# Help! Thinking of starting a printing business in a small town and trying to cover my bases :)



## IYIaster (Jun 20, 2010)

Basically I would like to open a printing shop in my local small town. 

Ok I'm going to give you guys all the information that I have and maybe you guys can help. 

I live in a VERY small town. Population 6500. There are NO printing shops even remotely close to us. There are A LOT of businesses in this small town because the traffic during the week is very heavy since most people work in the large town right beside us. And the highway that runs right through the town is the main highway connecting all the small towns to the city. I mean for a town of only 6500 people there are around fifteen restaurants (including fast food). The building we are thinking about getting is right on the main highway. We also plan on having a website that sales political shirts (shirts tea party members would like). Now designing the website and the shirts wont be a problem because I'm a web designer. I'm not that artistic but I can (and already have) made some pretty cool designs. Anything artistic wise that I can't do I'm sure we can pay someone to do. 

My plan is to get a business loan through the veterans association. We already had a meeting with them a while back and were told we need a business plan and a break down of what the loan would be used for. And some other things. This is were I have no expertise.

Other then the building, DTG printer, and the embroidery machine since we have already figured that part out what else is there?

In stock shirts and hats:
What colors should we have and what size shirts?

How much would inventory cost? I know there are wholesale t-shirt companies but what are their prices? The ones I looked at you have to have a business licenses just to see their prices. 

We would need money for advertising but how much to start off with? Where would be the best place to advertise?

How do I make a business plan? What all will I need to make the loan officer want to give me a loan?

How much profit should we make off of a shirt or a hat?

Should we not worry about the website and just open the store?

Should we not open a store or a website?

I have so many questions and have no idea were to get the answers. Can someone at least point me in the right direction? 

All and all I think the loan will be around 60-100 thousand and that is kind of scary...

Thanks Joey


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## ole Jobe (Jun 16, 2009)

*Re: A lot of information here, but still feel lost...*

In a town that size there should be a school or two, little league, churches, all potential customers. They are getting shirts and uniforms somewhere. If I had to make a choice between DTG and screen printing, I would opt for the screen set-up. Depending on your location (it would help to know where you are), Wholesale shirts start at about $1.50 for whites, $2.50 for colors and go up from there depending on style and brand.
Advertise locally to start. If you have a newspaper, radio station, shoppers guide, etc., these would be ideal. Place flyers in the schools. Mail them to churches. Go door to door to the local business. Shake a lot of hands and pass out a lot of cards.
Start with the local business, then after you are comfortable with production, etc., then the website.
God Bless.


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## PowerPromotions (Dec 31, 2010)

*Re: A lot of information here, but still feel lost...*

First of all it is great to hear that someone is getting into the industry and take heart because you can start a sucessfull business, from nothing, in this industry. The following is only my personal view and there may be some that disagree with me but the following plan has worked well for me. 

When starting a business, cash flow is absolutely critical and keeping costs as low as possible are very important. With this said I would recommend you buy no equipment. I am assuming that you have no experience printing shirts and I do not think it is worth the effort and time (at the start) to do the screenprinting yourself. Find a contract printer within a couple hours of you and go visit them.

Heres the deal. They have already made all of the mistakes, they took out the huge loan, they hold all the inventory for paint, screens etc which means you do not have to. Get signed up with the major suppliers (you can find names on this forum), buy the shirts from a wholesaler and drop ship them to your printer (alot of times for free if you spend enough with the supplier), pay them to print and then deliver to client. 

I have people doing contract printing for me at very reasonable rates. I like sales and I am pretty good at it so it is not worth my time to print shirts when I could be on the phone making calls. Too many people do not calculate their time into their costs of printing their shirts. They count the shirts, ink, screen, and some profit but the most valuable thing anybody has is time. 

So my recommendation is to save your time and money by contracting out your printing. if you decide you love it and have some clients built up then you can buy a press and banks will be much more willing to give you a loan since you are already in business.

hope that clears the muddy waters a little


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## rawbhaze (Jan 29, 2011)

*Re: A lot of information here, but still feel lost...*



IYIaster said:


> The building we are thinking about getting is right on the main highway.


Sounds like an excellent location so long as you aren't paying a hefty price for it. If it does come at a premium then you may want to consider streets just off of the main street/highway. Usually there are a couple of gas stations right off of the highway at the entrance/exit ramps. More times than not there will be at least a small strip mall of sorts. A location here could be just as effective at a fraction of the cost.



IYIaster said:


> We also plan on having a website that sales political shirts (shirts tea party members would like).


Later in this post you go on to mention working with other local businesses, schools, churches, etc. It would be wise to do the political site under a different name. You don't want to turn away serious and repeat potential clientele over some novelty shirts. This should be a back burner idea for now anyway. There's a gazillion and one people already on the 'net trying to make a buck on political shirts. There's zero printers in your hometown that need shirts, jerseys, etc. made year round.



IYIaster said:


> Now designing the website and the shirts wont be a problem because I'm a web designer. I'm not that artistic but I can (and already have) made some pretty cool designs.


Don't kid yourself. When is the last time you hired an electrician to overhaul your transmission? Is the logic that because you know how to use tools on a computer for one applied trade you automatically know how to do any other trades that involve a computer? Electricians and mechanics both have tools in toolboxes. That's about where the similarity ends.



IYIaster said:


> Anything artistic wise that I can't do I'm sure we can pay someone to do.


Get quotes. You are going to need them for the loan application anyway. It's the "I'm sure..." and "I think..." attitude towards expenses that get overlooked, added up and leave you with a tight margin. You have to *know* what the cost of the service will be, should you need it.



IYIaster said:


> My plan is to get a business loan through the veterans association. We already had a meeting with them a while back and were told we need a business plan and a break down of what the loan would be used for. And some other things. This is were I have no expertise.


Don't imply that this is the only area that you don't have any expertise. Have you done sales before? Have you ran the back end of a business? Have you negotiated contracts? Do you have any experience with ROI? Have you worked in marketing? Are you familiar with basic business terms such as Net 30? Have you ever embroidered? Have you ever ran a DTG?

Why have you decided to do business with the VA? Are their rates competitive with banks, credit unions and 3rd party financing companies?

You can find generic business plans on the internet that will provide a good overview of what should be included and what should be omitted. Make an appointment with your local Small Business Center. They will assist you with all areas of business. Your city may not have a center but the county likely will. Given all of the information available from them, it is very much worth long drives should it come to that.



IYIaster said:


> Other then the building, DTG printer, and the embroidery machine since we have already figured that part out what else is there?


You will need supplies for all of the equipment. You will more than likely want to purchase a vinyl plotter and heat presses. You will need office equipment- computers, fax, copiers, register, counters, shelving, displays, printer and the inks/toner/paper to go with them. You will need a way to process credit cards and that will have fees associated with that. You will need boxes and shipping supplies. You will need clothes racks. You may need whatever building supplies to section off your shop as needed. You will need insurance. You will need the standard licenses for doing business, some of which will cost money. You will need to figure out taxes at the retail, local, state and federal level. This may require the services of a tax consultant. You will likely want an alarm system. You will need a storefront sign. You will need money to pay yourself (eventually, anyway ) as well as employees salaries and any benefits. If you have employees then you will be paying into Worker's Compensation as well. Then there's trademark(s) and copyright(s) should you need them. Then there's the whole internet side of things which personally I would put off for the time being. I would put up a splash page that acts as a business card and leave it at that until winter when business gets slow. Then there's money for the Grand Opening event. I'm sure I overlooked plenty but think I hit the major areas. Yeah, I didn't even touch utilities which may or may not be part of the rent.



IYIaster said:


> How much would inventory cost? I know there are wholesale t-shirt companies but what are their prices? The ones I looked at you have to have a business licenses just to see their prices.


Yes. Now is the time to get one so that you can get the prices for sake of business planning as well as showing incentive to potential lenders.



IYIaster said:


> We would need money for advertising but how much to start off with? Where would be the best place to advertise?


You are at a *HUGE* advantage by being the only game in town and having a prime location. I would spend very little money percentage wise in this area. I would get in bed with the local Chamber of Commerce as they will help promote you. I would write up a press release for the local newspapers that introduces you, your store, your mission and announces your Grand Opening. Free advertising. Then I would go to the local paper printer and purchase brochures and fliers. Take your time and make friends there as you will likely be referring customers to each other. Advertising is your major, major advantage here. This is often dead money spent in the eyes of the lenders because it's so hard to see ROI of real numbers on paper as they happened, let alone try to project the numbers. This is a strong selling point that you will need to return to and stress when you get to the nitty-gritty frowns and raised eyebrows aspect of number crunching with the loan officer.



IYIaster said:


> What all will I need to make the loan officer want to give me a loan?


Collateral. Lots of it.



IYIaster said:


> I have so many questions and have no idea were to get the answers. Can someone at least point me in the right direction?


The Small Business Center.



IYIaster said:


> All and all I think the loan will be around 60-100 thousand and that is kind of scary...


It is scary. I wouldn't do it. I would go into full sales mode with the local organizations- schools, churches, sports leagues, businesses, etc. and outsource the work. Your current approach has a building full of debt without a single sale.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

:: edited thread TITLE to be more descriptive  ::​


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## irish (Dec 13, 2008)

First of all 6500 is not a very small town, 700 is a very small town. Our whole county is only about 4000.

Before you invest a huge amount of money into this, find out WHERE the businesses, schools, etc are getting their printing done currently. You might think there is no one, but believe me there are little businesses (the lady down the street with a Yudo) that come out of the woodwork once you get started. Also as for embroidery, you may be competing with the home embroiderer with a sewing machine for an embroidery machine for smaller jobs.

Also, why are you getting an embroidery machine and a DTG? Get into ONE type of business and add to it as needed. Each one of these machines has a learning curve and you want to start with 2 of them??

I am not trying to be negative because having a dream is what it is all about. Just be more realistic about your dream and start smaller. Good luck with your ventures and I really do wish you well.


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## PhilDx (Feb 13, 2010)

Just an opinion here, but I think if you're investing in a DTG machine you're going to have to cast your net much wider than your local town, there are only so many t-shirts one person can wear. They need to be run pretty much all day everyday to be worth the investment and keep them from clogging. 

Also, the people in your town who need that kind of printing will already have a supplier and you're going to have to persuade them to switch.


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

Our area is 22000 people and I know of 2 DTG machines sitting idle because they could not generate enough work to keep them busy.....


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

As a broad comment...I think your plans are a recipe for disaster.....some of the previous posts have touched on them...But at the root...here are my concerns..a 100K loan without prior experience in this business will give you cold sweats at night. Let's just take a DTG unit. figure how many shirts just to pay for the unit...it will make you stop and think..There is a huge learning curve for DTG, for embroidery and designing..

All of the traffic passing through is just that...passing through....Why not start slow...outsource to begin until you build a customer base...as some said..the folks there already have their sources...so you have to engage them

If you insist on going ahead..focus on one aspect until you learn it before moving to the next. Last listen to the folks who are going to consider loaning the money. JMO


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