How Your T-Shirt Can Make You Rich

It’s hard to say exactly when the British World War II slogan “Keep calm and carry on” began its ascent in the pop-culture lexicon, but over the past three years startup Teespring has turned variations on that theme into fashion statements: “Keep calm and ask a librarian,” “Keep calm and smoke on,” “I can’t keep calm I’m a wrestling mom,” and hundreds more.

However quirky your passion, the San Francisco T-shirt maker has a design for you. Or, if it doesn’t, it will help you make the shirt you want, sell it, and take a cut. “Keep calm and let the radiation therapist take care of it” has helped former restaurant manager Benny Hsu earn more than $120,000 in the past year, he says. Kimberly Springer, a former hospital secretary, has made about $238,000 in the past year targeting Christian women with shirts that read “She is strong: Proverbs 31” and “This girl still dates her husband.” “Studying the niche is very important,” she says. “What are they most proud of? What are they not receiving recognition for?”