Can you imagine the impression a pro-football team would make if it came onto the field at game time wearing whatever clothes they could find? What about a marching band representing their school in a parade, wearing the same clothes they’d wear to class? Seems kind of ludicrous doesn’t it? It certainly lacks professionalism. Who’s going to take them seriously?

It’s really the same for small businesses. No matter if the business is a soft-serve yogurt shop, or a lawn care maintenance team, or a summer sports camp crew, everyone wants to look professional. Like a team. And part of what makes a team look like a team and feel like a team is a uniform.

Custom t-shirts fill the bill.

Because small businesses have small budgets they can’t go splurging on fancy jackets and braided hats. Not everyone wants to look like their employees have escaped from the nearest fast food franchise. So the simplest, most economical way to create that team look is with custom t-shirts. Seriously, they aren’t that expensive, they look good in a group, and they sell your company.

That’s right, custom t-shirts sell your company. Let say you do have a landscape business. And you’ve got a team out in a neighborhood cutting a lawn and trimming the hedges. Someone walking by would see just some workers cutting and trimming. But then you put those same workers in custom t-shirts with your business logo splashed across the back. Now that person walking by doesn’t just see some workers cutting and trimming. They see your workers cutting and trimming. A team of your workers, with your business logo right there. You’re looking professional. That person is going to remember your company. All because you were smart and got some custom t-shirts made.

A happy business promotes itself.

Creating a sense of team is good for morale, too. Employees that feel good about their job work better, and talk about their business. A simple and effective step towards creating that morale, that feeling of being part of a team, is as simple as custom staff t-shirts. Say you have a summer soccer camp for young boys and girls. They arrive to find your team ready, wearing custom t-shirts that distinguish them from the parents and other random people. You team of coaches doesn’t feel like a rabble, they feel like they belong to something. And that attitude will pay off in how they work. Productivity and employee loyalty are on the rise.

Custom t-shirts are a silver bullet?

Putting everyone in your company into custom t-shirts isn’t going to make you a millionaire. But it may be a start. That’s because you’re going to have something that someone else wants. That something is a motivated team that not only acts like a team, feels like a team, but looks like a team.

Where do I get mine?

You want someone as reliable as yourself to help create your custom t-shirts. You could search the internet. And search and search and…well, you get the idea. Why not jump to the head of the line and DesignAShirt now! Like you, DesignAShirt believes in doing things right.

This article was written by Earl Roske, an expert in the Budget Style category at www.yoexpert.com.

The end of the school year marks the beginning of Summer, which usually means family summer vacations and family reunions. Some families head to the beach, some to the amusement park and others head to their hometown to catch up with relatives at their family reunion.

Here are a few tips to help you plan your next or upcoming family vacation!

1. Timing is everything! Choosing the date could impact your location, weather and costs involved. Determine what activities your family is interested in doing. Laying poolside, relaxing on the beach, rides on an amusement park?

2. Budget. Budget. Budget. When planning your vacation don’t forget to add in your dining and entertainment expenses in addition to your transportation and hotel expenses.

3. Don’t forget to make all of the necessary reservations. Hotel, airline, car rentals, golf tee times, spa treatments and kids’ activities.

4. Don’t forget to make a list of the things you need to pack or purchase before your trip. You won’t want to worry about buying necessities while on vacation. And if you’re buying custom family vacation t-shirts (so you can find your kids in the sea of people at the amusement park), remember to buy them ahead of time.

5. Don’t forget to have fun!

Stay tuned for our Tips on helping you plan your family reunion!

John Anton, founder of Anton Sports, with his surplus supply of cotton T-shirts in Tempe, Ariz., last month

Cotton, Cotton, Cotton…everyone seems to be talking about cotton these days and as retailers raise their prices to cover the increasing cost of goods, Anton Sport/DesignAShirt thinks we should protect our customers by taking every opportunity to combat those rising costs. As most of you know, we’ve already implemented efforts in cutting costs in other areas so our customers won’t be impacted and as of last week, we’ve taken those efforts one step further by locking in the price of our goods by stockpiling 175,000 of our best-sellers, black and white Hanes Tagless Tees. Since purchasing the stock, the price of these shirts has gone up as much as $0.40 each. Retailers and especially, small businesses can’t eat those costs over an extended period of time and so they pass on the cost to the consumer. By locking in the cost of these shirts, Anton Sport/DesignAShirt can not only to ensure our customers won’t be impacted by this but we can also pass on some of the savings that we’ve benefited from by purchasing in bulk.

Read all about in today’s Wall Street Journal.

DesignAShirt.com is the online division of Anton Sport, Inc.