Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Sheffield.
Eric, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My first love is music, I worked as an audio engineer and music producer in various SoCal studios since I was out of high school about ten years ago. I did that full time for a few years and met my girlfriend Megan seven years ago, she’s worked in clothing and custom apparel printing her whole life.
Her Dad owns one of the most successful print shops in California called Teefor2. I started doing some work there during the daytime because I worked a lot of nights in studios. Once I began working there, I was able to learn the industry and all about leading t-shirt wholesalers and brands like Jerzees Brands, Hanes, even street-popular brands like Champion, countless others. I thought to myself that we can get a shirt close to a dollar and offer a subscription service to go with it like Dollar Shave Club. They were definitely a motivating factor for us when we started. I’m not too big on shopping at crowded stores or malls for overpriced brand name products but I love and treasure a good fitting and comfortable t-shirt, I put a simple business plan together, produced some great products and we went for it. Turns out there are thousands of people just like me who want great quality plain shirts at an honest price.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
At the beginning, I had no idea if we would get any sales. I remember sitting on the couch on a Saturday morning eating breakfast, drinking some coffee with my girlfriend and her parents, the day after we launched. My phone made a “cha-ching” register sound which notified us that we got our first sale. We got another that day, then a few more the next day, and even more the next day. I knew we had something unique in that we offered great products and service at the lowest possible price. This is so important to us and we take pride in being able to offer quality and affordable prices so anyone in the U.S. can try us out. There’s always people who think because we offer a product at a low price, this means the quality isn’t as good. My response to them is you’ve never tried our t-shirts because we’ll go toe to toe with any t-shirt in your wardrobe. I’m a subscriber to my own company and wear our Tri-Blend shirt as much as I can because it’s so soft and comfortable. I’ve never found a shirt with that kind of value anywhere. There’s always struggles in business, everyday, but actually believing in the product and service is what keeps us above ground. We stay positive and embrace challenges at Dollar Tee Company, it’s in our culture.
Dollar Tee Company – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Dollar Tee Company started with three shirt options. Good, Better, Best format. The Good is our Classic 100% Cotton T-Shirt, the better is our Soft-Style Ring-Spun Cotton or 50/50 Blend T-Shirt, and the Best is our Tri-Blend Supreme T-Shirt. Users can visit our website and do a one-time purchase or subscribe to have your favorite shirts delivered to your door from once a month to once a year. Our customizable subscription portal allows you to schedule out your shipments as you please. For instance, I can set my subscription so I get a black Tri-Blend Tee every six months and a White Soft-Style Tee every three months. This is perfect for me and I never have to go shopping for blank shirts anymore. Everyone has their own specific needs and our goal is to offer options so the customer feels they are getting exactly what they’re looking for. We’ve even added more products to our website specifically because customers have requested them. We have a customer support team that actually has relationships with some of our subscribers because we’re here to help find solutions for our customers and set up subscriptions that make sense for them. We’ve always been proud of the options we are able for Men, Women and Youth.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Being able to work in a business where family and a good attitude are cornerstones for our culture. It’s a great feeling.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dollarteecompany.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dollarteecompany/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dollarteecompany/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/dollarteeco
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