Clothing has always been one of the most required goods, and will remain this high position. Not only is it a basic human need, but also an opportunity for self-expression, or an opportunity to demonstrate that the wearer belongs to a certain social group – for example, ethnic or subcultural. Clothing production can be a profitable business that has good perspectives in the global market and marketplaces. However, this business is not for everyone, as this area has a high level of competition. Those who want to start their own sewing business must be ready to work and develop in a highly competitive environment.
But if owning a sewing business is the career of your dreams and you are not scared of the difficulties you may face – then this article is definitely for you. This article will describe the steps you need to take in order to start your own clothing brand.
Step One: The Idea
Everything start with an idea. It must resonate with the views of the owner. Who are you? What are your hobbies? What inspires you? With the answers to these questions, the formation of the brand idea begins. After carefully analyzing the answers, you will find a direction for development, the vector of the visual style, the ideology and image of your future brand.
Step Two: Defining the Target Audience
No business can be successful without the preliminary analysis of the target audience. Each year, many startups close because their product is not required by the target audience. This happens when the product is created firstly, and only then it is analyzed for whom it is created. Sometimes, there may be cases when there is no target audience at all.
In order to avoid such an unpleasant situation, you have to answer some questions. Who will be the main consumers of your production? Will your clothes be for teenagers, young people or middle-aged people? For which social group will your clothes be? Will they be for admirers of a specific style (for example, classic, modern, casual, vintage, creative or luxury clothing) or will your brand cover several of them? The answers will be essential for any future steps and development.
Having defined your target audience, analyze it. How big is it? What trends and tendencies exist among its members? What is their average financial situation? The demands and expectations of the target audience must be taken into consideration. Otherwise, your business may be less profitable, or even turn out to be a failure. You have to find a balance between the fist and the second step of this article: your preferences are important, but they also have to coincide with those of the future consumers, i.e. the target audience.
Make sure that you pick the right paint for your new commercial space to have the right abiance for your customers.
Step Three: Making a Financial Plan
Make a financial plan with income and expenses, write realistic goals and divide them by the period of the plan. It is needed to define development strategies and anticipate market risks. The unified written plan will allow you to detect flaws in your planning (if there are any). One of the most important aspects of the planning is studying the information about getting all the necessary certificates for selling your clothes. Each country and region has its own requirements, they may differ depending on where you are going to produce and sale your clothes.
The amount of investment depends on what type of clothes your enterprise is going to produce, how expensive the materials will cost, how much you will have to pay to the specialists, how many employees are to be hired. Calculate how much sales should grow each month and what is needed for this. It is important to correctly calculate the price of your products. Discounts should be included at the planning stage of the collection. After that, you will clearly understand how much you will earn after selling the collection.
Decide in advance on which sites you will sell your products. These can be online sales through online stores or wholesale sales in multi-brand stores. Perhaps you decide to develop your own chain of stores, offline retail or franchise, combining several paths at the same time. Based on the sales platform you have chosen, you will have to form a strategy for promoting your brand, in accordance with which the work will be built.
Step Four: Organizing the Production
If you have chosen to use the services of outsourced specialists and conclude a contract with an already existing company, prepare very detailed instructions to avoid any misunderstandings. It is a good idea to visit the company to find out in what conditions your orders will be sewn. You should also start by ordering small batches, in order to see if the quality of the product is the one you are satisfied with.
If you decide to found your own clothing production, you need to plan your expenses taking into account the costs of renting a room and purchasing the necessary equipment, as well as building a team (a designer, technologist, seamstresses, designer and advertising specialist). It is also necessary to comply with fire safety requirements. There must be serviceable electrics and sufficient lighting for workplaces. The workshop should consist of several rooms: a workshop, a warehouse where finished products will be stored, a room for the staff. Regarding the purchase of the necessary equipment, it would be better if you consult with a technologist in order to avoid any unnecessary expenses.
Step Five: Launch an Advertising Campaign
An advertising campaign is a necessary attribute of any successful business. Emerging designer clothing is no exception. Think about what you want to say to the consumers. The message your advertisement conveys can have a positive or negative effect on the entire campaign. Tell the auditory about the advantages of your clothes, about the ideas behind your brand. Avoid marketing clichés: an advertisement must be unique. In the fashion industry, this rule is very important.
Conclusions
In this article, we discussed the steps you need to take to start your own clothing brand. To sum it up:
- Be ready to work in a competitive environment and take a risk;
- Find a balance between what clothes you want to make and what clothes your target audience needs;
- Carefully analyze everything, consult with fashion and technical specialists;
- Let your advertisement be as unique as tour clothes.