Start Your Clothing Line Business -- Make Money in Fashion
Ever imagined owning your own
clothing line? Who hasn't been to a store to find the ugliest design you've
ever seen charge $50 and up? Or walked down the street and wondered how any
human could allow them self to be seen in such an ugly clothing article? Have
you ever thought to yourself, if they could design that and someone bought it,
why couldn't I?
Learn from my mistakes how you could
start selling clothing with an upfront cost less than that of a PS3 game!! No
hype, just the facts. Before I get to how that's possible, let me walk you
through having your own full fledge clothing line. I am by no means an expert,
but I do know that what I've learned through blood, sweat, and tears can
benefit any one interested in the same dream I had. I'm not selling anything,
so the information I present is yours to use and assimilate as you wish.
1. Know your Market- Any business book or self-help guru will tell you this,
but in the fashion industry this is especially important. Your market
determines how much you can sell your clothing for, what style of clothing,
what colors, even your clothing line name. It's important to do research, which
doesn't always have to be in the form of sitting behind a computer looking up
boring statistical data. Get out into the market, check out malls, movie
theaters, and anywhere else your ideal market goes. Look at magazines that
focus on your demographics, TV shows, even your own closet. Ask yourself why
you spent the money you did on your clothing items.
2. Meet your Peers- This step has personally saved me countless hours of agony
by allowing me to learn from others mistakes. A simple search engine query of
Fashion Forums will pull up some indispensable information on websites where
other clothing line owners, both successful and not, meet to discuss the
fashion industry, techniques to use on clothing, even vendors to use for
printing and apparel.
3. Name It- This is one of the most time consuming yet rewarding
parts. Name your clothing. Come up with a catchy clothing line name that really
displays what your line is about. Ask yourself what perception you want your market
to have about your clothing line, and name it accordingly. This is the most
important step, you have to have a name worth mentioning, if not why would a
store take a chance on your line, and why would a consumer want to wear your
clothing if you name doesn't fit the market?
4. Inc it- You know your market, you have peers in forums who are
willing to answer any questions, you have a catchy name, now it's time to put
it in the record books. Incorporating can be an entire article by itself, but
let me forewarn you, it's not as difficult as it may seem. You could always pay
a lawyer a couple hundred bucks to do it for you, or you can do a little
research and save a lot of money. The government wants small business, they
love us!! So it only makes sense that they would help us form, which they do.
Go to your local state government homepage, do a search for starting a business
in the state, and you'll have all you need. Period!
5. Designs- If you're a graphic designer you're ahead of the game,
however for the average person including myself, you'll need someone to design
your shirts. Since the invent of the internet this step is easy! Write an ad on
any of the countless classified ads advertising a graphic designer for a
clothing line project, then watch your inbox blow up. Graphic artist can charge
by the hour or project, although I suggest only going with those who charge by
the project. The basic prices can be anywhere from $30 - $1,000.00, it just
depends on what you want done and who you talk to. Shop around and you'll be
glad you did. Added in this step, if you want a full blown clothing line, as
opposed to just a shirt with a design, you would want to also look into getting
a graphic designer to do a logo for you. Again the cost can be nominal $50 up
to $800.
6. Wear 2?- You have your design but no clothes, now what? Well again
doing a simple search online of wholesale dealers can pull up some great
sources of blank T-shirts, Jackets and Jeans. Here is where your incorporating
comes in handy. One of the forms you are going to want to fill out is the Sales
& Use Tax License Number (Form names may differ from state to state). This
number will allow you to purchase goods at wholesale prices instead of retail.
If you don't want to go this route, another great source is your local flea
markets. They can sell at bulk rates and have some excellent quality clothing.
7. Print It- Once you have your design together and your clothing, next
is the printer. This is typically the most costly part of your clothing line,
and for a good reason. If you just go for the cheapest, that's what you'll get.
Research printers in your area, ask to see their work and ask for references.
This is where the forum mentioned in Step 2 is helpful. Talk to the forum about
printers in your area and see if anyone has had experience with them. Word of
mouth is important. The more clothing you are printing, the cheaper the cost
will be per clothing.
8. Now the Fun Begins- Here is where it gets the most exciting and scary! You
have your clothing, it looks good, well not that good since it's just sitting
in your living room collecting dust. Market your clothing. There are so many
ways and avenues that this could be it's own article. But keep in mind, this
has to be treated like your baby, and if you put due diligence and work into
your clothing, show it! Go to trade shows, open up a table at the flea market,
sell out of your trunk, go to retail stores and offer wholesale prices, rent a
kiosk at the local mall, give away a lot of clothes for free to create a buzz,
pester your family to buy your clothing and show to all of their friends. There
are enough books and resources on how to market that you should be fine by this
point. Just do whatever it takes to get your clothing in front of consumers.
I said at the onset that you could
start selling clothing for cost a less than the price of a PS3 game. Obviously
that would be lies if you included the cost of incorporating, purchasing
t-shirts, graphic designers and printing, but let me show you how. If you do a
search for Opening up a free online shop, it will display companies who will
allow you to open up a clothing store for free. Yes free, you don't have to
ever pay anything. So the PS3 game cost would just be the price you pay for
your design. Keep in mind you can get a design for $30 depending on which
artist you use.
So there you have it, by no means
exhaustive, but hopefully helpful. You can start selling your own clothing on
just about any budget. If you don't have money saved for a starting a company,
try opening up the online store, and use the profit from that to incorporate
and start printing your clothing, or if you prefer to not have to deal with
that hassle, just market your website and get paid while not having any of the
overhead associated with a clothing line. Hope this helps and best of luck.