Efficiency.

"Efficiency is the key to any business." - Alan Shonk, Main Street Shirt Company, Arcola

With one of our own entrepreneurs going into the graphic shirt design business, we were especially interested in touring Main Street Shirt Company in Arcola.

Owner Alan Shonk showed us around the retail storefront, as well as the back production area.

What we saw always came back to one thing... efficiency.

From investing in equipment to print his own Digital Transfer Files (DTFs), to upgrading his screenprinting machinery, Shonk sees investments in new equipment as necessary if they improve his efficiency.

Yes, the equipment costs money, but to Shonk it's worth it. And he doesn't recommend always buying the cheapest equipment. In his experience, cheaper equipment comes with decreased safeguards.

But, he didn't start out with all of the equipment we saw.

"You have to grow into [your business]," Shonk says. "You have to have the experience, the time trials and the data to figure it all out."

Shonk truly enjoys what he does. "If I wasn't getting paid," he says, "I'd do this for free."

But, he is getting paid. And he admits that there are less expensive shirt companies out there. But, they don't have his experience and his knowledge, which he reminds us is value added.

Thank you, Alan Shonk, for sharing your business and your story with us! We learned a lot, and we definitely left understanding the shirt business a little better.