Welcome to Startup Screen Printing

Jesse Poteet avatar
Jesse Poteet
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My name is Jesse and I’d like to take a few minutes to introduce myself and my intentions for creating Startup Screen Printing.

When I stated my own print company back in 2017, my initial thought was to see if I could replace my income from my day job with this new side-gig. However, that changed pretty quickly. Not because it was going to be difficult to do, but really because screen printing was becoming something I enjoyed a lot as a hobby.

If you’ve ever transitioned a hobby into a business, then you know what I’m about to say. There is a point when you are converting a hobby into a business where more of the hobby suddenly becomes work. If you’re not careful, this can be what takes away your joy or passion that your hobby used to create.

So, I decided to keep it has a hobby. To keep it as a side business and in essence keep it small so that I didn’t lose the fun or the passion. So, I stopped posting on social media. I stopped promoting my business to businesses I came in contact with. I had made my decision that screen printing would forever remain something I did for fun.

But then something changed.

In 2021 I landed a job as a consultant. I immediately got put on accounts where I was the “subject matter expert” and I was given the task of training people and teaching the software in which I had recently achieved certification as a “expert.”

Fast forward to the beginning of 2022 and I had finally figured out what I truly loved to do with my time. I loved teaching. I loved sharing experiences and ideas to help others gain traction and experience success.

After that, it took me a year to figure out how this was going to translate to the screen print industry, but here I am. Plus, I had to get the courage to put myself out there. Something I’ve feared doing for at least the last 10 years as I’ve always wanted to have a podcast but never had the bravery to publish one.

It took me learning how much I love teaching to finally find something that is stronger than the fear that was holding me back. That is why I am here. I’m here to teach, to share, to support, to encourage, to be whatever I can be to help others start and grow successful screen print businesses from home.

The best is yet to come

I have big plans for this new business, plans that go way beyond. Just a blog, [Youtube channel], and [podcast]. But the big “why” behind all of those plans is the love of teaching and seeing others find success in this industry as a result of my support.

I’m no expert. Not by a long shot. But I have experience as a business owner, experience in screen printing in both my own business and for another print company, and a passion for teaching.

This may never be a full time gig for me, but honestly that’s not the reason for doing this. I’m just here to help. If you’re just getting started and I can help you in any way, please let me know. Leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you and I’d love to walk with you on your journey of building a screen print company.

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