Being in business in the #screenprinting industry has many challenges and many gratifying moments. It is one of the rare industries that can mix providing a service as well as an art form. Art is a relatively loose term as art does not have an exact definition and is open to one’s interpretation. But what most people think of art is provided in #screenprinting.
There are a lot of people in the #customapparel industry, almost to the point of being a flooded market. In some regions of the country that is very true. Many #customapparel businesses don’t make it and most successful companies would say they have failed due to a poor business decision or just bad with business in general. This is one thing #jreshirts has been going back and forth on.
#screenprinting as we said before is a service and an art form. Now we mix in the business portion by providing our service and artwork to others. But if you think what business is, it has nothing to do with providing a good service. So how can being a poor businessperson halt you from being in business? This question is what we go back and forth on. Because no matter what you do, by providing good service, or creating a great piece of art. Your business should be flourishing. You do what you love, and you do it well. When someone needs your service there should be no question. How many of us will go to a specific restaurant because we love the food and it does not matter one bit how long of a wait there is to get in. We still wait for a table to open so we can sample the food we love so much.
The problem with business is what we have basically made ourselves immune to good service and products. The need for the cheapest, the best and the fastest. We expect to get the best service or product but not have to pay that much for it. Many people hop into an industry because it can be lucrative with a little amount of work. Charging lower prices to drive the customers to them as quick as possible. That is the standard practice of the businessman. Find the cheapest way to provide a service or product and bring in as much money as possible. That could happen by providing poor quality but quick turnaround and lower prices. Skip out on certain steps of the process in order to save a couple bucks on the job. Whatever can be done to bring in as much money is what most people think of when it comes to be a “good businessperson”. As consumers we have foiled our brains to thinking we need to find the cheapest no matter what we do.
When seeking out a company to provide us a service or a product it is always best to do a little research before making a purchase. Never discounting a company just because they are small or way to expensive. We also can’t look away from the big franchises that some of us have come to hate. They can provide great service and products too. We should always look at what is provided and move on from there. Make decisions on the service and not the price. Cheapest is not always best. In fact, cheaper almost every time means worse than the others. Granted sometimes you will get lucky and find something that will not only serve you well but serve your wallet too.
#jreshirts likes the practice what we think as good business practice. Providing a great service on time and reasonable prices. Now our prices are cheaper than most because we have structured our monthly costs to be low (here is a little more mixing of business and service). We charge what is necessary for us to survive. Could we charge a little more and make a little more money? Yes. We could also bring our prices down while bring in more work. Either Choice would be a “good business decision” but, could have horrible repercussions later down the road.
It is rare to see someone measure a business by the service or product they provide. More often they will measure them up by how much money they have. We can see the money by how much they might advertise or how many employees they have. Maybe we look at how long they have been around. All these factors are what we can see on the outside without looking at the company a little deeper. If we see the company around all the time and see the business name plastered all over billboards and street signs, we automatically think they must be good because look what they can afford to do! Often this is a false assumption. These kind of advertisements means they only have a lot of money to play with. My self as a business owner can run to the bank today and pull out a very large loan for advertising. Take a gamble and put #jreshirts out there for all to see. So, what is stopping someone from doing that in other companies? Nothing. The faster they rise the faster they will fall. We see it all the time. Some big company moved into town and they are offering tons of great deals and we see their name everywhere we turn. Next thing you know they are closing the doors. So instead of providing something great right off the bat and getting what they deserved from it. They took the fast road and grew as much as they could. The gamble often does not pay off and that company that was soooo busy in the beginning has failed in the end.
So, if you are looking for a #screenprinting company or any other type of business. Be sure to research who you will be paying your hard-earned money to before you make a purchase. Sometimes you get duped and other times you have found the right one. Keep in mind that just because they might not work for you does not mean they wont work for someone else. We all have different interpretations of quality and good service. Just like our interpretations of art.
