Official T-Shirt Wholesaler Blog
How awesome would it have been to have a class in high school that was a legitimate heat transfer vinyl business? Custom T-Shirts, hats, backpacks, check! Just imagine the Possibilities… Well that is exactly what adviser Stephen Mohr has done for his students at Jackson-Milton HS. Learning the ins and outs of an actual hands on business has a magnitude of benefits that can’t be ignored. In our 7th edition of our Business Spotlight, we’ll take a closer look into his master class on HTV, Jackson-Milton edition and how its shaping its students’ futures.
T-Shirt Wholesaler - How did the idea for your business come about?
Fish Bowl Graphics
Jackson-Milton High School wanted to participate in a student run business to teach the students the idea of being a successful entrepreneur.
T-Shirt Wholesaler - How did you come up with the name of your business?
Fish Bowl Graphics
The classroom that the class is held in is a big room surrounded by glass in every direction and is often times referred to as the “Fishbowl”, so it really was a no brainer. Its pretty cool that all of the people that come into Jackson-Milton High School and the other students walking around the school can easily see what our students are working on for our valued customers.
T-Shirt Wholesaler - When did you start your business?
Fish Bowl Graphics
The business was created, and our first sale was both in October of 2017
T-Shirt Wholesaler -Can you describe your business? Location, Size, Number of Employees, Etc?
Fish Bowl Graphics
We have a very committed staff behind our business, everyday the students come into class and immediately get ready to start a new project. The location of our company is in the middle of the school, the class is surrounded by glass so everyone can see what is happening in the class and peak their interest when they walk by. We currently have 12 committed students who love the class and pour their heart into the work we produce for our customers.
T-Shirt Wholesaler - What motivates you?
Fish Bowl Graphics
The class is student driven, therefore, the students must work in order to receive a good grade in the class, this is motivation for the kids to make every piece of merchandise with care and precision.
T-Shirt Wholesaler - Can you describe your typical customer?
Fish Bowl Graphics
Most of our customers are looking for shirts for some kind of event and want it at a cheaper price than most silk screeners. We are able to do it a cheaper price while even adding more details and colors into graphics.
T-Shirt Wholesaler - What kind of culture exists in your organization and how did you establish it?
Fish Bowl Graphics
Our main purpose for doing this is to teach the kids the best way to start their career as an entrepreneur, for example it's not all fun and making cool designs and t-shirts, we also have the students make their own business plan and learn about the highs and lows in the business market.
T-Shirt Wholesaler - What have your biggest challenges been and how have you overcome them?
Fish Bowl Graphics
Our biggest challenge as a company so far was making over 300+ shirts for a school basketball tournament, this included select students coming in the day after christmas to finish the shirts. We all worked together and made sure that we got all the shirts done, it took about 9-10 hours but we delivered the shirts on time.
T-Shirt Wholesaler - What sets your business apart from the competition?
Fish Bowl Graphics
Most t-shirt print shops around here are silk screen, which they come out nice but with the heat pressed vinyl that we do can easily add more vibrant colors, add more detail, and make them at a quicker pace.
T-Shirt Wholesaler - How do you define business success? Is it money? Freedom? Influence? Creative expression? Something Else?
Fish Bowl Graphics
In our eyes success is getting the product to the buyer on time and making sure we had a good time doing it, throughout the last two years we have all grown closer and work as one big group of committed workers.
I’d like to extend a huge thank you to Stephen for enlightening us on his mission to give his students an opportunity to experience the life of an entrepreneur and for encouraging creativity through design. If you’d like to stay up to date on Fish Bowl’s newest designs and current happenings, you can do so via their Instagram.feed. The future is bright for all of your students and we wish them all of you the best of luck in all of their future ventures!
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