Episode 139 – 7 Things That Kill T-Shirt Business Growth

Show Notes

Here are seven (7) things that kill business growth. Ignoring these things are certain to keep your custom t-shirt business, embroidery, sign, promo products business from being more. More sales, more profits, and more satisfying for you and your customers.

1. Bad Accounting – In other words, not knowing your numbers. All too often people think they are doing well, but they are failing slowly.

2. Ignoring Customer Feedback – Your customers will tell you what’s wrong, especially if you ask them. Listen to what they say to improve your business. Often, new business owners will let pride get in the way – thinking “this is the way I do it” instead of how can I give the customer what they want.

3. No plan for Customer Service / Experience – If all you think about is sales, you will forget to think about customer service, customer experience, good processes, organized accounting, etc.

4. Focus on the Making and not the Money – making t-shirts is an art, but if you spend so much time on the art, your orders won’t be profitable. Your time is worth money.

5. Making YOUR Business all about what your Competitors are Doing – People will by from you because you are different from the competition, not because you are the same. Sometimes it important to offer similar items, because they are your competition. However, they aren’t you, and you aren’t them. If you try to push your business into something it’s not, it will fail.

6. Change for Change’s Sake – You don’t need a new idea every day, and a new product to sell every day. Be sure to focus on things that are working, and then look for the right time to push for a new innovation. If you are just getting your t-shirt sales going, it might not be a good idea to spend days trying to figure out how to print on dog collars because its a new idea. If the shirts are working, go for them. This also might be the same for your niche, you don’t need to think of a new niche every day.

7. Hiring Mistakes – Not everyone is good at every job. Someone who isn’t detail oriented or very good at math probably shouldn’t be an accountant. Someone who is 5ft and 100lbs probably should have a job lifting 80lbs bags of concrete. We are all physically and mentally different in our strengths. You need to take this into account for your business. You cannot keep your nephew employed if they are doing damage to your business. You shouldn’t be afraid to let someone go if they aren’t a part of your success.

Listen to these episodes:

https://customapparelstartups.com/episode-17-know-numbers-value-customer/

https://customapparelstartups.com/episode-18-know-numbers-part-2/