Learn How to Start and Grow Your Decorated Apparel Business

February 17, 2007

Aspiring apparel decorators wondering what it takes to succeed in the business today as well as established business owners looking for ways to fuel expansion and growth will find many of the answers they seek at the Imprinted Sportswear Show (ISS) taking place March 8-11 in Atlantic City, N.J.

"No matter what stage of the business lifecycle you're in, you'll find something valuable to take away from your experience at ISS Atlantic City — and we're not just talking about sample T-shirts," says Richard Lebovitz, editorial director for IMPRESSIONS and EMB, the magazine sponsors for the exhibition and conference.

And what might those take-aways be? Describing his experience in Steven Batts' Embroidery Basics class held recently at ISS Orlando, E. Donald Crouch Jr., owner, Lizard Lady Custom Embroidery, Key Largo, Fla., said, "What I have learned will help us focus our efforts and grow our business in a more professional manner."

Linda Brown, owner, Crazy Animals Embroidery, Jacksonville, Fla., offered another perspective after attending the StartUp Decorator Workshop held at the same venue. "I came only for the embroidery, but all the other information opened my eyes to diversifying," she said.

Diversification, one of the major growth drivers and differentiators in the decorated apparel marketplace today, is the subject of a number of classes in the ISS Atlantic City conference, including the "StartUp Decorator Workshop," "Digital Decorating: How to Expand Your Existing Business," "Getting into Promotional Products," "Direct-to-Garment Digital Printing" and "Today's Transfer Technology: Ramp Up Your Profit Potential."

ISS Atlantic City offers more than 50 workshops, seminars and clinics, ranging from the full-day StartUp Decorator Workshop, which provides an introduction to the four key apparel decoration disciplines — screen printing, embroidery, heat printing and inkjet garment printing — to more than a dozen 1.5-hour Business Builder seminars, designed to provide in-depth instruction on how to add new profit centers, find new customers and build business with current customers.

"We've designed a comprehensive educational program around the topics our experience tells us screen printers, embroiderers and promotional consultants want and need," Lebovitz says. "We've then coupled those topics with a faculty of outstanding educators who have lived the experience of starting and growing a decorated apparel business.

"They know what works and what doesn't, and they're willing to share their knowledge to keep those following in their footsteps from making the same mistakes they did."

To learn more about the ISS Atlantic City exhibition and conference, visit www.ISSshows.com. For further information on diversification, click here for the IMPRESSIONS White Paper "Diversification in the Decorated Apparel Industry."