For a few months, you’re buried in orders, then wondering where everyone went. That’s not growth. That’s confusion.
I talk with shop owners every week on coaching discovery calls. It seems like many folks are zooming up and down on the same ride. And, unlike a real rollercoaster, it isn’t any fun.
There’s no magic button that fixes it. If you want steady, predictable results, you need a sales engine that keeps the work flowing. Growth should give you control, not chaos. It’s the difference between running your business and your business running you.
In this article, I’ll show you how to build a structure that helps your shop handle more without breaking. You’ll learn how to attract better customers, sell with intention, and build a business that grows on purpose.
Know Your Ideal Customer
Every year, I talk with hundreds of shop owners in classes, coaching calls, trade shows, and Shirt Lab events. When sales are flat, the same problem always surfaces. The shops struggling the most don’t have a clear picture of who they want as customers or what a good order actually looks like.
They take whatever shows up.
That’s not a strategy. It’s madness. And it’s the fastest path to adding inventory to the used-equipment market. Saying yes to the wrong customers or jobs creates chaos, exposes weaknesses, and kills profit.
Take time to define what your best customers and ideal work look like:
Read this full feature on Apparelist, a publication of PRINTING United Alliance, ASI’s strategic partner.
