Community Highlights: Meet Mark Baldwin of Renegade Tees

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Baldwin.

Hi Mark, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey into being an entrepreneur began as a disgruntled high school history teacher. After a few years, I decided that teaching was not the career path I wanted to pursue and began looking for other avenues of employment. My first inclination was to enter the business world, so I started graduate school seeking a Master’s in Business Administration in hopes of one day climbing the ladder of one of the local utility companies or some other corporation. After realizing that no one wanted to hire me or even give me an interview because I didn’t have any experience in their field, I started to explore things that I could do as a side hustle to sustain a living in the future. After much discussion with people I knew who had worked in the industry, I decided to try screen printing. I secured some funding, purchased equipment set up in my basement, and proceeded to teach myself how to screen print. At this point, I was still teaching, coaching two sports, being a full-time grad school student, and trying to teach myself a new trade. Slowly, I learned the basics and built a client base over time. After about a year and a half of toiling late nights, I left my teaching gig to move toward being self-employed. Later that year, I was allowed to purchase an existing embroidery business, and with that move, I leaped full-time. The rest is history.

Please talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned. Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I wish the road had been all smooth sailing. It only sometimes works that way. There are always challenges and obstacles that we must overcome, whether it be in business or our personal lives. Every single day presents us with new challenges. One of the biggest challenges for me personally was leaping. It’s a scary prospect to walk away from a guaranteed paycheck to something that you aren’t sure will pay you a single dime. However, once I leaped, I knew failure wasn’t an option. I had to figure it out, and that keeps me going, the fear of failure.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us more about your business.
Renegade Tees offers various services, including screen printing, embroidery, custom logo design, & sublimation. We pride ourselves on customer service and helping to bring your ideas to life. We would love to work with you to create custom apparel you, your employees, and your clients will proudly wear. We also offer various graphic tees in a handful of retail locations across the state. In 2021, we launched a grungy, motivational shirt brand called Renegade Supply Co. to inspire others to invest in themselves and take a leap to change their lives. I also host a podcast called Ramble On, which discusses ridiculousness each week. If podcasts are your thing, I would appreciate the listen.

What’s next?
Plans for future expansion include making plans for our graphic tees to appear in more retail locations across the state, possibly even on a larger scale. I also have plans to start a YouTube channel shortly but directed toward travel which is another passion of mine. Honestly, I get such scattered ideas that it is hard to say what the future might hold. I guess you should follow along to see

Contact Info:

• Website: www.therenegadetees.com, www.renegadesupply.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/renegade_tees/ , https://www.instagram.com/renegadesupply.co/ , https://www.instagram.com/rambleon.pod/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyBBMki2YTmaQq3MBdXD8tg

Image Credits
Wes Moore Media, VBT Photography