Do you have an awesome idea for a t-shirt design? Do you stay up nights planning a brilliant marketing campaign, graphic designs, and seasonal themes?
It’s easy to go wild with ideas for fantastic t-shirts. Maybe you’ve seen how to use real flowers as tattoo stencils and it’s got you using the same concept for t-shirts.
A t-shirt side hustle could do wonders for your bank account. After all, everybody loves t-shirts, and when they see your incredible collection, they won’t be able to live without them.
But, then comes the big question: How do you get enough money together to start the business?
This is when you need to put on a different kind of thinking cap. All the brilliant designs in the world won’t exist until you have the money to start your side hustle.
Use this quick list of ideas to get your venture up and running.
Ask Friends and Family
While this may be the first on the list, it also could easily be your last resort.
Asking friends and family seems like a great idea. That is until you’re making your pitch at the kitchen table. Then, and only then, do you realize that this money comes with some inherent problems?
The biggest problem is that you may have asked these kind people in the past. If you did and weren’t able to repay, this is extremely uncomfortable. If you did ask before and were able to repay, they may remember the experience differently than you did.
In some instances, asking friends and family for money works well. In others, it can backfire. It depends on your particular relationships and situation. Use your intuition and make the decision accordingly.
Ask Local Business Owners
Possibly, there is a local business owner whom you can work with. Many small business owners have an entrepreneurial spirit. They may be happy to invest in your idea, offer mentoring, or even partner in your venture.
Think about your community and explore whom you may want to contact.
Work with a Partner
If you’ve got all the creative juice and ideas, you may find it appealing to work with a business-savvy partner. Your partner may be able to help with funding, business plans, commercial expansion, and co-marketing.
Look for a partner who has complementary skills to yours. In addition to skills, consider your temperament, business goals, and communication style. Going into a partnership in a business venture is often compared to getting married. You want to look before you leap so that the partnership can be happy, healthy, and sustainable long term.
As you’re exploring partnerships, develop a set of questions so that you can cover all the aspects of doing a co-venture of a t-shirt side hustle.
This may include questions such as:
• Have you done this before?
- Do you have access to funding?
- Do you have time, energy, and experience for this project?
- Do you have experience in making business plans?
- How do you envision working together?
Use these questions to develop your set of partnership criteria. If you interview several people, one will likely rise to the top as the person you’d most enjoy working with to build this business.
Put it on Credit
Getting your t-shirt side hustle going is something that you may be able to wing on your credit cards. Depending on your credit score and available funds, you may be able to borrow money to get things rolling. Just be sure that you have a realistic budget for expenses and a clear plan for repaying the credit.
Get a Starter Loan
Instead of relying only on personal funding, consider applying for credit starter loans. This type of loan is specifically designed for people who need to build credit.
Starter loans may be compared to an installment loan. This is a loan that is repaid in fixed ‘installments’ over a specific repayment schedule. To qualify for a starter loan, loan officers evaluate several factors such as credit score, credit history, debt-to-income ratio, and available funds.
Working with a loan officer you can often determine ways to improve your ability to get a loan to start your side-hustle.
Ready to get started? It’s time to get those designs to market!