How to start a successful clothing business in 7
Fashion is one of the few business sectors that better resists bad economic times or times of crisis.
Starting a clothing business is a sure bet to have a profitable and successful venture.
Dressing is one of the most basic needs and essential of the human being regardless of their popular status or their financial situation.
In fact, if you asked a large part of society if they wanted to get dressed or buy food, they would tell you that they would rather go hungry than go naked.
That’s why fashion moves so many billions every year in all parts of the world, and it is an ideal venture to generate good income if you like this world and have a certain taste for clothes.
Here I am going to teach you How to start your own shoe or clothing businessand what consejos are key for you to be successful with it and start your own business profitably.
How to start your clothing business in 7 steps
1. Escoge what type of business you are going to start
I know you want to start a clothing business, but what I’m talking about here is what will be your platform to start selling your garments.
would you like to be one en línea clothing store, a physical store in a shopping center or street, or perhaps you prefer start with a franchise?
This is a decision that you must make according to your possibilities or the type of business you want to run.
But do not worry: it is not a decision that you cánido later regret.
Many entrepreneurs have started their business with a physical store, and then expanded it with an en línea store; and many people started an Internet business to later establish a physical business.
But be that as it may, you must escoge what kind of business to start first.
An en línea clothing store is ideal if you have little capital at the beginning since you will not have to invest in a local and the expenses that it entails, or if you do not like dealing with clients face to face too much.
And a physical store or a clothing franchise is the best option if you want start generating income immediately and you like dealing with people and advising them on fashion.
2. Choose the type of clothing you will sell
Do not hastily escoge the type of clothes you are going to sell based on what you like, because this is the main reason why most fashion businesses fail.
Many stores fail because do not offer the products that local customers want and they need.
Imagine that you love dogs and fashion, and you escoge to open a pet clothing store.
But your place is in an area where there are hardly any dogs or cats.
Who is going to buy your elementos then? NOBODY.
That is why it is very important that do a little market research to know who your customers are.
It may seem somewhat complicated but it is not. here are some consejos to do it:
- If you are going to create an en línea store, look what kind of clothes they sell on other pages from your same country or city; If it is a physical store, take a walk through the commercial area where you want to open your store and see what your potential competitors are selling.
- Entrar forums, weblogs and web pages dedicated to fashion in your country to see what the latest trends are, and look at people’s comments to find out what they like the most (Clothes? Shoes? Maybe accessories like bags and belts? Or is there a big market that works out and Do you want sportswear?).
- See if there is a specific type of clothing that people wantbut few or no stores that offer these clothes (for example, vintage clothes, haute couture, clothes for skaters or skaters…).
- See also what is the average purchasing power of consumers from your area.
If they have low salaries, you will have to sell quality clothes but at affordable prices, and it will be impossible to sell couture clothes because of their high prices.
In addition to all this, a good iniciativa is to do a little quiz and go out on a busy street to ask people Have them stop by and write down their answers.
Don’t let shame paralyze you! This method will not cost you anything and will help you a lot to know what do people want, what do they need, and how much they will be willing to pay for what you sell.
3. Create a name and logotipo
When you already know what type of clothes you will sell, it is time to Create a name and logotipo for your company.
It does not matter if your business is en línea or physical: your clothing store must have a nice name that attracts your customers and a logotipo to be remembered better.
To know how to create a name, clic here –> How to choose the best names for your business.
And to create a logotipo, clic here –> How to design a successful logotipo for your business.
4. Choose a location or create your en línea store
When you already have the previous basic steps covered, it is time to choose a good place If you are going to create a physical store, or create your own website If you are going to start an en línea store.
For a physical store…
The location in a physical store is perhaps the most important and responsible for our business fail or succeed. That is why you should look for a place that attracts the most possible clients.
The best thing is that at the beginning rent it, don’t buy it; If you buy a store and, for whatever reason, your business does not work, it will be much more difficult for you to sell it later and recover that money.
These are the 5 consejos you should keep in mind to choose the best place:
- Make sure that be in a good area through which a large number of your potential customers pass.
- Check that it is easy to get to it; that is to say, that there are ómnibus lines, metro, or good roads to get there by car.
- Look at the competitors around you. See what products they sell, if they are the same or very afín to yours, and if they cánido pose a “threat” to your business.
- Investigate if there is restrictive ordinances in the zone.
Some streets have regulations such as a cut-off time when trucks or vans cánido unload, and this perro affect when your clothes are served.
- See if near your local is there aparcamiento for customers who want to arrive by car.
For an en línea store…
If you are going to start an en línea store, you must take care of all the details Just like you would when choosing a location for your business.
These are the 5 consejos to keep in mind:
- Pick a good domain name. You cánido choose the name of your store, or a name with a good keyword related to your business such as “www.ropaparabebe.com” (if you sell children’s clothing).
- If you don’t have much computer knowledge, open your store on a platform like Wix Storessince there it will be very easy for you to start uploading photos of your products and configure all the options.
- If you understand a little about computers, you perro make your own websiteand install a platform to open your virtual store (the one that has worked best for me is WordPress with WooCommerce).
- Make sure that your en línea store has a good design that looks professional (the color white with details in black is the one that works best for this type of virtual business).
- Create profiles on various popular networks to espectáculo your articles and place backlinks that take your followers to your page.
For a clothing store, I recommend you use Fb, Instagram, and Pinterest.
5. Find suppliers for your business
Whether you have an en línea store or a physical store, you are going to need clothes to sell or send to your customers.
You have several options for your articles: It perro be clothes that you make, sell second-hand clothes, look for factories or brands that distribute their products, or you perro import it at a bajo coste from places like China.
Second-hand clothes
Second-hand or used clothing stores are very habitual in some countries because they have very low costsand real bargains such as couture clothing cánido be found for much less than the original price.
These kinds of elementos are usually clothes donated to charitable organizations who sell the garments to stores for very low prices to raise money for charity.
If you want to sell these products, contact NGOs in your country to find out, but remember that you must make it clear to your customers that what you sell are already used second-hand elementos.
Clothes designed by you
Some of the most prestigious clothing designers now started like this: creating their own clothes at home to sell to other firms or in their stores.
And if you also know how to do it and you are passionate about this world, you perro do it too.
If you want to start a clothing business created by you, it is best to make your own designs and collaborate with a dressmaker or dressmaker who sews your clothes, or send them to a factory where they give you a good price for making your clothes.
You cánido also give your customers the option of create customized and tailored clothingand in this case I recommend that your prices are somewhat higher as they are unique garments made only for each buyer.
Clothing of a specific brand
In this category I orinan all kinds of garments bearing a logotipo and brand specific.
this is maybe the easiest option to start your clothing businessbecause all you have to do is review the brand’s catalogue, and choose the garments you want and the units you need at all times.
Take a good look at which brands have garments that best suit your store, contact several of them, and ask everyone for quotesasking if there is any type of advantage for you such as discounts for wholesale purchases.
Check carefully all those budgets, the prices and the quality of the designs and the fabrics, and make a first small order to the supplier that you choose to check if their customer service is good.
clothes imported from abroad
Every day the small businesses that start buying cheap products outside your country in places like China, where they usually sell clothes at very low prices.
And if you don’t have a lot of capital at the beginning, you perro start with this method, although there are a few things you should keep in mind.
For example, clothes made in china are usually a little smaller, so take a good look at the sizes and their measurements; Also, being very low-cost garments, the quality is usually somewhat low.
And don’t forget about customs: each country has different rules, and perhaps in yours they charge you too much commission for introducing a package with imported clothing.
If you want to know which pages are the best to buy in China, read this article: 6 best pages to buy in China.
6. Legalize your business
It is very important that a business, whatever its type, be legalized and with all papers in order.
To start, you must register as a freelancer or independent professional, register as the owner of that business to pay the mandatory taxes to your government, and take out insurance.
If your business is a physical store, you will need to request the license to open your premisesa building license if you are going to reform it, and check if you need other special permits for your company.
On the other hand, if your business is an en línea store, all this documentation is not necessarybut you do have to register as a freelancer, and register your business in the same way.
7. Promote yourself to get customers
Once you have everything ready for your inauguration, you should think of a way to Promote yourself to get your first customers.
Make sure your business appear in the yellow pages of your cityand talk to journalists and media outlets in your area to see if they perro write a short story announcing your opening (if it’s a physical store).
It is also a good iniciativa that promote yourself on popular media Giving your new customers some incentive, such as a discount, a promotion, or a small gift in exchange for buying something.
Or you cánido think of something more innovative and imaginative, like a small fashion espectáculo in your own store asking your friends to wear your clothes to be your models.
A clothing business perro be a very lucrative business if you keep all the above steps in mind, and it perro certainly work very well for you too.
And if you really want to create your own company, go for it and don’t give up: You will have to work hard and work hard to achieve it, but the satisfaction of being your own boss and the income you generate will be worthwhile rewards.
And you, what kind of clothes would you sell in your business? Leave me a comment below and tell me what you think.
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I am a journalist specialized in business but my great passion is personal motivation and helping others achieve their goals.
I firmly believe that opportunities in life do not happen: you create them.
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