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. EVERYWHERE. Website copy Sales emails Promotional emails Social posts Business descriptions (google, FB,...
Dec 12, 2019•45 min•Ep. 113
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 that CAN’T be done. – They want 5 hats with embroidery on the bill for under $10 each. You aren't ge...
Dec 04, 2019•55 min•Ep. 112
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 smaller shops do (http://fat-tees.com). During this episode we’re going to ask Mark to walk us throug...
Nov 27, 2019•36 min•Ep. 111
In this CAS Mini-Cast we are going to show you how to design an email using the Mailchimp.
Nov 13, 2019•14 min•Ep. 114
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.
Nov 07, 2019•15 min•Ep. 113
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 helping people. This way they will learn more about you and how you can help them....
Nov 04, 2019•10 min•Ep. 112
If you are a custom apparel business looking for local or national business and you are doing word of mouth marketing then you should consider using LinkedIn. Here’re some tips to improve your LinkedIn profile: Change the background image that represents what you do. Use a picture of yourself and not a logo. Use the tagline area to pitch your services. Use about section to pitch your company and explain exactly what is it that you offer. Highlight your past experiences and education. Ask people ...
Nov 01, 2019•12 min•Ep. 111
Inspired by the Harvard Business Review. It's important to understand your stages of growth and when you are transitioning to a new stage. If you don't take specific actions while in each stage, you will get stuck (or worse regress). Stage 1: Existence This stage is all about the big question.. Can you get customers and deliver a product? Do I have the ability to get started financially? And do you have the money to sustain your business before break even During this stage of your business, you ...
Oct 23, 2019•58 min•Ep. 110
Here's a GUARANTEE: You're wasting your time doing either one of these 5 things, or every close it. You don't realize how much of your time is being wasted. As a business owner, your time is the most valuable thing in the company. How you use this time absolutely affects your business growth and how much money you will make. You set on a journey to live a dream, don't waste time getting there. Let's go through some wasters and winners! Solving a Problem using Google Waster: Youtube, searching, f...
Oct 16, 2019•55 min•Ep. 109
Thinking like a big business is going to change the way you act and run your business. This change is going to allow you to adapt to changes & reach your growth goals. What thinking like a big business can do for YOUR Business What does it mean to ‘think like a big business.’ This means you are planning things out, standardizing practices, preparing for troubled waters, documenting everything and adopting SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for essentially everything. Think Strategically Of...
Oct 09, 2019•55 min•Ep. 108
Welcome to CAS Mini-Cast! These short tips, tricks and messages from the hosts of the Custom Apparel Podcasts are all about snack-sized, useful action items you can apply to your business right away. Here’s the things you should take a look at: Privacy Statement Contact Info Correct Product Descriptions Ordering Information Up to Date Test Your Contact Form Check Your Phone Message Is Your Auto Response Correct Out of Stock or Discontinued Item All The Download Links Work Check Every Page on Mob...
Oct 03, 2019•10 min•Ep. 110
GREAT graphics are extremely important to your business. They save you time, money and make you look good. Poor quality graphics hinders everything in your business. How good graphics and digitizing makes a difference: Save time Better graphics are more efficient for your equipment (Thread breaks and # stitches) ACTUAL design time - The time YOU spend working on art vs other tasks. Cost in materials Less mistakes - every bad print, sew out, etc wastes supplies. Paper, Toner, Ink, shirts Less Sup...
Sep 25, 2019•54 min•Ep. 107
Picture this... close your eyes... (not if driving) You pull up to your beach hotel for a vacation. As you pull up you notice the big palm trees, flowers and a big driveway to pull up to a grand entrance. As you arrive, someone is there to greet you and open your door. You enter into the lobby and smell the fresh scent of flowers with a hint of mint. You are guided to your room and when you walk in there are fresh flowers, some water and drinks on ice. Throughout your stay you get doors held for...
Aug 28, 2019•50 min•Ep. 106
Since you are running through this series, you are going to stumble upon sales opportunities. It's important to do 2 things when an opportunity arises: Recognize the potential for opportunity Take actions when the opportunity is presented. So how would you go about doing this? Let's jump into some ways to recognize a potential customer and how you could take the next step into getting them closer to being another satisfied customer. Look for visual clues: They stop at your booth or eyeball the s...
Aug 22, 2019•52 min•Ep. 105
Now that you have gotten someone's email address. what do you do next? We have compiled a list of 4 very important emails you should be sending ... and WHY. We will go through what the emails mean, why you would send them and some methods for delivery. Email 1: Intro/Welcome After someone gets on your email list, the basic first email should be an introduction. This would include: Delivering information you promised (if you promised something.. like a free download or coupon) Thanking them for v...
Aug 07, 2019•50 min•Ep. 104
You’ve selected your target market – Episode 101 – and you’ve put a marketing and advertising plan in place – Episode 102 – but tied up into both of those things, and something that will absolutely make a difference in your long term success is Lead Capture. Simply put: How do you get people’s information so you can market to them? What do you do with that information.. so you can market to them? But first, YOU have to embrace the reason you want to collect people’s name email address. It’s so y...
Jul 31, 2019•44 min•Ep. 103
In this CAS Podcast episode, you will learn how to advertise and market to your niche. Episode 17 https://customapparelstartups.com/episode-17-know-numbers-value-customer/ LTV spreadsheet is a lead magnet. Intro Knowing your numbers Episode 17 we're going to cover the very basics Actually Marketing and Advertising you have a niche, how do you reach them First, we'll divide between reaching them locally or online, then we'll discuss ways to reach them in each. Off-line Marketing and Advertising +...
Jul 18, 2019•55 min•Ep. 102
This is Part 1 of ”t-shirt business marketing plan” series and we talk about how to pick a niche that is going to be successful for your custom t-shirt business. The action steps we share apply for people who are just getting started or are already in business and want to learn how to take advantage of other profitable niches and grow their business. What is niching down? Outdoor Life Hunting Bow Hunting Female Bow Hunting Deer Bowhunting Geographical Bow Hunting: FB – multiple groups with 5-10k...
Jul 13, 2019•45 min•Ep. 101
Top 10 CAS Podcast episodes: Episode 76 – How to Build Your Online Store – The Right Way! Episode 87 – What to Do When Bad Things Happen Episode 83 – Insights From The Apparel Geek – Monty Mims From Sanmar Episode 86 – What Success Looks Like in DTG Printing and More! Episode 85 – 12 Steps to Grow Your Home Based Business Episode 73 – Copyrights and Trademarks in the Custom T-Shirt Business Episode 81 – Today’s Best Marketing Opportunity FACEBOOK With Manuel Suarez [Facebook Blueprint Certified]...
Jun 26, 2019•56 min•Ep. 100
In this CAS Podcast episode, we share 9 important things on how to be an amazing business person. If you follow them it can massively improve your business like never before! First in – Last out As your business is growing, it’s all you. You put in the time to get things done. You make sure every order is perfect. You ensure every customer is happy. You make sure all the bills are made. You know your staff is doing the job. You’re on pace for goals. Relationship building expert Your employees wa...
Jun 19, 2019•54 min•Ep. 99
After listening to the past two episodes you might find you have a few competitors that are clearly going to be long term struggles for you. They might have a great formula down for business practice, production, sales, pricing, etc. These competitors might be right in your vertical market or maybe is a market close to yours. You may sell spirit wear, and they focus on sports uniforms. You might deal with dance, and they deal with ice skating. You may sell corporate wear, and they do as well but...
May 29, 2019•45 min•Ep. 98
After listening to Episode 96 you should have a great insight on your competition. Chances are there are many custom apparel shops in your area, but only a few seem to be direct competition. Holding tight to your business structure and running a great business should put you on the path to leading the pack. These include: Mastering your craft Having awesome customer service Delivering orders correctly and on time Balancing the right price for the right product Have a solid sales / marketing plan...
May 22, 2019•46 min•Ep. 97
Another store has opened up or YOU are the new store. Business is slow and you really feel its because of that competition. Their prices are too low, or they seem to draw in all the big accounts. Whatever it is, you suspect it's them and they are holding you back from success. Here is the catch.. how do you really know? What evidence do you have? In this episode, we are going to take a dive into your competition to figure out a few things. Are they actually taking business from you? Are you comp...
May 15, 2019•48 min•Ep. 96
Wordpress makes up a huge portion of websites... way more than you would expect. About 25% of all websites are built on the WordPress CMS (content management system) What is Wordpress? Wordpress is an online website creation tool. It allows you to create and post web pages and blog posts without needing to know any code. AKA a Content Management System Who should use Wordpress? -You want to build a website with limitless possibilities that can be altered or changed to your personal preferences a...
May 01, 2019•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 95
You can create amazing marketing content. Creating an effective marketing plan is the goal of all entrepreneurs, but the execution is often lacking. In this episode of the CAS podcast, we are helping you get set up to create a successful marketing campaign. As a custom apparel business owner, your success in marketing not only depends on having good ideas, but also executing those ideas to make sure you have measurable success. Stage 1: Make a Plan Define your Brand - what is your business perso...
Apr 24, 2019•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 94
Small business owners ask a ton of questions, a lot of great ones too. Yet, there are a handful of really important questions that rarely get asked about marketing. We have put together the most important marketing questions you should be asking to help drive your business towards your dreams. Here are the questions you should be asking: What’s the best marketing for my business? Understanding your options How much should I spend? Should I do it myself? Should I be Email marketing? What KIND of ...
Apr 17, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 93
Why should you validate your new products? You should know if your new product meets a few standard criteria. You want to be able to: make money with it, understand the market, know the competition and understand the business of this new product. If you jump on something because it's an impulsive idea, you might find out it's not what you expected. So HOW do you validate a new idea or product? The steps are simple and deliberate. 1. Who is the target market? This is defining who will purchase th...
Mar 27, 2019•41 min•Ep. 92
In this episode we have put together a formula to follow step-by-step that WILL get you more customers through the power of networking. This formula combines working hard, being personable and a little touch of psychology to give you that extra edge. Here are the steps to making money with networking: Attend Social Events Meetup.com Local Business & Commerce Groups Events for kids where parents socialize (Kids B-day parties) Church events Go with intent to meet people (not to sell) In discus...
Mar 20, 2019•59 min•Ep. 91
If you are listening to this, you have a Cricut or a Silhouette, basically a cutter you got for $200-$600 at a local hobby store. You make things for yourself, for friends and family. Maybe you are even making a little money here and there, or you've opened an etsy shop. You might even be fulfilling orders almost every day. What you all have in common is taking the next step to growing yourself into a better business, or maybe you might think of it as a "real" business. What are the next steps: ...
Mar 06, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 90
Welcome Christina Nicholson from https://www.mediamavenandmore.com/ First of all, let’s get the freebie here out of the way, because it’s an amazing gift from our Guest JUST for our CASPodcast listeners! It’s a course outlining her one of a kind strategy on getting free publicity for you and your business – just visit this site to register: http://www.PitchPublicityProfit.com BUT – listen to the entire podcast first. Because it’s a good one. First, we talk about how I found Christina, what that ...
Feb 27, 2019•35 min•Ep. 89
