Business Opportunities Weblog

August 3, 2010 by Angela Shupe | 6 Comments

If going to college isn’t hard enough, have you tried running a business at the same time? Raymond Lei is one such young entrepreneur that is doing just that.

For Raymond it all started with a t-shirt order. As he shopped around at different printers it soon became obvious that all of his options were well out of the range of what he had wanted to pay. Not willing to give up so easily he soon found an opportunity in all of that frustration. After 2 years of hard work Raymond created ooShirts, a discount custom t-shirt business.

Tell us a bit about ooShirts.

ooShirts is an online t-shirt printing business. We sell custom t-shirts to groups and organizations who want an easy, low-cost solution.

What inspired you to launch this business?

I started off needing to order custom t-shirts myself. I needed 50 shirts with a custom logo printed on it for a group at my high school. I called some local companies to gather information, and found that in order to make the shirts affordable, I had to either settle for a much simpler design (we had to change our 3 color logo into a black-and-white logo). Not wanting to compromise, I searched online, and found that the online companies were also too expensive.

What separates your product from the competition?

Our advantage is simple. We offer an easy-to-use website and high quality t-shirt prints while maintaining prices that are 30 to 50 percent lower than anyone else out there. We provide the same exact product at a much lower cost, and can stay profitable by operating more efficiently than our competitors. We manage our supply chain well, we automate much of our ordering process, and we do a good bit of outsourcing, all leading to lower costs.

How many different styles and/or colors do you have available?

We offer about 75 different products and on average 20 different colors for each one of those products. We can manage this and always be on time with our deliveries because we have more than 20 suppliers around the United States.

What are some goals you hope to reach in the next year or so?

My goal is to reach 1 million revenue this year and 6 million the next. We really have a great product at a great price, and as long as we stick to our principles, it will stay this way.

Is this your first foray into business? If not, what are some ventures from your past?

This is my first business, but during the 2 years it took to prepare the website and set everything up, I did experiment with a few social networking sites. Let’s just say social networks are much less predictable.

Have you always been entrepreneurial minded?

Yes. I always liked thinking and solving problems without restrictions, and when you try to build something up within an existing institution, it inevitably limits you.

Also, though I am attending UC Berkeley, I dislike textbooks. I believe our current academic system (not just Berkeley) limits students’ creativity.

What are some lessons that your business has taught you?

I’ve learned many things while working on my business. The one lesson that sticks out in my mind right now is that things change. Your initial plan is unlikely to stick with you the entire way, and it’s those who adapt and continuously seek out opportunities that succeed.

Any advice you’d like to offer young college-based entrepreneurs that are just getting started?

To all college students, do something you enjoy. To college entrepreneurs, believe in yourself.

In Interviews | 6 Comments
Tags: Clothing, Entrepreneur, Students, Success