Many t-shirt businesses have achieved great success over the years. The barriers to entry are lower than in traditional businesses. For example, a new entrepreneur does not have to worry about printing and shipping t-shirts or meeting customers in person. Also, the Internet offers a low-cost way to market products. And since most people wear a variety of t-shirts, there is a potential to sell more than one type of product.
T-shirt businesses are highly profitable and can be bootstrapped with little investment. Everyone owns at least one T-shirt. Since everyone wears a T-shirt, they can be profitable within a relatively short period of time. As a new entrepreneur, a bootstrapped business is a great first step. Depending on your goals, you can choose between print-on-demand and drop-shipping.
While there are many t-shirt business success stories out there, one that stands out above the rest is one by a trans-person. Richard Dowling started a business in order to raise money for gender-affirming surgery. Initially, he planned to shut down his business when the goal was reached. Eventually, his t-shirt business evolved into a full-blown direct-to-consumer business. The company is currently one of Shopify’s most popular stores.
In the US, dropshipping services are a viable option for an online T-shirt business. A dropshipping service makes testing new t-shirt designs easy and inexpensive. In fact, many entrepreneurs have launched successful t-shirt businesses using dropshipping services. Ryan McCarthy, the founder of the online T-shirt company Imouri, has been using Shopify since 2016.