back over the last 40 years or so of style. What do you imagine when you think of the previous few eras of fashion?

In the 1970s, bell-bottoms, long hair, and platform shoes were all the rage among younger generations because sporting such items opposed mainstream culture. People were unhappy about situations like the Vietnam War, and dressing alternatively helped visually demonstrate their political point-of-views.

Or, how about the clothing of the 1990s? Grunge music was making a name for itself in the '90s, with bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam coming on to the scene. A whole new look started to appear among the youth of America and all over the world. Plaid flannel shirts over t-shirts, ripped jeans, old band tees — even fashion designer Marc Jacobs devoted an entire show to grunge in 1993.

While countless clothing items come to mind when thinking about cultural history, there's one that has stood the test of time. The singular piece of clothing that has remained a staple for activists, musicians, entrepreneurs, club kids, grandparents, babies — you name it. And that item is the t-shirt.

Are you starting your own custom printed t-shirt business? You've made an excellent decision because they're the perfect piece of clothing. They go with everything, and everyone, from your mom to your little cousin, loves to wear them. T-shirts will never go out of style, and you can cater to audiences of all sorts — people who wear conventional clothing or those who are a little more alternative.

We’re R & P Prints, a custom t-shirt printing in Toronto specializing in custom screen-printing and embroidery. We love helping clothing business owners achieve their goals with our products and playing an integral role in the fascinating custom clothing process.

To learn more about how to get your custom clothing business started, check out these tips.

Consider Your Audience

It's critical to research your target audience to ensure that you're selling to the right people and achieving brand loyalty. Are you going to cater to a specific age group? Do you have enough graphic designs to open your business with, and are they ready to wear? It’s always good practice to look at your competition to check out what styles your target audience is wearing. That way, you'll know what's trending in graphic design and how to build off of such looks, making your clothing designs unique and even better than what people are currently buying.

Another tip is to read everything you can get your hands on. Unless you plan to cater to a definitive group of people — for example, your company will print clothing with graphics of video game characters only — then you’ll want to keep your finger on the pulse of current Instagram and Tik Tok fashion influencers. You’ll want to know what kinds of prints are in style and which to avoid.

Credit: Francesco Paggiaro via Pexels

Make Your Marketing and Business Plans

Once you figure out whom to market your product to, it’s time to develop some professional marketing and business plans. You and your team will decide on pertinent items, such as whether to stick to selling your custom t-shirts online or if you also want to branch out to various stockists in your area. Suppose you've never created business and marketing plans before. In that case, it's worth seeking guidance from other professionals in the industry to get some successful insider tips.

But generally, the first step in making your business and marketing plans is to brainstorm ideas with your team. Outline things such as how to finance the start-up of the business, the company roles, a summary of your mandate, mission, and values, what you hope to accomplish to achieve within the first three years of business, and how you’re going to approach promotion and sales.

Think about the promotional tools you’re going to use and have your marketing team create an in-depth marketing and social media strategy. Create a media list of people and outlets you'd like to reach for promotion (such as local radio stations). Once you get all of the nitty-gritty business matters out onto paper, you’ll then be able to condense the information into a proper plan for investors and patrons.

Choose a Provider

After you solidify your plans, come up with your designs, and decide on your target audience, you need to find a provider who can deliver high-quality screen-printing and clothing products, such as the beloved t-shirt. At R & P Prints, we guarantee excellent service, top-of-the-line products, and exceptional printing and embroidery services.

When you work with us, we offer a one-stop-shop for all of your custom printing needs. You can order bulk custom t-shirts for your business effortlessly from one of our representatives. We use top-quality t-shirt material and printing methods to ensure that your screen-printed clothing is safe, durable, and looks fantastic.

We also make sure that your clothing designs are completed with expertise from a style and design perspective. At R & P Prints, we help make our customers look and feel fantastic by working with top t-shirt brands such as New Balance, Ash City, Haynes, and more.

Do you have a team of graphic designers working hard to create the look you’re going for? If you don't, there's nothing to worry about because we have an in-house team of talented graphic designers that will work with you to deliver brilliant designs. We provide a seamless product design experience by managing your order's design intake and production under one single facility — optimizing your experience as a customer. Everything is streamlined, from design to production to safe delivery.

While we love t-shirts, we also offer other clothing styles, so you can expand your options and sell your creative prints on everything from sweatshirts to facial masks to handbags. Once you receive your product order, you can start selling online or through your physical platform.

Be part of cultural history and create your own brand of custom clothing. If you take some time to research your audience, brainstorm with your team about the marketing and business plans, and work with a top-notch screen-printing company, you'll wonder why it took you so long to get started in the place — you’ll be having so much fun!