We're always looking for new ways to grow the business, asking for ideas, researching trends ... all while ignoring the one right in front of us.
For years, you've been asking for swag. Even Ramon Foster's been asking. And from time to time, I'd reluctantly oblige with small runs of locally printed hoodies or T-shirts. And I’ll confess now why that is: I blew it back in 2015.
I started one of those on-demand online stores. The logos were embroidered on a few items I selected online. Some of you ordered stuff, and I know I did a bunch. But every item I got was disappointing in quality. The place wasn't local, so I couldn’t select the items in person, and it just wasn’t good … at all. I wasn’t marking up anything, and I still felt they were overpriced. So I got discouraged and shut it down.
Any time after that, I printed the items locally and shipped them myself from our living room, so I could touch every one of them to make sure the quality was good. And that is why it happened so rarely. I am not a fan of shipping stuff. Every time Dejan would bring up 'swag,' all I heard was 'shipping, shipping, shipping!'
Today, there are many options, and it's time. I'm going with a local printer that also does fulfillment, but the printing is not on-demand, so I need to print in bulk to stock up the store, and they'll ship it to you (yeah, baby!) as it sells. And that's why I need your help today. After hand-picking the items to ensure a balance between quality and affordability, I narrowed it down to the options in the photos below:
I would really appreciate if you took the survey up there to give me an idea of what you like best, and what you would consider purchasing for yourself or as gifts. Once I have the survey results, I'll use your selections to help me buy inventory for the store and then, finally, you can get swag online any time you want -- starting in mid-November -- because we will have a store! And this time it'll be one I'm happy with!
