Printed clothes especially tee-shirts have managed to attract the interest of many. There are many ideas that people can use when screen-printing t-shirts and this is what creates the many attractive designs. When most people discover how easy screen printing is, most of them think about commercializing the art. What they don’t know is that running a screen printing business at home has its own hurdles and committing some common mistakes will see the business fall before it matures. Here are the common pitfalls you should avoid when starting and running a screen printing business in your house.
Thinking Computer Generated Heat Transfers Can Do It all
Most people believe that they can work on just about any kind of custom designs on the garments using the computer generated heat transfers. While many heat press suppliers and vendors will make everything look easy, there are some things that will not work using the heat transfers. What you should do is identify what works perfectly with heat transfers especially the fact that dark garments will not turn out well with the use of computer generated heat transfers.
Starting Without Understanding
Just like in many other business ideas, many people jump onto the screen printing bandwagon thinking that as long as they have the startup kit, everything will work for them. Well, it might just work, but there are many startup kits lying unused because the buyer did not understand the business fully. Do not fall into the temptation of starting the business before you learn all the important things surrounding the operations involved. There are a lot of entrepreneurs who started businesses without learning a thing but you do not want to depend on their luck especially in this age where a lot of information is available for free online.
You need to understand that making great prints will take more than just good equipment; you will also need the knowhow and the skills. All these cannot be learned overnight especially because different products will require specific skills to produce a masterpiece. Some of the things you need to learn include the different types of inks for different garments and materials, achieving special effects and mass production. As you think over the screen printing part, remember there are other parts involved such as artwork and design.
Not Spending Enough time Designing
When a business owner starts a screen printing home business, they are always too excited to start that they are only interested in seeing the design on the garment. It is important to test if the equipment is working but you need to take your time in the designing part. How you handle the artwork will determine if you will be successful or not. Everything needs to be well arranged and the setup must be precise or you will end up wasting a great deal of energy and time.
Investing time and skills in the artwork will give you high quality products and this will go a long way in impressing your customers and prospects. Treat the screen printing artwork part as a whole different subject that you must spend time learning or your business will remain on the ground and never take off.
Not Having Goals
This is a common mistake in most business startups. Most people get into certain businesses without goals. In business, if you do not stand for something, you will fall for anything. Goals are what drive small businesses up the ladder of success. You have mastered the screen printing skills and you have everything you need to print just about any design; where are you going? Answering this question will help you plan your business and drive it to achieving certain goals that will lead your to success.
Some of the goals you should set include increasing equipment for mass production, implementing marketing skills to attract new clients, investing in better technology for high quality products among others. These are the goals that will help you in staying focused and significantly increase your sales. You can then use the proceedings from the sales to expand your business and maybe get out of the garage to a bigger business premises.
Thinking That Everything Is Easy
A lot of things are easy but some are an uphill walk and require dedication and time. Printing garments without heavy commercial equipment will demand a lot of labor and time. Things are not as easy as they appear on some videos; you will be required to work extra hard and for long hours. To keep your business running, you will have to stick to the hard work. The best way to handle this is to fall in love with your work as you will not be stressed doing what you love.
Forgetting About Marketing
You have everything set up and ready to start printing but you do not have a market. Most businesspeople focus too much on getting the business started and forget about the market they want to sell to. It is important to conduct market research and find out how your products will do in terms of sales. Have effective marketing strategies put in place to create awareness. You can take advantage of the internet since everyone is searching for everything they need online before visiting a physical business. Make localized business pages on social media and have a business website and people will start knocking at your door soon.
Ignoring Branding
It is true you are a small business operating at home but this does not make you any less of a business. Branding is one thing most people understand but tend to ignore because they think they are too small to brand. Any branded products appear to be of a better quality as opposed to the same quality but without branding. With a recognizable brand you will improve your credibility and get consumers to trust you. Give your business a face and growing to be a big mass production company will not have many hurdles a long the way.
