| Where would a T-shirt printing business be if it didn't | | | | somebody's stolen it. That can't be fair, can it? No, it |
| have any customers? Nowhere, is the answer. | | | | can't be. |
| Without selling your products, you won't be getting | | | | Protecting your work is one of those steps which |
| anywhere too soon. So where can you focus your | | | | many businesses will completely ignore through |
| marketing to increase sales? | | | | inconvenience. But those very same businesses could |
| Following the boom of user generated content, | | | | eventually be left to resent the decision. How do you |
| MySpace has developed in to a hot spot of niche | | | | protect your designs? |
| business activity. A brief search will provide dozens of | | | | It's possible to trademark your designs, but |
| T-shirt trading businesses, all seeking to gain the | | | | ultimately, a huge deficit in your budget. A more |
| attention of a growing audience. | | | | viable option is to copyright them. If you notice |
| You can look at this in two ways. Either it's a | | | | anybody stealing your work - most commonly |
| saturated market and already exploited, or it's | | | | practiced on sites such as CafePress where they |
| offering something rewarding and exists for a reason. | | | | don't have to own their own equipment - it's possible |
| EBay, on the other hand, does just that. By creating | | | | to send a C&D (Cease and Desist) to the |
| a store on the world's number one auction site, you | | | | support team of the website. This should invite an |
| can plunge yourself straight in to a market where | | | | investigation in to the activity and providing that you |
| you KNOW that customers are visiting with the mind | | | | can prove that the design has been unlawfully stolen, |
| to part with their hard earned cash. Be prepared to | | | | you'll be entitled to every last penny back. |
| face competition - and eBay charges. There is a cost | | | | Copywriting is protective in the sense that it stops |
| to advertise your products and a commission to | | | | people taking your work and re-distributing it directly. |
| eBay when each T-shirt is sold. | | | | But it can't be relied on for issues where somebody |
| You can alternatively build your own commerce store. | | | | has modified it significantly. |
| This provides full creative license to present your | | | | These are murky waters for your T-shirt design |
| product as you wish, but it also involves a greater | | | | business, but the lenience is partly down to the fact |
| depth of involvement on the site maintenance side. | | | | that many designs are unknowingly similar. We all |
| Sell to friends. Hey, if they're your friends, they | | | | take inspiration from somewhere, and unless a design |
| better like you enough to get your aspiring enterprise | | | | is clearly and obviously stolen, it can be very hard to |
| off the ground! | | | | prove in the legal sense - and expensive too. |
| Not every sales transaction has to be initiated by the | | | | Getting advice for your T-shirt Design Business |
| customer. If you're absolutely certain that your | | | | It's a lonely world when you start up a business and |
| T-shirt design is a success story waiting to happen, | | | | can't get it up and running. That's why the Internet |
| don't dwell on it. Approach a proper retail outlet and | | | | can be so beneficial for getting useful insight from |
| pitch the idea of selling them your product. In most | | | | the people who are already successful. |
| cases, this will lead to rejection - although not | | | | Be sure to check out for an active range of tips, |
| necessarily down to lack of quality. Try to find an | | | | support and general advice. |
| outlet which specialises in the field that your T-shirt is | | | | Conclusion |
| catered to. Maybe you could even design a shirt with | | | | Running any business, through commercial or hobbyist |
| a company in mind? | | | | intentions, is going to take a lot of hard work and a |
| Don't rule out the wonderfully profitable business of | | | | lengthy display of commitment. |
| acting as a provider to T-shirt requests. It's the one | | | | If you're setting out on the road to become the |
| area when you can really inflate your prices and | | | | next T-shirt printing guru, have a look around at what |
| make maximum gain. The explosion of Stag and Hen | | | | your rivals are producing. Use your creative talents |
| nights and weekends has created a huge demand for | | | | and ask yourself how you can do it better. With the |
| customised and personalised T-shirts. | | | | inspiration driving you on and the determination to |
| Protecting Your T-shirt Design | | | | make a success of your hard work, there's no |
| So you've perfected your latest T-shirt through | | | | reason why this writer can't be wearing your first |
| painstaking hours of endless adjustments...and | | | | T-shirt sometime soon. Good luck! |