2. Welcome to STEEL WEAR

Posted by Steel Cyclone Studios at 1:02 PM


      Welcome to Steel Wear! Art is such a powerful form of expression. Steel Wear is dedicated to bringing together gamers and the endless passionate energy of the motivated entrepreneur through fashion. Fashion and video games? Really? Wow! Not exactly two things that go hand in hand but the use of fashion and clothing in video games can be very interesting. When fashion and gaming collide, it’s very exciting to me. People often believe that just because you’re a gamer, you can’t be into fashion. Gamers have many faces. You can find everything from T-Shirts, Hats, Hoodies, and other sportswear with art designs that represents positive personalities, ambitions and philosophies. With Steel Wear, I strive to create meaningful art and designs with encouraging dialogue about the important things in life. 





       I started out making t-shirts through a method known as screen printing. However there were many drawbacks to screen printing. Screen printing ended up being incredibly messy and took up a lot of space. You also have to consider paint and material cost which adds up. Although screen printing is fun, I went with the drop-shipping route because it saved me time and was less of a logistical pain. 

Spreadshop
       I partnered with Spreadshirt and launched my first ever mech shop through their platform called Spreadshop because you can create and sell your own merch for free. Yes... FREE!! Second, I also chose Spreadshop because their print-on-demand service is of very high quality. Third, this platform allows your customers to customize their t-shirts and merch as well. Lastly, you can integrate Spreadshop into your own website. This is a great feature because I can keep everything consistent on my website and avoid confusing customers with separate websites and links to make things easier to find. Spreadshop also handles most of the heavy lifting for you. You don't have to worry about things like shipping, tracking products and payment processing because Spreadshop handles that for you. This route allows me to focus my efforts more on the artwork and designs and less on the manufacturing end.


What is drop-shipping? 
       I am no expert! I will attempt to explain this in my own words as best as I can. Basically, I am creating an online store but not buying any inventory upfront. Instead, when a customer makes a purchase, I pay my supplier who owns the products to send my customer their specific products. I pay the supplier less for the product than what I would sell it to my customer for. What's leftover is profit. My goal is to attract visitors to my website with the help of Facebook ads. 



     Whether at your workplace, the gym or the comfort of your own home playing video games, Steel Wear provides a variety of merchandise to help boost productivity, lower stress, and increase overall well-being. I remember thinking, "What if people actually wore permanent reminders of their own ambitions? Would this add intrigue and excitement throughout their day?" Steel Wear offers a variety of products to help build your self-confidence, persevere through the daily grind and most importantly - inspire you to go after your dreams. 



       I am aware that this is a market where everyone and their pet is making an e-Commerce store and that there will be at least one if not hundreds of similar vendors selling similar products and offers. The last thing anyone wants to be is another competitor! My goal starting out is to simply promote my business through apparel and create custom designs that are unique. You can't find Steel Wear in stores! So if you are someone who wants to stand our from the rest of the crowd and looking for custom apparel that you can't find anywhere else; you have come to the right place! Unfortunately for most of us starting out in e-Commerce, its very difficult because there are so many moving parts. Not to mention the cost of trying to set up an e-Commerce store, source products, pay for ads and the list goes on... 


Don't Quite Your 9-5 Job! Use it to Fund Your Business
       There are many benefits to drop-shipping that has already helped my small business. I am free of keeping an inventory. I was able to start with limited resources and got my online store up and running in as little as a day. Just to be clear, in my own personal opinion, I see too many people start an online shop for the wrong reasons. I didn't start my online shop to replace my job! I don't plan on seeing immediate sales when I'm just starting out! This still requires and tremendous amount of work and effort that many overlook. However, it functions more as a side-hustle so that I don't have to quit my job. Use your 9 to 5 job to fund your business! Don't work 8 or more hours per day for a company and not make time to work on your own dreams. This is not get rich quick! Success is a marathon not a sprint. This is a jump-start to my entrepreneurial journey; not a destination. If you have that entrepreneurial heart, but concerned that you don't have the financial ability to buy lots of inventory for your ideas or designs starting out, drop-shipping through print on demand might help. With print on demand, you can start an online t-shirt and merchandise store with little-to-no cost. 



       There is no shortage of advertisements full of gurus and experts telling you to start an online business to get rich quick. Personally, I feel this sends the wrong message. A business solves a solution to a problem. I started Steel Cyclone Studios to help solve the problems in my own life. I don't know who you are. I don't know where you are from or what street you grew up on. I will say this. Don't be fooled by delusions of grandeur and decide to start a business solely for those reasons. Every single person I’ve ever encountered who started a company solely for money was miserable. However, if you are doing something you love and trying to crack the code of a problem that you are obsessed with, you will never feel like you are truly working. I know you are probably sick of where you are in life right now. You want more! Maybe it's just a feeling in your gut or in your heart that there's something else bigger our there for you... When I decided to become an entrepreneur, I had to say no to getting wasted on the weekends with friends. The weekends is where I have the most time to invest in my business. Maybe you feel like the black sheep of your family. 

          

      As an entrepreneur, if my bills and business expenses were non-existent, I would run Steel Cyclone Studios for the rest of my life entirely for free if I could. That's how passionate I am. If you are reading this blog post at this very date of being published, visit STEEL WEAR right now and redeem the code at the top to get 15% off. Hurry because this offer will last only 14 days. 



     Be sure to check back for Steel Wear's Video Game selection from games created by Steel Cyclone Studios. Thanks everyone for your patience and support. I have more designs and cool merchandise in the works so stay tuned.