Hey guys, Dave here with transfer express! With summer event season ramping up now is
the perfect time to get ready for live, on-site printing the printing on site at festivals,
fairs, farmers markets, car shows, carnivals, charity events, runs and even sporting tournaments
are a great way to promote your apparel business, gain some new business opportunities
and maximize your profit! Today we're going to be covering some basic setup planning and prep tips
to make your events run smoothly... we'll even cover some helpful tips and tricks to help drive
traffic to your booth so you could sell more t-shirts! Are you ready? Let's get going!
Now, if you're new to the channel, Transfer Express is the leading supplier of digital
and screen printed heat transfers for apparel printing. With two production facilities in
ohio and arizona we're able to meet demand for our customers nationwide now we are dedicated
to customer service and helping grow custom apparel businesses is our number one priority
everything we do is focused on making sure we send high quality fashionable custom transfers on
time and on a budget now if you've ever gone to an event like an art festival youth sports tournament
farmer's market or local fare you know it's a perfect place to get in front of a lot of people
in your community or niche people are always looking for a souvenir to remember an experience
event or show their support for the community so custom apparel fits in perfectly here now events
like this are awesome for apparel decorators because your upfront cost is low and you're
printing on demand so any unused blanks can be put right back into your inventory back home and
used later now setup and prep of your space are super important to ensure your event experience
is a success it's best to start planning early to ensure you cover the essentials first do you
have power available or will you need to bring a generator for your heat press you won't be doing
any printing on site without that power and with most heat presses you'll need a dedicated 20 amp
circuit to ensure your press is going to run like it should is the event outside because an event
tent is a must it's gonna keep you out of the sun or rain inside are there any special height
limitations from the fire department or fire marshal flooring or display requirements are
your tax forms filled out if they're required do you need insurance if it's required do you
have your payment processing set up and tested now being able to accept card and cash is going
to help drive sales to you as people tend to carry less cash now than they used to there's a ton of
low-cost services out there like square clover even paypal that you could use of course some
requirements vary on the event you're attending but it's good to keep in mind now always make sure
you're checking your inventory before going you want everything accounted for we recommend keeping
shirts and transfers and labeled boxes so you could access them on the fly using ziplock bags or
plastic bins stored under your table can help keep your transfers safe and out of the humidity common
in the summertime here now always ensure you've packed extra gear like hangers display racks
tables and chairs having all this organized is going to make setup and tear down a breeze
and lower any anxiety if this is going to be your first show now always bring more than
enough transfers than what you think you're going to need it's easier to have extra then
run out and lose out on sales now if anything you could use those extra transfers for next year or
back home now besides your featured graphic bring some simpler more generic prints to sell as well
this allows you to maximize sales opportunities without investing in inventory that you'll have
to store after the event if it's a basketball tournament bring basketball related prints not
related to the tournament it's possible your customer didn't do well in the tournament
and wants a print just related to the sport by keeping these prints more generic you could bring
them to your other events too what doesn't sell at one basketball or soccer tournament can be
sold at another one now bringing the right apparel is key too t-shirts are usually king but think of
the audience in the event itself chilly autumn day be sure you've got some cozy sweatshirts
or hoodies too hot pool or beachside event tank tops might be smart to bring along there now if
you can it's a great branding opportunity for your business to include your logo on the inside tag
print or upper back or even sleeve print on your apparel you can print these in advanced and you'll
be surprised how much business these placements can drum up for you down the road now we always
suggest to test your designs in apparel before you arrive on site this gives you a great idea of how
everything is going to run at the event and allow you to have some pre-printed samples to display or
sell in the most popular sizes during peak traffic times so you're not scrambling to print shirts
another important factor is your pricing putting price tags up on all of your apparel plus any
discounts you want to have if it's a buy one get one free or anything are really important
now people are more likely to buy something if they know what it costs and especially if they're
getting a good deal on it now we like to place any pricing on the table or the apparel itself
now that's going to bring traffic to the booth giving you a chance to engage with your customers
and sell the shirt before your customer even sees the price now if you're limited to room and you're
worried about your apparel blowing over you could always just mount them onto foam board panels
add some velcro and it attaches nice and easy now most businesses pay between 10 to 20 percent
of their retail price to the event host as a commission so be sure you're charging the
typical retail price plus the cost of your time to ensure that you're making a healthy cut too
now people need to see what you're going to offer you want to make your business look appealing and
draw more customers in setting up for a small booth versus a large one is very different
now make sure there's enough room to display your desired apparel and enough space for
chairs tables or heat presses or your extra boxes of apparel or any customers coming
in or around your booth now crowds are a great thing for you but it can discourage
from other people stopping if they're too big or if there's no set flow to your workspace
some people will put up signs that say pick your graphic pick your shirt place your order and pick
up here now it's essential to have signage to get your customers into the booth we just
have our beautiful backdrop banner behind us and some signage up here but you could have whatever
you want having a banner is very very smart and very visible to see at any event now even while
you're out shopping take note of what catches your eye so when the customer is farther away
they need something at that eye level or higher up that's simple and eye-catching so try to eliminate
anything below waist level as this most of the time is not seen so bringing a display rack or
table for your t-shirts hats and apparel can help with organizing space within your booth make sure
you show off your designs and also bring sizes for everyone involved the general rule of thumb
is for adult sizes a one two two one meaning that for every small and extra large you're bringing
two mediums and larges start with this rule of thumb and adjust as necessary so we suggest
displaying the pre-printed shirts in your booth and having blank apparel to print on site as well
we find it best to keep those extra shirts in a bin under the table for even more space-saving
ideas now the next question is what heat press is best to use we always recommend a smaller
heat press like a a to z or even the hotronix auto clamp what makes these presses easier to take to
events are their portability their light weight and their ability to just run shirts non-stop
the auto clam is great for its easy auto opening feature and having the counter caddy makes it easy
to thread on with something like the a to z you already have that semi thread ability built in
and it's super affordable now customers love personalization allow custom add-ons
at these events for an upcharge and popular options at sporting events include team names
cities mom dad grandpa or grandma now you could have a gang sheet of all of these printed out
and cut ready to apply for any apparel style and for further customization you could bring your
vinyl cutter and customize personalized names on site too but there are many ways to promote your
business at the event itself you could give or trade your t-shirts to other vendors so they're
wearing them and this gets your name out there and offers walking advertising around the event
you can purchase an ad in the event brochure use an a-frame sidewalk or even have a member of
your team out handing out flyers or get signs to attract attention and drive traffic to the booth
but doing all these things are going to ensure a positive experience for you and your customers and
are going to help your business grow your work into preparation is key the resources you have
what you need to bring and who the audience is is what you should be paying attention to
with this information creative designs and solid printing expertise you will profit so
like this video if you learned something today and please add any tips or tricks that you have
down below in the comments section make sure to subscribe to our channel because we're putting
out videos like this every single week not only event tips but education and product
inspiration or just tips to help your t-shirt business but until next time i'm dave happy
pressing
you