PrintHustlers Guide To: Growing a Successful Screen Printing Business, Chapter 3: Business Structure

Before you read…

Printavo is simple shop management software. We help you streamline your business, keep jobs moving forward and your team on the same page.

Scheduling, quoting, approvals, payments, customer communication, automation and more. With Printavo, you’ll work smarter–not harder.

If you haven’t formed a legal organization for your company, you need to start. It’s essential for operating a business. Each state has different rules and regulations. 

If you are still small, you can operate as a sole proprietor. This is risky because everything falls back on you personally — your home, your assets, and anything you own are at stake. There are elementary ways to set up a limited liability company or corporation. Visit a local law office in your hometown and weigh the different entity options. There are several ways to execute this based on the number of partners involved and how you want the business to operate. 

Generally speaking, an S-corp is your best option. The company is only taxed once and your taxes are based on your personal income tax rate. You will pay yourself a salary from the business and can elect to take a year-end bonus. An S-corp also provides significant liability protection in case of legal action. 

Spend the time up front to properly research how to establish your business correctly.

Once you have filed for a business license in your state, you will get a resale certificate that will help you open accounts with vendors. This is necessary to open accounts with wholesale distributors and vendors. 


Screen printing is a multi-billion dollar industry with customers from every part of the world. Every year, thousands of entrepreneurs discover their passion for screen printing – and they want to claim their cut of the billions and billions of dollars spent on custom printed apparel.

But the majority of new screen printing shops fail before they reach the 5-year mark. They fail because of poor business planning, dull branding, and a lack of ability to scale.

Your shop can be different.

This is an excerpt from our book, The PrintHustlers Guide To: Growing a Successful Screen Printing Business. Written by Printavo’s dynamic founder Bruce Ackerman, Campus Ink’s enterprising Steven Farag, and Adam Cook. The PrintHustlers Guide To: Growing a Successful Screen Printing Business is the next generation’s guide for building your own lucrative print shop.

You can purchase a physical copy of the book on Amazon.

Previous chapter: Chapter 2: Your (Business) Plan
Next chapter: Chapter 4: Branding and Professionalism

About Printavo

Printavo is simple shop management software. We help you streamline your business, keep jobs moving forward and your team on the same page.

Scheduling, quoting, approvals, payments, customer communication, automation and more. With Printavo, you’ll work smarter–not harder.

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