Whilst rewarding starting a fashion business is also demanding with multiple elements and tasks you’ll need to juggle before even launching.
Research and planning is essential in this saturated market and the key is to have a business strategy in place with clear brand positioning.
Here are 10 things to do when planning to start a new fashion business:
1. Research your market – get to know your customers by creating a profile for each type of potential customer including, demographics, social media use, shopping & lifestyle habits. This information will help you develop your sales and marketing strategy whether you are selling to consumers or wholesale. If you’re selling at wholesale, analyse the buying patterns and brands stocked by the retailers you wish to sell to. Don’t forget your competitors too, who are they? Where are they?
2. Create your brand – a strong brand is crucial to how your target markets identifies and connects with your label, your customers should develop an emotional connection to your brand and brands that create a strong identity are the ones most likely to survive.
3. Trademark your brand – for a successful business the name is everything so its’s important to protect it. This might be as a registered trademark, however before doing so secure the domain names and social medias, even if you don’t intend to use them straight away.
4. Plan your collection – it’s tempting to get carried away at this point but try and keep it simple and focused. It is vital to keep spending under control and a limited inventory is less risky when testing the market.
5. Create a business plan – your business plan should be a living document that evolves overtime. For example once you have a sales history to analyse your growth plans may adapt to reflect how things are going. A business plan is your personal roadmap from developing to launch to growth, it should outline your goals, visions and objectives and will be a useful tool to measure your progress against your projections.
6. Look at the numbers – you need to know how much money you’ll need to develop and produce your first collection. You will also need to finance the start-up phase and cover the costs to run the business until it starts generating income. Don’t forget to include the cost of your sample collection, any special equipment needed, marketing materials, website, trademark & professional fees, insurance, and any deposits required for rent or utilities.
7. Manufacturing – start your search sooner rather than later, it can be a lengthy process and very often the hardest part of your journey. It can take time to identify suppliers that can meet your requirements, but until you do, you won’t be able to know if you can produce your products at a cost that lets you make enough of a profit margin. Start your search for the right manufacturer amongst any contacts you have and consider what is important to you, is it artisan or a commercial supplier?
8. Choose a price point - This step is going to tie with the one about identifying and understanding your audience. Find a price point that is going to cover your production costs without alienating your customers because you are going to need them when launching your business.
9. Launch build up - Begin the marketing process, with an average sales conversion of 5% of followers your new business needs brand awareness. Instagram and TikTok have become popular platforms for this, and many influencers are happy to promote new fashion brands in exchange for products.
10. Network, network, network – You’ll need all the help you can get, so keep a business cards with you at all times and always ask for one, so you can start to build your own database of useful contacts.
Let me help you develop your designs, your production chain or business and help you understand how to manage them. My diary is open for power hours Book a chat with me here for more information.