Starting your own fashion business is an amazing thing. You get to show off your designs and creations, participate in all the trends and simply make people happy with clothes. However, this industry is fast-paced and highly competitive and there is some hard work to be done before opening night. So, here are things that you should consider when starting a fashion business.
Know Your Niche in Your Fashion Business
If you already have some ideas and sketches that you’d like to bring to a bing scale and full time, great! This can be a dream come true, but don’t get too carried away with your dreaming. Before you think about big celebrities wearing your designs, you have to get familiar with your niche. If you, for example, have experience in making bags, then concentrate on the art side of it and how you can make it big.
Never try making pieces that you’ve never made before and stick to the things you know how to do well. This way, you are not risking wasting money or having products on the shelves that no one wants to buy.
The Target Audience
If you don’t take the time to get to know your customers then you are making a mistake and your businessmight fail. You have to know your target audience and what choices they make, where they hang out, etc. Simply get into their heads by running surveys, asking questions on social media, asking for product feedback, and so on. This way, you are making sure that your products match the people that you are reaching.
Create a Marketing Strategy
As soon as you figure out the target audience you need a way to reach them. That’s where marketing comes into play. You cannot hope for people to buy your clothes if they don’t know you exist. You should create a solid marketing plan and explore multiple platforms for advertising it, as well as some fashion events in your city.
Also, you should set up a website and social media accounts that will feature your clothes. It is best to have models pose in your designs and clothes in a studio, outside, or any other place where you can see your clothes being worn. Also, you can easily find and consider options for studio rental in Miami, FL, if you’re from there. If not, there are probably other studios that will let you bring your models for a few shots before you advertise those images across your website and social media accounts.
Set Your Prices
When starting your own business, you need to make it profitable. So, this leads us to set the prices right for your fashion items. To earn a profit, you have to generate more revenue than your fixed and variable costs. So, it is important to consider the costs when determining the prices.
General practice for business owners is to set their rates way higher than the expenses. If you consider setting the prices that high, you can earn a profit of 30-50% over the expanses of running the business.
Create a Strong Logo
First impressions really matter in the fashion industry. By looking at your logo and designs, a customer will know everything about your company and more importantly if they want to buy your pieces. A logo is not only a symbol of your company; rather it is an identity mark. A professionally designed log will drive customers and create emotional responses to the colors, typefaces, and other elements of your log.
A good piece of advice is to have a vibrant colored logo for your fashion business, but it will also depend on the products and your own preferences. A logo should also convey a message of the company, so make sure to coordinate all that into one simple and memorable logo.
Establish a Good Online Presence
As it was already mentioned in the marketing part, you will want to be present online with your business. This will ensure better communication with customers, a wider reach of the target audience, and an easy way to advertise your products.
People almost always go online to look for new pieces of clothes, Google the store, brand, etc. Also, Instagram and Facebook are good ways to reach people and let them see your offer in just a few clicks. But don’t forget to have a quality and highly-reponsive website, especially if you offer online shopping.
Just like with any other business, you should know the important steps of opening a fashion business. It is easy to get carried away in your dreams of celebrities wearing your brand, but until you get there it is important to take crucial baby steps. Make sure you have quality clothes that fit your target audience and have a great online presence. All that, and more, can help you get recognized fast and turn a profit.
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* Written by Eve Anderson, Marketing Specialist
