I just spent around 10-15 hours preparing my submission for my clothing line company to kickstarter.com. I even made a video. Since part of the plan donates money to charity, I got denied. What a gip……   I was really excited about this one too. It could have been great…  I have even been talking with designers on the shirt designs. I guess I’m going to have to resubmit a new idea or just go it on my own. I thought the charity donation would really get people interested. Well I guess not. Give me a few days and I’ll figure this out….   Ideas are a dime a dozen…..   Thanks people…….

I’m still working on getting the super star designer I had mentioned earlier. The site could use more designs. I would like to put some items in some retail locations. I would also like to hire some SEO people to promote the site. That is how you get traffic to the site, and the greater chance of people buying shirts.

Please keep coming back for more updates. This summer should be pretty interesting…

1. The Internet….  That is probably the easiest way to get the word out to the largest amount of people. Build a website and a shopping cart and you are set.

2. Brick and mortar stores. You have to have a store that is willing to sell your products. For this you need an inventory. This is tougher to do. More money is required. The more stores you have the bigger the investment.

3. Sponsor a group or a team. Give them clothing, stickers, hats, whatever, just as long as it has your line’s logo on it. Take plently of pictures and put them on your website.

4. Internet Marketing – this includes pay per click marketing and search engine optimization. Would do these fancy words mean? PPC means you pay to advertise on google or other search engines. When people type in certain words like, “t-shirts” or “independent clothing” your ad will show up on the right of the screen. SEO stands for search engine optimization. Basically what it mean is that you come up organically – naturally on the first page of google search. This can take awhile, but it is better than PPC.  There are different methods to do this, best to buy a book and figure it out.

5. Social Media. You have all heard this before. Facebook, twitter, linkedin, pinterest and there are plently more. Easy and free way to show your goods. You have to be dedicated to see any results. Or just have a lot of friends and cool stuff to show them…..

6. Sell at any social event you can find. Concerts, sporting events, social gatherings, you name it. Where ever people get together, sell the goods.

7. Tradeshows….  This is for the big guys. Major investing involved, but you have major players who want to buy your clothing. Huge retailers who want to sell cool stuff at their stores need products. One day I would like to be at this level.

I hope this gives you a few ideas on how to sell your goods. I have found that it is a challenge. Don’t give up, anything worth doing isnt’ easy. This is a perfect example….

I got a little more serious, bought an inexpensive 6 color 6 station press. Bought a cheap dryer and flash, free standing washout tank, power washer, bigger epson printer, more ink, accublack films. Got a really big client, learned how to print waterbase inks….  and then failed the business…..   I go into greater detail at my other blog called the manic comedy.

I took some time off, and slowly rebuilt the equipment in my parents basement. Got some clients, made some money, sold the business. Done with that. I have quickly come to the realization is that I’m not much of a screen printer. I leave the printing to the people that really have experience and feel very confidant in what they are doing. My knowledge of how the printing process works is my strength. I feel I can make more money brokering printing and embroidery than I can printing shirts myself. This might sound bad, but it’s pretty much manual labor. You don’t need a college degree to print a shirt.

I have worked at a few places that print shirts. Sunburst Apparel is one of them. They now have 8 automatic presses and a belt press. In my opinion, they have printed some of the most beautiful shirts I have ever seen. They can do 12 color jobs no problem. They have printed for Harley Davidson, Abercrombie and Fitch, V.F. Imagewear to name a few. I started as a reclaimer…   powerwashing out emulsion from screens after they are used. Not the most glamorous job, but I did learn a lot. Then worked my way up to screenroom supervisor…..  Burned all the screens belt and all the other sizes for the presses. After that I worked in the customer service department entering orders and doing estimates. I have worked on and off for Sunburst for over 5 years. Currently they laid me off because of lack of work. I’m not to upset because it gives me time to sell for my own business Digital Karma.

So now I do a lot of things, sell t-shirt (Karmashirts.org) broker screenprinting and embroidery (Digtial Karma) and blog on The Manic Comedy

Maybe one day I’ll be famous….  until that time I’m just going to be selling, selling, selling. Always trying new ideas and different approaches with shirts.  Wish me luck…

Some places I would go is t-shirt competition websites. Usually they have links to the designers own website. Any I’m sure they wouldn’t have any problem doing some work on the side. I have tried craigslist, and some other designer/illustrator portfolio job sites. I find that contacting the artist directly is usually the best path. Next topic of discussion: SCREENPRINTING.

Hope you are all well….  I just wanted to write a quick posting on my other business. This business provides all the financial backing for Karmashirts.org  The company is called Digital Karma . I know your thinking right now, Karma is used in both company names. That would be a correct statement. What I do with this company is graphic design, website design (wordpress) screenprinting, embroidery, digital printing, and promotional products. I basically help people look good. So if you know anyone in need of these services, please send them my way.

I have always wanted to have my own clothing line. This is one of my big time lifetime goals. I see the line only getting better from here. Like I posted previously, I’m going to get some real well know t-shirt designers to make some karma shirts. Really can’t wait…..  That’s enough for one night, we will be in-touch soon….

Cheers people…..