Kristen Smith attended The NBM Show in Charlotte, N.C., with her husband, Landon Smith, owner of Funky Monkey Screenworks, to research embroidery machines and screen printing technology. The couple was new to the industry and took advantage of learning from the many vendors, but they were also surprised with a $500 voucher, which they used to purchase T-shirts.

"We just got a big T-shirt order, so it helped us cut down on some of the costs. Since we're just getting the business started, we don't have a lot of inventory on hand, and it was nice not fronting the $500," Kristen says.