# How did you get your financial start in the industry?



## crookedline (Oct 25, 2012)

I'm just curious as to how my peers got their financial start in this industry. I recently went onto local screen printers website, and saw the equipment they had. I googled the model numbers and found that some pieces of equipment were worth over $20,000. Not only equipment, but these big warehouses and all the overhead.

I guess I'm just lost on this one. Did you save up? Did you go with a bank loan? business/personal credit cards? Lines of credits? grants?

The most expensive equipment I own is a heatpress and I plan on getting a Roland GX-24 with my income tax return in a few weeks. I would love to get into screen printing (instead of outsourcing plastisol transfers), embroidery and DTG, but financially, I'm sure this is highly improbable with the profits I'm making and working my regular full time job..

How'd you guys make it happen? Any ideas would be great!!


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## jfisk3475 (Jan 28, 2011)

I started with 1 piece of equipment at a time. 4 color screen press. I want a paid for itself I bought a vinyl cutter. once it paid for itself I bought a dye sub. Printer and he presses. so really started out with 500 dollars. over 2 and a half years it's all paid for. next is a direct to garment

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## rlaubert (Aug 14, 2011)

We started with Embroidery. Purchased that when Brother had a Zero Percent interest program. Then added Sublimation and a cheap heat press. Sold the heat press and purchased a better one (Fusion). Next added an inkjet printer and CIS to make our own transfers. Recently purchased a used DTG (sold it) and waiting on new DTG (Friday now). I don't do screen printing as we live and work in an RV so there is no room. I have been looking for screen printers in my area that do garments. Haven't found any to partner with yet. May have to get an office and start that up too hehe.


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## Surge (Dec 22, 2012)

I just jumped into the industry to be honest. I was selling phone cases and accessories on ebay and found huge profit margins in ebay, even though they rape you in fees. As a web developer, I got a business plan and went to the government for a business grant. I was awarded a lump sum, and have only been running for two months! I have a physical location + a website and its working for great for me.


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## AtkinsonConsult (May 2, 2011)

Luis:

Most successful shops that I've run across all have similar tales. Everyone started small, in some tiny space, with little equipment and then just kept adding things as opportunities arose, business got better, and the demand increased.

A very common trick is to sell something, such as embroidery or screen printing, building the business - but outsourcing it to someone else for production. This can build up a nest egg for capital investments, but also teaches you how to sell something and you don't get stuck with equipment payments when business slows down.

Take advantage of buying used equipment when you can, as there is plenty out there. Buy the best you can afford.

Also, take some classes, attend a trade show - learn about your industry before purchasing. That $20,000 press that seems so expensive may have a different perspective if you understand how to use and what a $50,000 press could do.

Good luck,

-M


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## SickPuppy (Aug 10, 2009)

I started by leasing most of my equipment, I used credit cards to purchase supplies and blanks. 

I have 2 Toyota embroidery machines (ESP 9000 and a 9100), an 80 Watt LASER engraver, and a Roland SP300V, at one point they were all leased. The Toyota ESP 9000 and the SP300V I now own.

When you are starting out it is often easier to get a lease approved than it is a Bank loan. You can find good deals on used equipment that qualifies for a lease.


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## ImTiredGuy (Jun 24, 2012)

You need a wealthy relative willing to make an investment that pays off!


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## jfisk3475 (Jan 28, 2011)

try ProWorld for silk screen transfers. you can do 1 color in an RV.

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## headfirst (Jun 29, 2011)

Started out selling print out of a 10x10 one room office. I had been in the print business for a decade so I had contacts to buy wholesale and contract print and build my own customer base. Once I had the business to support it I bought an existing shop from a guy that was leaving the industry and moved on from there. Onward and upward!


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

We started for under $500 to register our company as a C-Corp and outsourced all of our production for a year. Then we went to the NBM Show in Long Beach CA and started buying equipment with the money we made from the jobs we did. As each piece of equipment paid for itself with the work we had we went to several liquidation sales of local stores that closed and purchased a bunch of fixtures and furniture for real cheap. 

We rented a place at the worst time you can imagine (real estate market crash several years ago) in a shopping area with over 50% vacancy rates but rents were down over 60% so we got a great deal on our lease and still have a great deal 5 years later. 

Now as we get more and more business we purchase equipment to make us faster and that increases our margin. 

Every year we revisit our business plan, marketing plan, financial plan and revise it with what we think we need to do the next year.


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## Printavo (Oct 7, 2007)

I believe we spent around $7k to get started with proper equipment and a 4x4 press. Look for used equipment, that's how we saved a decent amount.


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## crookedline (Oct 25, 2012)

All of these responses are great! I feel motivated when I hear your stories. I am starting from the bottom and don't have any financial backing. I'm hoping the Roland cutter and a website will bring in some income and slowly but surely move up from there.


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## missswissinc (Feb 21, 2012)

same here we used to outsource everything from embroidery to screen printing. well as time went on we (myself, wife and father in law) sat down and decided it wasn't worth outsourcing since we couldn't find reliable sources to do the work. We decided to start with a 4 head melco embroidery machine. towards the end of 2011 we bought for under $2,000 a 6 color 1 head press, 20x24 light table, flash unit and the little things like ink, screens, emulsion etc and those were all used equipment. And so far with us now screen printing in house we basically paid for the equipment 3 times over with the profit we made doing it in house in the first yr. Just last yr we bought for about $5,600 with a 4 yr no interest finance a 6 needle machine that can do hats and we didn't have that option to do it with the 4 needle and we have jobs already going on it. If we keep going at the rate we are I have a feeling in 2-3 yrs we will need a 16 needle machine. 

have a look at ebay with screen printing equipment for sale. believe me I've bought out some people who are selling their stuff on that site and hey I'm still using the inks even now from a guy who was closing up shop since he was retiring and moving down south. Bought a bunch of inks off of ebay for $200 I believe.


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## Preston (Mar 21, 2006)

crookedline said:


> All of these responses are great! I feel motivated when I hear your stories. I am starting from the bottom and don't have any financial backing. I'm hoping the Roland cutter and a website will bring in some income and slowly but surely move up from there.


I started by accident. I bought a cutter decades back to make vinyl graphics for my remote control model helicopters. They are hard to see which direction they are going in the sky and paint at that time would not stick to the canopies so florescent and other bright colors of vinyl where the ticket. Others saw my graphics and wanted them so I started making them for other people. That grew into worldwide sales with distributors in the UK and Australia as well as my sales here in the states.

I then used the money from the decals to start buying used screen printing equipment. I bought a used 6 color press and a flash to start. Then it was just a mater of swapping equipment out for better stuff anytime I could find a deal. Now I am working on retiring from the printing business and focusing totally on development of software for the industry.


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## SickPuppy (Aug 10, 2009)

crookedline said:


> I'm hoping the Roland cutter and a website will bring in some income and slowly but surely move up from there.


Don't count on web sales to sustain your business. It is easier to break into a local market. Do the foot work, take samples to the local businesses and schools. 

Unless you know a lot about SEO, or you have the money to pay someone to do it for you, a web site will not bring in the revenue you want.

If you can’t get your web site to land in the top 5 Google pages very few people will ever see it.


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## crookedline (Oct 25, 2012)

Thanks a lot sickpuppy..I definitely understand the website won't bring in the revenue I want. What I meant by that was that with my income tax refund I planned on getting the cutter and the website, which is the next step in my plan. I still plan on doing the footwork as far as marketing and making connections the old fashioned way.


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## crookedline (Oct 25, 2012)

Also, I've been doing A LOT of reading these last few days and as of today, I'm starting to lean towards the new Graphtec CE-6000- 24"...mainly because I use corel and I like that it has a plug in which allows me to cut directly from Corel. Also, the fact that the stand is included in the price is big for me. With the $275ish that I would have to pay for the stand, I can get several rolls of vinyl. Any rebuttles?


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

crookedline said:


> Also, I've been doing A LOT of reading these last few days and as of today, I'm starting to lean towards the new Graphtec CE-6000- 24"...mainly because I use corel and I like that it has a plug in which allows me to cut directly from Corel. Also, the fact that the stand is included in the price is big for me. With the $275ish that I would have to pay for the stand, I can get several rolls of vinyl. Any rebuttles?


We have this cutter and purchased from Ciber Supply, CS Sign Supply, Your online source for sign making supplies, software and equipment, out of GA. Great folks to work with. I would buy from them again. 

The Corel plug in works great, you don't need any other software, just get the latest version from the Graphtec website. Also, when you buy the cutter get some extra holders and cutting strips. They will give you a couple of CleanClut Blades but you can buy those direct for Clean Cut.


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## jfisk3475 (Jan 28, 2011)

We use the net only for catalog for customers. No online orders.

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