Let’s kick off this fresh new interview today with Kyle of Sugar Steak Apparel. Many of you will have seen the rise of the brand this past year, as well as writing for IAMthetrend and being part of some big events whilst also having its 1 year anniversary celebrations.

But let me ask you Kyle, what first made you want to startup the brand in such a competitive industry?

I have always wanted to do something on my own and for me it was either music or streetwear. Unfortunately, starting a band is a total pain in the ass. It’s hard enough to find talented musicians that want to play the same style of music, but even harder to find a group of guys that get along well enough to spend the time together necessary for practice, shows, and travel. And even if you have a good group of guys and some solid tunes, the chance of making a living at it are slim to none. It’s really something you get into purely for the love of music and not for the love of money. I pretty much took that same mindset and decided to apply it to an apparel line and go into it for the love of streetwear and hopefully make some money in the process.

Did you realize the huge undertaking you were letting yourself in for? What financial support have your seeked to keep the brand afloat or have you been able to keep the brand running without outside capital?

I knew getting into an industry as competitive as independent apparel was going to be hard, but I knew I could make some waves if I did it right because I had an original idea and good business sense. But it’s definitely been a learning process and I had to make some sacrifices to keep things moving. I actually sold my car and went without one for over a year to help fund things so I wouldn’t have to take on loans or unnecessary debt, fortunately I had a good family that let me borrow vehicles whenever I really needed one.

Your website is a forefront to your success, But why have you chosen to use your own website/storefront online as opposed to a free format or paid service like Store Envy and Big Cartel? Do you fulfill all the online work yourself?

Thanks for the compliment, I guess my web developer and I succeeded with the site design. I actually have a Big Cartel store, it’s just heavily customized so it looks totally built from scratch. As for the second part of that question, I do pack/ship 95% of the orders the come through the site, the only time I get other help is when the site is swamped during a huge sale or promotion.

Outside of working online with the business you have marketing, packing and customer service to attend to? What is the best part of running the business have you found?

Marketing is definitely my favorite part of business as far as tasks associated with a company. But my favorite part about owning my own business is definitely seeing a stranger wearing one of my tees when I’m out and about, it’s cool seeing something I designed being worn around by individuals who have no idea I’m the owner. I was actually wearing one of my own tees at a bar a few months back when a stranger came up to me and said “Hey, my friend knows the dude that owns that brand!” So naturally I said, “Oh really? I heard he’s a douche bag.” Haha, I don’t care if people know who I am, I just want to make good clothes and run a solid brand.

Have you taken on extra education in terms of marketing, business planning with the brand? Do you think these are things brand owners should consider to gain that extra business edge from competitors?

I actually have two college degrees in business. Surprising right? I know at times this has helped me with my running my tee business, but I feel business sense is something you either have or you don’t. Especially when it comes to marketing because that relies so heavily on being able to persuasively market ideas/products, which is something best learned through real-world experience, not from sitting in a classroom.

Something new brands may not recognize is the personal touch you can add to your t-shirts when packing and shipping. When sets out a Sugar Steak Package out from the competition?

A lot of brands have cool packaging, but what sets Sugar Steak apart is the fact our packaging is actually just a continuation of the brand message. Rather than just get some nice custom mailers or fancy tissue paper, each tee is wrapped and taped in butcher paper just like you’d expect to see coming from a butcher shop. I like to think I stepped it up a notch when it comes to creative packaging.

You have written about your experiences for online blog Iamthetrend. What motivated you to write and share about your experiences?

I dig writing. I used to write album/concert reviews for a local online mag and I figured the independent apparel industry is already cutthroat enough so if others can learn from my experiences I am more than happy to share what I’ve learned along the way.

• The Art of Collaboration
• Five Secret Weapons of Succesful Indie Brands
• Facebook Ads: Friend or Foe?
• Balancing your brand and your life
• Three Reasons why every company should print stickers

What other brand owners have you been able to connect with, is confidence and conviction needed for this industry? Do negative comments and bad press discourage you from keeping the brand going?

I get a lot of up-n-coming brand owners emailing me for advice, but as far as established brands I haven’t really connected a whole lot with other brand owners. I mean I will BS with other owners on twitter and occasional emails, but nothing real serious. Confidence is definitely something you have to have to get a brand of the ground, if you don’t believe in what you’re doing why would anybody else? Negative comments don’t really bother me too much, I actually appreciate them sometimes because it’s honest feedback I need to hear in order to improve. But I am definitely not one of those people that will thank my “haters” and all that stupid crap. Man, even typing that word annoys me. Ha.

2012 must be a big year ahead for the brand. What kinds of plans can you share with us for whats ahead? & When is the best time to start planning for a new line as a brand owner?

Well, I’m going to knock out some new tees for sure. I have loads of designs ready to go, just need to get them sent to the printer. I don’t like to rush items out so I typical get started on new tees 2-3 months before I plan to release them. However, lately I have been focusing most of my efforts/capital on sponsorships and event promotions to help increase my customer base so new designs have temporarily taken a backseat.

What other events have you go ahead for Sugar Steak? I see your worked with Monster and Merchnow on the recent Ice Jam.

I would definitely like to sponsor more concerts since I personally love music, I still have yet to see what the ROI is on an event like Ice Jam though because the show just barely happened. But I’ve also looked into sponsoring some skate and snowboard competitions this coming year. Basically if it’s something I would attend myself then it’s something I will consider sponsoring, but if it’s something I think is lame then it’s not something I want my brand to be apart of.

You’ve moved away from just producing t-shirts with Sugar Steak, what further products do you want to go into in the future? Posters? Prints? Jeans? Belts?

In the future I’d love to get some custom cut-n-sew products done with simple embroidered logos for a really clean look. I’d also like to get some shoes made, but that’s something I know will require a lot of capital and I will also need more brand awareness in order to make it profitable.

The brand I would guess concentrates on sales in the USA, How do you see your brand growing nationally and internationally. Do you think translating to the UK/european and Australian markets is a natural stepping stone for your brand?

I actually already do a decent amount of business in the UK and Australian markets, I was surprised at how quickly the international support picked up. Going international is definitely something an indie brand needs to do in order to really make an impact, sticking within your home country will only get you so far, not to mention it’s also pretty damn cool knowing your tees are being worn around the globe.

Thanks to Kyle, at Sugar Steak Apparel for making this interview possible. Follow the brand @sgrstk on twitter Tumblr and Facebook.

If you haven’t already check out the Sugar Steak Interview on Urban Media, check it out below.