Are you interested in starting a t-shirt business but not sure where to start? This post is all about how to start a t-shirt business in 24 hours.
I got into the t-shirt business selling my first t-shirts in 2016.
Everyone was saying how saturated the market was when I started. Since then, I have generated seven figures in online sales mostly selling apparel and t-shirts.
Today, I still believe it’s completely possible for a beginner to start a t-shirt business and succeed.
Since I began selling t-shirts, there have been an increasing number of sellers who are selling t-shirts.
But, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for new businesses. In fact, I believe now is a great time to start a t-shirt business because of how easy it is to get started and the vast number of resources available.
There are even more resources available for beginners now than when I started. The internet makes it possible for you to start a t-shirt business from home.
When I started a t-shirt business online, I barely had any money. I was a broke college graduate looking for ways to make money online with the least amount of investment possible.
If you’re thinking about starting a t-shirt business or are just curious about how it works, read on!
In this post, I share some tips on how to start a successful t-shirt business in 2023 and beyond.
Come Up With A Business Name
So you’ve taken the first step in starting a business. Congrats!
The first step is to come up with a name for your business.
You want the name to be memorable, so it sticks in people’s minds, but you also want it to be easy enough for them to pronounce and spell. You don’t want people writing down “z” instead of “s” and having trouble finding you.
Make sure when coming up with a business name, that it’s not already trademarked or infringing on another brand’s name.
If you’re planning on using your business name as a domain/website address, make sure that nobody else has registered that particular domain name before!
Check for Trademarks or Copyrights
If you are in the US, you can run a quick trademark search for a business name idea on the US trademark website with the TESS tool.
You can also try searching Google for the brand name that you’d like to use and see if anything comes up for that name. This will save you from tons of headaches later on with any potential legal issues.
Purchasing A Domain for Your T-Shirt Business
It is recommended to secure the domain name and social media accounts that you choose for your business name so you can have a cohesive brand presence and easier for customers to find you.
You can use a website like Namechk to check if a username is available across all the social media platforms.
If it’s green, that means the username is available on that platform.
Websites to Help You Come up With a Business Name
Shopify Business Name Generator
Here is an example using Looka to come up with a business name. Just type in some keywords or a few words describing your business.
These are some ideas of what Looka comes up with for business names!
Best Websites to Purchase Your Domain Name
If you will be selling t-shirts on your own website or want to purchase your domain for later, you will need to purchase a domain from a domain provider.
Here are some of the best websites to purchase a domain for cheap.
Create A Business Logo
Best Websites to Get A Free Logo
The next step is to create a logo for your company. Your logo should be simple and memorable, so you want it to stand out among other competitor’s logos.
When designing your own T-shirt business logo, you can use any design software like Photoshop or Illustrator but if you are not comfortable with these tools, then you can use these free logo generators!
Tailor Brands – AI logo software tool
Looka – Looka is another easy to to use AI logo software maker. It spits out hundreds of logos in just a few minutes based on your preferences and details.
Canva – Canva has a bunch of templates available for logos.
Some templates are only available on the pro plan. If you don’t already have a pro plan, you can get a free trial using my link.
This is an example of one of the logo templates I found on Canva. Super fitting for a t-shirt brand, right?
Best Websites to Outsource Your Logo
Fiverr – Hire someone to design your logo for as little as $5!
99Designs – Find a designer to design your logo or start a contest so designers can submit their ideas and you pick your favorite.
Upwork – Easily hire a freelancer to design your logo.
Creative Market – They have a bunch of great logo templates that you can purchase and easily put together in a few minutes.
Decide On A T-Shirt Niche
The first thing you need to do when starting a t-shirt business is to decide on a niche.
Chances are, you already have a niche in mind. If not, think about what you like, who you are as a person, and what makes you tick. Are you into sports? Politics?
Here are some ideas for possible niches if you’re stuck:
Pet owners
Lacrosse lovers
Vegans
Want to take out the guesswork from having to find niches yourself? Check out my guide on the best-selling print on demand niches.
Once you’ve decided on a niche, write down as many ideas as possible that relate to this topic.
In order to succeed online selling t-shirts, you have to niche down your designs. It’s hard to sell shirts with no market unless you’re an established brand with an existing audience or selling the t-shirts for $10 or less.
Find a niche that you love and know about well. If you’re passionate about something, chances are your customers will be too.
How to Find T-Shirt Niches That Sell
If you don’t have an idea of what niche to sell, there’s a few sites you can check out for inspiration. Take a look at these sites that give you tons of ideas.
Look at all these subreddits where the niches have already been proven. Take a look at the amount of members in each subreddit to see how much interest there is in those niches already.
Is selling t-shirts still profitable?
Yes, selling t-shirts is still profitable in 2023 and beyond.
If you’re looking to start a business that doesn’t require a ton of up-front capital, look no further than starting a t-shirt business. All you need is a little bit of entrepreneurial spirit and the right tools to get started.
As long as you’re able to find a t-shirt niche with demand, you can charge as much as you’d like in order to make enough profit and be successful.
How much does it cost to start a t-shirt company?
Starting a t-shirt company is a great way to build your brand and make some extra cash. And the good news is, it’s not as expensive as you might think. In fact, you can get started for less than $50 if you are using print on demand as your t-shirt business model.
If you are buying your t-shirts in bulk and/or purchasing equipment, starting a t-shirt business can cost several hundreds to thousands more.
Low Budget T-Shirt Equipment Starter Kit
You can start a t-shirt company for as little as $500 if you are needing to purchase some equipment, like a heat press, t-shirt blanks, vinyl and a cutting machine.
Check out these Cricut products that provide you with everything you need to start making t-shirts by yourself.
How to Start a T-Shirt Business with No Money
It’s easier than ever to start your own business, and with a little creativity, you can start a successful t-shirt business with no money.
Print on demand makes it possible for you to start a business with no money. Since you only pay for the inventory when you get an order, there are no upfront costs for inventory.
The first step is to find a print on demand supplier that can print your products for you.
There are a number of online platforms that allow you to set up a shop and start selling. What’s more, there’s no need to worry about inventory or shipping, as these services will take care of that for you.
Related: 7 Best Etsy Print on Demand Partners with Etsy Integration
You can also look for suppliers who offer a drop shipping service, which means that they will ship products directly to your customers. Consider using a service like Spocket for this.
To start a t-shirt business with no money, you can also consider selling print on demand products on a marketplace like Etsy or Amazon.
Find A T-Shirt Supplier
First, you will need to find and pick your t-shirt supplier. If you aren’t making the t-shirts yourself, you will need to find a supplier to fulfill your orders.
There are many t-shirt printing companies out there and it can be tricky to find the right one for your business.
Some things you should look for in a printing company are:
– Printing quality
– Fast turnaround times
– Affordable prices
Here is a round-up list of some of the best t-shirt suppliers with no order minimums.
Websites to Get Wholesale T-Shirt Blanks
Best Websites to Sell Your T-Shirts
If you want to expand your customer base, you need to be selling online.
You can create your t-shirt business on your own website or sell it on a marketplace like Amazon or Etsy. Here are some of the best places where you can sell your t-shirts.
Create Your T-Shirt Designs
You can’t make a t-shirt design for everyone. You can only make it for the people who are going to love it, so set your sights on a specific audience.
For example, if you’re really into video games, you would know phrases and inside jokes that appeal to other gamers. If your passion is traveling and exploring new places, you can create designs that will speak to those with similar interests.
If you keep this in mind when creating your own T-shirts, they’ll be much more likely to appeal to someone who actually wants them—and if they don’t sell, it’s probably because the design wasn’t targeted enough at the right audience.
How to Make Your Own T-Shirt Designs
Once you’ve gotten to this step, it’s time to create or outsource your first t-shirt designs to sell!
There are many ways to create t-shirt designs. You can do it yourself with a design software like Photoshop, Illustrator, or Canva.
These are the best design software recommendations best suited for creating your t-shirt designs.
Canva – Free plan available
Related: How to Create Winning Print on Demand Designs with Canva
Photoshop – Paid subscription
Placeit – Paid subscription
Illustrator – Paid subscription
Photopea – Free
Affinity Designer – One-time fee
Affinity Photo – One-time fee
Some design tips to keep in mind while creating your t-shirt designs are:
– Use simple designs
– Incoporate emotionally connecting messages
– Use fonts that are easy to read
– Keep the number of colors in your design to a minimum
Outsourcing Your T-Shirt Designs
Outsourcing t-shirt designs is a great way to get started in the t-shirt business.
You can hire a freelancer to do this for you who already has experience in designing t-shirts.
Best Places to Outsource Your T-Shirt Designs
Market Your T-Shirt Designs
If you’ve made it to this step, congrats! Now you can finally get your idea out there and start making sales! If you don’t already have an audience, there are several ways to launch and market your t-shirt brand.
Where to Market Your T-Shirt Business for Free
The most common and effective way to market t-shirts for free is through social media.
You can create a profile for your t-shirt business on Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Facebook, or Twitter and start sharing your designs with the world.
Another way to market your t-shirts is by starting a blog or YouTube channel and creating content around your t-shirt designs.
If you want to reach an even bigger audience, you can also run ads on social media or on Google.
The most important thing is to get started and get your t-shirt designs out there!
Conclusion
So, there you have it. Creating a t-shirt business is easier than you think and with the right tools to help you get started, you can be well on your way to creating a successful t-shirt business.
I hope this post was helpful in giving you an overview of how to start a t-shirt business and provided you with some helpful tips.
This post was all about how to start a t-shirt business in 24 hours.
