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FYI, I ICQ'd DigitalJay that RevShareHosting.com may work for him and showed him another thread about free content/free hosting ... See these threads http://forums.gaywidewebmasters.com/...t=free+hosting and http://forums.gaywidewebmasters.com/...t=free+hosting .
Anyone have any idea why it's so impossible to find an investor? I know small businesses are high risk but this has a great chance of success with very little capital needed, my only real competition is Ajaxx63 and their selection is less than diverse.
I wanted so badly to get this started in time for the holiday season, I'm going to try doing avs and tgp to make the money, but it means i'll be starting when online sales are dead. :bomb:
well, there is dontpanic.com as well... and a few others i can't think of the names of.
have you drawn up a business plan? and who did you approach with it?
also, have you approached t-shirt companies to see how small an order you can place? maybe you can get 10 different t-shirts printed for like $300 or so...
I do not like dontpanic because they infringe on a lot of copyrights with their shirts and it'll probably catch up to them sooner or later. I didn't name them because they make all kinds of shirts, I just want to do GLBT themed.Quote:
Originally posted by basschick
well, there is dontpanic.com as well... and a few others i can't think of the names of.
have you drawn up a business plan? and who did you approach with it?
also, have you approached t-shirt companies to see how small an order you can place? maybe you can get 10 different t-shirts printed for like $300 or so...
I do have a business plan, and I've approached about every gay guy I know with any kind of money. They all say they think I have an excellent idea and that it will do well but they can't afford to invest in a small business right now, or just did for someone else.
I have also priced every option available to me, from ordering screen printed shirts, to having it done locally, to doing it myself. Ordering the screen printing almost doubles my cost per unit, doing it myself would be the cheapest way to go. It allows me to create my own stock on demand with no turnaround time.
Thank you for the continuing advice and help basschick, I really really appreciate it!
imo it would be worth doubling your cost per unit to get started while still owning 100% of your company. that way, you can get started without $1000. if you're willing to give away half your company to a partner, this would be the same profit margin to you - while allowing you to start up much sooner with no partner.
btw, dontpanic is local to me. for years, all their shirts were gay and lesbian - if they expanded, it may pay them to do so. and yes, they do infringe sometimes, which is why i have a shirt that says "All I hear is Marcia, Marcia Marcia" :D
that being said, they started out for years with shirts a lot like yours. i recall they had CALL ME SIR running for a couple years.
The problem is, if i get the necesarry equipment, I can do the same amount of shirts, but in every design I have for less than doing only a few shirts professionally. The setup would cost about $400 and would increase the diversity of my catalog 10x and also give me the ability to produce shirts on demand instantly. Because of the setup costs of having someone else do it, my initial invesment in any amount of shirts would be more.
I do like a lot of dontpanic's designs, they are just setup a bit differently from how I plan to do things and do not market their shirts in the same way at all, so I wouldn't consider them direct competition as much as a place like ajaxx63. If they have survived and done well for years, I guess it is at least further proof that there is a market for what I want to sell.
while all of what you say is true, if you used an outside shirt printer, you could be in business literally tomorrow. no loans, no partners. as soon as you make some sales, use that money to buy a machine. you were willing to give away half your money to a partner so either way you give up half the money.
this way, you have no legal entanglements, you pay no interest, and you are in full control.
not to mention that after your initial model shirts, you can have the shirts printed AFTER you receive the payment, so you wouldn't be paying for the orders out of your pocket.
DJ..
Another drawback to actually owng the equiptment is.. What happens if it breaks? You have to spend the same amount aain for replacement costs of the broken goods.
I really would go much smaller at least until you kow that your shirts will sell and you have some solid income for at least 3-6 months.
Regards,
Lee
Yeah you both are right. I'm still confused on the math though.
A home press costs $320 with shipping and has a 90 day warranty and allows me to make as many or as few of any style at any time.
Setup fees on 10 shirts would be $200 plus the cost of the shirts themselves, with a two week turnaround, and that's only 1/3 of my total designs.
a home press is probably not the quality of printing you are expecting, but can't you buy a used one somewhere?
and why can't you do some simple work to earn $320? it's not that much money - surely someone here needs $350 worth of work - have you asked around?
have you really priced lots of places that print shirts? i know i've seen them - shirts included - for under $20.
A home press would be of greater quality than the ones sold by cafe press, so I figure it would be safe and give me complete creative control. I have priced used ones on ebay and they really aren't any cheaper than the $320 one, and it is from a well-known well respected brand and provides the quality I would require.
I have priced some online stores, but am worried about the time it takes to get them and quality control. Local places a $25 setup fee per design was the cheapest I could find.
If I could do anything to make the capital I would jump on the chance. I was going to take some fresh pics and try making avs sites with them but i have lost my info for my cyberage hosting and the email address it was registered to no longer exists. Plus my bf is out whoring around so I have nobody to take them at the moment. If I can be around him when he gets back i'll ask him to help me do a photoshoot and bust ass to try to get a check asap.
I have asked around if anyone needs help but I think everyone is pinching their pennies right now b/c of the holiday season.
through the power of google:
http://www.zazzle.com/create/custom/...C-GJ6658976473
http://customink.com?cm_ven=Google&c...rt%20printing/
http://www.berda.com/
minimum is 12 shirts, but when you get bigger, they may be a very good place to consider, and for less than you could buy the shirts for in some cases.
http://www.berda.com/t-shirts_better.shtml these prices are nowhere near $20 + t-shirt. in fact, nowhere online could i find shirts for $20 PLUS the shirts - not one place. $20 was the highest i saw, and that included the printing.
or perhaps if you buy heat transfers, you can iron them on the shirts yourself...
With some money, I could do anything. With the big fat none I have now, all I can do is dream.
Thank you so much basschick, I hadn't seen any of those places I must have been typing in bad word combinations. I've been set on doing dark-fabric heat transfers with a heat press for a while and didn't research ordering screen printed shirts as much as I should have.
I'm giving up on getting in before these holidays so I can concentrate on getting what I need to done a bit at a time, as I have money. I guess that way I have a whole year to build up before the next rush. I don't care how long it takes for me to make this happen or how many small steps it takes, I'm already commited to it and won't rest until I have my online store.
Does anyone have an opinion about any of my designs/ideas? Think they are tired, crap, lame, great, funny, anything? Those are just a few and not really the best, but give a good idea of what I'm going for.
you can get heat transfers cheap off one of those sites...
your text for your shirts is fine. it's all about how well you market them, and to whom!