HOW TO BOSS UP IN YOUR BUSINESS
LaTonna Roberson, also known as Lady Print Boss, talked about how small shops can position themselves for growth.
“You may be small, but make yourself look big,” she advised.
LaTonna Roberson started a T-shirt shop in 2000 with only a heat press. Since then, she’s grown the business into a fully automatic shop and prints for major brands and corporations. Known as the Lady Print Boss on YouTube and elsewhere, she also works as a freelance coach and technical trainer for startups and small shops, teaching them how to “think big, grow bigger and boss up.”
During her session, Roberson shared some simple ways for smaller decorating shops to succeed, including writing down a short list of goals each month, keeping a calendar of events your clients and prospects have planned, and optimizing your website. “You may be small, but make yourself look big,” she advised.
It’s also vital to advertise your business and talk up your services wherever you go. “If I’m at a restaurant and I see the workers wearing shabby shirts, I’ll ask to speak to the owner,” Roberson said. “I’ve always got something in a bag I can pull out. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten people by just opening my mouth and talking and not being afraid to do it.”
It’s all about being persistent and systematic in your growth and having a positive attitude. Roberson recalled her first big order: 10,000 T-shirts for a Texas car dealership. She completed it without having a belt dryer, instead using a flash unit to cure each screen-printed shirt and remembered thinking, “I can’t do this again.” But she was able to leverage each order to help purchase new and bigger equipment, never having to lease items and growing her shop and business one job at a time. “You’re just bossing all the way up the ladder until you get where you’re at,” she said.
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LaTonna Roberson @ At The Shirt Lab Summit