Decide what type of screen printing shop you will start, T shirt printing or flat printing. While both can be lucrative, there is a larger market for T shirt printing. For flat printing, you might target the music poster business. For T shirt printing, the market is vast, with clubs, organizations, sports teams, churches, bands, restaurants and businesses all wanting to print a good-looking T shirt or garment.

Make a screen with an image on it to see if you like screen printing. Get a screen with synthetic mesh stretched on it. Coat it with photo emulsion, a viscous light-sensitive liquid. Once dry, place a film positive (a design printed on clear vellum) face down over the back of the screen. Cover it with a heavy piece of glass, then expose it to the screen burning lamp for the time recommended in the photo emulsion instructions. Develop with warm water until the image is clearly on the screen. Blot both sides of the screen with newsprint.

Once the screen is dry, place it over the item to be printed and put ink in the screen frame. Pull it sharply across the image area with a squeegee, holding it at an angle towards you as you print. Check your image to see if it printed correctly. Pull again if the print is too light or use a finer screen mesh if the ink blurred. Take screen printing classes, read screen printing manuals and check for educational silk screen printing materials online. Practice screen printing until proficient.

Plan your shop. Research equipment and shop tools, visiting other shops if possible. Buy equipment and supplies from screen print suppliers. A one or two person operation needs a manual six color rotary press, a spot dryer, a conveyer dryer, ink, screens, squeegees, screen exposure unit, washout sink and layout tables. Search for shop space with running water and a possible 220 volt electric outlet for your dryer. A space of 800 feet or a bit larger is ideal. Set up your shop and print a sample job.

Create a business plan. Cover the business essentials. File your business name and get a business license, open a business checking account and buy liability insurance.

Create a price structure and budget that will allow you to pay expenses and make a profit. For example, a manual press should be able to generate $60.00 to $100.00 per hour in gross profit, above the cost of shirts and ink. This should cover your fixed costs and pay you a living wage. A sample price might be as follows: 100 blank white shirts cost about $160.00. Try charging $1.00 per shirt markup, plus $2.00 per shirt to print. You would charge $460.00 for the job, a raw profit of $300.00 for half a day's work, including screen preparation, printing, client meetings and record keeping.

Create and execute a marketing plan. Plan your target market, whether it be restaurants, bars, bands, college dorms and fraternities, or all of them. Contact them via direct mail postcard or phone, or advertise in publications and on websites that meet this market. Use Google Ad Words advertising service to attract clients in your town or neighborhood, tailoring the ads to your needs. Print business cards, postcards and price lists to distribute to clients and potential clients. Marketing should be an ongoing process that you budget for. Keep your message in front of your target audience.