Can A Clothing Line Be A Business?

Whether you want to design and create your own clothing line or you use a print on demand website to design your boutique, you may be wondering if there is a way to create a whole business based off your clothing line. It takes some extra work, but it is very possible. So, can a clothing line be a business? 

A clothing line can be a business. If you’re wanting to make a profit from selling the clothing in your line. You need to keep in mind factors such as your legal requirements, target market, business plan, how you will offer your clothing line and how you will market your clothing line.

Legal and Basic Requirements

When you’re wanting to either design a line of clothing or you’re wanting to design a clothing line on a website like Printify or Printful and sell it POD, you will want to start out with writing a business plan. A business plan is the most important part of your business. You will want to determine if you will be starting as a sole proprietor/partnership or if you will go the extra steps and open as an LLC. Come up with your mission statement and determine an elevator pitch. 

Once you have the business plan in place, start looking at licensing you may need. If you want to sell stuff with TV, movie, or popular themed designs, you will need to try to get permission from those companies to sell those items, many people do not think of this step but brands like Disney are cracking down on small sellers so you could open yourself up for being shut down or a lawsuit. 

Outside of legal licensing for selling brands or character items, you will also need to investigate what your state requires, and if you’re in the US, you’ll have to keep records to report everything to the IRS to pay income taxes. 

Other Basics

You also want to determine what types of clothing you’re wanting to sell. If you want to design your own clothing, you will need to learn how to sew and how to design clothing. You do not have to go to school, although they do have degrees that will help you learn. If you already are sewing your own clothing, you’re ready to move on to the next step. 

You realistically cannot just come out with a clothing line and market it to everyone. You will want to find a group you’re wanting to target and make the clothing for them specifically. You will primarily want to identify a problem with clothing and find a way to fix it. You could be in your own target demographic, or not. 

Some examples of potential target demographics are: plus size women, larger men, big and tall men, skinnier women, skinnier men (super skinny men can have a lot of trouble finding pants that fit right and can even have trouble finding belts that have enough holes). Those are a few potential targets you could look at. You could also look at style- do you want to sell/make clothes that are geared more towards prep school types? Maybe you’re interested in people with a more hippie or bohemian style. You could go with a more “goth” or grunge fashion or stick with classics that most people wear, business casual or formal. There are many different varieties to choose from and you can easily pick one or more styles to stock. 

Once you narrow your demographic down, start researching where you can find those types of clothes. Take note of how the top sites on Google look and the feel of the clothing. Make sure you pay attention to key words and if you can tell the SEO of the site, get that feel. You want to make sure you’ll rank if you’re going to be selling online, so now is also a good time to research SEO for Google Analytics. 

Once you have finished your online research, start talking to people in your target. Ask them where they get clothes and what problems they have finding clothing they like. The responses can help you determine what to do and if you’re going to make your line, you want to really listen to complaints about clothing not being flattering enough or being too big, if they’re super skinny and can’t even find a good belt, that is a perfect opportunity to create a belt that they can wear. 

If you’re designing your own clothes, you will want to take care to fit the clothing on as many models as you can so you will see how it fits different body types. You want your clothing to target a specific group of people- if you’re aiming to make something that can be worn by everyone, you will have trouble advertising. 

Opening the Business

Now that you have the business idea, the items made/bought and you’re properly licensed, now is the time to get ready to open your business. You want to invest in a good website that is both attractive and user friendly. You want to make sure it’s easy to navigate and don’t forget alternative text and other ways of making the website friendly to people with disabilities- they need clothing as well. 

You may want to add website design and even blog posts to your list of expenses. You can find freelancers who will write your content and create your site for nearly any budget, but you do get what you pay for so if you go with cheap you may end up with cheap quality. When you’re choosing a freelancer, pay attention to reviews- both positive and negative and look at how they respond to the clients if they leave a bad review. You also will want to see a portfolio of work they have done in the past so you can get a feel for how they work. This is especially important for graphic designers and website designers. Find writers who work well with SEO. 

If you’re opening your business in a physical location, make sure to get the word out early on. Go on a website like Vista Print and get some flyers made announcing your grand opening and print off business cards with your business name, logo and address along with website. 

Prep your business for the big day and have a celebration to celebrate opening. Some ideas could be contests, food and drink, large party welcoming your future customers, door prizes and even a giveaway. Make it big and make sure people know well in advance. 

Advertising

The last part is advertising. You need to find out where your target demographic gets their clothing and how they find out about it. If you’re selling plus size, for instance, look at how Lane Bryant and other big names advertise. Look at what magazines and what websites you see the ads. Don’t discredit TV and radio ads, you may have luck advertising on a local TV or radio station.

When you have blogs written or you write the blogs, remember to use proper SEO practices so your articles and posts will rank higher in searchs. SEO means Search Engine Optimization and it is one of the best things to understand when you’re trying to get the word out about your website. 

Word of mouth is another factor to consider. You want to make sure you handle every transaction as well as you can. You do not want people to see you as rude, stuck up or unprofessional. Clothing companies will always deal with bad customers but if they handle those customers professionally, they will up their reputation and people will have more respect for their brand. 

Remember, when you start a clothing line you need to take it seriously as a business in order for it to generate income. You need to budget in overhead, and you need a marketing budget. You can take your business plan and apply for loans and grants in order to cover the first several months of expenses until revenue starts to pick up or you can use a website like Kickstarter to try to crowd fund the expenses. If you start a Kickstarter campaign, you will want to give a very compelling story as well as lots of pictures of your clothing and special offers to give to people who are nice enough to invest in your brand. 

Related Questions

What Other Items Can I sell Alone with Clothing?

There are many other items you can sell along with clothing or make alongside your clothing line if you’re designing it. You can add belts, wallets, shoes, socks, intimates and any other accessories that people would wear or carry with an outfit. Jewelry is another lucrative option with many different avenues you can go. If you’re not looking to make the accessories, you can either buy from major retail sites that offer wholesale or you can buy wholesale off independent crafters who make the accessories themselves.

What Education do I Need to Design Clothing?

There are courses in fashion design you can take both online and in person, but you really need to know how to make clothing properly and you need to be able to get measurements right. You don’t need a formal education if you have been taught by someone who makes clothing or even used enough Youtube videos while actually sewing clothing for yourself and your family.

To learn more about how to start your own fashion clothing line check out my startup documents here

Please note: This blog post is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult a legal expert to address your specific needs.