T- shirts are one of the most popular wears in our society. T-shirts are casual and comfortable. T-shirts are also not gender-specific; both women, men, and children have one or two T-shirts in their closet. Major organizations, corporate houses, churches, schools, sports clubs, political or social associations make use of promotional t-shirts. T-shirts are also used as gift items. Often times, many who use wear T-shirts love to have words printed on them, logos, advertising slogans and emblems etc. Hence T-shirts are becoming more and more in demand in the market. It is a product used by all. T-shirt are for both personal use and institutional use, hence, they are not likely to go out of trend anytime soon. If you want to have writing on your custom shirts, then check out the ones from Fontspace.
Read more, SCREEN PRINTING VS DIGITAL PRINTING: WHICH IS BETTER FOR CUSTOM SHIRTS?
If you are thinking of a business that will yield great returns, then you should consider the sales of T-shirts and T-shirt printing.
How to start a T-shirt business in Nigeria
· Do a market Research
Taking the time to do proper market research will help you to understand the nature of the business you want to go into. In market research, you will understudy your competition, those who are already in the market you want to sell.
There are a lot of shirt designs and shops available on different platforms such as in physical local markets and on the internet too. Observing them will help you know what you want to do different in order to stand out in your business and at what price they sell.
You could also do simple research on well-established shirt design companies so as to find out what to add to your designs in order to make it more attractive and better.
Doing market research also helps you to understand your audience better. Here, you will be able to find out their needs and carve a niche for yourself so as to reach your target audience precisely before you start to sell. This would invariably help you formulate your marketing strategies well. With a proper understanding of your target market, you would know the platforms in which your audience will find your products easily. For example, if most of your target audience is found on Instagram and Snapchat, you will focus on promotional ads on these particular platforms and not waste time focusing on other forms of online marketing or social media platforms.
- Be creative
In the T-shirt business, you have to be creative. You can take advantage of trends in the media. For example, if a particular cause or movement is making waves, you can make a whole lot of money by making prints of attractive designs of the phrase and selling online.
· Validate Your T-Shirt Designs
Once you’ve made a few designs on apps for your online T-shirt business, make sure you seek for other people’s opinions. You may think that the designs you’ve come up with are just perfect and ready for printing, but others may be able to point out some vital improvements that will help make it more attractive and thus boost sales and visibility. It is also important that the feedback which you receive for your designs is unbiased. There are online platforms on which you can post your designs and get responses from many people.
· Find a Good Printing Company
This is one of the most important aspects of your business which sometimes proves to be the most difficult. Finding a company with a good printing machine that will print your shirts without any troubles or errors can be quite difficult. Remember that having good-quality prints on your products is essential for a successful online T-shirt business. If your customers find out that your designs are cracking or fading after a few wears, they will be left with a bad impression of your business and would not be willing to patronize you anymore.
This will go a long way in fast-tracking the rate at which your business blooms. A good printing company helps fast track the rate at which your online T-shirt business blooms.
Ensure you take time out to find a good printing company to print your design on the T-shirts with zero or minimal errors.
Buy Plain T-Shirts from the Market
The first and most important thing for you to sort out is sourcing for your products. Having found a suitable printing company to print the designs you desire on your shirts, you will need to buy plain T-Shirts from your local market. Make sure you ask questions about where to get quality material. You can also start out by buying just a few clothes so as to test run on yourself and the printing company. Remember that the online T-shirt business is highly competitive and you must find ways to stand out in any way that you can. The first way you can do this is by sourcing the highest quality products that your business can afford. When you are reputable for good quality T-shirts, customers will refer your business and always come back. However, if your customers find that your t-shirts are not of good quality which shows if the product starts to shrink or tear after a few washes, you will have a bad reputation for your business.
High-quality products will help you gain a good reputation which in turn allows your business to grow. Ensure you use the best quality products for your T-shirt business.
Download a T-Shirt Design APP on your Device
There are so many kinds of apps you can use for T-shirt designs available on the internet. You can download them on your phone or laptop.
Set Up Your Online Presence
The soul of business is advertising and marketing. People need to know about your business or else they will not patronize. Ensure you go hard on marketing your business on online platforms, post pictures of customers who have bought your products in time past, etc.
With these few steps, you are on your way to building a T-shirt business that will thrive.