Tips On What Not To Do When Starting A Clothing Business

When you’re starting a clothing business, it’s no doubt that there are some issues and struggles that you may face. These don’t have to be daunting or stop you from creating your business, though—if you plan ahead and make sure you’re aware of these possible pitfalls, you too can create a successful clothing business. 

Tips on What Not to Do When Starting a Clothing Business are:

  1. Dont ignore other brands and their stories. 
  2. Dont ignore your target demographic.
  3. Dont ignore the market. 
  4. Dont forget to plan. 
  5. Dont keep your personal and business finances together. 
  6. Dont start your business too large.
  7. Dont price your products without some sort of reasoning behind it. 
  8. Dont fail to market your products. 
  9. Dont do everything yourself.

How can you make sure your clothing store doesn’t fail? Follow these steps and plan ahead for your business to make sure you can stand the test of time. 

Don’t ignore other brands and their stories. 

Tips on What Not to Do When Starting A Clothing Business.

There are so many fashion businesses already on the market, so it’s important that you recognize that before you even start your business. What makes you unique? What makes them unique? What kind of products are they selling, and what’s their story? Are they just starting up, or have they had an established name for decades? Be aware of what could be your competition, and know what trends they’re focused on and what their target demographic is. You may not be able to branch into their demographic if they already have a loyal following. 

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Don’t ignore your target demographic.

While you’ve already learned about other brands on the market, you should also learn about who you’re selling your product to. If you don’t have a handle on that, it is very easy to fail in your clothing business. Start doing your research on the type of people you want to sell to or the type of people you think would use your products. Consider who your perfect customers are, and start marketing to that type of person immediately. While you may have a niche product, it’s still important to know exactly who you’re selling to. 

Don’t ignore the market. 

If you don’t know what people are selling, like in the previous tip, you don’t know how well your items are going to sell. If you have an item that you think is the next big thing, but the market says otherwise, you’re going to sink a lot of money into a project that is doomed to fail. Start market research before you create and try to sell your product. Use trusted family and friends to sample your product and give honest feedback. You can’t sell something to a market that doesn’t want it—and the only way to find out is through research. 

Don’t forget to plan. 
Tips on What Not to Do When Starting A Clothing Business.

Your business plan is one of your most important steps in creating your business, and it’s imperative that you have one before setting out with your clothing business. If you don’t have a plan for your inventory, pricing, budget, staffing, insurance, and everything in between, something could slip through the cracks and end up costing you so much more in the long run. You should also plan ahead for your marketing—one of your biggest costs outside of your inventory, if you don’t have a marketing plan, you could be wasting your money and your time. When it comes to manufacturing, you should also plan ahead—the clothing manufacturing industry has a concept called “tech packs”, which are documents that show all the technical information about your product, from measurements to fabric to stitching. This can both help you save time and money in the long run. Winging it is not an option for your clothing business—without planning your budget, manufacturing, and marketing, you could be risking everything you’ve built your company on.

Don’t keep your personal and business finances together. 

Creating a limited liability company is your best bet when you’re creating a business, because it separates your personal and business funds in case something happens and you have to pay out. This is extremely important when you create your business, as you don’t want your personal funds in danger for a business decision. It’s also important with the Internal Revenue Service—your taxes can get very complicated if you do not separate your finances. It’s also important that you have enough capital to start your business—without enough money, you could be doomed from the start. You can risk your entire brand’s future if you don’t have enough money, so make sure you balance the cost of your product to your budget or look into ways you can get more capital, like from bank loans or borrowing from family and friends. 

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Don’t start your business too large.

It’s exciting, starting a new business, but it’s important to stick to your goals and your levels before you go too far. There are stages to your business, and if you start too far ahead, you are going to be doomed to fail—the smaller you start, the easier it will be to gain profit, and it will give you so much more room to grow. Some ways you can keep your business smaller as you start is making sure you don’t have too much inventory and have a specified customer base. Those two things can help you stay focused in your work. You don’t have to stay small—you should just start small in order to give yourself the best basis for success. 

Don’t price your products without some sort of reasoning behind it. 

Tips on What Not to Do When Starting A Clothing Business.

One of the worst pitfalls you can fall into as a clothing business is not pricing your products correctly. You want to make a profit off your clothing line, so it’s important to strike a balance—too low and you won’t make enough profit, and too high, you won’t attract enough customers to stay afloat. 

How do you set your prices? Make sure you look at your budget. If you can do the math on how much exactly it takes to make your product, then double it, that is the typical price margin for the clothing industry. If that number isn’t good for you, perhaps consider making some changes in your clothing manufacturing process and shift accordingly. 

Don’t fail to market your products. 

Without marketing, no one will know about what you’re selling. It’s imperative from the start of your clothing business that you start promoting your inventory. While you can start marketing later, it will be much harder for you to gain a profit if you don’t start immediately. Most advertising campaigns can take weeks or months to start netting a profit. Consider promoting your inventory long before you’re ready to sell, so when you do start selling, there’s already a following for your products and a need for them. One thing to remember, though, is you also shouldn’t rush marketing your products—take your time creating a brand name and logo, choosing a website domain name, and make sure you get feedback before you make any major decisions. You don’t have to spend a lot on marketing—there are social media sites where you can start posting for free. Make sure you also have a website in which to link everything back to. 

Don’t do everything yourself. 
Tips on What Not to Do When Starting A Clothing Business.

While it’s tempting if you’re just starting out on your clothing business to sell online and do everything by yourself, when it starts to grow, your business is going to need more than just you. Whether you’re trying to balance inventory and balance the books at the same time, there will come a point when you need help—and don’t be afraid to seek it out long before you expect to need it. Whether it’s by bringing on a business partner or an employee, you need to find that person you can trust to help you on your endeavor. 

Starting your clothing business is your dream, and it can be a reality, as long as you stick to the reality of the situation—it can be a hard road. Be aware of the struggles that you may face as a small clothing business owner, and you can find yourself rising in the ranks of popularity and success. 

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RELATED QUESTIONS

How much money does it take to start a clothing line?

If you’re strictly selling online products, you can typically keep your investment under $10,000. This cost includes inventory, a point-of-sale system, a website and some online marketing, photography and modeling, and business insurance and permits. 

Are clothing businesses profitable?

With the right markup and planning, a clothing business can be profitable. The markup for clothing is usually about twice as much as you paid for it in manufacturing, meaning if you are purchasing a $25 from a manufacturer, you can charge around $50. This profit markup can be profitable if it is invested properly and your inventory is marketed to the right demographic. 

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.