An Interview With Roadkill’s Mike Grouse

The internet is a virtual cornucopia of real business competition. Many entrepreneurs start and fail, many fail before they start, and still others have carved out a surviving niche and continue to expand their client and market base.

Aside from the continuing influx of pornographic and modeling websites, another strongly competitive market is that of clothing and fashion. Online shoppers, impartial like any other shoppers are looking for a deal and ordering online comes often with the disadvantage of shipping charges. Therefore those looking to cash in on designing apparel often times seek to start out in selling one of the time-tested and celebrated bits of clothing: the traditional T-shirt.

However, it is standing out from tradition and catching the advertisement filled eyes of the web surfer that may status a company apart. If one were to study the internet they may find t-shirt websites are “a dime a dozen”, coming and going day by day. One would also find sites that stand out and stick around, and it is from these sites that one may wish to learn if ever planning to venture into the busy market.

Roadkill T-Shirts is one such clothing site. It relies on “offensive” humor for some products. A celebrated fad within the realm of t-shirt sales is definitely slogans of humor or downright offensive jokes. It is in the nature of humans to try and shock some attention out of fellow citizens of the planet and begin some good discussions or fits of laughter. Just as the overall business landscape of the clothing industry is full of competition, each sub genre from t-shirts to, more specifically, humor based t-shirts is chock full of reach and go companies or imitators.

How has Roadkill T-shirts managed to stand out? I recently interviewed the man behind the site: Mr. Mike Grouse

Q. When and why did you start your company?
Roadkill T-Shirts has been around since 2001, we hit the internet in 2004.

Q. What sets Roadkill T-Shirts apart from the competition?
3 things, we have over 1200 designs and add several every day. We also offer over 36 different styles of shirts. Most of our shirts are new, nothing else like it on the net.

Q. Do you have any future goals or a vision of where you see the company in the future?
That is in the works right now so we can’t discuss until it is final. Let me say this, we will be everywhere.

Q. How does one get into the t-shirt making business?
Today it is very easy for someone with a computer. Doing it right is another thing. Cafe Press offers the opportunity for anyone to sell shirts. Starting a website on your own takes a bunch of money and time.

Q. I see the slogan “We Beat on them All” on your site, does this mean what it sounds like? …(and by sounds like I refer to an assembly line of people jerking off on to shirts as they come down the conveyor belt)
I have admit that is funny. Basically we try to pick on everyone.

Q. Do you ever get any sort of disfavor mail or complaints regarding shirts and designs?
Oh yeah, plenty of it. My favorite is that they refer to one make which is really deep into the site and they say that they had all intention of spending money but won’t now that we have that design on the site. I reply by asking them about the 4 or 5 on the front page that they didn’t have a problem with.

Q. Has Myspace helped in bringing in any customers?
It does, we send out discounts to our myspace friends….sometimes up to 25% off.

Q. Tell us about the “custom order” feature of the site.
A lot of our good designs have been requests. We will make a shirt for anyone for no additional dollars as long as it is a design that we think will sell. If it “special” then it is $2 more.

Q. Are there any moral lines you wouldn’t think of crossing for use as a t-shirt logo design?
Probably not, most areas are covered. We try to “beat on them all”

Q. What is your most popular shirt?
That depends on the month. Overall the best seller has been …Shocker

In a beefy marketplace and honest in general crazy place such as the internet, business survival can be trying. For example Roadkill T-shirts have had to endure people such as myself writing articles promoting their competition. In the past I published an article on Associated Content regarding the website for T-Shirt Hell. The article was written with small dollar signs clouding my vision and the attention I received for the piece was overall sure, however it also came to the attention of Mr. Mike Grouse, who put my article on blast stating next time I should not assume things due to website design. Needless to say he was not happy with my research methods or fifth grade like approach to the subject. However, after the initial ranting e-mail he followed up with this:

“Send me your address…I will send you a shirt…you then tell me what you think! Make sure you tell me your size. We silk screen with plastisol that last longer and is softer to the touch.
Email at the address below…I only signed up to email you.
Thanks
Mike”

Naturally after getting such notes I also wrote to T-shirt Hell to bag their take on things. They came off with more of a “corporate” feeling attitude towards things and shrugged me off. However, I share the responses of Mike here as an example of passion and caring about one’s business. Well, that and just some fun reading; ha. Possibly the key to success isn’t going to just be mountainous start up funds, or cash to throw around on website design, but in how you treat every potential customer and how far you are willing to go to show your brand and yourself.

In conclusion this piece can hopefully be of help to someone looking for the inspiration to start their own t-shirt or sales business and on another hand inspire those customers looking for a ample t-shirt to check out the selection offered by Roadkill T-Shirts. Those familiar with sites such as T-shirt Hell may want to look past the initial promotional glitz such sites use and look towards Roadkill T-shirts as a company focused on being the best on all levels solid.

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