25: What Running a Brand for 19 Years Actually Costs | Matthew Johnson

Matthew Johnson has run Seventh.Ink by himself for nineteen years. Four years ago he moved his inventory into a warehouse. This spring he moved it back out. He breaks down why, what in-person sales actually look like right now, and how a monthly Patreon series became the only deadline on his calendar that cannot slip.Key takeaways—   Scaling up is only a good decision if you are willing to reverse it. The warehouse solved a real problem in year fifteen and created a different one by year nineteen.—   A subscription is a deadline before it is a revenue stream. The monthly pin and patch series is the only thing that cannot slip, so everything else organizes around it.—   Quality is the through line, not the theme. Customers arrive for one series and stay for the blanks and the ink — some of them buying a yellow shirt they swore they would never own.—   Convention sales came in at roughly half of last year across his entire vendor network. If your numbers are down, it is worth knowing it is not just you.—   Make the call before the math makes it for you. Wait too long and it does not shrink, it implodes.Chapters00:00Cold Open00:10Intro01:26Haunted Collection 1703:08Portfolio Book Archive04:58Bringing back old graphics without killing sales07:19Releasing Halloween in August09:21The four releases a year12:19The monthly pin and patch series13:27Designing for fans vs everyone16:20Promoting a Patreon page18:24Magic the Gathering, Lord of the Rings, and more Fantasy20:04Why pins and patches23:01DTG vs Screen printing24:59Color separation and why it matters28:56Art books, collectibles, and an idea worth stealing33:35The Warehouse - Having it then Giving it up37:14The Call with Johnny Cupcakes38:14Make the call before it makes itself39:39The Dip in Sales - The economy and convention truth41:54Wholesale, Retail, and a Brick and Mortar Store43:09Rapid Fire Questions47:40The Wrap upGuest bioMatthew Johnson is the artist and designer behind Seventh Ink, a one-man art and clothing brand he has run since 2007. A graduate of the Art Institutes International Minnesota, he is a graphic designer and web developer by trade and still freelances under Seventhfury Studios. Seventh Ink spans apparel, enamel pins, patches, prints, and original art, with an annual Haunted Collection now in its seventeenth year. He works out of Tampa, Florida.Links - https://seventhink.com/patreon.com/seventhinkinstagram.com/seventh.inkHost - Joe Baronhttps://brandedbaron.com/Social media- @brandedbaronShow Websitehttps://markit2me.com/Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mark_it_2_me_podcast