Behind every successful shop is a humble beginning. In 2008, Ryan Dost and Adam McCauley launched their screen printing and embroidery business in a 400 square foot shop in Bay City, Michigan. While local schools were showing interest, making ends meet was a constant battle. “We packed up shirts nearly every weekend and hit the road just to keep our door open,” says Adam.
Nine years later, Sandlot Sports has scaled to three locations, their largest space weighing in at 18,000 square feet. While they still do plenty of school apparel, they’ve expanded their services to include promotional goods, banners, and decals.
When that kind of success is described in just a few sentences, it sounds downright magical. However, Ryan and Adam know only too well the challenges that come with growing a successful garment decoration business. Things started to feel out of control a few years into their journey. “Sales were increasing, orders were getting completed, but we knew they weren’t being done efficiently,” Adam shares. “We had better equipment, we were running production software, and we were still working 60-70 hour weeks.”
Turning to Local Resources
They decided to reach out to the Michigan Small Business Development Center, known as the SBDC, to help right the ship. Within the first 18 months of working with the Michigan SBDC, they were able to upgrade equipment, increase their sales, and add six new members to their team. “Our sales volume grew 8.6% from 2014 to 2015, and 10.6% from 2015 to 2016,” says Adam. In 2016, Sandlot Sports exceeded $2 million in sales.
Taking the Next Step with InkSoft
In January 2017, Sandlot Sports invested in InkSoft to continue growing their business online. “We’ve been using it as our online designer to allow customers to shop with Sandlot Sports 24/7 around the clock,” says Adam. “It’s allowing our customers and clients to shop, design, and buy on their own time.”
As Sandlot Sports grows, it’s important to stay relevant to online buyers and let them buy the way they want to buy. “Some people love the idea of logging on, creating their own artwork, selecting the apparel, and then clicking “˜BUY,’ without ever leaving the couch,” Adam says, “Five to seven years ago, that was a luxury. In 2017 it’s practically a necessity.”
Bringing Home the Gold
In May of this year, Sandlot Sports was awarded two awards by the SBDC for their incredible development as a company.
The first award was the Best Small Business Award in the Great Lakes Bay Region. “We were judged on our growth, not only in sales, but also in procedures and policies we created to help our company grow,” Adam shares, “It’s obviously a work in progress, but we’ve made great strides over the past 1 ½ years.”
The second award is called the Main Street USA, given to one of the twelve companies that had been awarded the Best Small Business Award.
“We joke a lot that we “˜just make T-shirts’,” Adam told Printwear Magazine. “But we realized from talking to other business owners [at the event] that we’re helping generate jobs.”
What’s Up Next
While they’ve already accomplished so much, Ryan and Adam are far from resting on their laurels. Right now, they’re expanding into more B2B sales and adding new brands to their client list. They’re also upping their service for sports and team sales, working on being a more efficient one-stop shop, and diving into the InkSoft Online Stores platform.
“In reality, online sales are going to continue to grow,” says Adam. “Providing a service online 24/7 lets the customers and clients know that we’re moving with the trends not fighting against them.”
