Skip to Content

10 Steps to Start a Vinyl T-shirt Business & Make Money

10 Steps to Start a Vinyl T-shirt Business & Make Money

Vinyl t-shirts are an excellent way to start a side hustle while working at your 9-5 job or just do it as a hobby. You can earn extra money and you don’t even need to be an artist. 

In this blog post, you’ll learn everything from finding a niche to choosing the right supplies to set up an online store. You’ll also learn about the best tips to help you succeed.

Tools and Supplies

Tools: 

Let’s get into the 10 steps to create a successful t-shirt business. Consider it a shortcut to making a business plan.

heat press machine, t-shirts laid out and rolls of vinyl

I get commissions for purchases made through some of the links in this post. There is no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

1. Choose a Niche

Before you start selling your shirts, the first step is to choose a niche. This means choosing a market segment that has a large enough population to support your business. 

T-shirt businesses are a popular choice for work that you can do from home. 

So, you should also consider whether there’s room for more competition in your chosen niche. If so, you might want to find another niche where there isn’t as much competition.

2. Keep it Legal

After you choose your niche, make sure that you don’t straight-up copy logos from sports teams or someone else’s products or brands. Here are 3 things not to do with svg files and graphic designs.

3. Find Good Materials

Once you’ve decided what kind of product you’re going to sell, the next step is to take a look at the supplies needed and decide which ones you’ll choose. 

You’ll need a good vinyl cutter to make custom t-shirts. There are two main options here: Cricut and Silhouette. 

Cricut machines are the most popular which means that you will find tutorials and supplies pretty easily. 

Using a print-on-demand service lets you skip the step of sourcing materials but they use screen printing methods and are not vinyl t shirts.

4. Create a Great Website

Having your own website is really important. It’s a great place to house your designs and sell them online. But, you first need to make sure that your site is optimized for search engines. 

This means having a domain name, hosting, and web pages that are designed to help people find your site when they type in relevant keywords into Google. 

You also need to make sure your site has a good design so that visitors will stay on your site instead of bouncing off.

5. Set up an Online Shop

In addition to having your own website, it’s also a good idea to set up an online shop on other marketplaces. Etsy is a good place to sell your custom shirts because they specialize in handmade crafts and have millions of shoppers looking to buy every day.

6. Grow an Email List

Once you’ve got your website up and running, you’re ready to start building your email list. There are two main ways to build an email list: through social media and by offering freebies.

7. Promote Your Brand

Social media is one of the easiest ways to promote your brand and build trust with potential customers.

You can use Facebook ads to reach people who might not otherwise visit your site. 

If you only have a small budget, start by posting your stuff on a free Instagram, Facebook, or Tiktok account. 

Check out how other people market their t-shirts on Instagram. Look at how they style their shirts in their posts. Remember this is for inspiration purposes, not copying.

Another great way to post your designs is to use flat-lay templates.

8. Make That Money (and Keep it in the Right Place)

As those orders come in and your business grows you’ll need to separate the money you make from your t-shirt business and your personal income. 

You can open a business account at your local bank but I’m not a fan of their high fees that eat into your profit margin.

My recommendation is to open a business account with an online bank. 

An online bank is great because you can access your money from anywhere in the world and get paid in any currency. 

For example, I live in France but most of my products are sold in US dollars. Here are my favorite picks:

9. Stay updated

As you know, trends come and go. Make sure that you’re up on new trends. 

Use trend-tracking websites like Google trends and Pinterest Trends to do market research. They will help you find out what’s popular at any moment. 

Both of these trackers will show you monthly and yearly patterns of what’s trending on easy-to-read graphs.

10. Have fun!

Relax and have fun with your t-shirt business. The point is not to stress yourself out but to find a way to earn money and do what you love at the same time.

FAQ’s

What do I need to do vinyl shirts?

You need a vinyl cutting machine, t-shirt designs, vinyl sheets, and blank shirts to make custom vinyl shirts.

Is making T shirts a good business?

Starting your own t-shirt business is great for anyone who wants to make money from home. It’s also a business that you can expand at an affordable price. 

Want to save this for later? Pin it to your favorite DIY Side Hustle board on Pinterest! 

Feel free to add a picture of your vinyl shirts or to write a comment if you tried it.

Conclusion

Starting a new business is never easy, but starting a vinyl t-shirt printing business can be if you know how to do it right. The good news is that you can turn it into something bigger no matter what level of experience you have.

More creative craft ideas! 

If you loved this list check out how you can also make t-shirts with the sublimation printing method.