Hobby business advice

[Glocko]

I've just started up a small home business due to Mrs G having to pack in work due to her MS and wanting something she can do from home.
It's basically a T Shirt printing biz.. vinyl, not transfer or screenprint The angle I've gone for is quality shirts such as Slazenger, Wombat etc no Fruit of the Loom or screenstars. Also low runs (little as five) seeing as the prep is all done quite quickly and the profit side of things isn't that important
My niche is non league football clubs as I am PR chap for my local club and have loads of contacts with other clubs around the country.
It's going well, the word of mouth sales have paid for the cutters and presses I've bought but I'm at the point where I'm thinking about the next level.
I'm in a decent job with £29k salary so giving that up to concentrate on the shirt biz is really a no-no.
What would be the best way to up the ante whilst keeping it as a hobby business? I know nothing about employing staff (the most time intensive part of the process is 'weeding' the unwanted vinyl prior to pressing) but that task would be ideal for a home worker (Mrs G can't do that due to right sided weakness in arm)
The feedback has been great from people who have bought so far and it's just got me thinking a bit about the potential.
I was thinking of offering a free shirt (red or blue long sleeved lycra shirt..specify L or XL) to the first three to PM me with a slogan for the shirt. You could then feedback to me your thoughts on quality of the garment, my interpretation of what you have asked for, delivery and packaging etc etc.
Here's one I did earlier


Thanks chaps

Edited by Glocko on Sunday 22 June 14:00

[fade2grey]

sounds like you need to get some out workers... my mum uses them extensively for her business.. esentially they are paid piece-meal per item they complete. As they are treated as contractors she doesn't have to worry about the employment side of things, tax, ni etc.. they can ebb & flow as the work does so it's ideal from her point of view.

quality control is one thing you'll need to factor an overhead on, same with the logistics of dropping off\collecting of the product (though my mum's come to her & collect from the factory).

Sounds fun, good luck.

[Glocko]

Cheers F2G, QA is something were are big on, that is why we spend a little extra on the shirts rather than the cheap and nasties. Pricing is tricky as we are loss leading to a degree at this early stage, £8 for T shirts and £10 for polos. Are we underselling it? The next stage I thought would be ads in Post Offices and newagents etc to keep it manageable until we find our capacity whilst not compromising the quality of the garment. Thanks

[egomeister]

Glocko said:

Cheers F2G, QA is something were are big on, that is why we spend a little extra on the shirts rather than the cheap and nasties. Pricing is tricky as we are loss leading to a degree at this early stage, £8 for T shirts and £10 for polos. Are we underselling it? The next stage I thought would be ads in Post Offices and newagents etc to keep it manageable until we find our capacity whilst not compromising the quality of the garment. Thanks

Can you afford to be loss leading for a hobby/home business? I would have thought that with a limited range/capacity you'd be better off making every order count?