How to start a small t-shirt making business out of your home

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How to Start a Small T-Shirt Business at Home

There literally could not be a better time to start a business from home.  If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that working from home is the way to go!  And 2020 has also left a lot of us at home looking for ways to earn money.  And selling T-Shirts online could be just the thing that allows you to work from home.

But you may be wondering what you need to do to get started.  And we’re going to go over today how to get started – and put yourself in a position to start earning money!

Step #1: Figure Out How You’re Going to Make T-Shirts

A great thing about selling T-Shirts online is there are enough equipment out there that you can make your own T-Shirts at home.  But, of course, you’ll need the right equipment.  You may already own the equipment.  But if you don’t, you can get relatively cheap equipment, like this.  Or you could get more expensive equipment, like this.  Either way, you should be able to easily store this and work with this somewhere in your house or garage.  And once you buy the equipment, you’ve already gotten one of the biggest expenses in this new business out of the way.

Step #2: Figure Out Your Niche

What kind of T-Shirts are you going to sell?  Are you going to have T-Shirts that are very specific and in a niche, such as Disney vacation shirts, Christian shirts, or sports T-Shirts?  Do you want to make it more general, like funny T-Shirts?  This is a fun part of the planning because you get to choose whatever you want.

Step #3: Get an LLC

You are going to have to create a business.  The best way to do this legally, in my opinion, is with an LLC.  That is what I have done with all of my businesses.  I go over why you should get an LLC and how to do it here.

Step #4: Get a Website

You could just sell your products on websites like Etsy and eBay.  But I recommend also having a website.  You want one place people can go to see your products and get to know your brand.

You might think creating your own website sounds too difficult.  But it’s really not if you use 3DCart.  It gives you everything you need to have a successful business.  And you’ll be able to create a website without needing to learn any type of coding or computer science.

Here are some of the things you can do with a 3DCart website:

  • Advanced Product Options so you can offer product variations like size or color (very important when selling T-Shirts!)
  • Product Image with the ability to zoom in
  • Bulk Quantity Discounts
  • Real-time shipping quotes from USPS, UPS, and FedEx
  • Multiple shipping locations in case a customer wants to ship things to multiple locations in one order
  • Single-Page Checkout which makes the process simpler when someone is buying (thus making them more likely to actually buy your product!)
  • Automatically calculate tax rates
  • Coupons and discounts
  • Access payments from over 100 payment gateways like PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, etc.

It is also incredibly affordable.  Startup plans start at just $19/month.  So definitely doable.

And if you want even more features (like abandoned cart saver so customers who leave your website can come back later and finish the order) you can choose a higher priced plan.

3DCart hosts your website and provides you with a domain (that is the web address of your website).  Click here to get started with 3DCart.

Step #5: Consider Selling Your Products on Other Platforms

So I said it was important to have your own website.  But that doesn’t mean you can’t sell your products on other platforms.  That can be another great way to make money.

But here’s a great thing about 3DCart.  They make it easier for you to sell your products on platforms.  That is because of the great tools you can get.  Like you can get eBay integration with your 3DCart plan.  That allows you to sell your products on eBay but manage it from your 3DCart dashboard.  This saves you so much time and just makes the whole process easier.  You can also do that with Amazon.

Step #6: Market Your Product

It’s not enough to sell great T-Shirts.  You also need to make sure you get the word out about your business.  And you can do that with marketing.

Here are a few things you can do to get the word out

Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization, otherwise known as SEO, basically means you are putting things in place on your website to make sure you will show up as high as possible on search engines.  Showing up high in search engines like Google and Bing are really important, especially because you have an online business.

If you build your website with 3DCart, then this really helps.  They already have tools built in to help you with your SEO.  We go over some other tools you can use to help your SEO here.

Search Engine Advertising

One way to get your website to show up higher on search engines quickly is to pay for ads on search engines.  It can be effective, though expensive.

I have found a cheaper way to do this is not go through Google but Bing Ads instead.  I have gotten much more bang for my buck so to speak with Bing Ads.  Not as many people use Bing ads, but a lot of people do and the prices are cheaper.  So I can spend less but actually reach more people who are wanting to spend money.

And Website Tips & Tutorials readers can get a great deal right now.  Click here and you can get a bonus $100 in advertising if you spend $25!

Social Media

Social Media accounts are also a great way to grow your business and find new customers.  You can get social media accounts for free, too.  So you should get a YouTube account that has videos of your T-Shirts.  Get a good planner to help you with your YouTube channel here.  You should also get Twitter and Facebook accounts.  You can learn how to get more shares for your Facebook posts here.  Oh, and you definitely want a Pinterest account.  We go over how to use Pinterest to market your business here.  And of course, an Instagram account to show off pictures of your T-Shirts.  Learn about tips to help you with your Instagram account here.

You can also pay to advertise on your social media accounts.  Click here to learn about tools to help you with Facebook ads.  Click here to learn more about advertising on Facebook Messenger.

Conclusion

Starting a small T-Shirt business out of your home could be a very rewarding, and profitable, experience.  The best way to do this is to get a website with 3DCart and then take our tips on how to market your business.

 

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How to Start a Small T Shirt Business at Home