9 Screen Printers Offer Tips for Partnering with Local Businesses

What are your tips for partnering with local businesses to help grow your own?

• • Make sure it’s a win-win for both of you! Set the guidelines and don’t break them. You made the partnership; one shouldn’t have to do the other’s work. Put your goals in place and help each other out! — Ron Augelli, WeTalkShirty.com
  • We love to collaborate with other business. It strengthens that relationship as well as brings so much more to the table. We’ve found there seems to be two distinct categories that most local businesses fall into. The first group are those that build everything themselves and do everything themselves. They do not care to partner unless it’s their idea and plan. The second group are entrepreneurs who see the value in partnering and working together because it brings more resources, ideas, and customers to the table. They’re excited to collaborate if we approach them with something good. I try to identify local businesses when I meet them so I will not waste the efforts on the former and focus on developing relationships with the latter. — Charlie Vetters, Organic Robot Designs

  • We encourage creative types to take our SP classes and help them develop their ideas and products. The ones that grow usually come back to us to do their printing once they establish a product line, and find out they should concentrate on creative and marketing and let us sweat the print part. If they keep screen printing, we become a supplier/supporter/mentor. — Andy MacDougall, MacDougall Screen Printing

• It’s ideal that our partners are just as active and connected in the community and with social media as we are. I want to make sure we’re equally putting in the effort to push and advertise the project. — Christine Geronimo, Midnight Supply Company
• Get involved with groups that help others. Food drives, school supply collections, and shelters are great places to start. You get to help people in need while meeting like-minded people. — Jim Heiser, Bullseye Activewear
• Feature them in social media posts, show off their merch. They will then share it with their audience, thus increasing exposure to our company. — Jessica Tillery, All Quality Graphics

• I do collaborations with local breweries. It leads to interesting artwork briefs. We get to design a can and a new shirt for sale at the brewery and events and on our website. It helps establish us in the niche, too. — Chessie Rosier-Parker, Squeegee and Ink

• Get everything in writing! Who does what? How is the money split? When does something need to happen? What happens if everything goes wrong? What happens if it explodes and is extremely popular? — Marshall Atkinson, Atkinson Consulting
• You can approach embroiderers, trophy shops, and commercial printers and offer them an easy way to sell your products to their customers through drop shipping and contract printing rates. — Eric Courtemanche, Revision Screen Printing