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Where do i go from here?

Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 1:57 am
by Martin
here is where i am at, i kinda call it a brick wall or something like it. its gonna sound like a bunch of babbling but if you have the time keep reading.

I think i goofed my screen printing business.in the sense that i wont be making any money. i was selling shirts for $6 a shirt with 4 color process on 2 sides, that was mistake number 1. i was not charging for the time i spend on artwork or separations that was mistake number 2. i has a friend do the printing from his house and we would split the profits but (he lives 45minutes away from me each way). anyway he just had a baby and don't want to do my printing any more so i had a back up but she went out of business cuz she wasn't making any profit . she was selling her shirts at $4 each with unlimited colors on either side. (by this point i bet you realized that my spelling sux anyway...) I'm stuck with a 24 shirt order that i promised a customer an ill be making $5 profit. And he still wants another 36 white shirts for next week also with multiple colors. :cry: . an old pastor at a Church once told me that its always good to have a good name that you can stand by in anything you do. so that's why I'm getting this guys order don with minimal profit.

everyone i do business with knows me for my low prices and good quality prints but if I'm not making any profit how do i break it to them that i will me raising my prices or that i cant do shirts anymore? unless i find someone who can print low quantities with good quality at really cheap prices for resell? I gotta start charging more?

any and all feed back is appreciated.

Re: Where do i go from here?

Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 10:42 am
by ROADSIDE
I think I am the perfect person to answer this post. WHY?
Because I HATE PEOPLE THAT SELL TO CHEAP!
Martin... I am not saying I hate you at all..... But you go into BUSINESS to make MONEY!
If you are doing something and not making any money you are NOT A BUSINESS... you are SLAVE LABOR.

Doing shirts for $6 with full color on both sides is just stupid.... especially ONLY 24

Example based on 24 shirts:
Shirts AFTER SHIPPING COST x 2 (at least) = $4 (your price may be more or less)
$2 per color, per side.
4 color front = $8
4 color back = $8
Total per shirt = $20


Most people after hearing the price decided that 1 or 2 colors will work just fine for their small order.
Thats pretty much what I charge for orders of 24 shirts on white with full color prints.
There is so much labor involved with making 8 screens and cleaning 8 screens that $6 a shirt is worse the doing them for free. You are actually PAYING people to buy your shirts.

I have no franchise fees and I own all of my equipment out right and I still charge enough to pay my bills. If the work is good the people will understand.
Give discounts to repeats and large orders that are going to be easy for you to turn out.

ALSO Dont bother your local screen printer by trying to get fake quotes to see what the competition is charging. Just tell them you are a competitor and are curious to see what they are charging. If they are cool they are going to WANT you to charge more.
Did you ever notice gas stations are all within the same price of each other in a given area?

Good Luck and RAISE YOUR PRICES!

Re: Where do i go from here?

Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 12:03 pm
by Martin
I really do think your are correct ROADSIDE and appreciate your insight. I was charging way too cheap. I was making a little profit but not enough to keep me afloat. I've been researching a lot as to what equipment costs and garments inks and all, so I went ahead and the book how to print shirts for fun and profit. I would like to own my own equipment and do everything myself so I won’t be cheating anyone or myself. With that said, expect to hear from me a lot on these forum cuz I’m going to have a lot of questions.

Re: Where do i go from here?

Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 10:02 pm
by Five Star Big Man
Hi Martin, I can REALLY relate to your problem. When I went into business ,I was doing the exact same thing.It didnt take long to figure out that the bills may barely getting paid,but thats all,only the bills. No Labor Left over .My Wife had a "Come To Jesus" meeting with me ,and told me if I wanted to stick around and make some money ,I needed to Evaluate my situation and come up with a better plan. So I took her advise,and closed the shop for a full day, sat down at the computer and figured all expenses to run the business.When I took the time to do that,I was quickly able to come up with Adequate pricing.When my Regular customers came back,I explained to them that they would still be getting the great service,But with competitiveness, and materials going up ,my price would have to go up too. Most all of the customers understood,(and the ones that didnt were ones that didnt pay their bill anyway).So If i may suggest, get your pricing right and move onward and upward.