Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 7
SIDE
HUSTLE
TO
FULL
TIME
Deonjala "Dee" Williams is the founder of
Dee's Sweet Tees (deessweettees.com),
a custom screen printing and decorated
apparel shop, and Heart and a Heat Press
(heartandaheatpress.com), an online business educational platform for the screen
printing industry. Dee's expertise lies in
how to launch your own profitable T-shirt
printing business in 60 days or less.
ADRIENNE PALMER: Can you talk
about the process of leaving your day
job and starting your own business?
What was the main driver?
DEONJALA "DEE" WILLIAMS:
My business was actually my side hustle
first. I worked 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. managing
a donation thrift store. It'd take a lot
longer conversation to really go into
detail about how that position came
about in the first place, but it was fun
at first: rearranging the store, leading
a team, and watching real change take
place. However, after about two years
of working there I got fizzled out on
building someone else's dream, only to
see my ideas rejected and then later
reintroduced as the ultimate strategy for
remarkable change. I soon became numb
every time I crossed the threshold of the
building and it was in that moment
I knew I wouldn't continue to work there.
My side hustle was kicking up, but
I was struggling to keep up with the
responsibilities of managing the thrift
store business while trying to fulfill orders
for my own business. As early as 6:30
a.m. some mornings, I'd print T-shirts
from the shed in my parents' backyard,
jam up until 9 a.m., and then go back after work and print more. I knew I wanted
to print T-shirts for myself full time, but
I didn't know what that would even look
like. The day I handed in my resignation
letter to my ex-supervisor was one of
extreme nervousness and faith. I think
the main driver that pushed me to step
out on faith with my business was when
I asked the organization about receiving maternity leave and then returning
to work. You see, at the time in 2016, a
few months prior to me handing in my
JUNE + JULY 2020 | SCREENPRINTING
07
http://www.deessweettees.com
http://www.heartandaheatpress.com
Screen Printing - June/July 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Screen Printing - June/July 2020
Contents
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - Intro
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - Cover1
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - Cover2
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 1
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - Contents
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 3
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 4
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 5
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 6
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 7
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 8
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 9
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 10
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 11
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 12
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 13
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 14
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 15
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 16
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 17
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 18
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 19
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 20
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 21
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 22
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 23
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 24
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 25
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 26
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 27
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 28
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 29
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 30
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 31
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 32
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 33
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 34
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 35
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 36
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 37
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 38
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 39
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 40
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - 41
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - Cover3
Screen Printing - June/July 2020 - Cover4
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