If you are thinking about starting your own business, you like to dress well and consider that you have good taste for fashion, a business that you should consider anyway is one of the clothes.
Now, if you would like to start a clothing business, but do not have much capital, in this article we will show you the steps necessary to start one with little investment, without this meaning that the business does not have a good profitability potential or can Become a big business.
In summary, the business we propose consists of the manufacture and sale of clothing with a brand of its own, using for external garment and clothing workshops, and for the sale of intermediary businesses such as stands, bazaars and clothing stores.
Here are the steps necessary to start this business:
1.Determine the type of clothing to be made and sold
The first step to start the clothing business that we propose is to determine the type of clothing you are going to make and sell; For example, if you are going to make and sell clothes, shirts, pants, t-shirts, jeans, jackets, etc.
Some factors that you should take into account to determine the type of clothes you are going to make and sell are:
Your personal tastes : the first thing you should do to determine the type of clothing you are going to make and sell is to find a type of clothing that is to your liking and with which you would like to work, since only this way it is possible that you can stay in The business over time despite the difficulties you may have.
The existing demand: to determine the type of clothing to be made and sold ask also what are the most demanded clothing, and if you are considering a type of clothing, how much demand there is for this, and if there are enough buyers so that you Can be considered profitable.
The existing offer : ask yourself which garments have the best offer, and if you are considering a type of clothing, how much supply there is for this, what is the quality of the clothes of the competition, and if you could be able to offer Garments of better quality or with something unique and original that would allow you to differentiate yourself from this.
2.Choose the brand that will have the garments
Once you have determined the type of clothing you are going to make and sell, the next step is to determine the brand that your garments will have (both with regard to the name and logo of this), making sure you choose an attractive brand and That is in accordance with the style that you want to give to your clothes.
Some tips you might consider to choose the brand of your garments are:
Make a list of the main brands of clothing that exist in the market, especially for the type of clothing you are going to make and sell, select the names that you like, and take them as a reference.
Keep in mind that a common practice in the case of garments is to give them a brand name as an unusual person, especially in the case of women’s clothing.
The design of your logo is something that you could do yourself with the help of a graphic design program, but if you do not get to design one that finishes convincing you, hire the services of a graphic designer to help you with it.
If you do not find a brand name that finishes convincing you to keep in mind that you could also choose to hire the services of a specialist in the subject that helps you choose the indicated brand.
3.Design garments
Once you have determined the type of clothing you are going to make and sell, and the brand that will have your clothes, it is time to design these, which you could do yourself by simply buying some clothing that you like from well-known brands , And then pointing out the things you would change, remove, or add to.
Also, at this point, depending on the type of clothing you are going to make, usually you will need to hire the services of a modeler (patronist) who will design the molds (patterns) that will guide the workshop to make you Your clothes, to which you would simply take the clothes you bought, and would indicate the things you would like to change, remove or add to them.
4.Buy the fabric and supplies
Once you have the molds of your clothes, the next step is to buy the fabric and supplies that you will need to make your first clothes, such as buttons, closures, labels and accessories (in some cases it may be necessary to have them previously That they send to design to some workshop, for example, so that they place their brand or logo).
The amount of fabric, as well as the supplies that you must buy is information that the modeler should give you based on the molds you have designed and the amount of clothing you are going to make initially, and the same in the case of places in Where to buy them, which usually are in the vicinity of wholesale clothing markets.
5.Find a cutting and sewing workshop
Once you have the molds, fabric, and supplies needed to make your first clothes or samples, the next step is to find a cut and make a workshop that can be made (which could also provide you with a modeler and even give you the service To buy the fabric and the supplies you need).
Once in the workshop you must indicate to the manager the quantity of clothes or samples that you want them to make, and give you the necessary specifications so that you can make them as you wish, for which you may need to also take the clothes That you have bought from well-known brands, and tell you the things you would like to change, remove or add to them.
6.Find intermediary businesses
Once you have your samples ready, you should look for business intermediaries such as stands, bazaars and clothing stores that sell your same type of clothing or that target your target audience, and go to these with your samples to offer them Your garments to be sold to the final public; And once someone orders you, send them to make the clothes to the workshop of cut and make, and take them.
Placing a new brand of clothes on the market can be a difficult task, so if the intermediary businesses that you do not accept to buy your clothes on the spot, you could offer them to the credit (for example, 30 days), and last If you leave them to consignment (to charge for the clothes as they go to sell to the public), but always making sure you have enough capital so that you can continue working.
If your clothes are of good quality, little by little you will receive more and more orders, while you could go looking for more intermediary businesses, targeting new markets, designing new models, and launching new types of clothes to the market.
7.Promote garments
Once you have managed to get one or more intermediary businesses to agree to sell your garments, the next step is to promote these, for which you could start by designing posters and posters that you give to the intermediary businesses to place in your local.
Another way you can promote your brand is to create a website where you publish images of your clothes, and indicate the sites where consumers can find them or, in any case, simply create a page on Facebook, which, in addition to allowing you Publish images and information, would allow you to capture followers to whom, over time, you could offer discounts or other promotions.
Final Tips
To finalize this article we present below some tips related to the proposed clothing business:
Tip # 1: Define Your Own Style
To succeed in a clothing business one of the keys is to define a style that is unique and original, and that allows you to differentiate yourself from the large number of brands that already exist in the market; Which could be, for example, in the quality of the fabric, the design of the garments, or the prints.
Tip # 2: Consider setting up your own workshop
Working with external garment shops allows you to reduce your investment by not having to set up a workshop, but over time, as you grow your business, you could choose to set up your own workshop, which you could do in your own home if you have Enough space, which would allow you to reduce your production costs.
Tip # 3: Consider opening your own stores
Working with intermediary businesses allows you to reduce your investment by not having to buy or rent a store, but also reach more consumers and make your brand known faster; But over time you could also choose to open your own stores, which would allow you to have a higher profit margin.
Tip # 4: Consider starting buying and selling clothes
An alternative to the proposed business model you might consider is simply buying wholesale clothing in wholesale markets, then selling it through a small booth in a gallery, which would give you experience in the clothing business before sending it to Make your own clothes.