Impressions - September 2020 - 33

DEE 'S SWEE T TEES AT A GLANCE
FOUN DED:2013
DEC ORATIN G METHODS OFFERED: Screen printing, spot sublimation, custom vinyl and
embroidery
N O. OF EMPLOYEES: 1
C OMPAN Y WEBSITE: deessweettees.com; heartandaheatpress.com
FUN FAC T: "I often quote movie dialogue in regular, everyday conversation; my friends and
family are used to it, but if you're just getting to know me, it might weird you out a little."

Williams operates from a colorful, wellorganized space in her back yard that's fully
equipped to handle her production volume.

for elements such as colors and typefaces,
we handle the design process for them,
so they don't have to."
Continuing her evolution, Williams
is not only printing shirts, but also has
discovered and honed a second niche
from her personal industry experience.
A Pressing Heart
Pondering her T-shirt-printing journey,
including the endless research with trial
and error - and the numerous mistakes
- Williams realized she could share her
specific blueprint for success.The result
was a second business venture: Heart and
a Heat Press, an educational community
she created for industry newcomers and
the like.
"After the fourth person asked me if I
could mentor them in the ways of T-shirt
printing, that was the final nudge that I
needed to start building this educational
platform,"Williams says.
Through the online platform, she provides her personal list of suppliers, printing
sequences and vast resources for anyone
starting a business or hoping to take a
fledgling one to the next level.
"I'm driven to be the accountability coach that my students can reach on
the phone when they don't know why
their cold-peel vinyl is cracking as they're

peeling it hot," she says."I strive to be the
T-shirt printing coach I wish I had when
I started this journey. Each day, I look for
ways that I can make that experience better
and easier for my community."
As a minority business owner and
mother, Williams wears many hats. Her
time is her most precious asset and it
needs to be balanced efficiently.
"The initial steps for streamlining any
business [involves] locating the bottleneck
processes and finding ways to automate
or outsource," she says. "Shortly put, if
you want to streamline your business, you
must first locate the 20% of things that
give you 80% of the headaches and then
find a way to take them off your plate."
Places to Go
Running two successful and evolving
businesses is not without its challenges,
especially considering how tumultuous
2020 has been. Never one to shy away from
an obstacle, Williams continues putting
one foot in front of the other.
"Of course, the big elephant in the
room has been the [COVID-19] pandemic," she says. "Dee's Sweet Tees has been
faced with the challenge of sustaining
ongoing business and developing new
ones, while Heart and a Heat Press has
been challenged with a chance to get its

mission out there."
Williams says Heart and a Heat Press
was more deeply affected by the pandemic
due to its relatively new status. However, she capitalized on the opportunity
to provide decorated masks to essential
industries, which gave the company some
some wiggle room financially.
"The mask orders have kept us going
and now business is almost back to 'normal,'" she says."As a small, minority-owned
business, I was able to get financial resources for Dee's Sweet Tees. COVID's
timing couldn't have been worse. In order
to offer my [Heart and a Heat Press] community more flexibility, I've been creating
lower-priced digital items like my Photoshop guide for T-shirt designs and aVirtual
Vision Board Party held on Zoom. I'm
focused on meeting my students where
they are."
Williams has high hopes for the future.
Her goals for Dee's Sweet Tees include
securing two large-volume printing
contracts before the end of 2020. She
wants the company to become a nationally franchised printing service that also
serves as an educational center for industry
training. She also plans to continue to
organically grow her Heart and a Heat
Press community, bringing value to all
her contacts and students.
"Each day, I look for different ways
to make a long-lasting impact with my
printing because I know that this is my
purpose. I have to remember that my kids
are watching my lead.They inspire me to
be a better mother and businesswoman
daily." 
SEPTEMBER 2020

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http://www.deessweettees.com http://www.heartandaheatpress.com

Impressions - September 2020

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