Colby Duncan only meant to generate some extra beer money with his side gig — he never expected to explode into a six-figure business.

As a campus manager for Fresh Prints, a leading collegiate custom apparel company, Duncan generated $459,625 in sales, selling 19,115 pieces of apparel across 113 orders.

“(Fresh Prints) hire a lot of students on campus, so they’re able to pull the people that they think will be good candidates to be hired. I just got an email, but I wasn’t sure if this is something I wanted to do,” Duncan said. “But I still hopped on a call and then did a little interview and got hired the same day, and I was like, ‘Oh, I guess I’m doing this now.’ And it slowly just grew.”

As a campus manager, Duncan is the direct line of communication from the organization to Fresh Prints, making sure to find and meet the expectations of each client.

“That’s what apparel is. That’s you repping your brand. That’s what people see. That’s the visual from the outside of what’s going on. They’re all repping it. They all love it. It looks great. It’s really fun to be able to give organizations the opportunity to create something from scratch and bring it to life,” Duncan said.

Duncan manages Greek organizations like Delta Gamma, Delta Zeta, Phi Mu, Chi Omega, Sigma Kappa and Phi Gamma Delta. Other clients include UT’s ambassadors, the UT Visitors Center and the Interfraternity Council.

On top of managing over eight different organizations and their Fresh Prints merchandise, Duncan majors in supply chain management, with a collateral in sales and a minor in artificial intelligence.

“I’ve done this work for two and a half years, and now I’m in my major classes as a junior for supply chain, and half the stuff they’re talking about in classes, I’ve done this, I know this,” Duncan said. “It’s super cool to see the application. It really comes full circle. I’ve already had those experiences, and now I can fine tune it with the classes.”

Duncan has worked as a campus manager since freshman year, collaborating with logistics and art teams to make sure that customer needs and expectations are reached. Through his work as a campus manager, his promotion to key account manager meant more responsibility and sales work.

“It’s been a cool transition of me going from putting fires out right when they come in my face … to preventing every fire that could happen. So my organizational skills, and getting on top of work, and being more proactive with my time and more efficient has been a huge shift for me,” Duncan said.

This job has not only inspired Duncan, but it’s also built a lot of respect for his hard work and the Fresh Prints brand itself.

“I understand we might not have the lowest price, but you will be the most satisfied working with us, having our customer service and having me on your side,” Duncan said. “I do my best to meet all my clients in person, take them to coffee (and) get to know them personally, because I want my clients to feel like this is a friendship, not a business deal. Because I personally know my friends have my back, so I want them to feel like I have their back.”

Collegiate merchandise is a dense and saturated industry, but Duncan’s drive and determination to succeed with Fresh Prints does not go unnoticed, as he’s generated almost half a million in sales.

“I will say that that is probably my biggest difficulty in the job, is dealing with the competitors, because this is such a big market, it’s very oversaturated with companies. Fresh Prints is literally the number one in the country for a reason, because if you need something, you’re going to get it when (you) say you need it, when you say you want it, and if something goes wrong, we’re going to take care of you,” Duncan said.

Duncan’s reputation precedes him, and he works to continue to build his credibility through his network.

“I started this job for some beer money, and it turned into me managing a six figure business every single semester. And the amount of experience I’ve got from that, and what I’ve learned from it, has been crazy,” Duncan said.

Duncan’s knowledge and expertise in this industry began by simply throwing himself into it and learning on the go. Duncan credits the management and leadership at Fresh Prints for being extremely supportive during his role.

“I want to include that this definitely is not my own doing. This is fully thanks to my team and the people behind me — my manager, Wiro Wink, he’s the best guy ever. He’s pushed me through everything. I have such a great mentor to look upon and have guidance from. So I give so much thanks to him, but also the entire team that works behind me … it’s really just a collective group of people, coming together to make some awesome apparel for other people. And I’m just so excited to see where this takes me and everywhere else to go,” Duncan said.

As Duncan looks towards the future, and the future of employment, he stays true to his guiding philosophies: You can never find new comfort zones by staying comfortable, and that, as a Bible verse reminds him, the pain that you’re feeling right now does not compare to the glory that’s to come.

“I don’t know what a couple years down the line looks like, but as long as I can continue doing what I’m doing, building up a resume of sales and then management, I believe I can chase any dream anywhere,” Duncan said.