Hello Readers,

As mentioned in the last post, the site is working, at least the most important part, getting product to the customer. The next issue is getting the word out. I’ve posted the site on my personal social medias, but I don’t have a huge amount of followers.

However, I wanted get advice from at least the viewpoint of someone I admire in the business as well as faith before moving ahead with other plans. I turned to ChatGPT with asking it to response in the spirit of how Stanley Tam would have responded, based on his books, interviews, and other materials. Stanley Tam (founder of U.S. Plastics) had such a unique, humble, and faith-driven perspective, always focusing on doing honest work, honoring God, keeping things simple, and building American business responsibly. That’s what I want to model this business after. If you’ve not read any of this books, I highly recommend them. For sale here new (many places for sale used): https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=142730

Here’s the questions and responses. This is what I hope to stay on course with:

The 1st question was on the USA products. I started this LLC with the goal to sell only made in the USA products. I selected suppliers initially based on that, but learned their products were only mostly made in the USA or perhaps not even at all (some had a disclaimer if they run low on production, hey have overseas partners, blah, blah, blah). Huge barrier, because the name Patriot Prayer Tees was created with this idea of selling made in the USA products. The closest to this goal I could find is supporting farming in the USA by using a POD supplier that uses USA grown cotton. CustomCat’s has about six products that are 100% (unless you get a poly bend) USA grow cotton. However, the products are sewn in Honduras, Hatti, etc. Shipped to CustomCat in Michigan and printed there. The question to the ChatGPT acting from the shared knowledge of Stanley Tam, is what do I do? The long explanation of the products may sound confusing and even worst could sound like I’m trying to trick the customers. But, I still want to be true to the Patriot part of the business vision.

GPT”Stanley” said: You’re absolutely right to be uneasy. It’s better to lose a sale than to lose your integrity. If God blesses your business, it won’t be because you bent the truth. It’ll be because you honored Him in the small things, even when it cost you.

The 2nd question was on where to set the profit margins, when to commit to giving to charity, which is a goal. I entered a long question, outlining the costs so far, the fees various parts of the process cost, etc.

GPT said :

Stanley Tam once gave 100% of his company profits to God…but he did it after building a business that could survive.
First, he paid his expenses, paid his people fairly, and operated with excellence. Then he gave more and more as the business was strong enough to do it.

Here’s a practical, step-by-step way you might think about it:

1. First, survive.
   • Cover your costs: supplier fees, website fees, printing costs, transaction fees, etc.
   • Set your baseline prices to survive, sustain, and grow.
     (If you can’t stay open, you can’t help anybody.)
2. Second, build a small margin.
   • Maybe aim for 15% to 20% margin at first to cover your work and future needs.
   • This margin will feel tiny after everything else takes a bite — but it’s realistic and keeps you competitive.
3. Third, Only give from what you actually have.
   • After costs are covered, then set aside a % of profits — not gross sales — to give.
   • You might start very small: 2-5% of profits for veterans’ homes and 2-5% for church.
   • If profits are tiny at first, that’s OK — God honors the heart, not the dollar amount.
4. Fourth, be transparent but simple.
   • You could say something on your site like:
   “A portion of every sale supports veterans and faith-based missions.” (I’m not to this point yet, it’s still a vision, just FYI)
   • No need to promise exact percentages unless you want to.

If I could sum it up in a “Stanley Tam” style encouragement:

Build slowly, build honestly, and build to serve.
God doesn’t expect you to run before you can walk.
Stay honest. Price wisely. Share generously as you grow.
He’ll bless the work done with clean hands and a faithful heart.

Overall, those are the business future goals. There may be changes in who hosts the website, which payment processors are used, which additional partners are involved to help get the word out (referrals, etc.).

Thanks for reading – Patriot Prayer Tees

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