Starting skateoard company.

**skateartdylan** · 10-27-2008 07:19 PM

Hey all i am staring a skateboard comapany. Just boards and shirts for now. Im not in it to make tons, Ive just always wanted to start up a company.. eventually moving into opening a skate shop.

i was just wonderin if you could give me some tips and advice on how to go about doing this. I mostly need somewhere to press and heat transfer hte boards. And i need to know what to do legal wise for a small company. It will be online mostly. I may sell some out of shops in my area.
Im just starting out so any advice would be sick.

Thanks in advance

**THRIFTY55** · 11-02-2008 07:13 PM

Do you know how to MFG skate decks? Your best bet would be to sell them to skate distributors rather than local shops.

**claudio4333** · 11-02-2008 08:36 PM

This site might be a good resource for you. Give it a look over. Custom Skateboards

**Greenbeetz** · 11-02-2008 09:40 PM

It's a great market to get into, I'd tackle the blogsphere first.

**sk8ramp** · 11-02-2008 11:35 PM

I own a few companies in the skateboarding industry. The best advice I can give you is to do your best to create a buzz. Skateboarding is a very trendy business, and you need to separate yourself from the herd somehow.

Anyone with a little money can get decks made, but just like any business it's all in the marketing. You can't just make a cool looking deck and have it sell itself, you are going to need to convince people how cool it is.

As for the actual how to, I would need some more info. Do you want to buy blanks and print them yourself? Do you want to have a company print them? Are you focusing on the highest quality or the lowest price point? How much start up capital do you have? There are tons of different ways to get decks custom made, let me know the answers to some of these questions and I'll get you some links to the best manufacturers.

Good luck to you, the skate industry is a finnicky but very fun one to be in.

**THRIFTY55** · 11-03-2008 12:30 AM

Originally Posted by sk8ramp

I own a few companies in the skateboarding industry. The best advice I can give you is to do your best to create a buzz. Skateboarding is a very trendy business, and you need to separate yourself from the herd somehow.

Anyone with a little money can get decks made, but just like any business it's all in the marketing. You can't just make a cool looking deck and have it sell itself, you are going to need to convince people how cool it is.

As for the actual how to, I would need some more info. Do you want to buy blanks and print them yourself? Do you want to have a company print them? Are you focusing on the highest quality or the lowest price point? How much start up capital do you have? There are tons of different ways to get decks custom made, let me know the answers to some of these questions and I'll get you some links to the best manufacturers.

Good luck to you, the skate industry is a finnicky but very fun one to be in.

How hard is it to get into actually manufacturing your own decks? What kind of equipment would you need?

**Danko** · 11-03-2008 12:38 AM

Hi! Were in your position one year ago. Started up a clothing line and imported some skateboards. It was great fun and a great opportunity to profit. PM if you want to stay in contact, we can talk more over messenger and Skype.

But in short, what's most important for you right now:

1. Get a good Logo, they can be hard create but there are alot of help out there. And dont pay for it :P
2. If you mainly are going to distribute your products online, a good looking website is crucial. Its all about image.
3. Make a business plan and put up goals. What we did in my company was to set to low goals so we had to creat new ones all the time. That makes you loose perspective of the organisation.

So yet again, PM and i would be glad to help you more.

//Nicklas

**sk8ramp** · 11-03-2008 01:42 AM

Originally Posted by THRIFTY55

How hard is it to get into actually manufacturing your own decks? What kind of equipment would you need?

Well there are levels of that also. For instance are you going to buy raw maple and mill it down? Are you going to buy already milled maple? Are you going to use carbon fiber between layers? If so will you manufacture it or buy it? You'll need a press, and are you going to design your own specs ie: concave, steepness of tail and nose, or are you going to buy a pre made press with someone else's dimensions? There are literally hundreds of options with pressing decks.

My advice if you want to press decks would be to have a machine shop make you a press and order pre milled maple veneers. Layer the maple with glue, go at least 7 ply, and press it. You're going to need a few grand at least start up, and then you'll need to compete with the companies that sell blanks for cheaper than you'll be able to get the raw materials for. They do them in batches of hundreds of thousands in China.

So long story short, you better make a product that is noticeably better than what's out there if you want to succeed.

**staniel** · 11-09-2008 02:29 AM

The online side of things - make sure you get a good hosting company and have an SEO plan from the start. Doing proper SEO early can be very important to your success.

**rejoice** · 11-09-2008 03:07 AM

in terms of promoting and marketing... you might like to check out loop'd

and don't use zazzle if you are using a fullfillment service... popdeck/deckpeck is a good one to look at