How to start your own t-shirt line in 8 steps

I found this on hypebeast.com forum...So for those of you that are interested in starting your own clothing line here you go! I hope you enjoy.


If i am wrong anywhere, feel free to point it out so i can correct it. there were hyperlinks too so if you visit this site you will get it.
From this site:


8 Steps to starting your own t-shirt clothing line. Take this advise loosely.

1. Planning ($1,000 to $5,000) - Save Money and sketch ideas. It is important that you think of the niche you would like to take on and that you belong and love this niche. Don’t do something just because you think it is profitable when you have no passion for it. Lastly, while you are saving your pennies, think about whether you really want to get into selling t-shirts and if you are fit for the industry. In the long run, it just won’t work if there is no passion or commitment.

2. Legalize your company (<$500) - Create a company name and make it legal at LegalZoom.com. At LegalZoom.com, you can obtain a seller’s permit, EIN (tax purposes), and DBA without the headache of filling out government forms. Instead, LegalZoom does it all for you after you fill out a few simple questionnaires for a very reasonable fee.

3. Artwork ($0 to $400) - Find an artist (or teach yourself) who can draw on Adobe Illustrator ($400), Adobe Photoshop ($400), GIMP (Free Photo tool), or Inkscape (FREE Vector tool). You can choose to either make that artist your partner or contract them at a per shirt rate.

4. T-shirt Stock ($500 to $1,000) – Find a t-shirt wholesaler around your area. They should be willing to sell to you if you have the $ at a wholesale price. Or, if you find a mom and pop retail t-shirt shop that sells t-shirts that you like, ask them if they would be willing to sell to large quantities at a wholesale price. The price should range from $1.50 to $2.50 a shirt and beyond that is pretty high. I recommend the streetwear standard of AAA.

5. Printing ($500 to $4,000) - who can print as well as sew on labels for you. This should be someone local so you can approve designs in person without waiting. Messages and concerns can easily be conveyed with in-person dialogue. Check out the Yellow Pages for “Screen Printing.”

6. Sell Online at BigCartel.com ($0) -where it is extremely easy to list products and collect money from sales. They specialize only on the upcoming small startup clothing brands so you would feel comfortable starting there. With your very own BigCartel store, you can list 5 products with an image for free!

7. Bookkeeping ($0) – Use OpenOffice.org’s spreadsheets and word processing documents to store all your company’s information. Be sure to keep receipts of transactions and take notes of little expenses like gas for trips to the printers or website fees. This information is not only good for when you have to file your taxes but would keep your expenses on track. It is very important to keep track of the whole project in order to determine how much it actually costs to create a few dozen/hundred shirts. When you know this, you can determine your price point to wholesale or sell online at BigCartel.com. It would be foolish if you did not do this which could lead to negative profits because expenses add up.

8. Collect Money and Expand - use Myspace, Facebook, Linkedin, WallyChamp, Blogs, discussion forums, and other networks where your target demographic’s niche is in cyberspace to put the word out. You should also open up your own website with GoDaddy where you can buy a domain for about $10 and host it with them for less than $100 a year.