Calling all graphic designers: How to make a business out of corporate and customised clothing

Nowadays, you don’t need an industrial structure behind you to get into this kind of business: you just have to take care of the creative part, and then you can sub-contract the physical implementation of your design project to a company that specialises in transforming undecorated objects in pieces of design. HelloPrint is the main benchmark in this kind of business and they have a huge variety of services for both individuals and companies: from production and delivery of low cost brochure printing and high quality flyers (single sheets or folded) to stationery printing product, not mentioning business cards and all the catalogue of promotional materials that you can print on (from clothing to packaging to kitchenware and more). All you have to do is just provide them with your design and the amount of items needed and get them sent to your home or office.

Among all the materials that can be customised or personalised, clothing items lend themselves best to this kind of business - mainly due to their variety and versatility. In fact, with a catalogue of clothes you can offer a multitude of options to your customers, ranging from heavy winter clothes to sportswear, streetwear and even swimsuits. And not only that: working on design for clothes will help you enhancing your creativity as you'll have a number of variations, in terms of both models and type of graphic decoration to work on.

In addition to companies who would recruit you to develop a visual project for themselves and their products you could also expand into providing customised clothing - offering the service to those who love to add a personal touch to every single cloth they are going to wear: adding patches, embroideries and printed decorations. This market is  is thriving but still relatively untapped so if you can showcase creativity, taste and craftsmanship then this could also be a good business opportunity. 

1. Showcase your work: Prepare a portfolio with your best graphic creations and digitalise it.

2. Sell your products. Choose among the wide choice of e-commerce software products available on the web (you can find some good ones even among the freeware ones), build your own site and use it as your virtual boutique. Just remember to give clear information about costs and payment.

3. Promote your activities. Use all the tools that Internet provides to spread your new company’s name to as many people as you can reach. Social media, newsletters, advertising banners (in this last case, prepare to loosen your purse strings and invest some money in it) etc can allow you to get to a wide range of potential buyers.

Following those simple steps to enhance your businesses chances to succeed and your craftsmanship abilities will be placed in the proper conditions to shine.