I’ve been trying for some time to get around to writing on my blog. I’d like to say my excuse for not getting around to it is because I’m nursing a hurt baby toe which I got by running over it with a shopping cart (twice!)…that’s two separate incidents in a month…not twice in a row! I’ve decided that I’m not going to be nice anymore (stop snickering Terry Combs) and pull my cart back to make room for the person in front of me who decides to stick their butt out into the aisle to capture that last minute gigantic Tootsie Roll on the rack. Nope, I’m going to stand firm and hide my toes. After two weeks I still can’t wear a shoe without it throbbing. So sad to miss out on the nightly treks to kill scorpions…I feel really, really bad about that.

Anyway, last week I was out and about and stopped in to a local store on business. I was greeted by a nice lady – attractive, middle-aged, casual – who was the owner. We shook hands and right away I knew that this was a person I wanted to do business with. Why? Because her firm handshake told me that she was up to the task, that she was a business person, that she knew what she was doing and that she was confident.

I discussed this with her and we both agreed that a handshake was really important in business and was an area where a lot of people don’t do so well. We lamented about the “femmy” handshake, the “limp-noodle” handshake and the “bone-crusher.”

I recall my first bone-crusher and it was so bad I’ve managed to avoid any others. Mr. Joe Cuzort was a sales manager for Screen Print Magazine way back around 1983-84 and in the beginning we greeted each other with a handshake. Well, one time he must have forgotten himself because he gave me such a hard handshake that my knees buckled (literally) and my fingers had huge indentations where he crushed my ring into them. I kept a solid appearance so he never knew the impact of that handshake. After that I immediately turned to the “hug” greeting with him.

Which brings me to a topic that could be boring but actually isn’t….I mean think about it – you are performing an act where you are actually touching another human being and often they are complete strangers! This is an intimate act if there ever was one.

So unless you are into choreographed handshakes that make you look real cool or perhaps you utilize the roman-warrior handgrip (one of my personal favorites) then you need to know how to do it right, and if not absolutely right, then at least pretty-darned-ok.

Women! If you are soliciting a job as a queen, helpless victim or laundry detergent tester then you keep right on giving that little featherweight “four-fingers” in the hand substitute of a handshake. You will get the job I promise you. But if you are in the business world then give a good, solid, full-hand, firm handshake – I think 2-4 short, controlled up-and-down pumps will do it. This applies to anyone’s hand you are shaking (except children, the elderly or perhaps someone with a physical challenge.)

If you don’t know about how firm it should be try this: put your hand up to your throat as though you are going to strangle yourself. When you’ve closed it hard enough to cause some discomfort that’s about the right amount of pressure. (I get a lot of chuckles picturing you all doing that.)

Men! Stop giving women the “femmy” handshake. When you give us that soft, half-hearted noodly thing it can make us think that: 1. You have no idea how to relate to women; 2. You might perceive women as inferior; 3. You think you might get to first base if you aren’t too pushy; 4. You aren’t very sure of yourself; 5. You are afraid of hurting us.

So, follow the same advice for women above. If you give us that “bone-crusher” then numbers 1, 2 and 4 apply and we’ll add a number 6. You enjoy hurting us.

So that’s the quick facts-of-life handshake talk – One that every parent should have had with you but didn’t. I’m sure there are many who won’t agree with this article and I bow to your right of differing opinion…….just don’t try to shake my hand when I see you. I will take that hug though.

I want an adult “Onesie” flesh-colored thin-fabric T-shirt that body-hugs like a second skin and starts at the bottom of my feet, wraps around each leg and goes all the way up to my shoulders. I want a hot pair of thigh-high black leather boots printed on the feet and legs portion of the garment, a show of black lace printed above the boots, black lycra short-shorts printed on the appropriate area and the top part can stay a “little white T-Shirt” that is printed with “Daddy’s Girl” in red glitter. Oh, and sew a leather bottom on the soles of the feet please because I don’t intend on having to wear another single stitch of clothing with this garment.

“Mmmmmmmm……” I hear you thinking. You can probably see the visual right now. If so, then consider that being a screen printer doesn’t always mean that you print for others. I’m not talking about becoming a manufacturer of the garment in the first paragraph or going after the celebrity market with this outlandish idea but rather that you explore the possibility that you can address a niche market, one you have an interest in or knowledge of and create and market your own line for that market.

Consider the possibilities. You have the capabilities of resourcing the garment(s) and other pintables, the ability to design the artwork and the ability to print the design. But let’s put first things first and look at how you might create your own line.

Basics 1: Find a Niche Market
I’ve actually had two clothing lines and neither was difficult to develop. One was a ladies fashion halter top company where I designed the garments and took them from pattern to cut & sew and finally sales. The sales part was easy in those days……..I had a “boutique” every weekend at the flea market. They were a hot item and I had a lot of repeat customers. I would love to have had the chance to market them online but it didn’t exist in those days.

Years later I developed a clothing line that fit right into the niche category. It was for animal lovers – mostly cats and dogs – mostly T-Shirts and fashion tops. The designs were years ahead of their time with spot-color foils throughout the design and rhinestone placement. I hired artists to do what I wanted, developed the processes needed to produce the work, bought goods I knew women would love and printed away. I ended up in all of the big pet catalogs like RC Steele and sold to pet stores nationwide.

How did I do it? Just like most people do but perhaps a bit easier because I knew how to screen print. The basic steps are pretty easy. While not necessary for every potential clothing line entrepreneur I did create a “brand” name that became recognizable. The products I sold under the “brand” became my “line.”

Basics 2: Create a Brand
If you think creating your own line is something you are tuned into then you might want to create a Brand name. Pantene® is a brand and the name associates a lot of quality products with it. Within this brand there is your product line. A brand can be something simple like a word or perhaps a symbol (think logo.)

The free Wikipedia Encyclopedia at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand has a great article on what brands and branding are all about. One interesting excerpt says “Modern value-creation branding-and-advertising campaigns are highly successful at inducing consumers to pay, for example, 50 dollars for a T-shirt that cost a mere 50 cents to make…” Of course the economy has changed a bit since that was written.

Basics 3: Research the Brand
Let’s say you live in Hawaii, California or Florida and you want to create a line of shirts involving the ocean. You can envision a nice line of T-Shirts and other imprintables immediately with this idea – marine life, bikini’s, eco system, sand, surfing, etc.

Perhaps you are seriously entering into producing your own line. If so you will want to consider trademarking your brand.

Let’s say you want to call your brand “Water Babies.” While you can put a ™ on your brand without filing a trademark, you better be sure you are not impinging on anyone else’s trademark. (You may not use the registered mark ® however unless your trademark is actually registered.) You can research the availability of a trademark yourself by going to uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm and on the right side click “search.” Click on “new user form” and enter “water babies” in the search field. You will find several “water babies” trademarks. Some will be dead and others live. Check them out and you will see that at least one of them is related to T-Shirts and it is live. Odds are you would be violating someone’s trademark….better keep on searching.

You can file for a trademark online at uspto.gov/teas/index.html and the cost is $275 to $325, but as you will see it is really complicated, the results are not guaranteed and you will not get a refund if your item cannot be trademarked. Should you want to apply for a trademark it would be wise to have an attorney take care of it.

Basics 3 : Create a Line
For this article let’s say that “Water Babies” trademark was available. The brand name is often not used in a design but let’s say you are going to use it here and the design is “Nothing Makes Me Happier than Looking at My Water Babies”

Copyright laws do not require that you notice the work (meaning printing the ©symbol or equivalent wording) to be protected under copyright law. But should someone rip off your work and you sue them you would lose your chances at triple-damages and other beneficial claims. Whether or not you pursue the formalities of copyrighting your work will depend on your own assessment. If you do want to you can research copyright availability at copyright.gov/records/. Click “Search the Catalog.” If there aren’t any results on this it might be available. You haven’t done as exhaustive a search as a Copyright attorney will do so again you should have an attorney do the search.

You can file a copyright electronically for $35 at copyright.gov/ and click on “Electronic Copyright Office.” There is a really good explanation of how to copyright your work at copyright.gov/fls/fl115.html and click on Circular 40A – it does a nice job of simplifying the whole thing.

Basics 4: Market the Line
Marketing can make your line successful. With e-branding and internet marketing your marketing cost is considerably lower than in the “old days” of catalogs, bulk mailings and magazine advertising.

Of course you will market your shirts online but choose a specific market to approach and develop your brand heavily. There are a lot of resources for online marketing such as Google Adwords, YouTube, etc. In resourcing for this article I found a lot of sites selling narrow niche T-Shirts. Some sites and lines appealed to me and a lot did not. I visited one company’s website because I liked the name of their brand…it was cool. I went to the site and looked at their line. It was bad. It wasn’t artwork that I liked but also the designs were so varied in technique and style that no one could ever point to it and say that’s a “water babies” (brand name disguised to hide the real brand identity.)

With a narrow niche line it might be necessary to start a marketing campaign by placing small classified ads in that markets magazines that direct them to your website. If you can afford a little more then placing a small display ad with a photo of your best T-Shirt and directing them to your site will get you started in a bigger way.

The internet has become the biggest marketing tool in the history of mankind but it is still a new frontier with a skillset of its own, and that is a topic that requires an article of its own …….. And only after lots and lots of research. You can get some insight and good idea starters though from an online article at
www.nbm.com. From there you can start your own research into online marketing.

Get Going
You’re not getting any younger and the world is moving faster and faster all the time so what have you got to lose by giving it a try? Your line might be an ugly disaster or it might become a hit. Does the outcome matter as much as the journey? I think the journey is all that really matters to an entrepreneur.

If you should happen to develop that outlandish little item mentioned at the beginning of this article please let me know……I would like to buy one….oh not for me of course…….for a friend.

Pat Fresener
www.howtopublishing.com
“the best things in life are free”

(Nothing in this article is intended nor should be interpreted as legal advice. An attorney should always be consulted in legal matters. All trademarks acknowledged)

90 mph on the open stretches. Music, blaring. Head-banging. No plans. No reservations, just a final destination. We are free! ROAD TRIP! Hey, this has the start of a pretty good song doesn’t it? But it pretty accurately describes a road trip that Scott and I took last summer. We agreed to drive our daughter-in-laws car from Phoenix to Kentucky for her. We realized that this was the only road trip we had ever taken without kids or dogs along. We took advantage of that and played the music so loud that we blew out one of the car speakers. We head-banged so enthusiastically that others on the road probably thought the not-too-young people were having simultaneous strokes.

This road trip was filled with adventure and there was no pressure of having to be somewhere within a certain time period – something we had rarely experienced. We discovered that Tucumcari, NM is not the pit it used to be and that Ft. Smith, Arkansas is a really cool town – who knew? We stopped at Graceland and saw that the mansion was not very big. We strolled the streets of Nashville absorbing a culture and music that wasn’t in our collection of favorites.

This contrasts greatly with one we took in 1972. That one was a combination of “Woodstock” and the movie “Deliverance.”

Here we are, Scott & I, two young hippies (we both absolutely looked like hippies) with two adorable red-headed kids heading from Phoenix to Illinois in our unairconditioned 1963 Chevy Impala pulling a concession trailer. No money or credit cards, but we had something a lot more important….a sense of adventure, optimism and a burning curiosity to always see what was around the next corner. We never thought the grass was greener up ahead…..we just wanted to see what was there. If you don’t count a tire on the trailer blowing out and the car catching fire it was a pretty good trip! Yes, I am wearing a real “Keep on Truckin” T-Shirt in the photo.

The boys from “Deliverance” were there to greet us when the tire blew (overalls, beards, hats, straw in their mouth and a menacing stare at Scott – the long-haired hippie.) The tire was an odd size and the “boys” drove Scott way out in the backwoods to the junkyards to find a replacement. Scott was sure they were going to kill him that day.

The “Woodstock” part came from a most unlikely source. Later in Missouri our car caught fire and we were towed into a tiny speck of a town where the garage was closed (it was 9:00pm.) An elderly couple owned the shop and the little house behind it. We would have to wait until morning to get the part, so exhausted and hungry, we settle in to sleep in the car. Well, Ma Kettle must have choked back her fear of the Hippies because she came out and insisted that we come in to eat and also insisted that we all would spend the night. She had glorious old-fashioned puffy beds. I can’t imagine that this kind old lady would have thought that 38 years later her generosity would be remember and still appreciated.

Well, we got to Illinois and had a five-week visit with my family. We didn’t have any money to get back home but we weren’t worried because we had booked a space at the state fair in Marshfield, WI. So up we go to sell our T-Shirts and eight-track tapes (yes Virginia, there really used to be such things) and we took in $900. We were rich! Now we could go back home and stay at a HOTEL a couple of times!  And off we went.

It strikes me that both life and operating a screen printing business are quite simply – road trips. In life we all have the same final destination. It’s unavoidable. But in both business and life the final destination shouldn’t be what you focus on – it should be the journey. On your death bed I doubt you will list all of the businesses you owned or how much money you have but you very possibly might recount the events that occurred on your journey through your ultimate road trip – life.

In business I think the destination is about profits, but the road trip is about customers, employees and community. Has your journey been a good one so far? Have you anonymously donated a dozen unprinted T-Shirts to a charity for the homeless and/or a domestic violence shelter? Have you spoken at a high school on career day? Was it one that serves the poorest community? Those kids could really be inspired by you. Do you send your customers thank-you notes after they make a purchase? Do you take care of your employees children at Christmas? Have you had a pot-luck picnic for your employees and their families with games and prizes? You’re not doing any of this? Well get going….don’t delay……your road trip won’t last forever you know. Oh, and remember to put on some loud music and do a lot of head-banging in the shop….your employees will be amazed. But then maybe they will just call an ambulance.

So what’s your road trip story? What event do you remember from your journey? I’d love to hear it and this is the perfect place to let it out! Just click on the “comment” button and pour your heart out.

Hey, the good news is that this article is really for those who are thinking of joining the revered group called “newbies” so “experts” don’t have to grab their reading glasses for this one! If you are considering starting a small screen printing business then this blog’s goal is to either spur you into action (making you a newbie) or send you back to the cold-blooded arena of the employed ranks or perhaps I might say even the “unemployed ranks.”

I know someone who, for the last 20 years, has always “been looking for a business to start.” While I have no doubt that she was perfectly capable of starting and running a business it just never happened. Oh there was a lot of research, a lot of demographics, a lot of studying on how to put a mission statement together and of course the business plan. Now you really do need all of this if you’re going to try to secure outside funding. But as I saw it, the main reasons she never got anything off the ground was: 1: The businesses she chose were terrible for her. 2: She was not realistic about what that particular business required. 3: Fear.

That brings me to our industry – the glorious world of printing T-Shirts from which hope and customers spring eternal. Customers for printed goods are everywhere. Scott & I will never forget the words of a Dutch airline captain following his warning about not wearing seat belts – ”Eef yew geht hurt eet vill be yuhr own fauhlt!” (The snickers could be heard throughout the plane after that one.) Well, if you can’t get customers in this industry then it really is your own fault because they are everywhere.

So What’s Stopping You?

So let’s take a look at some of the factors regarding starting a T-Shirt printing business.

1. You can start inexpensively.

Low $1,200 to $3,000; Mid or Average $6,000 – $20,000; Big with commercial, production oriented equipment – $25,000 – $50,000; Biggest with automatic presses, auto screen reclaim, DTG, etc. – $50,000 – $125,000.

The low price range means that you either build some of the equipment or buy used machinery. You will need a scanner, computer, software such as PhotoShop and CorelDraw and an inkjet or laser printer to produce the art films (for screen burning) and these items are not included in the “Low” pricing estimate above but the higher “low” (oxymoron?) range of $3K could include some of these items.

2. You can start in a small space at home or begin with a retail, commercial or industrial space.

Many small shops start off in a garage. A friend recently said that they started off in a “2 car” shop and always felt they had plenty of room. Any other small room could also be used. Unless the retail location is in a high traffic area and you are gearing up for a high retail volume you should go with the commercial or industrial space because they are less expensive. Unless you have a big bank roll don’t start out spending lots on overhead. Moving to a building can come later and perhaps never unless you really feel the need to get dressed and leave the house every day.

3. You can learn how to print through classes, books and DVD’s.

Unlike the old days where screen printers valued technical information more than their firstborn child you can get the information you need pretty easily. The best start for every screen printer is to purchase the book “How to Print T-Shirts for Fun and Profit” written by yours truly and husband and unabashedly promoted here – because you really, really need it! The shop floor plans, pricing guides and plans to build your own equipment are very informative and of course, the complete step-by-step instruction of garment printing is as good as it gets. Get it at www.howtopublishing.com. While you are there be sure to check out the DVD “Starting a T-Shirt Printing Business” by Scott & Mike Fresener. Another must for you.

Learning how to print is not difficult but you do need to learn commercial methods as opposed to hobbyist level techniques (unless this is only going to actually be a hobby of course!)

4. Your Most Difficult Challenges

A. Learning how to convert artwork to quality artwork for T-Shirts.

Since knowledgeable T-Shirt artists can be hard to find you will want to learn some of the techniques yourself. Some jobs may require the skill of an artist but much of it will be done in the computer with various software programs. You can find the best training DVD’s for PhotoShop and CorelDraw and DVD’s on Screen Printing Training at www.howtopublishing.com and lots of free online screen printing training videos at www.tbiznetwork.com

B. Taking Action.

Lots of people talk about starting a business. It really isn’t a big step for you to start printing T-Shirts. You could just start by printing heat transfers and applying them to garments. “Heat Transfers – is she out of her mind?” Sometimes. But here’s the bottom line on this: With a dirt-bottom investment you can print heat transfers. You build a little vacuum table out of the book “How to Print T-Shirts for Fun and Profit.” You buy a screen printing frame stretched with fabric, a scoop coater, emulsion, transfer paper, ink and a heat press. You have someone else provide the art films. Did you know that there is no limit to the colors you can print with a heat transfer? Only have a 4-Color press and the job requires 9 colors? – No problem with a heat transfer.

OK, I was just proving a point. If you want to get into this business then hopefully, you will invest in more than just the ability to print heat transfers.

It would be hard to find a business that provides as much satisfaction as a screen printing business. It’s a great family business that has room for everyone. Any talent that you possess can be used whether it’s mechanical, artistic, financial, sales and marketing oriented, production – You’ll find skills you didn’t even know you had.

So Newbie or Not Newbie. That is the question that only you can answer.

Pat Fresener

Thanks to the 46,254 people who have visited this site as of 8/13/09. We know there is a lot of information here for you but did you know that you could be getting a lot more out of T-Biznetwork.com? I think it’s time to let you know how.

What is with you people? We have an average daily visitor count of 889.5 people so it stands to reason that some of you must have opinions and that some of you actually voice your opinion on occasion. OK, most of you are the silent majority I guess. Gee, what good does it do to be in the majority if you’re silent? Poof…you don’t matter at all because it’s the vocal minority that gets all the attention.

“What the heck is she talking about?” you might be saying. “Why is she being such a bitch to us?” others might be voicing. What I’m voicing is “What are you – a bunch of chicken s—s?” Afraid to answer a few questions on our survey or post answers/questions on the forums that might help a lot of fellow screen printers?

Or perhaps you are a procrastinator. Or perhaps you didn’t click down to see that we actually have a pretty good survey running right now.

OK, now you know. I’m showing the results of the survey as of today – 8/14 a.m. at the end of this blog. I’ve been following them and have seen a particularly interesting change in the results from the question “Do you think the economy has hit bottom?” Up until about 10 days ago the NO vote was at about 60%, the YES vote was about 40%. Today that is reversed – the YES vote is at 55% and the NO vote 45%. So there seems to be some optimism of economic recovery out there. What would the results look like if 100 people voted?

I’ve decided to give weekly reports on some of the survey stats because I feel there is timely and valuable information there for all of us. Some questions are a barometer of our industry, others we can view as accumulating material for industry standardization. The bottom line is that they are about our industry, our livelihoods, they are there for you. So get over your shyness and start to post your answers on the survey right now. If we can get a decent base here then we will add more questions.

Along those thoughts……the goal here is to get pertinent valid input from all of you regarding what survey questions you would like to see. Just post a reply to this blog with your suggestions.

And…..while I’m in the “busting your chops” mood today I’m going to yell at you for not posting on the forums. Granted, most forums are pretty dead right now but with 367.15 “new” or “unique” visitors per day (uvpd) to this site (889.50 total visitors per day (tvpd) I would think that some of you are in the screen printing/garment decorating industry and that some of you are newbies. That being a correct assumption, then why the heck aren’t you asking your “newbie” questions? Afraid you’ll look stupid? Hey, we ALL look stupid sometimes. The stupider (is that a word?) person doesn’t ask the question and therefore doesn’t get the input from industry veterans that can give you a host of answers and a host of fixes.

So I hope one of my future blogs will be to give thanks to everyone for their valuable input on the surveys and the forums. The other hope is to turn the “silent majority” into the “vocal majority.” Of course I also hope to develop a cure for cancer and save the world from asteroidal destruction. Oh well, at least I’m not afraid of looking really, really stupid. As a matter of fact, I’ve looked really, really stupid lots of times before!

“The Best Things In Life Are Free”

Yes, this is really a story about an encounter I had with a fish, but because I’m a woman, I won’t exaggerate about how big this fish was – he was about the size of two small bananas.

One day I’m checking out the fish in the pond and I see a goldfish lying on a waterway ledge with a big bloody hole punched through the top of his back near the neck. It looked like someone had taken a pencil and stabbed him. I thought he was dead and prepared to take action, only he wasn’t dead as he let me know when I picked him up.

I took him down to the big pond where he floated motionless after I put him in. Floating fish are targets for predators so I nudged him under a lily pad. The next morning I found him in the skimmer basket and again he wasn’t dead.

Well I decide it’s time to put him out of his misery so I ponder the ways to kill a fish. I’m darned sure not bashing his head against a rock or putting him in the freezer (I did briefly consider running him over with my car however.) I decide he needs a “hospital room” where he is protected and I’ll just let nature take its course. An upside-down child’s Dora tent placed in the pond works pretty well.

I gather Fish Eyes and once again he whips his body all over the place when I pick him up, but the minute I release him into his “hospital room” he is motionless and sinks ceremoniously to the bottom where he remained for the next 42 days.

Every day I check on him and some days he is in the same spot as the day before, and other days he has moved to a new spot. But there are two things I know for sure about fish: 1. Dead fish float. 2. Dead fish’s eyes are not shiny and black. He is always lying on his left side and occasionally waves the one little fin sticking up. Oh, not in a greeting but in an effort to get away from me. But one thing remained unchanged every day – He always glared at me with that one little beady black eye. That eye spoke volumes to me. It said: “I’m Alive You Bitch!” “Get Away From Me!” and “I Hate Your Guts Lady!” But as long as that eye was shiny and black I knew he was alive.

After 42 days I decided I was being cruel and went online to find humane ways to kill a fish. Yep, I found it. It involves clove-oil and vodka. I had the vodka and drove all over until I found the clove-oil.

So I prepare my solution, don my waders and set out to do the deed. Now I tell you that it isn’t real easy to raise a 4ft. x 4ft. enclosure out of the water. I got it up far enough where there was only 7 or 8in. of water in the tent but now I’m trying to hold the hospital room up and grasp a slippery fish which I cannot see in the remaining murky water. Not enough hands but I manage to do it. And don’t you know Fish Eyes fights me mightily.

Ok, he wants to live. I am going to respect that because I have never killed anything and don’t want to start now. I place him in the open pond where of course he again sinks motionless to the bottom. But after about three days I see him swimming up to the top in peculiar circular motions. By day five I spot him floating sideways and hovering about 5” underneath a lily pad. But when he saw me he turned, straightened his body upright, gave me a really pissed-off glare and then swiftly swam away.

Now my job was over. Success against all odds – Sick or injured fish simply do not usually live no matter what you do. Sure, I gave Fish Eyes the surroundings to survive, but he, and he alone decided to live. He simply would not give up.

So that kind of brings me to how this story might relate to you. It’s a stretch but I’ve got to make it relevant for site members don’t I? I mean, I can’t just write a story that you can’t relate to, can I?

Well, I’ve actually had a couple of times where I felt like giving up or giving in but then I thought to myself “hey self, if Fish Eyes never gave up then I guess you can just keep on going too.” And really, when I think of his tenacity it does kind of make me feel like I’d be a real loser if I can’t give it as much effort as a fish did.

So sometimes when you are feeling overwhelmed, down, defeated or just plain beat-up just remember Fish Eyes and keep right on going.

EPILOGUE

A couple weeks ago I again had a surprise in the pond skimmer basket. It was black and large and I thought that Fish Eyes had perished. And I thought that I should have euthanized him rather than let him meet this nasty end. So I get a net and start jabbing it down into the basket but suddenly I notice a black fin wiggling. Oh geeze, my very large and slippery carp (we have one that swims with the koi) was stuck in the basket. This guy is about 10 lbs and 15in. long. I probably injured him by trying various push-and-pull techniques to get him out of there. And guess what, when I finally dislodged him and put him back into the water he dropped motionless to the bottom – resting on his left side with only that one little fin able to move. I thought this was an omen not to write about Fish Eyes. It’s been a couple of weeks now and I don’t see Mr. Carp floating around anywhere so I don’t know if he recovered or not….I will keep you posted though!

Hey, if you think this blog was irrelevant wait until I tell you my story about me, my paintball gun and a 5 ft. tall Blue Heron face-off at the pond’s edge!

So this is blogging. Heck, it seems just like writing to me. I’m actually a better listener than a talker…I tend to talk only when I actually have something to say – perhaps blogging will change that.

I’m really excited about our new website and especially excited about our new Industry Directory.

I kept getting back to the thought that we wanted to give screen printers avenues to increase their business. These avenues could of course be through technical articles, forum discussions and blogs, but one area that was important was to give screener’s venues to market their trade.

The Industry Directory has some categories that should give screeners ideas on where to get new business both locally, regionally, nationally and even internationally.

While you may think you are too small to market to some of the leads – like maybe Government Purchasing Agencies -  remember that many of these agencies are local or regional and their needs don’t always require a giant factory with 12 auto’s.

We’ve also done a comprehensive listing of Garment Decorators throughout the U.S. so be sure to capitalize on that in any way you can. You should go to the Industry Directory - Garment Decorators – Screen Printing – and “claim” your listing. After you “claim” the listing it will be submitted for approval and you can then go in change the information if needed. Be sure that the address, phone, e-mail, etc. is correct.

We have dedicated ourselves to the advancement of the screen printing industry for the last 40 years and look forward to continuing that path with our new venture – T-Biznetwork.com.

Thanks for taking the time to read my first blog post. I hope to get a lot better at this in the future. At the risk of boring you, I’m going to take the scary step in the future of exposing a little of myself to you. Don’t get excited – not that kind of exposing! I will blog about some things that interest me personally. I’m a wife, mother, grandmother, businesswoman, and a liberal but non-political person. I’m a nature lover, an outdoor girl and I love children, flowers and animals and am always grabbing my camera to capture the beauty of a bird, cat, raccoon or a beautiful new bloom in the pond or on a plant or tree and I’d like to share some of those images with you. ….so consider yourself forewarned!