SHIRT SHOW

Why pay for hundreds of features when you only use five? It's about frickin time a shop management platform actually served its users, and Kiri and Will have changed the game with InkIQ. Topics of discussion include: the perception of time, dropping out of high school to sell shirts, middlemen vs. shop owners, cutting your teeth in door-to-door sales, selling the print shop to start a software company, building an end-to-end platform, paying for what you actually use, making the switch from your current software less painful, boosting sales with InkIQ's Opportunities feature, cybersecurity, upselling, procurement, supplier pre-approval, building tools around your personality, and time travel.

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Alright, we've been tiptoeing around AI for a long time now. A little implementation here, a little automation there, but the turns have officially tabled. Most of Dilly's AI implementations have trickled down from these two, so Matt from Marcotte.Ink and Jared from AKT Enterprises are here, and it's time to chat with our favorite cyborgs. Topics of discussion include: AI-powered ADHD, comparing and integrating different chatbots, updating internal processes with new technology, tackling CRM and outbound sales, adopting new development tools, how ScreenPrintGPT started and where it's going, AI tools for upscaling and separations, Mattcotte's seps demo, solving problems created by AI, gamifying your shop processes, and the shows we rewatch on loop.

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After fifty frickin years in business, Connor McDonnell joins us to share how his family business shifted from sporting goods to shirts, and how he's focused on keeping Shirt.Co on the cutting edge of today's print industry. Topics of discussion include: Shirt.Co's social media strategy, pivoting away from sporting goods, working with family, SEO, walk-in customers, union printing, sales automation, promo orders, rebranding, custom boxes, expanding decoration offerings, equipment fails, and a certain season of a certain show that you can go ahead and just not bother watching.

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After 10 years of printing and running e-commerce out of his garage, Jacob Bennett of Agenda Printworks is finally getting out of the house and into a retail location. We talk through the growing pains and evolution of Agenda, and how he aims to take things to the next level without losing his DIY spirit. Topics of discussion include: Surviving the service industry, going from printing for others to building his own brand, emotional attachments to merch, alternatives to outbound sales, CRM strategies, finding fun in constraints, prepping, the perks of not working from home, helpful tools, beater cars, and slow burns.

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Whether you’re printing analog or digitally, the difference between a great shirt and an okay shirt is probably hiding somewhere in your art seps. Mike Hoey is here to help. Topics of discussion include: joining the dark side of the industry, finessing DTF, living in a print shop, the harsh chemicals of yesteryear, artists vs. production artists, optimizing your prints at the RIP level, specialty inks, applying corporate processes to small business operations, client stakeouts, burying your feelings deep deep deep down inside, hot market disasters, and Nic Cage.

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While AI slop is bleeding into every facet of the industry, shops like Cast Iron Print Works are proof that screen printing with integrity isn’t going anywhere, and it’s on its way to coming at a premium. Josh & Wes join us to talk about what it takes to protect the craft without getting left behind. Topics of discussion include: Timbo’s art direction pivot, slop probs, where we draw our lines in the sand on AI, gig posters, the reality of transitioning into in-house merchandising, high standards and accountability, balancing creative and production, culture shifting toward premium art and printing, the value of identity, making peace with our wardrobes, finding the right clients, switching shop management platforms, shop layouts, and Aaron Sorkin.

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THE KING HAS RETURNED. A lot has changed in the last six years since Scott recorded a proper pod with us, and let’s just say his processes and approach to his business and life have aged like a fine wine. You’ll find this conversation opens up into a beautiful bouquet.

Topics of discussion include: optimizing the shop, SOPs, taking lean manufacturing too far, bringing DTF in-house, output capacity, the hardcore hack, buying back your time, the AI slop bottleneck, fighting for sanity, quality of life, and psychopathic holiday cheer.

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Jed's journey with Stakes Manufacturing has been a wild ride, and he's busier than ever. Now 4 episodes into his new podcast Raising The Stakes and fresh off the release of his book INKclusivity, it’s safe to say he isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

Topics of discussion include: travel, podcasting, building and selling a print-on-demand business in the music industry, brokering licensing deals, getting into on-demand apparel, the absolute insanity of 2020, bad investments, scaling to survive, embracing the chaos, INKclusivity, the positive impact of hiring employees with disabilities, incorporating new technologies, and dissecting Forrest Gump on a deeper level.

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Daniel is basically a print scientist. He’s got a lab, he’s constantly testing decoration methods on Stanley/Stella apparel, and he gets to make cool shit along the way. But more importantly, he’s an advocate for printers, helping bridge the gap between the people making the garments and the decorators actually putting ink on them. Let’s frickin get into this one already!

Topics of discussion include: New drivers, Dylan’s MASSIVE TV show opportunity, early printing days, testing print methods, big corporations getting into printing, getting folded by a press, joining Stanley/Stella, creating a garment from start to finish, 100% cotton heathers, imposter syndrome, helping decorators troubleshoot, the disconnect between manufacturers and decorators, why not all organic cotton is created equal, dischargeable garment dyes, the vibe shift between screen printing and print on demand, being present, and Kaiju.

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Kayla McGarry is the Group Show Director for Impressions Expo, and she’s here to tell us how she found her way into the trade show world, what goes into putting on an event of this size, and why you don’t want to miss the inaugural Manifest professional conference with MADE Lab at Impressions Expo Dallas. Spoiler alert - WE’LL BE THERE! Topics of discussion include: working in the trade show industry, traveling, how your approach to attending events changes over time, increasing focus on education, the social aspect of a trade show, the state of Impressions Atlantic City, teaming up with MADE lab on Manifest, vetting exhibitors, rites of passage, Impressions magazine, awards and friendly competition, workshops, and the casino walk of shame.

Impressions Expo Dallas Discount code: ShirtShow50 for 50% expo pass

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