We’ve created a detailed step-by-step guide to walk you through all the important steps of starting your own clothing line business. 

This guide is specifically designed for entrepreneurs who want to start their business in the print on demand industry. 

First of, with the right mindset and determination, anyone can do it.

You don’t need a fancy graduate degree to be a successful print on demand seller.

As for any type of business, everyone starts from scratch. What are you waiting for? Let’s get to work. 

Print On Demand Advantages

• Quick SetUp
• Small to Minimal Upfront Investment
• No Inventory  
• Customization
• Personalization  
• Low Prices 
• High-Quality Printing 
• Unlimited Color Options
• Many Clothing & Accessory Options
• Environmentally Friendly (reducing waste) 
• Scalability 
• No Minimum Orders 
• Automatization

Find Your Niche

The most successful print on demand business identifies a problem and works toward fixing the problem, or you can follow what already works.

Pro Tip: Some of the best niches are the ones with high demand, a ton of websites, and a large number of competitors.   

Ways To Find Your Niche

• Examine Trends
  • Keyword Tool 
  • eBay Popular
  • Google Trends
  • Reddit
  • Mix
  • Amazon Best Selling Products 
• Look at Your Interests, Passions, and Problems 
• Watch Television 
• Read Online Magazines
• Read Forums  

Get inspired with 100 print on demand niche ideas, click here. 

Pro Tip: Implement micro marketing strategy that is even more specific than a niche itself. Micro niches are generally found as long tail keywords. Micro niches are more likely to have fewer visitors but they are more likely to be extremely interested in your product(s). 

• Appeal to a More Specific Target Group 
• Better Google Rankings
• Credibility 
• High Conversion Rates
• Effective Email Marketing 

Here’s a basic example of a micro niche. 

• Triathlon 
• Triathlon in Colorado
• Triathlon Training Camps in Colorado
• Women Triathlon Camps in Colorado  

If you want, you can take it a step further. 

Write a Business Plan

Never underestimate the power of a business plan. A strong foundation is key to success. 

Here are a few reasons why startups fail.  

Here are the general basics of an ecommerce business plan. 

• Company Summary – a general overview of all requirements and purpose of the business 
• Market Analysis – analyze competition and develop target market 
• Outline Products – choose products and designs 
• Web Plan – include all details of what you plan to use to sell 
• Develop Processes – include details of customer acquisition and scaling 
• Marketing Strategy – mission, branding, and communication 
• Financial Strategy – describe budget, funding requirements, and startup costs 

Develop Clothing Brand

Crafting a brand for your new business is essential. With so many clothing brands, you need to differentiate yourself among others. 

Brand is your company’s identity, it’s more than just a logo or a slogan, it’s who you are and what you stand for as a business. 

Branding…

• Builds Trust 
• Maintains Credibility 
• Promotes Recognition
• Inspires 
• Generates New Customers 
• Supports Marketing

Choosing a Fulfillment Center

A Print On Demand (POD) fulfillment company provides the printing and shipping of products to your customers.

Why would one want to use fulfillment centers? Print on demand fulfillment centers save you time so you can focus your energy on marketing, acquiring new customers, managing the business, and providing exceptional customer service.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK0fuoIFuPk

Print On Demand Model

• Choose print on demand company
• Create a selling platform 
• Upload designs 
• Customer makes a purchase, the print on demand company prints the product(s)
• Print on demand company packages & ships the product directly to the customer
• You, as the seller, will pocket the profit margin based on shipping & production costs

Choosing a Selling Platform

CustomCat offers integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, API, and CSV. Check the details below. 

Shopify

Your Shopify orders are automatically sent to CustomCat to be decorated and fulfilled. Orders are batched into our system every 2 hours.

We decorate the product using the art file uploaded to CustomCat and ship it to your customer in a white labeled package.

CustomCat then automatically updates the customer with tracking information for the order once it ships via Shopify’s API.

Install the CustomCat app from the Shopify App Store, and you will be prompted to choose from one of two plans. 

Here’s a quick guide to get you setup. 

WooCommerce

Once you have integrated with CustomCat, you can use our software to create amazing products to sell in your WooCommerce store.

The process follows the same steps as if you were selling with Shopify – orders are automatically sent to CustomCat, fulfilled, and shipped directly to your customer.  

Here’s a quick guide to get you started with WooCommerce. 

API for Automated Fulfillment

The major difference between API and Plug and Play Options (Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy, and more) is customization. With API you make your website or the platform that you use to look the way you want with no limitations.

We suggest marketing and getting sales before considering to use the CustomCat API.

API stands for Application Programming Interface.

APIs are used by software developers and using this solution will require extra programming from your development team.

CustomCat’s API will automate sending orders from your online store or platform to our system without the need for any manual order submission.

Keep in mind that in order to connect to the CustomCat API, you will need to hire a software developer to handle it for you.

*CustomCat will not build your store or integrate the API for you. You don’t need the API to use CustomCat. You can manually submit yours via Order by CVS. 

Get started here.

Order By CVS

CSV DocumentOrder By CVS  is relatively the same process as API, just a tad different. You as a seller, input the orders manually. CustomCat has you fill out a spreadsheet with the order information. This must be done in order to print your designs.

CSV Spreadsheet 

[pdf-embedder url=”https://blog.customcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/CC_2018_CSVDocumentation_3-15-18.pdf” title=”CSVGuide “]

Create a Design Collection

Whether ecommerce is your next step in your career or a side hustle gig, congrats! You are one step closer to launching your biz. If you’ve chosen CustomCat as the print on demand fulfillment service, you are now ready to start designing products.

Top Selling Products

Before you start the design process, here are a few of the top selling products that you should most definitely add to your list. 

Pro Tips For Creating Better T-Shirt Designs

If you plan to design yourself – simplicity and originality is the key. 

• Sketch your designs – create multiple variations 
• Place the designs on different products & colors 
• Create the right format of artwork 
• Choose the right printing company

If designing is not your cup of tea, you may want to consider hiring a designer or check out some of these designer communities (Dribble, Behance, and more). 

Validate Your Designs

Product validation: test the market to mitigate the risk before pouring your heart and soul into investment and resources. 

Get Community Feedback

Get in touch with friends, family, co-workers, former co-workers, mentors, and classmates. Ask for opinions and suggestions.  

Interview Target Market

The best way to understand if your products will sell is to talk to the people that the products are actually targeted for. 

Post on Social Networks

Use the popular social media networks: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Don’t forget to check out these LinkedIn Groups below. 

• On Startups 
• Future Trends
• I Startups

Use Online Forums

Reddit is a good place to start to get a feel for the market. 

• r/SideProject
• r/Entrepreneur
• r/Startups

Crowdfunding

Kickstarter –  is a crowdfunding platform for entrepreneurs to test the waters.

Open a Test Store

After you exhausted all the options above, and you have a pretty good idea that your designs will sell, go ahead and set up an online store.  

Mocking Up Your Designs

When you have your designs ready, the next step is to get some mockups.

There are a few ways you can go about it. 

• Order samples and take your own product images
• Use Digital mockups – Create t-shirt mockups in seconds with Placeit or Zakeke 

Develop a Marketing Plan

To attract customers, you need to have an online presence. In order to have an online presence, you need to come up with creative ways to build brand awareness. 

If you want to know more about how to build a strong presence, check out our blog – read about the TOP 4 ways to promote an online business.

If you are feeling stuck, there are plenty of resources to turn to. Join one of our Facebook groups to get inspired, hear about the latest news, and make new friends.

• CustomCat – Print On Demand Fulfillment 
• CustomCat Shopify App
• POD Success Group – WC Fulfillment 
• CustomCat WooCommerce App 

 Follow us on Instagram to get the latest updates, launches, and news. 

Scaling Up

Scaling with ecommerce store has never been easier when you don’t have to worry about physical space. 

Here are 8 Things You Must Remember When Scaling an eCommerce Business Globally

Good news! CustomCat ships internationally. If you are interested, visit our FAQs  for more information.

Thoughts

We hope this information was helpful and you are now confident to take the plunge into the world of ecommerce. The decision is yours. A new adventure awaits. 

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