How To Start Selling T-Shirts & Make Money Working From Home

There are a lot of people selling t-shirts online today!

One great thing about the internet is that it has dramatically reduced the barrier for entry into such businesses. No longer do you need a brick and mortar store with all the very expensive trimmings.

All you need is a heat press and a cutting machine and away you go. You can easily work from home selling t shirts online!

How To Start A T-Shirt Business

DIY Fathers Day Shirt

Why are t-shirts so popular?

• We have to wear something and tees are so comfortable!
• T-shirts act like a billboard – they express who we are and what we care about
• T-shirts are mementos and reminders of holidays, special occasions, and achievements
• There are a range of styles, sizes, and fits for ever preference!

Reasons you should consider selling t-shirts:

• Selling t-shirts is a way to make a side income – you might even be able to grow your business to a point where it is making decent money
• The start-up costs for a t-shirt business are relatively low – for well under $1000 you can start making your own t-shirts
• Develop your creative design and production skills
• You will learn marketing and sales skills – an invaluable & transferable skill

How To Start Selling T-Shirts

DIY t shirts from home

How should you start selling tees? 

Create and sell pieces you know will be popular – create the sort of thing you would like to buy! However, before getting too carried away, it’s important to validate your business. Approach friends and family and share with them your ideas. Ask if they would be willing to buy some custom t-shirts or other products from you.

I’ve found baby onesies to be one of the best products to start selling Whenever babies are born, everybody buys them a present. A locally designed onesie is a cool gift to give and they sell well.

Test your ability to create, market and sell on a small scale before attempting to do it on a larger scale.

For more tips, see this post on how to start a small business from home.

T Shirt Business Equipment

Getting the best equipment isn’t always necessary right at the start.

While good cutting machines are relatively cheap, good heat press machines are more pricey. You do not need the best of the best when you first get going, but make sure you choose something semi decent!

Here’s what you’ll need!

Heat Press Machine

A cheap heat press

If you are looking to buy a heat press purely for business purposes, I would recommend taking a look at the range on Heat Press Nation.

Here are their entry level machines:

• MPress Heat Press
• HPN Black Series
• HPN Signature Series

They can’t be beaten on the range of heat press machines at different price points, the quality of the machines, and the support and knowledge that comes with them.

Alternatively, consider our best heat press machine review or Amazons best selling heat press machines!

A Cutting Machine

The Cricut Maker

If you have a low budget and need a cheap cutting machine, there are plenty of options.

You will need to be ready to learn how to use these machines – they all work slightly differently, but don’t take too long to master.

My preference when it comes to craft cutters is Cricut. They have 2 primary machines that are good for starting out, the Air 2 and the Maker. Find out which is the best Cricut machine here.

Heat Transfer Vinyl

Heat Transfer Vinyl comes in all sorts of colors and textures. We’ve got many articles on HTV, including:

• Siser Easyweed HTV – my personal fave
• Cricut Iron On – a huge variety
• Flocked Vinyl – fluffy furry vinyl

There are other types of heat transfers that you can make t-shirts with as well, but in my opinion, it’s best to start with HTV. It’s easy to work with, adaptable, and hard to mess up.

One alternative to using HTV on t shirts is to go with pre-printed Supacolor Heat Transfers. They’re affordable, offer a full range of colors, and will save a lot of time!

Blank T-Shirts

Blank t-shirts can be bought cheaply from many stores.

I like to begin by going to my local Walmart (or equivalent store) and picking up some cheap blanks. While you’re starting out, this is one of the cheaper ways to buy t-shirts.

When you begin to sell t-shirts (online or offline), Gildan brand tees are the go to t-shirt of most companies. Check out the range of clothing on Heat Transfer Warehouse for quality options at affordable prices – and keep an eye out for their seasonal sales!

Finding Customers

heat transfer on pants

It is very important to have a beautifully designed website from which to sell t-shirts. However, to start off with, while you’re testing things out, it might be better to sell to people locally.

If you don’t already know much about e-commerce, it takes time to learn. It will take time to build a website, for it to rank in the search engines, for momentum to build,  and for orders to start coming in.

Selling locally may be easier to get initial business in your area, and save you the expense of setting up a site if it turns out not to be your thing!

1. Clubs & Societies

You are likely to have a wide array of clubs and societies in your town or city. Especially if you have a college or university nearby. These groups, small or large, are ripe for a t-shirt entrepreneur! Having a t-shirt with the group name or logo is a way of further cementing that bond that develops among group members.

Find a group who have a logo but don’t have any merchandise (yet!). Make the t-shirt and pitch it to them. See if they’ll present an order form to the rest of the group. If your t-shirt concept is good there will be plenty who go for it. If there are 50 people in the group and 40 decide to buy, it has been well worth your time.

What types of clubs and societies are there in a given area?

• Sports clubs – football, basketball, soccer, tennis, Frisbee golf and everything in between
• Miscellaneous clubs – chess, bowls (or is that a sport?), book clubs and coffee groups
• University groups – the scavenger hunt group, ballroom dancing, French group and hundreds of others
• University societies – the Alexander Hamilton Society, Astronomical Society and so on

Don’t worry if another t-shirt business is in the same area. They may not be actively approaching groups and pitching ideas like this. These groups are yours for the taking.

2. Churches

Getting ready to press a patterned HTV project

Local churches are another potential customer base, and you shouldn’t feel intimidated about approaching them! Of course, if you’re already part of one you’ve got an easy in. Not only can you sell t-shirts to the church at large, but also to smaller groups within it.

What might a church want a t-shirt for? Possibly for a church camp, conference or other large event.

Smaller groups within a church that might buy a tee include:

• Youth groups wanting a tee to remember a particular year of meeting together
• Bible study groups who’ve grown particularly close
• Church sports teams – often indoor soccer or volleyball!
• Or for when the church is out serving the community in a particular way they often use church t-shirts to identify themselves

3. Schools

The same applies to local schools as applies to churches. The school on the whole might be interested in having a t-shirt made up for a current year. This fosters unity and participation among the attenders and wider community. It is also nice to have a tee when it’s all over to remember past times.

There are also, as always, smaller groups within the larger body as well. For example:

• A particular class at school might like their own t-shirt
• School sports teams – not just an item as part of a uniform while playing the games, but something a bit more fun to remember the year and the team by
• School camps are a popular t-shirt time
• Even the teaching staff might like a tee celebrating making it through another year!

Schools are a wealth of opportunities. Find some email addresses on their website and start offering your services!

4. Cafes & Restaurants

We made this local cafe t shirt for our nephew!

Local cafes and restaurants are another opportune place to find customers for your t-shirt business. There are many opportunities to sell your wares.

These businesses need branded tees or shirts for their staff. Restaurants and cafes are the natural choice for starters. Many workers in these spots are simply wearing unmarked black or white tees. Approach the owner to see if you can give them a sample tee with their logo on it. It’s much more professional for staff to be wearing branded uniforms.

5. Trades People

Trades people are an excellent group to target for t-shirts or other branded products. In particular small owner operated trades businesses. These people are often very busy juggling a multitude of tasks. Finding someone to do up some work t-shirts is not always at the top of their list, but if you approach them they can be very receptive.

It’s pretty obvious who trades people are, but let me list a few to get your mind juices flowing:

• Builders, plumbers, electricians, plasterers and painters
• Carpet layers, heating and cooling specialists, tilers and carpet cleaners
• Gardeners, cleaners, chimney sweepers and gutter cleaners

And no doubt there are many other types of in home services who require branded uniforms. Try and figure out who doesn’t yet have one and convince them they need some.

Start Selling T Shirts

Order pre printed sublimation transfers

In conclusion, if you’ve got the passion and drive to create and sell t-shirts, you should do it. Why not give it a go?

At the very least you’re going to learn a bunch of new skills that will help you in whatever it is you end up doing. I have so much fun making t-shirts, and I know you will too.

Further Resources

How To Start An Online Business – Foundr *Recommended!

Should You Sell on Etsy or Build Your Own Website? B-Plan

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