Custom Apparel Startups

Here is the reasons why we see this episode caught your attention. You are a new business working on a shoestring budget You are an existing business dealing with an economic downturn / recovery and uncertainty. You are doing well, but realize you might be missing out on some ways to grow your business, or ways to reduce budgets. The good news is that ALL 5 of these things work for everyone listen...

In this CAS Podcast episode, Mark is talking with Mike Angel about ColDesi OnDemand.

We’ve seen a huge jump in the number of customers adopting UV printers. Why is it so? Listen to this episode and learn more!

During this episode, we’ll walk you through how to look at your business with fresh eyes. Like you were BUYING a struggling or stagnant business, not running it. This kind of “outside” perspective can reveal both personal and professional areas for potential growth and lead to a better business. The basic premise is that everything you do to make your business more attractive to a Buyer will be be...

Being the owner of a Custom Apparel company means that every person you meet is your next potential customer. You don’t want to be consumed with turning every conversation into a sales pitch, but you should be likable and know when you should try to make the move for a sale. Step 1 – just be a good conversationalist List of things that make a good conversationalist: Be friendly – Talk to people, b...

The idea for this podcast came up just recently - because of a disastrous detail. One of my clients has me managing their Google Ads account, which I've been doing for about 6 months. When I first did the analysis on their ads and budget I noticed there were SEVERAL other account managers. I didn't think anything of it at the time. It turns out that they had left admin access turned on for a few p...

In this mini-cast episode, Mark from ColDesi is talking about the idea of Horizontal Marketing. Listen to this episode and learn how your business can benefit from using Horizontal Marketing.

During episode of the CAS Podcast we have a special guest, one that represents a product that has basically revolutionized the custom t-shirt and promotional products business – let’s welcome Randy Rickert from Okidata, the Pope of White Toner Printing. Randy has worked in the printing industry since the 80s. His resume includes running Mutoh and being in charge of OKIData Sales in the USA. Listen...

Everyone out there can shoot a basketball into a hoop. You really don't even need to be taught how to do it. You could hand someone who's never seen a basketball or a hoop and say... get the ball in there. They will eventually get the ball in. In fact, they may get it the first time, or the first 3 times. How would they go up against someone who's played every weekend for 20 years though? How woul...

All businesses are not the same. They each have their own individual personality and goals. Although every business & person is completely unique, we can categorize them. These categories can help us understand a few things: Where are you now? Where do you want to be in the future? What are your strengths now? How to sell against each category? In this episode, we will talk about each of these...

Leah Calvert has been in the custom apparel industry for over 20 years. Her business, 918 Design Company, works with gymnastics, cheer and schools. Their focus is on spirit wear – t-shirts, bags, etc. Her business has gone from a huge focus on live events to working from home. What has she done and how can this inspire you? This short but information packed interview with Mark Stephenson and Leah...

Marshall has 30 years of direct industry experience including running his own custom apparel businesses, working for fulfillment software vendors and doing boots on the ground consulting for shops all over the United States. During this podcast, Marshall shares his experience in many areas, but in particular on the impact of creating a business plan, following that plan, improving plan and sales p...

5 ways to inject life into a stagnant business: Get some bling transfers Opposite Marketing Month - Methods Opposite Marketing Month - Markets Call 10 Customers and Ask what you're missing out on Back to Business Basics What are the basics? Put your selling shoes back on - chances are if a business is stagnant you might not be hitting the pavement and selling. Call old leads and lost deals. Take a...

A CRM is a Customer Relationship Management software. It’s designed to help you organize your customers, track interactions and even more complex items like creating invoices and setting reminders to follow up. A CRM can also help you create business automation. For example, if you mark a customer as someone to follow up with in 6 months, you can have an email automatically go out in six months an...

You can really bring out your best in social media, but you can also bring your business down. Making you look WORSE! Here is step 1 to nailing stellar social media skills! Social Channels Facebook YOU have a profile YOUR BUSINESS has a page and your BUSINESS PAGE has a group YOUR PROFILE Posts on the group and is the face of the group. Profiles One human face should be associated with the profile...

1. Perfect basic online presence Google my business, bing, facebook (technical set up) 2. Perfect your ecom or online showroom (if have one) Images Nothing broken Technically correct and optimized (https, ssl, etc) Emails / auto responders set up Google analytics HIRE SOMEONE (that you aren't related to) 3. Physical Marketing Collateral Business cards Brochures Samples! - if you don't have some, g...

It’s 2020. You are still in business. You made it. What’s next? How will you do better? Do More of what works Spend more on what works Do new things 1. Look at your 2019 review. And determine how to spend more time replicating that. Can you go to more events? Can you meet more people? Join more groups? Ask for more referrals? Go on more sales calls? The big question: do you have the time and/or wi...

How do you determine if you had a good year and plan for the next one? There are some simple metrics that are normally used to determine a businesses success like: Did revenue grow compared to previous years Your expenses and revenue are growing at a healthy rate together You have a mix of new and repeat customers You have profits in the bank Profit margins are high and healthy for the business Th...

Pricing is an EMOTIONAL thing for most small business owners. It's tied up with how you feel about money. About how much money it's okay for you to make. About feeling bad when you think you're charging too much. About your pride when you ARE charging too much, but need to make a change. The Impact of Pricing: I've told this story before. About the customer and the $8 DFX Shirts, but I'm going to...

Writing will captivate the attention of your customers and win you sales. You got into this business to be the best at what you do. You mastered the art of production, you’ve worked on your sales process, you are even doing your best to get found online. Putting together great copy (writing) will show the world the true custom apparel professional you are. When will you need to write? ALWAYS. EVER...

Your customers have a great idea for a shirt, or a blanket or a cap. You might even agree its a great idea, but it’s just not possible. Maybe it is possible, but not with your equipment or skills. How do you still win? How does your customer still get what they want? You can still win, your customer can still win… you just have to work it out. We are here to help! Your customer asks for something...

Mark S. : This is Mark B. from Contract-DTG. If you didn’t hear him before on Episode 86 then make sure to listen to it here: https://customapparelstartups.com/episode-86/ Mark is the owner of 3 different custom t-shirt businesses that do everything from large contract work – with orders of 1,000 DTG printer pretty common (http://contract-dtg.com), all the way to the typical 1-6 shirts that many s...

In this CAS Mini-Cast we are going to show you how to design an email using the Mailchimp.

In this CAS Mini-Cast we are going to talk about the anatomy of email and how to structure powerful email using the Mailchimp. Mailchimp is a marketing automation platform and an email marketing service. It’s perfect for businesses of all sizes. You can start using it for free and upgrade as your business grows. The greatest part about the Mailchimp is that it’s easy to use for beginners.

Facebook groups can be very powerful if you want to increase sales for your business… but they are completely different compared to Facebook pages. Groups are about community, participation, conversations and less about selling. But it doesn’t mean you can’t sell. Here’s how to do it: Join your niche groups. Introduce yourself Add value to the group/community by helping people. Selling is done by...