Make Company Shirts Your Own Way

Many companies are looking for apparel to use for various reasons. Some company apparel is used as advertising given to customers or worn by employees to display the company name and logo. Sometimes the clothing is part of a fundraiser or special event like a golf outing or company picnic. This need could be a tremendous opportunity for the right person or group. After all, somebody has to make company shirts. It is not like the company has its own apparel factory and can just churn them out when it needs them.  The number of companies times the number of employees and customers shows how staggeringly large this opportunity really is.

So, how does one begin to go about learning to make company shirts?  The first place to start is to take a personal inventory of your skills and resources.  Are you the kind of person who likes clothing? Are you interested in design? Do you like talking to people and selling them on an idea? Can you take rejection and then move on to the next appointment? Are you organized and a good manager? Are you a tailor or seamstress? You may not have all of these talents or interests, but if you have some of them you may be able to find partners or employees that can fill in the gaps for you. Do you have money to invest or good enough credit to secure enough start -up capital for at least one year? Operating on a shoe string budget kills many new businesses.

Once you pass the personal inventory test, you need to look at the market in your area to make company shirts. In today’s economy, there are a lot of businesses going away. Your particular area may not have enough established or new businesses to support your new venture. You need to dig a little past the surface, however. With many businesses going belly up, the target company’s apparel provider could have been one of the casualties. Find out how many companies supply corporate apparel and how many have gone out of business. This could tell you if there is real opportunity.

Next, you need to figure out where you fit in the process supplying corporate apparel. To be in the business, you don’t have to do everything yourself. To make company shirts, you don’t have to sew the clothes, print the clothes, and then sell the clothes. You could focus on just one aspect of the business and buy the other services from someone else.  Realize that this could get expensive if you have to buy from a lot of different vendors and each purchase cuts into your profit margin.

Finally, when you decide to make company shirts for a business venture, you need to learn to listen to the customer or vendor.  Like in any business, listening is the key to success. You need to hear what the client is trying to say even if they aren’t saying it well. They will still expect you to be on target.