# Are you running a P.O.D. store like a real business ? Or just winging it ? A Survey



## promotethecause (Mar 1, 2017)

Hello. I was set up to start selling my t-shirt designs on a few different sites including Zazzle, Teespring, DesignbyHumans, and Society6. Then I was advised by a friend in business to set up an LLC as a minimum for liability protection.


To try and make a long story short, I find out if I do that, become a legitimate business (even though I don't even have my own website) then I also need to get business insurance (a single owner LLC is not enough protection) a county business license, a city business license ...which lead me to finding out that any and all home based businesses are not allowed in my HOA (Homeowners Association) where I reside. It's actually legal to have a home business in my city (with restrictions) but not by living in my HOA development. WOW. I NEVER even thought that doing something in my own home, sitting at my desk alone, no employees, no clients visiting, no signage on my house, not bothering anyone in my neighborhood at all, is actually illegal where I live and I need to get a business address. So either I have to find a virtual office or otherwise some place I can utilize as business space (not where I reside and already have a great home office in !)



Really REALLY mad about this. Nothing I can do about it, we've been living in this HOA for years before I ever dreamed up an idea to work out of home. Can't move either, for various reasons. 



Not here to rant really but because I'd like some information. If you feel like replying publicly or privately to me, it would really help to know the following. Be as detailed as you can, if you will. Thank you.


*SURVEY QUESTIONS: *

(1) Do you run your P.O.D. stores like a real business ? Meaning, you formed a business entity like a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, etc.

(2) Do you primarily work from or in your home ? 

(3) Did you need a license to work from home ?

(4) Did you get a license to work from home ? 

(5) Are you living where it's legally zoned for you to work in your own home ?


(6) Have you used a lawyer's services to establish your business or defend it ?


(7) Have you had any of your artwork taken down from P.O.D. sites by request or demand?


(8) Has anyone accused you of copyright infringement over one of your designs listed online for sale ?


(9) If so, what happened, how did you handle it ?


----------



## theeyeinside (Nov 25, 2018)

You do not have a "Point of Presence" in your home as customers do not visit you and you are not printing T-Shirts or anything else. You are not creating product locally. You are NOT working from home.

HOA piss off

Get a UPS Store mail box and that is your business address.

Get your LLC in Wyoming or New Mexico. $100 a year for the agent and state fees or something like that.

You don't need a business license because your "business" is in Wyoming or New Mexico. So if you get an LLC in Nevada, you DO need a business license because they require it.

You can get VPS website Hosting packages starting at $10 month on WebHostingTalk.com or a private server for $55 a month on Quadix.com. Add a Management Company & CPanel for another $65 and you have a monster private server for $120 a month that will host hundreds of websites.

Having one website or 100 websites, each with Woocommerce shopping carts selling products in different niches is a better model than trying to compete with "Artists" wanting to express themselves.

"Artists" are a dime a dozen. You can hire talent on Fiverr.com for $10 to $50 to design a a T-shirt even if you dont want to do it yourself.

I cannot see a T-Shirt company being sued. If they want to, let 'em. The LLC has no assets. Judgement against you? Fold the company and start a new one. Use the Shopify Business Name creator to create a new one.

You don't need a clothing line.

You need 100 clothing lines.

The money is in the niches.

I saw a post by a guy on Reddit that rakes in the money.

He creates a niche T-Shirt Company for something dumb like "cats". Use WooCommerce on Wordpress. Get your WooCommerce plugins on GPLDL.com

He adds articles about "cats" so that the store is not just a cart, it is a blog that gets indexed.

He visits forums about "cats" and looks for sayings and signatures relating to cats. Copies them down.

He makes T-Shirts about "cats" using those sayings and puts them in his niche store.

A license to print money, especially if you have a dedicated server and you buy domains on Godaddy for 99 cents the first year.

Then if you want to promote the "cats" site and accidentally sell T-Shirts, use the marketing secrets at www.BlackHatWorld.com

Become an EXPERT at Instagram Marketing uploading all those "cats" pictures and pulling people to your stores. You need 5 or 10 Instagram accounts. Just work up to it slow.

Rinse and Repeat with other niches. Pets always work. Even a store about a certain species of dog will work. People are loyal to their pets. I saw a bumper sticker the other day - they loved their "grand dog" ....

And while you are on BlackHatWorld.com, look up some courses on T-Shirt selling, Instagram Marketing, etc They share everything these. 

And look me up. I am "The Eye Inside"

Best regards,

The Eye


----------



## promotethecause (Mar 1, 2017)

I don't know how I didn't see this reply or whether I did see it and just never replied, but belatedly, I thank you for the advice, really good.


Anyone else have any input ?


----------



## andrew234 (Apr 4, 2020)

promotethecause said:


> Hello. I was set up to start selling my t-shirt designs on a few different sites including Zazzle, Teespring, DesignbyHumans, and Society6. Then I was advised by a friend in business to set up an LLC as a minimum for liability protection.
> 
> 
> To try and make a long story short, I find out if I do that, become a legitimate business (even though I don't even have my own website) then I also need to get business insurance (a single owner LLC is not enough protection) a county business license, a city business license ...which lead me to finding out that any and all home based businesses are not allowed in my HOA (Homeowners Association) where I reside. It's actually legal to have a home business in my city (with restrictions) but not by living in my HOA development. WOW. I NEVER even thought that doing something in my own home, sitting at my desk alone, no employees, no clients visiting, no signage on my house, not bothering anyone in my neighborhood at all, is actually illegal where I live and I need to get a business address. So either I have to find a virtual office or otherwise some place I can utilize as business space (not where I reside and already have a great home office in !)
> ...


What is the best Print on Demand company? It seems like small quantity orders at very expensive.


----------



## andrew234 (Apr 4, 2020)

Winging it. What is the best Print on Demand company? It seems like small quantity orders at very expensive.


----------



## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

andrew234 said:


> Winging it. What is the best Print on Demand company? It seems like small quantity orders at very expensive.


Any quantity of POD prints are expensive because the 1,000th unit costs just as much to print as the first one. If you want to print in volume, use screen printing.


----------



## andrew234 (Apr 4, 2020)

Winging it is not really what I am doing. I am going to start a Kickstarter campaign for another business. I had quite a bit of art created for t-shirts. The t-shirts will be gifts when people donate certain amounts. Therefore, if I only get a request for one design of say, 12 then it lowers the amount of the funds raised because the t-shirt is so expensive.


----------



## maguettesubcommittee (2 mo ago)

I think there is nothing illegal about such a proceeding. To organize everything, you should take full legal advice.


----------

