Tee-rific Free Resources for Your T-Shirt Business
The hardest part is always the beginning. Where do you start? If you are ready to start a t-shirt business, there are a number of free tools to help you begin.
Business Resources
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has a number of free tools to help with the legal setup of your business. My favorite is SCORE. (www.score.org) This program will partner you with a volunteer mentor who is doing what you want to do. If you want to learn more about this free program, here is the link to watch their webinar, “How to Start A Business Using a Free SCORE Mentor, How To Start A Business Using A Free SCORE Mentor | SCORE
SCORE also offers a free business plan template that will help you organize your goals and your target market. It also will help you list out your competition and how your proposed product offering will fit in the mix. It will also start you thinking about how you will price and market your products.
SCORE-Startup-Business-Plan-Template.docx (live.com)
Design Tools
Transfer Express offers a free online designer, Easy View. This is web based so you can use any device to access and create your own t-shirt designs. You can use thousands of customizable templates or use the fonts and clip art to create your own unique design. The designer has a library where you can save and organize possible designs. It also includes a mockup generator so your ideas can be used in marketing and social media.
Market Research Tools
As you work your way through your business plan you will want to see where your ideas fit. Google Trends allows you to explore the popularity of different t-shirt designs or niches. Use it to ensure your designs align with market demands.
Social media insights are another market research tool that can be used. This will help guide your marketing strategy.
Learning Platforms
YouTube is filled with helpful information about starting a t-shirt business. Transfer Express has a channel as does our sister company Stahls. On both channels, new videos are added weekly as well as the hundreds that have already been filmed. Use the search bar within the channel to find exactly what you need.