The most successful t-shirt printing shops have a strong business plan. Whether you are starting a new screen printing business, or are already managing a shop, understanding the industry's financial aspect is important for being successful. During COVID, it is especially important to know your screen printing operating expenses. To make sure you are making smart financial decisions, use the following guide to begin examining your business plan.

Is your screen print business set up properly?
Many small screen print business owners begin their businesses under their own names. When first starting out, applying for loans and credit and using your personal bank account and/or credit card seems like a logical option. Once you get your business off the ground, it is time to switch things over to an official account using the name of your business. Separating your personal financial identity and businesses protects you from the impact in the event that your business sees some more difficult times in the future.

How is your business cash flow?
In order for your printing business to be equipped to really harness opportunity and reach its potential, there needs to be a steady flow of cash, and ideally some savings as a safety net. To grow your screen printing business, you will have to reinvest back into it where you see fit. Keeping enough cash on hand is important, especially during down times and unexpected shocks (like COVID). For best practices, make sure that less is going out than is coming in.

Are your sales and revenue increasing?
Successful screen printing businesses want to see steady, consistent growth in sales. COVID has obviously changed this dynamic, so look at the overall trend from the past few years. Taking a close look to control one-time out of the ordinary events (like COVID), can help separate a unique circumstance versus the overall financial health of your screen printing business plan. A healthy growth in sales and revenue will include the presence of larger orders on a consistent basis, a growth in customer base, and loyal repeat customers. While occasional large one time orders aren’t a bad thing, look for ways to expand your screen print sales.

Are your business expenses under control?
Once you get your screen printing business going, your expenses should be pretty much a fixed amount you can predict every month. Of course if you are seeing growth in business, there will be some increase in expenses. Such as you will bring in more screen printing supplies to print with, use more electricity for your conveyor dryer, and more. If the expenses are increasing at a higher rate than the revenue is, take a look at what is going on. Controlling your expenses is just as important as increasing sales. The two go hand in hand when looking at the profitability of your screen printing business.

Does your screen printing business have any debts?
Lots of people take out loans to start their business, or get a line of credit for operating expenses. Some debts cannot be avoided and are an important part of doing business. However, if things are getting bigger than you’re able to handle, don’t give up. Take a look; enlist help if necessary. See if you can consolidate or restructure your debts in a way that makes it possible for you to make payments and grow your business at the same time. These uncertain times are especially important to make sure you can handle your debt. If you are having problems, speak with your lender. They may be able to help restructure your payments so your business can keep going.

Conclusion: Understand your screen printing business’s strengths and weaknesses for success
The best and most successful screen printing businesses constantly examine their strengths and weaknesses on a regular basis. By taking a close look at your business’s internal affairs as well as the context in which it exists, allows you to be prepared and make adjustments when necessary. Using this guide while examining your screen printing business will help ensure any new start up screen printing business is a success.