A few months ago I had an idea to make stickers, t-shirts, and more based on my book The Man Makes You Work. I had text, but I needed an image. I reached out graphic designer BrokenOptics to create a logo. After some brainstorming, we created a logo that I am very happy with.
It has definite Bad Boss vibes.
After doing a bit of research and comparisons, I found a website to make stickers. I used an Internet Original - stickerguy.com, who has been making stickers since 1993. His slogan is “Sticker Guy! – Stickin’ it to The Man since 1993!” It was perfect.
After making a batch of stickers, my next step was t-shirts. I found only one print-on-demand site that does both front and back shirts - threadless.com. Every shirt has the option of either a big logo on the front or a smaller logo on the breast pocket.
The back of the shirt varies. I have so far created 20 different back versions of The Man Makes You Work t-shirt. Each shirt features 10 to 12 different observations from the book.
Customers can choose which shirt fits their lives the best. I am also open to doing custom shirts with whichever observations a buyer wants, as long as they fit on the shirt. I have noticed 12-15 lines is the most I can do.
My next step is business cards with QR codes that direct people to FightingTheMan.com, where they can buy a t-shirt or 20. I make a few dollars on each, so the more the better. Then I am looking to relaunch the original book The Man Makes You Work with the new logo and illustrations throughout. A rebrand, if you will. I hope to have that out by the holidays.
I will also be adding to the t-shirt selection with more options for the back of the shirt. Once a month I will update my mailing list subscribers with the new designs.
Having a merch line is a fun experiment. It hasn’t cost much but it could turn into the internet’s next great viral sensation. As long as The Man keeps trying to ruin our lives, there will be a market for merch that sticks it to The Man!
