My T-shirt Business Idea

No discussion on my business ideas is complete without discussing my t-shirt business. I have printed out a “Denial is not just a river in Africa” t-shirt. This has gotten some interesting looks and my Pagan recovery group flat out laughed at it because they thought it was hilarious. That’s what I’m going for. "Bill W. sent me" is a subtle t-shirt to wear around an alcoholic just to make them a bit crazy, in particular those alcoholics who are unaware of how much they pound it. I have now found a made-in-the-U.S.A. cotton supplier. This is a first step to producing t-shirts. Now I need to find somebody who can make t-shirts.

Then I need a print shop, a custom t-shirt printing shop. This is something I need some advice on. I get SCORE business counseling, but if anybody out there can help me, that would be greatly appreciated. I need help putting this together. I have no idea what direction to head next; for example, after I just found an American source of cotton, I have to print the shirts at a custom print shop near me. I have decided what I want to say on the t-shirts, such as “I have schizophrenia,” which is true. A t-shirt that says “no pity” or “no stigma.” My t-shirts will be sassy. It is meant only for sassy people with courage to wear.

My “Thank you, medication!” t-shirt is for other mentally ill people who have something to say. I have other ideas but I hesitate to share since somebody with more resources might steal it. I would start off having a store on my Etsy account. I would take pictures using my iPhone of people wearing the shirt. I’m ordering prototypes from the Vistaprint store. It is roughly $14.00 per shirt. I can design it myself. I had a problem with my “Denial is not just a river in Africa” t-shirt because I designed the words a bit lower than they should be. It is all up to the designer how it looks.

I simply can’t sustain the low-income life style anymore. I have to figure out a way to make money. I need to publish my books or start my businesses. I’m done procrastinating. My t-shirt business will eventually require a separate website of its own. I need a programmer for this but I also need income to pay that programmer. If I have either, good. I also need somebody who can make t-shirts from the made-in-the-U.S.A. cotton I found, just adding it to my business plan. I need to also be able to pay for postage, and make postage labels using my printer, which requires new ink cartridges since I can’t print on it. I try to go paperless a lot, though.

I really need help with this business but have no idea who to ask. I have a Facebook page but I don’t want to get anybody’s help there. If anybody wants to help, find me on Facebook. I especially need seed money but I don’t want to make too much money because I need to keep my medical care. If I make enough money, I can buy my own insurance, but for now I’m still stuck being poor since they expect you to be low income. I can work a part-time job to supplement my income, as well as publish my work online. This is what I’m working on right now; sending out queries, and getting rejections, which is part of the writing life. I also need to publish my books. I have fiction and non-fiction ideas in the works. These are all ways I can make money and I have a non-fiction book on bullying that I have to work on editing. There is much to be done this year.