Hey! My name is Javier Alvarez Torrado, and I originally wrote this for a friend who wanted to start their own clothing brand. It's basically everything I went through when building Laughing Moon Outfitter LLC — the legal stuff, the design process, where to sell, all of it. If you just want to make clothing for yourself and not sell it, skip to the design and Printify sections. But if you want to turn this into an actual business, start from the top and don't skip anything.
The Legal Side
Step 1 — Form an LLC
First things first — you need an LLC (Limited Liability Company). Think of it as making your side project official. It's not as scary as it sounds, I promise. The process depends on your state, but in Washington (where I'm based), you can do the whole thing online without leaving your couch.
Here's the link for Washington: sos.wa.gov — Start a WA LLC Online. If you're in another state, just search "[your state] LLC online filing" and you'll find something similar.
When you set up your LLC, you need to list a business address — and if you use your home address, anyone can look it up. Yes, anyone. To avoid that, use a Registered Agent service. It costs around $50–$150 a year and keeps your home address out of public records. Totally worth it.
Step 2 — EIN and Business License
Once your LLC gets approved (congrats!), two more things to knock out:
- EIN: Basically a social security number for your business. You apply through the IRS for free — takes about 10 minutes online. You'll need this to open a business bank account, which you'll also want.
- UBI / Business License: Some states make you get this before you can legally sell stuff. Washington does. It's not complicated, just takes a few days to process. Google your state's requirements.
Once you have the LLC, EIN, and business license, you're legally good to go! Just don't forget about quarterly tax filings — I cannot stress this enough, they will sneak up on you. A CPA who works with small businesses is a lifesaver here, especially your first year.
Optional — Trademark
You don't need a trademark right away, but it becomes important if you want to protect your brand name or get serious about selling on Amazon. There are two types: statewide (cheaper, faster) and nationwide (more expensive, but protects your name across the whole US).
Amazon requires a registered trademark to join their Brand Registry program. Without it you can still sell, but your brand name won't show up on listings properly. If Amazon is part of your plan, start the trademark process sooner rather than later — it can take 12 to 18 months to get approved. Yes, really.
Laughing Moon has a nationwide trademark on the name "Laughing Moon," which is what allowed us to register with Amazon Brand Registry and have our brand actually show up the way it should.
Creating Your Designs
Okay, now the fun part. If you like to draw, going digital is your best bet. I use Adobe Fresco on a graphic tablet (an XP-Pen Artist Pro 13.3, if you're curious). Fresco isn't too complicated to pick up even if you're not super experienced with art software. And you don't need a fancy tablet to start — seriously, a regular mouse works fine for your first designs.
If drawing is absolutely not your thing, check out Fiverr. You can hire designers there for pretty reasonable prices. Just make sure whoever you hire confirms in writing that you have the commercial rights to use and sell the design. Get that in writing!
Always, always export your designs as .PNG files. PNG supports transparent backgrounds, which is exactly what you need when putting your design on a shirt. If you use a JPG, you'll get a lovely white box around your art. Not the vibe.
Making the Clothing with Printify
This is honestly the easiest part of the whole thing. Printify is a print-on-demand platform where you upload your designs onto products — hoodies, tees, hats, bags, you name it. When someone orders, Printify prints it and ships it directly to them. You never touch the product. No inventory piling up in your garage. It's great.
The workflow is basically: browse their catalog → pick a product → upload your design → position it → set your price → publish. Most people figure it out in an afternoon, it's really that straightforward. One thing I recommend: look for products that come with mockup options. Some products let you generate photos of actual models wearing your design, which looks way more professional than a generic flat-lay image.
- Good stuff: Very user-friendly, huge catalog, connects to Etsy, Amazon, Shopify, and custom websites without much hassle.
- Also good: You can order your own products at production cost before publishing them — super useful for checking quality before your customers see them.
- Heads up: Gradient designs don't always print the way you expect. Stick to solid colors when possible, at least at first.
- Also heads up: Printify doesn't have two-factor authentication right now, so use a strong, unique password and maybe don't use the same one you use for everything else.
Where to Sell
Before I get into the platforms — one thing I really wish someone had told me before I started: do not expect sales on day one. When you first publish a product, the platform shows it to a small group of people to figure out if your listing is relevant to searches. It usually takes about three weeks before you start seeing real organic traffic. This is completely normal. Don't panic, don't delete everything and start over, just let it do its thing.
Etsy
Etsy is the easiest place to start. If you've got your LLC sorted, you can realistically be up and selling within a day. Connecting Printify to Etsy is painless. One thing to know though — popular brand names might already be taken. When I tried to register "Laughing Moon" on Etsy, someone had already grabbed it, so my shop ended up as ShopLaughingMoon. A little annoying, but not a dealbreaker. Just have a backup name ready.
Amazon
Amazon has way more reach than Etsy, but the setup is more involved. Here's the path:
- Create an Amazon Seller account — you'll need your LLC docs, EIN, and a business bank statement to verify everything.
- If you want your brand name to actually show up on your listings, you need to complete Brand Registry — which requires a registered trademark (see above, I told you it matters).
- To connect Printify and Amazon, you need to request a GTIN exemption. Printify products don't come with barcodes, and Amazon normally requires them. The exemption is basically you telling Amazon "yes this is a real product, it just doesn't have a barcode." You'll need actual photos of the physical product with your brand name visible to get this approved — not mockups, real pictures.
Amazon charges around $39.99/month for a professional seller account, no matter how many (or how few) products you have active. As of May 2026, that's the price. So make sure you have a bunch of products ready to publish before you activate your account, otherwise you're paying that fee for basically nothing.
Your Own Website
Having your own website gives you the best profit margins — no per-sale fees, no marketplace competition right next to your listings. The tradeoff is that you have to build your own audience, because people aren't randomly browsing your site the way they browse Amazon or Etsy. You'll need a domain (usually $10–$20 per year) and some way to host it. Wix can connect to Printify and runs about $20–$40 per month. If you know how to code, you can do it cheaper.
For payments, I use Stripe. The transaction fees are small, it automatically sends receipts to customers, and it's genuinely not hard to set up. Solid choice.
Social Media
Okay look, I'm just going to be real with you — I am not good at social media. I'm barely surviving it. But here's what has actually helped me not completely fall apart.
If you have no idea what to post, Canva is going to save your life. The free version has tons of templates you can customize with your own colors, fonts, and product photos. It turns "I have no content ideas" into "okay I can work with this template." Use it.
One actually great trick: connect your Instagram and Pinterest accounts together. You can set up Pinterest so that every time you post something on Instagram, it automatically repins it to Pinterest too. One post, two platforms, zero extra effort. It's genuinely amazing and I use it every time.
Staying Organized (the boring but important part)
I know, I know. But you have to keep records of your income and expenses. Not just because it's a good idea, but because come tax time you will absolutely regret it if you didn't.
My system is simple: a folder divided by month, with subfolders for invoices, receipts, licenses, and certificates. On top of that, a basic spreadsheet with SUM formulas tracking what came in and what went out. It takes maybe 10 minutes a month to keep up with and saves you several hours of panic every quarter. If math and spreadsheets make you want to close this tab, hire an accountant who works with LLCs. It's worth every penny — especially your first year when everything is new.