Starting a fashion business is challenging but you should go for it if you are a talented person and know at least the basics of internet marketing and business growth. Today it is no longer required that you only know the design or manufacturing, there are many more areas you should conquer, like retailing, finding a wholesaler company, customer service, etc. You are required to be something between a designer and an entrepreneur. Let’s see the most important things you should have in mind before starting a fashion business.
Target your niche
First, you should decide on the group of people that would be your target market. You cannot design or sell everything, there must be something you will focus on and work on attracting potential customers who are already prone to liking your product. One advantage for your business is that you spot a gap in the market and start designing and selling something that other stores don’t have. For this to be done you have to analyze the competition well and see what you could offer that they lack. Your niche has to be clear from the beginning because later will be easier to just develop that furthermore and focus on relevant things. You can later introduce other kinds of products as the business develops but the core must be recognizable and original.
Build your budget or business plan
Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels
If you don’t have a good business plan the question that arises is if you take your business seriously in the first place. Even for a small and unpretentious business, there must be some plan for funding and development. You won’t have a lot of income at first because it takes time to start and people won’t know your brand so quickly. This is why you will have to save some money or ask for a loan to cover up all the expenses. Funding, business analysis, competition analysis, SEO if you have a website, customer service for the future, manufacturer, retailer, carrier service, those are things you should think through and they have to be a part of your business plan.
Create your designs
Product development is the most interesting part for creative people. Your creativity has gotten you into the fashion business in the first place. Making sketches of what is going to be your labeled product can be very exciting. Those sketches can become digital so you should know how to use Adobe and similar programs. You will have to find a good manufacturer who will be able to make those sketches of real clothes ready for sale.
Find a clothing manufacturer
A clothing manufacturer can be your professional partner or you can find a couple of persons who share your vision and talent and work together in a common studio where you can make clothing. In case you can manufacture your clothes, then you could just use the services of a fabrics supplier. Wholesalers can be good partners as well. Let’s say you sell women’s clothes and you want to include a boho collection for a target group that fancies that kind of product. They can supply you with wholesale boho dresses that you can later on sell.
Create your brand
Design and brand creation are two different things. While design focuses on making clothes, brand creating is about brand awareness and making a recognizable name. Both jobs require some creativity so you probably won’t have difficulties in that if you dedicate some time to it. Choose a catchy name, take care of social media marketing and pay special attention to customer service and customer satisfaction because the first impressions can be crucial for starters. Good website design is mandatory for those who sell online.
Scale-up
Now that you have started your fashion business successfully you can work on promoting it and increasing sales. Work step by step and make wise business decisions based on your income. After you see how your first collection sells, you can add new collections or improved articles. Don’t take big steps too early because it fails. See if there is a need for hiring some employees whether for manufacturing or distributing issues or customer service. At this point, you might need someone to answer the calls or to chat with the customers. By hiring people to do their part of the work, you get to focus on what brought you to start the business, and that is designing clothes. Don’t forget to work on building brand awareness continuously and you might even include some reward programs for loyal customers.
Don’t let your creativity go to waste and use it constructively to build a business if your dream has always been owning a fashion business. However, pay attention to the most important stuff, like a business plan, marketing, web design, customer support, and always choose a reliable partner when it comes to manufacturing, distribution, and wholesaler.
About the author:
Liam Smith is a young and aspiring Australian blogger with a passion for everything related to most things human resources, lifestyle, remote working, and general business-related. He has a B.Sc. in Interior design and is an avid reader. Twitter | Clippings