Running a business · 10 guides
Promotional Products: problems and fixes, explained by Becky
Becky Moffett is the only promotional products member of BNI Preston Center. These guides are written for a Dallas–Fort Worth reader who has the problem right now: what is happening, what to check, when to call, and what it costs.
- Why one shirt quote is double another: what really sets the price of custom apparel Two quotes for the same logo shirt can be far apart because they are not quoting the same shirt. Here are the five choices that set the price, and how to compare quotes fairly. Five decisions set the price before anyone printsWhy the hundredth shirt costs less than the tenthThe blank garment is the price floorInk colors, stitch counts and print locations
- Sending branded kits to remote employees: how a virtual event box comes together A kit that arrives at every home before the call turns a video meeting into a shared moment. Here is how to plan one, from the idea to the box on the doorstep. How a remote kit works, start to finishStart with the moment, not the boxWhat usually goes insideAddresses, sizes and the spreadsheet nobody wants to own
- Screen printing or embroidery: choosing the right decoration for each garment Neither method is better across the board. Each one is right for certain garments, logos and uses, and most company apparel programs use both. The rule of thumb most programs followHow each method actually worksWhere screen printing earns its placeWhere embroidery is the better call
- Ordering staff gear one project at a time? When an online company store makes sense If every new hire, department and season means another round of collecting sizes, an online company store may save you the project. Here is how to tell, and how to set one up well. Signs you have outgrown one-off ordersWhat a company store actually isSix signs the one-off approach is costing youWhen a one-off order is still the right choice
- Ordering company shirts yourself online: when it works and when to hand it off Online design sites make custom shirts look easy, and for some orders they are. Here is how to tell whether your order is one of them, and what to do either way. It depends on four thingsOrders that are fine to place yourselfWhat you take on when you click orderWhere do-it-yourself orders tend to go wrong
- Logo shirts for Texas heat: what outdoor crews and summer event staff will actually wear A logo shirt that is miserable in July does not get worn. Here is how to choose fabric, color, fit and decoration for crews and event staff who work outdoors in Texas summers. What holds up outdoors in a Texas summerA shirt is part of heat safety, not a heat planCotton, blends and performance knitsChoosing a color that works in the sun and on the brand
- Is your logo file ready for shirts and print? How to tell before the proof comes back A logo that looks fine in an email signature can fall apart on a shirt. Here is how to check your file in five minutes, what a production-ready file looks like and what happens if yours is not one. The five-minute answerVector and image files are not the same thingChecks you can do yourself at your deskWhy embroidery is pickier than print
- Client gifts that end up in a drawer: the mistakes that waste a gift budget A client gift is supposed to say thank you. Too often it says we ordered this in a hurry. Here are the mistakes I see most, and how to give a gift people keep. Eight mistakes, in one paragraphPutting your logo where their name should beSending the same thing at the same moment as everyone elseChoosing price over quality
- Before you hand over the logo: questions that separate a real promo partner from a catalog Thousands of companies can put a logo on a mug. The questions below show you which one will understand your goal, show you a proof, fix a problem and still be there for the reorder. The short list I would bring to any supplierDo they ask about your goal before they show you products?Will I see a proof, and can I hold a sample?Questions about the item itself
- You need 200 branded shirts and a giveaway in three weeks: how to order them right Deadline orders fail on artwork, sizes and decisions made too late, not on printing. Here is how a marketing or HR coordinator should run a branded apparel and promo order from the first email to the boxes on the loading dock. The event is on the calendar and the shirts are notWhy deadline orders go wrong, and it is rarely the printingWhat to gather before you send the first emailWhen you have time to do it the slow way, and when you do not