In the pursuit of getting how to start a screen printing business in your own small world and from the very little you have, you deserve to know that Forrest Wedmore and Clint Graham started The Foundry in 2010 as a custom t-shirt company. The screen printing company that they were using was struggling and sold them the screen printing equipment for $10,000. 11 years later the Foundry is making nearly $1m per year!
Forrest took the time to explain how they started The Foundry. A ton of great advice about how to start a screen printing business and of course your own shirt company will be included in this article while we also provide you with a step-by-step guide to start it:
Research and Find What and Where’s Best for You
The first step in the process of starting a screen printing shop is to research to determine whether a print shop is right for you. Screen printers can make great money, but every business owner has a different mindset. You may want to run a store focused on a specific group, such as company t-shirts, one that caters to everyone, or you may want a warehouse where you focus on e-commerce. You aren’t limited to just one type, but the type of printing company you choose will impact every decision you make going forward.
Print for E-commerce
Many clothing companies, print-on-demand companies, or other e-commerce businesses hire a printer to press and ship the clothing their customers order from their website. Printers can make great money doing this because they will typically get an additional payment for handling the shipping.
Develop a Business Plan
As you start your business, consider what your ultimate goal is. This is your dream, so consider the exact outcome you want 20, 30, or 40 years from now. Do you want to sell the business? Leave it to your kids? Grow it as large as you can? Work with certain clients and businesses? Become the best printer? Thinking with the end in mind is a powerful way to focus your efforts. This will make every decision you make along the way much easier.
Know the Capital
When starting a screen-printing business, start-up costs can range from a few hundred dollars to $150k for a franchise. It can be profitable as they are making around $3,500 per day, but you’ll need to control the expenses in the early stages of the company.
Know Your Customers
If you define the core customers you want, all of your marketing and sales efforts become much simpler. To get a better grasp of who your customers are, write simple customer profiles:
- Who they are
- What their problem is
- Where they will purchase from you (in store, online, etc.)
- When they want to order (seasonal vs. recurring vs. one-time)
- Why they need custom printed merchandise
- How you solve their problem
You should NOT try to be everything to every single person! Once you’ve built several customer profiles, think hard about the potential and longevity of each type of customer. For potential, consider whether this is a customer that will come back again and again – or whether they will only need a few small, one-off orders.
Discover a Problem and Solve it
The best screen printing businesses solve a problem. That may sound ridiculous – how can printed items solve problems? But the truth is that it’s extremely challenging to order and procure t-shirts and other merchandise. Large companies have staff dedicated to purchasing and distributing “company swag” – it’s that challenging of a task!
The items you print are not what solve your customer’s problem. The way you will solve problems for a customer (and, ultimately, add value) comes down to communication, execution, and professionalism. Communication is how you talk to customers, when you send them messages, whether you use the phone or emails or texts, and what you say. Execution is how you deliver what you promise on schedule.
Cost to Start a Screen Printing Business
The cost of opening a a screen printing business can vary based on several factors. However for a a screen printing business you can expect to spend $12 to $37,876 with an average cost of $19,815.
- The minimum startup costs for a screen printing business: $12
- The maximum startup costs for a screen printing business: $37,876
- The average startup costs for a screen printing business: $19,815
