Everyone wants to be their boss. Nowadays, that’s more attainable than ever. Why be chained to a desk, taking orders for tasks you would prefer not to do when you have a whole business plan you could be putting into play in your own right? These thoughts could be consuming you at the moment. Perhaps you’re not currently working in a field that you’re passionate about, perhaps you know exactly what you want to be doing, but can’t seem to find the time or the right way to get started. No fear — we’ve got you.
While it may seem scary to jump out of your comfort zone and into a whole new way of living and working, we promise it’s worth it if you plan it right. Just make sure that you have all the resources you need to survive before your business blossoms, figure out the best ways in which you can make your business work, and ensure that you have the passion necessary to make that business a success.
Becoming a successful business owner is about more than just your overall plan or the development of your idea, you have to have many things in place before you are ready to start your business. Make sure that you do your research above all and have a reliable team behind you. While having your own business means that a lot of the responsibility falls on you, it also means that you can handpick the people you want to work with, and can be more in control of the support system around you.
In the screen-printing business and offshoot of the fashion industry (a notorious touch business), creativity, business savvy, support, and marketability should all be factors you take into account before you even start! Once you feel prepared to leap, you can quit your job and put all your energy into your new venture. You’ll then be on your way to an unforgettable test of will and business acumen.
This could be a problematic and exhilarating time for you, but don’t get too overwhelmed with the fear of failure. Nothing worth it comes easy! If now is the time to start your dream screen printing business, then don’t let fear prevent you from success.
Your Business Plan
Any entrepreneur will tell you that the business plan is the foundation of your business. This is the time when you will plan out what you want your business to be like, how it can work, and all the building blocks necessary to create the larger whole. A business plan is something worthy of talking through with another business owner or confidant who’s advice you trust. If you already know someone in the screen-printing business who is willing to give you information about how they got their start (like thrive screen printing), then they might be the perfect person to talk to. While you won’t want to copy what they did exactly (they are your competition!), you will want to get a better understanding of how the specific industry you’re entering works.
The Specifics of Your Business Plan
Costs
These are the details you need to know before you can get your screen-printing business off the ground. For example: how much will it cost to get your business going? How much capital will you need to build the company you want? Will you need an investor or partner to attain your vision? Also, factor in how much you will need only to start your business, but also keep it going.
Who is Your Customer?
This is so important to know before you start your business. Who is your customer? You’ll want to know who is likely to buy your product, and why? How can you better cater to this customer through branding and marketing? How can you get to know your customer and keep them coming back? (Also, make sure they bring their friends with them). Commerce has dramatically changed in the last ten, if not five years. Will your business start online or brick and mortar? What level of exclusivity do you want in your brand? How important is exclusivity to your customer?
What is Your Brand’s Name?
It’s challenging to figure out what your brand will be named because it is one of the most critical factors in your business. This how your brand will become recognizable to potential customers. Make sure that it makes sense, is memorable and catchy. If it has some personal meaning for you, then that’s a good thing, too. After all, this is your business. An element of sentimentality will only be a good thing moving forward.
The Legal Part – Registering Your Business
After you’ve come up with your business plan, figured out how much money you will need to start and sustain the business (as well as how much you stand to make), identified your customer, and named your brand. You’re ready to put pen to paper and make your business official.
What you’ll first need to do is to register your business as an LLC. This ensures that you’re covered tax-wise and won’t have the IRS knocking on your door when they don’t need to be. This is also going to be an exciting time! Seeing your business registered makes the whole experience real.
Open a Business Account
You’ll want to keep your business and personal expenses separate, which will be all the better when it comes to doing taxes and configuring how much money you’ve made and stand to make. This will be critical in understanding how well (or not well) your business is doing financially. Your business finances should stay as far away from your ones as possible.
Get Your Business License
According to which state you live in or which state your business will primarily be operating out of, you’ll need to get a license for your business. This step is of the utmost importance. You’ll want to prevent any possibility of your business getting shut down just because you didn’t get a license. For your business to run, you’ll need this.
Get Insured
Another necessary legality is insurance. Just in case anything ever happens at your facility, you get robbed, or any other factor affects the financial aspect or property of your business, you’ll need to be covered by insurance. This can save you from unexpected occurrences or losses, and you’ll be glad you had it.
The Creative Part
This is the part when you get to have fun. After all the necessary legal aspects are taken care of, then you get to focus on creativity and branding. Starting with the original part, you’ll want to be as innovative as possible. You want your brand to look like any other, but at the same time, it should be marketable. What’s key here is thinking about and implementing your unique skills. What makes your vision one that people will connect to and want to wear?
What do you see for your designs? Are you more about creating the quintessential comfy or stylish tee (or both)? Are you trying to screenprint on anything that can be screen printed on? Are you trying to change the game? How big is your brand, and how can that be translated into marketability? These questions will help you figure out how to design for both you and your consumer. They want to see something they’ve never seen before. You want to implement your unique vision. How can those two perspectives merge into something beautiful and marketable? In the design stage, focus more on creativity than the business part. It might serve you well later. If this is your passion, then make sure that that passion comes through.
Make it Personal
Remember: clothing can be personal for consumers. With more of an emphasis on sustainability in recent years, how has consumerism changed? How can you make sure that your customer is not only happy with your product but also where your product came from? How can you be transparent about that journey?
Depending on the type of consumer you are trying to reach, you should be thinking about what kinds of brands they usually go for. What makes you within that window, and what makes you stand apart from it? These could be factors you take into consideration during the business planning phase as well. The better you know your customer, the more able you will be to produce the product they want and make a name for yourself because of it.
Marketing, Marketing, Marketing
Marketing is going to be one of the most essential factors in getting your designs to the masses. If you have a company or a particular staff member helping you out with this, then you’re in good shape. If it’s up to you, then you need to educate yourself on how to get your designs to the public (we recommend social media!).
