Watch our video with John Santos, Starting A Clothing Brand Using Wholesale Blanks ($50-$1000+), he sits down with our Owner and Founder, Lawrence Railton and discusses how to best overcome the barriers to starting your brand and how to stand out from the rest.
In video 2, Starting A Clothing Brand Using Wholesale Blanks ($50-$1000+), John teaches you how to tackle the roadblocks to starting a brand, understand the fundamentals of embellishing and why wholesale blanks are the strategic, cost-effective entry point into the market. Our founder Lawrence Railton, shares AS Colour's founding story from humble beginnings in a 3000 square foot warehouse to how we now supply quality blank apparel to brands and companies globally.
Watch video 2 from our series as John sits down with our team of experts:
– Lawrence Railton, Owner and Founder
– Aimee McFarlane, Senior Designer for Womenswear & Kids
– Isaac Curry, Customer Experience Manager
Sign up for wholesale at AS Colour and maximise your brand’s potential using our wide range of quality garments.
Get Started with the "Best Blank in 2023”
– John Santos
We hosted special guest, John Santos at our headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. John is an entrepreneur and creator helping brands learn the fundamentals to enter the apparel industry. John will be releasing a four-part series of exclusive content sharing his industry knowledge, his expertise on blank apparel and insights he learned while visiting New Zealand.
In video 3, John goes into depth on How To Work With Clothing Brand Manufacturers On A Budget (EASILY), a step-by-step guide on how to work with AS Colour, to get your brand started with no minimums required!
Want to know more?
Read more about how John became an expert in the industry from the ground up, and he gets more personal about his trip to AS Colour in New Zealand.
Explain a bit about yourself and describe what you do.
My name is John Santos and I started my journey as an entrepreneur when I was 19 years old. Right after the recession that hit the US market in 2008. At the time being an entrepreneur wasn’t very popular and usually meant that you couldn’t get into college or hold a job. I was fortunate to have a full-time job before I started my first business. By having a job and good personal credit I was able to get a loan from the bank to buy a used car, which I instead used to fund my business.
Shortly after I started my brand, I quit my full-time job and went all in on the business which at the time was manufacturing backpacks, accessories and apparel. We would source for fabrics, ship to cutting houses and then move to factories located in California and Mexico. It was through this business that I learned about the industry from the ground up.
There were a lot of learning lessons in the early years, which is another way of saying I lost a lot of money. We were at a point in 2014 where we invested our last dollars in the business account to do a deal with a distribution company. Only for it to fall apart and leave us at a crossroads (quit and get a real job, or find a way).
It was at that moment that I decided to share what I had learned at the time, in hopes of helping others not go through the hard lessons I had. At the time no one was sharing their knowledge or insight into the industry. In fact, it was often shamed upon to share the information you acquired. So I decided to go against the standard practice in the apparel industry and exposed it all. That gave birth to the YouTube channel and community we have today.
Today we have an audience growing close to 500,000 across our emails, YouTube and social. With millions of views each year. Our mission is to provide the education, resources and supplies to help you start your brand From The Ground Up.
What does a ‘day in the life’ look like for you? What motivates you every day?
I always wondered what business people would do everyday. So here’s my routine: I wake up every morning at 2:30AM to start a half marathon run, followed by an ice bath at 3:15 and I get to the office before 5AM and work till 11PM and do it all over again, 6 days a week… Just kidding.
One day I may get there, but for now, my days typically start at 4:30AM to start my morning ritual which consists of stretching, exercise (gym or a 20 min run) and prayer. The goal is to be done and out the door before 6:30AM to be at the office around 7AM.
We work with people and businesses of all time zones, so my morning is usually spent catching up on emails and coordinating studio logistics to ensure we have content going live as planned.
This year we launched our StreetCrafter eComm store which supplies entrepreneurs with films and equipment to start their printing business from home so coordinating operations before 10AM is crucial.
Mid day I’ll get to writing new content, reviewing marketing work and managing projects that our freelance team is working on. The rest of the day is typically spent on filming content and reviewing edits.
Making videos is surprisingly super time consuming, so my days typically end around 7PM and I try my best to be home to put my kids to bed by 8:30pm so I can get to bed before 10PM.
The motivation to do this 5 sometimes 6 days a week stems from seeing the impact on the lives of the people we serve. Seeing the transformation someone has after following our content and having them share their results with us keeps us going!
This year we saw it in real life, as we created a curriculum for at-risk youth in high schools. Seeing them learn high-level concepts such as the 4Ps of Marketing and apply them to the brand they got to make in the classroom was GAME CHANGING for our staff. They are fired up to do more and spread this program nationwide.
What got you to where you are today? Who are you inspired by?
I would attribute my work ethic to my dad. He came to America when he was 18 years old to work the farms. He later brought my mom and brother over and I was fortunate enough to be born in a country that gave us an opportunity to create something from nothing. That was inspirational to me growing up and anytime I feel like it's “getting hard” I am reminded of the sacrifices my parents made for us and suddenly things don’t seem too bad. Perspective is a great motivator!
When and what was the turning point in your career?
My turning point was definitely when I was left with no money in our business account in 2014. I had no job, maxed out credit cards and I had to make a decision. Would I go back to working a comfortable job, or push through it and figure things out. I chose the latter and to this day that lesson has carried me through things.
More recently a major turning point was starting a family with my life. That made having a home life at the top of my to do list. We prioritize experiences over possessions and everything we do now is designed to bring some sort of balance in our lives.
Which item particularly impressed you from AS Colour’s range? Why?
I was blown away by the fleece as well as the outerwear AS Colour has. Definitely quality products that surpass most of the competition. The attention to detail and the way it appeals to all ages. I gave my dad a workwear jacket recently and he said, “This is VERY NICE Mijo, thank you”. He rarely compliments anything, so it speaks volumes!
What is the most valuable thing you learned from visiting AS Colour headquarters?
One of the most valuable things I learned when visiting AS Colour is how they take pride in everything. From the way the building is designed, to the office layout, packaging and culture. It truly blew me away how amazing the people who work there are. It made me prioritize keeping people around me with a similar mindset. AS Colour has something special with their team and business and everyone should be taking notes.
What is your favourite thing about your trip to New Zealand with AS Colour?
Aside from the AMAZING hospitality and incredible people in the office. It had to be the natural beauty of New Zealand. It is on my list of places to come back to and explore for a few months. There was so much to do, amazing food and really good people.
Can you sum up your trip with AS Colour in 3 words?
Attention to detail.
Stay tuned for the release of the rest of the four-part video series with John and get started with wholesale today.
Watch video 1 in the video series, The SECRET Clothing Brands Don't Want You To Know, where John takes a tour of our New Zealand headquarters to discover the “worlds largest t-shirt vending machine.”