Many of you regularly make posts asking the question, "What about this Logo?", "How’s this name?", and countless others, attempting to get a feel for branding and how it relates to your company.
I myself started off on this site, and without the wonderful community of Emptees and the helpful opinions on this site, I wouldn’t be anywhere near achieving success with my brand today.
So with that said, I would like to share some of the things that have helped me with my business tremendously, and maybe they can help you as well.
1. Have a solid concept behind your brand.
You know the main reason it is so hard for tee shirt companies to actually make it big? Because EVERYONE is doing it. Literally, hundreds if not thousands of companies, organizations, and individuals each year make an attempt to create Tees that sell. Most fail.
Why you ask? Because the market is flooded with companies that do the EXACT SAME THING.
So how do you succeed in an industry that is flooded with the same thing? Differentiate yourself from the masses, by being unique.
If you cant think of a reason why your company isn’t different from any other company, then why would someone choose to buy a shirt from you as opposed to an already established brand?
They wont. And that is why its so important to have a unique selling point, whether it be amazing art, or the way you treat your customers, or even the way you sell your shirts, the bottom line is that the more you do to separate yourself from the pack, the more successful you will become over time.
2. Don’t force your name.
Often times, in an attempt to get things going with your company, you may hastily decide upon a name, only later to realize that it no longer coincides with the direction you would like for your company.
It is not necessary to have a company name immediately.
It is however, necessary to have a heading, a course that you would like to see your company follow, and SOLID DESIGNS.
Doing this will ensure that even if people aren’t familiar with a name, they are familiar with your handiwork, and THAT, is true branding.
3. Don’t Unveil your company too early.
Speaking from personal experience, hold off announcing your presence to the world before you really have anything to show. As tempting as it may be to tell everyone and anyone who will listen that you are now the Supreme Overlord of the Illustrious (INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE), hold off until you have a solid collection of things to keep the public’s attention.
In the end, when you finally do launch, you will feel much more confident in your brand’s ability to speak for itself through the items you offer, and will most likely also have more of a buzz generated by a professional looking store with various items, not just 1 or 2.
and last but not least...
4. Be passionate about your work.
If you have a true passion about what you are doing, and where you plan to go, that will be evident to those around you. But don’t just focus on the shirts themselves. Find other nuances of the industry that fascinate and inspire you, and learn as much about those topics as possible. Knowing about the inner workings of the biz and how things are made and presented will not only give you a clearer understanding of the industry you wish to be in, but will also give you things to keep you motivated and keep you inspired when your plain sick of seeing .PSD save files and the same graphic you have been staring at on your monitor for the last week straight.
And if you aren’t sick of either of those things yet, you will be.
So hopefully this was helpful to any of you who might have questions about branding and starting a successful company, please feel free to leave any comments or questions you might have, and ill do my best to answer them.
until next time,
Julian Cooper,
The Elegant Scoundrel
Blog
12 Comments
dobi said over 1 year ago
makes sense. bump.
tomwarDsign said over 1 year ago
dude iv been wanting advice like this as i am sure your aware tht some have said oh wot u think of this but have no ideas i have ideas and passion for this, im finding creating type and a logo difficult, iv got countless pieces of paper with no wow factor design or type any sugestions or just go back to basics and start thining around my brand name?
Benzoe88 said over 1 year ago
good post
i think the reason why a lot of brands fail is because a lot of people dont do their research and jump in head first, there designs suck, and that they dont advertise and market themselves right. i would never open an online store with just 1 or 2 items i would rather save up my money and start off with a chain of items. i see a lot of people have like 1 or 2 shirts up on thier website, just from seeing that i probably would never go to thier website again because to me i wouldnt find a reason to comeback.
wankerbanker said over 1 year ago
but if those 2 tees were awesome, and the brand showed a lot of growth potential, you would want to keep an eye on how its growing and all the new stuff that they release.
Also, just wondering, how long has elegant scoundrel been around?
Quest said over 1 year ago
The idea behind the Elegant Scoundrel has been around for nearly a year now, but it wasn’t until about 7 months ago that I decided on the name and really figured out how to properly develop the concept into an actual business. That’s why I decided to write this resource, because there wasn’t much available on the subject when I first started out.
quakerninja said over 1 year ago
I have to keep my eye on you Mr. C, I look away for a few days come back and BAM a blog. and not just any old blog, but part magazine to boot. Brilliant.
wankerbanker said over 1 year ago
I got you, how long have you actually been in business though? I think its great you wrote a resource for newcomers, I’m just wondering how much actual experience and success you have had with this.
Quest said over 1 year ago
Ha, thanks man :)
Actual conducting of business for me has been close to a year now, started by selling one shirt, then things progressed from there.
Grego said over 1 year ago
Helpful! Thanks!
quakerninja said over 1 year ago
I started with diy shirts redbubble and what have you. Did you know Quest is on the top tees over at redbubble. There are very few industries where a one man/woman show can really take off and be successful. It’s quite remarkable. I say go for it, but there are start off cost and expenses that may not be so obvious. It’s great info. At the end of the day its as strong as the people or person behind it. I expect to see great things from ES, and look forward to watching the brand grow.
{miles to go} said over 1 year ago
good post. a lot of people do jump in hoping to capitalize on what they see brands that have been doing this for years doing successfully. just cause johnny cupcakes makes millions doesnt mean we all will. plus, companies like him, full bleed, and others have been doing this for a long time now. it takes a lot of work and passion for it.
we all have those times where you debate doing crazy fire sales and stopping but if you want to build a brand and build a reputation it takes years to form a solid base of "fans"
WinterArtwork said over 1 year ago
great advice!