There are lots of things to think about when starting your own label. Here is a brief run down of what in my view are the main things you may need to think about.

WHY YOUR OWN LABEL?

It seems pretty fundamental, but have you truly considered why you want to start your own label? Is it something you are excited about doing or do you just like how it sounds when you say "Yeah, I own my own label"? Because the truth is, it's definitely going to take a great deal of time and effort to make your dream a real possibility. We're talking wakeful nights, months, even years of diligence with little reward and lots of soul-sucking moments.Therefore if your heart isn't in it it could be time to think of a new career path. However if you're devoted to chasing your dream - You've just embarked on one hell of a crazy, but amazingly rewarding journey.

LABEL THEME

Before you even think about t-shirt designs, you need to come up with a clear theme for your line. I honestly believe that the very best brands (and by best, I am talking about the brands with true longevity) are those which have identified a theme and stuck to it. It comes down to this- you can't be everything to everybody. No one can. So pick a theme, identify your market and you're already along the path to making your label work.

LABEL NAME

Like with any business, your name is important. It's what identifies who you are and what you are about and with proper marketing and a quality product, it's a name that will certainly be repeated time and again. When it comes to picking the name for your label, it's really important to keep it short, be sure that it relates to your theme, and be at ease with it because it's going to be virtually impossible to change your name after you start selling.

LOGO

Your logo is a visual calling card for your brand, something that should instantly identify your brand to your customers. Also like your name, with logo designs, simple is certainly best. If you're not a designer, I would definitely recommend spending some money and hiring a professional graphic designer to work on your logo for you. It's also crucial you design the logo to work in both colour and white and black. And again, try to relate your logo back to your name and overall theme.

DESIGNS

Only now am I reaching the actual t-shirt designs. That's because after you have a theme, name and logo all worked out, it's a whole lot easier to work out the direction you want your designs to take. Again, if you're not a designer yourself, it's really easy to hire a professional apparel designer for around $150 who is able to work with you to develop your vision. The question of what amount of designs you should look at printing for your first release is very talked about and I will go into it more in another post. but usually I recommend at least 3 designs for a launch line.

BRANDING

Branding really ties the topics I've briefly discussed together. Your branding is what people think of when they hear your name and in the end, it's what leads each of them buy your tees. There are lots of clothing labels around with mediocre designs that have huge sales- how have they done it? Through careful and effective branding, that's how. After you choose the theme for your brand, develop a name and logo, it's important that you sit down and work out a branding strategy. The main element here is consistency. That means the same fonts, colours, tone and theme across all media and a consistent attitude in yourself and your staff.

GARMENTS

These days the quality of the blank garment you decide on can be almost as important as the designs you put on them. There's a good selection of blank brands available and I will go into a review of a few of the main players in a later post. I will say now though that it's always a good idea to ask for a sample from a few brands and take a look at them out for size, feel and washability. After all, the reputation of your label rests on the comfort and quality of your shirts. And from a screen printers perspective, the higher the quality of the shirt, the better the overall quality of the print.

PRODUCTION

When you are looking at the production of your shirts you have two main options. The first would be the traditional screen printing method, and the second is the increasingly popular method of digital printing. There are lots of arguments for and against both methods, the main being that traditional screen printing is expensive for smaller runs, and on the flip side there is still a question as to the quality and hand of digitally printed shirts. The best solution for you will truly be dependent upon your design, the quantity of garments that you are having printed and naturally, your budget.

PACKAGING

There's a lot of mixed t-shirt packaging out there these days. From the top-of-the-line extravagance of Johnny Cupcakes, to simple postal outlet mailing bags with a label slapped on them. Again, the extent to which you'll be able to mess around with packaging will really be determined by your budget, but packaging is an effective way to improve the customers experience and really solidify your branding. However, it is so important to never make the customer pay for your fancy packaging - if you can't afford the extravagance, leave it out.

MARKETING

To me, marketing may very well be biggest topic to cover and one that is crucial to the success of your label. You may have the best shirts out however they will never leave the shelf if you can't master the art of marketing them properly. It's time to make social websites your best buddy. Facebook, blogs, twitter and tumblr (to name one or two) are going to be the backbone of your marketing campaign. Just try to remember that all great things take time and marketing certainly is not quick. The end results of good marketing could be slow to see. So hold your horses and keep make sure you keep with it. Everyday try to be updating you social pages and increasing your online presence.

SELLING

You've got solid branding, cool designs and a tight marketing plan for your tees. Now you just have to sell the suckers! Unless you have the funds to open up a retail store, most of you will begin selling your gear online. Yes, building a custom website with e-commerce is usually a highly-pricy undertaking so luckily there are a number of affordable options out there.Big Cartel and Store Envy provide custom online stores with built in e-commerce for a small fee (BigCartel) or free (Storenvy). BigCartel even lets you make use of a custom domain.

Georgie Hartigan

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