Archive | December, 2008

Software for Creating Team Uniforms with Heat Transfer Vinyl

17 Dec

Software for Creating Team Uniforms with Heat Transfer Vinyl

If you haven’t heard about it yet, there is a new online design software out on the market called Cadworx Live.  The designer portion of Cadworx Live was launched about 1 year ago and now they have just launched a new application- The Cad-Cut Easy Teams Designer.  I had a chance to go in and experiment with this portion of Cadworx yesterday and this morning and all I can say is WOW!  I was so impressed, I had to do a write up and a quick video.

First, let me review why I am so impressed and think this application is going to make spring sports so much easier for you:

  • You have the ability to create player name and number combos, just player names,  just numbers or a team name list by typing or pasting a comma separated list into the application.  After created, the application automatically generates your cut file.
  • After your file(s) is created you can apply styles to the design or even edit the style.  Basically this means you can create multiple colors with the click of the button and choose gap spacing between colors, you can also add a shadow, arc the name, add bookends, create a split front etc. etc.
  • After the styles are applied you can change other options such as the gap space between the name and  the number or size the design to fit certain parameters or with the chekc of a box put the name under the number instead of the tradition way.
  • Now onto the Output function – you can do a few cool things here.  First, you can preview the file or export it as a jpeg preview with your own custom watermark for emailing as a proof to a customer.  Next you can simply save the job into your cadworx files so it will be available the next time you log in.  If you are ready to cut the design you have a few options – export it to a plt file and save it to your computer, so that you can import it into your cutters driver.  Or (my preference), export it to the included Cadworx VectorCut program.  Once it’s in vector cut you can mirror the design, space it on your page, output it by color or complete a variety of other functions. 

It’s all pretty simple.  This designer allows the beginner a way to start creating names and numbers and also allows veterans a more efficient, time saving way. 

It’s so simple, I spent 5 minutes and did a little video demo (sorry no audio included and not the best quality):

 

The Cadworx site also has a members forum where you can post questions and hold discussions. 

Cadworx is free for customers of Imprintables Warehouse, Stahls ID Direct and Transfer Express.

Starting A Decorated Apparel Business in a Recession

10 Dec

Starting A Decorated Apparel Business in a Recession -

Heat Press, Screen Printing, Embroidery, Direct to Garment Printing

It can be said that our economy is in the worst possible condition since the Great Depression – depending on who you talk to we are already in a recession or almost all can agree that one is looming.  As companies begin to feel the effects of this sluggish economy they begin to look for ways to cut expenses – one of the places they have been looking to cut is people.  This is no secret and is evidenced by the number of jobs lost in November alone -533,000 as reported by the US Dept of Labor – see report here.  This number follows September (403,000 jobs) and October (320,000 jobs). 

These numbers are sickening and the fact is you may be a part of these statistics already or soon. 

So what should you do about it?

I say – START YOUR OWN DECORATED APPAREL BUSINESS

This year, I’m going to do my best to help you if this is your endeavor.  This is a personal commitment I am making.  I’m fortunate enough to have my health and my job in these challenging times.  I feel it is my responsibility, now more than ever to share what I know, to help others who have been affected by this recession.  So, if you would like to take matters into your own hands and become an entrepreneur keep reading, and subscribe to my blog today.  If you are an entrepreneur, keep reading as well – the info that I am going to outline may inspire you to establish additional profit centers and weather declining sales in a tough market. 

Here’s an excerpt from The Economist Magazine’s special issue “The World in 2009″.  This excerpt is taken from Martin Giles article on titled:  The Upside of a Downturn.  Giles writes, “what about starting a company from scratch?  If history is any guide, a significant number of people who are laid off over the coming year will do just that (starting their own business).  Carl Schramm, the head of the Kauffman Foundation, a non-profit…points out that start-ups tend to flourish in the year that follows a sharp downturn.  Rather than head back to another corporate bureaucracy, some of those made redundant will take a shot at becoming their own boss.” 

Giles goes on to cite role models who fit this bill, you may recognize the names: Steve Jobs, Michael Bloomberg and Michael Dell. 

This info is significant – and I believe that now is a great time to start a business, more specifically a decorated apparel business.  But you may ask, how do I go about getting a business funded?  Certainly, venture capitalists aren’t likely to invest their money in this economy.  Well that’s partly true – at least not for companies that require a lot of capital – so that’s where I come in.  No, I’m not going to invest in your company, but I plan to tell you specific ways to write a business plan to seek funding.  I’ll also go through some ways to start a decorated apparel business on a shoe string budget.  In fact – I promise to show you niche markets that you can begin to reach with little investment.  And that little investment is what is so intriguing about becoming a decorated apparel entrepreneur, especially in these times.  It is a business that you can likely fund yourself.  And even better yet, the decorated apparel business has been said by many experts to be a business extremely resilient to economic downturn (reference; Decorated Apparel Universe Study 2008, Impressions Magazine).

Now with all of this in mind, I answer again -

START YOUR OWN DECORATED APPAREL BUSINESS.

I plan to help to teach you how…that is my mission for 2009 to mentor new and existing entrepreneurs.

Some of the focus stories to help with this will be..

  • Business Plan Considerations for Decorated Apparel – Overview
  • The Decorated Apparel Business Overview
  • Personalization and Commodification – Why made to order
  • Outsource vs In-House Production
  • Niche vs Mass Market Approach
  • Online, Inline, At Home – Where to begin and where to go?
  • Starting a ______ Apparel Business – these articles/videos will focus on specific niches; baby apparel, motocross apparel, team apparel, exclusive name brand, band, grandma etc. etc.
  • Selling Your ____ Apparel
  • Marketing Your ____ Apparel
  • How, when to launch your business

What I’d like to do is gain your commitment to read this series.  If you are interested please subscribe to my blog - you will receive email updates only when I post new content.  Also, please take the time to copy an paste the link from your address bar into an email and send it to a friend in the industry or one who has lost a job so they can follow along too. 

Lastly, please, please, please leave your comments at the end of the post if you have something to say.  As a blogger, I’m always encouraged by comments from my readers and its what keeps me going and putting out more content.  To get you practicing on comments, why not leave one now?  I’d like to know your thoughts on starting a new business in a recession or on how recession is affecting your business.

Thanks for taking your time to read this post!

Josh Ellsworth

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