How One Local Entrepreneur Is Making a Global Impact with His Apparel & Embroidery Business
Springfield, MA – “This business was launched out of a desire to raise money to build a health center in my home village in the West African country of The Gambia. In 2015 I founded a nonprofit called the Sam Taal Global Foundation as a way to give back, and the Tankular Community Health Center is actually set to be completed this year,” shared Fams Taal, Owner of FT Custom Printing & Embroidery Apparel, and Founder of the Sam Taal Global Foundation.
To raise funds for the Foundation, Taal would order shirts, get them printed at the screen printer and sell them. The foundation thrived as Taal observed that people enjoyed purchasing a t-shirt for a good cause. However, eventually, inventory management became a challenge, as customers had widely varying sizing needs and design requests, which did not work well with the minimum order requirements from the existing suppliers.
Rather than become discouraged, Taal saw this as an opportunity to pivot, serve his community, and still support the foundation. He decided to invest in starting a small business selling custom and branded t-shirts, with no minimum orders, with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the foundation to continue the work on the Tankular Community Health Center. He worked to pull the capital together for equipment and inventory and launched the business in November 2019.
Upon making the transition to becoming a small business owner, in addition to continuing his full-time profession as a Respiratory Therapist, Taal began to realize that there were even more opportunities to give back – right here, in the place he now calls ‘home’. “This is home, and I wanted to be sure that I was offering the same support and benefits to my local community as I was to the people in my home country. I started seeing the business as providing a t-shirt design service to the community while partnering with them to give back to individuals who needed help,” Taal shared.
Taal’s customers began submitting designs for customized shirts, which could be purchased from a personalized webpage on his website to sell t-shirts and raise funds for worthy causes. “In the respiratory community, we’ve completed two solid fundraisers where they were able to raise about $5000 for two families.
We also did a cancer fundraiser for someone who is fighting breast cancer. We designed something the beneficiary of the fundraiser would like, that connected with their personality and represented them. As their webpage was shared with their friends, family, and network, we would also advertise on their behalf. As the orders came in, we fulfilled them, and at the end of the fundraiser, we cut a check for the beneficiary to support their medical and personal care needs.”
Taal is also passionate about working with new entrepreneurs who are working to increase their brand recognition or take their brand to the next level using custom designed merchandise. His small team of 3 people – Taal, his wife Angela, and John – are committed to providing great customer support and exceptional service to entrepreneurial clients. “I can often see myself in those starting entrepreneurs. I always encourage them not to give up, and the keep moving towards success.”
“It’s an amazing opportunity to collaborate with our customers as we work with them to create meaningful designs and support the causes that matter most to them. Sometimes people come with a fully thought-out idea, and we simply make that idea a reality. In most cases, we do the designing as the customer gives an idea of what they want, and we make it happen. On occasion, someone may even come with a fully finished file and we just print it. Whatever the method, we consider it a privilege to partner with every customer.”
For more information on FT Custom Printing & Embroidery Apparel, you can visit the shop located at 731 Sumner Avenue, Springfield, MA 01108. You can also check them out online at www.ftcustomprinting.com, where you can also create or submit a design for printing, and take a look at current fundraisers under the “Stores” tab. You can also stay connected on Facebook and Instagram.
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