Fashion is lucrative. In fact, the global apparel market is growing at a steady rate and is projected to hit $3.3 trillion by the year 2030. This upward revenue trajectory for the worldwide fashion industry is also expected to continue in the years to come.
As such, it isn’t surprising that more and more people are venturing into fashion, launching their brand as an Amazon seller in the UAE or some other country where the e-commerce platform operates, or even starting their own ecommerce store. After all, even the tiniest piece of a three-trillion-dollar industry is still considerable.
However, while aspiring fashion entrepreneurs can count on the fashion industry continuing to thrive, it’s not guaranteed that anyone who starts a fashion business will make it. Put simply, even if people always want new clothes, they may not necessarily want them from you.
Are you planning to start your apparel brand and capitalize on the big fashion market? Remember these six things that can boost your chances of success:
1. Immerse Yourself in Entrepreneurship
Building a business from your passion for fashion takes more than cashing out on your designs. It requires a complete change in mindset, which requires you to explore beyond the four corners of your design studio and think like an entrepreneur.
To immerse yourself in entrepreneurship, meet people who know how to run a business and the fashion industry. This means expanding your network and building strong relationships with different people – investors, mentors, and potential customers.
2. Know What Services You Need
A clothing business involves more than just good designs. It’s also about mass production, distribution and marketing. You need a robust supply chain and streamlined logistics.
Materials and Supplies
Your materials and supplies will determine the quality of your products. For instance, if you’re making fuller-bust swimwear, you’ll need suppliers of high-quality nylon, elastane, threads, and garters.
You cannot produce excellent clothing from substandard materials. This is why you’ll need to scout for the best fabric, accessories, and embellishment suppliers locally and beyond.
Sewing Services
Since you’re going to mass-produce your designs, you need to seek out sewing services as well. You can choose between hiring expert tailors to work for you or outsourcing the job to another company.
When you hire seamstresses and tailors in-house, you will have a better handle on quality and production. You can predict how much you will be able to produce at any given period. However, you will add a lot of overhead. You will need your own factory, and that means equipment costs, too. You must also pay for your factory’s electricity and other utilities.
Alternatively, you can outsource production to a third party. Costing is simple; you will pay per piece. You can convert fixed costs (rent, utilities, and other overhead) into a variable, per-unit cost. The downside with this model is that you have less control over quality and turnaround.
The outsourced model is more practical for smaller startups with limited capital. The former may be attainable for those with large capital and defined distribution channels. Whichever model you choose, you’re ultimately responsible for ensuring your employees or your third-party contractor can mass-produce your designs without compromising quality.
Logistics
You need warehouses to store your products and fulfillment centers from which to ship out customer orders. You will also require third-party logistics providers and last-mile delivery partners.
Brand-Related Services
A company logo can help you establish a name for your company. Your brand visuals and communication will tell your would-be customers who you are, your design aesthetics and what you stand for. You must consult branding experts to ensure your products and branding are aligned and working together.
Packaging Services
Packaging is also important. Your packaging is what your customers touch and see. How they feel about it will influence how they perceive and feel about your company.
3. Specify Your Target Market
Like any other business, you cannot move forward in fashion if you do not know your market.Since you’re venturing into an industry with potential clientele from all age ranges and interests, you must narrow down your target market. After all, it’s much easier (and more practical) to try to please specific people rather than randomly designing stuff for everybody that nobody will buy.
4. Begin With a Single Product
Starting small is always a good thing, especially for fashion entrepreneurs who are just beginning. Working on several product lines simultaneously not only requires higher capital but also entails higher risk exposure.
Instead, start with a single product. Take a leaf out of the Olsen twins’ book. The twins own one of the quietest luxury brands, The Row. It sells many products: pants, bags, coats, shirts, and shoes for men and women. However, when the brand debuted, it had only one – the perfect T-shirt – and it was that single product that launched the brand.
5. Juggle the Cost and Price Properly
After deciding on the kind of apparel you will sell, it is time to crunch some numbers. Calculate how much you’ll spend on manufacturing and operations. Get quotes on shirt production and printing from several vendors. Compare prices and seek out samples to determine the quality of their work.
Tracking all your expenses is just one of two things you must do when determining pricing. The other involves calculating how much your target customers are willing to pay.
6. Don’t Quit on the Second Day
Quitting after seeing the gloomy numbers on your first sales report is an excellent way to get nowhere. You need the right mindset to make it in the fashion industry.
Don’t back out so early in the race. Determine how you can get ahead of the competition. Find ways to improve your design or develop better strategies in marketing your clothing line. Make sure to check all the aspects of the business – not just the design and production – to assess things you can improve.
Remember that you’ll learn so much during your first try, so keep at it. Motivate yourself to go further, and always think like a winner.
Love What You Do to Succeed
Starting a business in the fashion industry is not for people who are just after the money.
Perhaps more than any other industry, someone in fashion must have passion to succeed. You have to love what you do to make it work.
