“Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak.” — Rachel Zoe
For you, wanting to start a fashion brand, we have got all the 12 basics ready. In this step-by-step guide, we will share 12 basic steps that you need to build and scale a fashion brand. Let’s begin!
THE 7-STEP STARTUP SUCCESS FORMULA - DR. ANU KHANCHANDANI
Every entrepreneur’s journey is a mix of failures and successes. The probability of failure is higher, however, there is a way to grow and keep growing until you build a successful startup. This book is one such guide to help you with 7 formulas for your success.
Find the ‘gap’ in the market
You cannot create a brand without creating something new. Research the fashion industry deeply and find out what’s something that other brands aren’t offering. Is it something that customers would want?
There lies a gap that you can fill and make your place. Solving a problem makes you stand out of other brands, and thus, more inclination from customers.
Read more: SWOT Analysis
Identify your target audience
While you find the gap in the market, you must identify your target audience as well. Think of it this way: If your audience likes minimal prints, why would they buy a fancy dress from you?
Identifying your audience and then understanding their behaviour can help you plan better. Clearly, it’s the basic reason why most brands successfully market themselves.
So, consider the pros and cons of targeting a certain group before finalising it. In addition to that, keep count of the likes, budget, background, etc., of your audience.
Develop a business plan
Now that you have figured out who you have to sell your collections to, it’s time to curate a business plan. It will not only guide your journey as a clothing brand but also help you figure out the ultimate goal for the product.
Read more: 9 Ways to think like an entrepreneur
For example, a business plan will help you understand the kind of brand you want to build. Will it be a private label brand for a company? Or would you position it as a premium clothing line?
THE 7-STEP STARTUP SUCCESS FORMULA - DR. ANU KHANCHANDANI
Every entrepreneur’s journey is a mix of failures and successes. The probability of failure is higher, however, there is a way to grow and keep growing until you build a successful startup. This book is one such guide to help you with 7 formulas for your success.
Plan your collection
Your first release in the market will be a big deal that will get you your initial audience. Therefore, give your best shot into planning how your collection would look like.
Plan your collection on the basis of trends, demands, and seasons. Ensure to keep it ideal as well as attainable.
However, your designs have to be cost-effective as well, at the same time. If not, there will be no profits at all. So, focus on finding a middle ground between costs and quality.
Start designing
Now that you have planned your collection, it’s time to start designing. Craft your ideas on the paper, rethink, and redesign if needed. Once finalised, it’s time to bring them to life.
Setup your manufacturing process
If you want to keep a limited edition of your clothing line or cut and stitch everything by yourself, then no worries. You can simply set up your home studio.
However, in the other case, you might need a full-fledged factory to produce a limited supply of your goods. In case your fashion goals are different, such as printing a name or logo on a sweatshirt, it may be done at a local facility.
Choose a brand name, logo, and slogan
Choose a unique brand name, logo, and slogan that aligns with your ultimate goals in the future. Also, make sure that the brand name is available for the domain name and social media handles.
After that, start to design your e-commerce website.
Read more: How to start your own website?
Stand at a price point
Go back to the second point, that is, understanding your audience. Consider the price your audience would agree to pay. Think like: How much does this segment of people earn? How much are they likely to spend?
Then stand up at a price point that covers up the production cost but doesn’t affect your audience.
Create the buzz
Now your brand is ready to be launched but before that, get people ready for it. Start marketing and creating the buzz around your brand.
Keep it authentic and fun, instead of completely promotional. If you’re doing it yourself, use the 80% educating, 20% promotional content rule. Otherwise, the best is to hire a professional.
Moreover, you can reach out to micro influencers or macro influencers according to your budget. It’s one of the best ways to introduce your new collection to an audience.
Set realistic distribution goals
Your sales may not necessarily go up as soon as you launch the clothing line. It depends a lot on the product, marketing, and other factors. After all, you might be a great designer but not an excellent distributor, if it’s your first time starting out.
Therefore, keep realistic sales and distribution goals and plan accordingly. Consistent marketing and word-of-mouth are two factors that turn potential leads into customers.
Launch your collection
Finally, launch your collection. Keep it as a soft launch so that it builds the brand authenticity over time. As the sales of your collection boost up, you can reach out to look for partnerships and investments.
Keep up with fashion trends
Now that your brand and your very-first collection has been launched, start to keep up with fashion trends. Or maybe, start your own fashion trend. Jumping on new trends will give you a mass audience at once that would later convert into customers.
Final Words
Setting up a business is definitely a tough and long process, especially if you are doing it for the first time. However, we tried our best to help you out with this 12-step guide for fashion enthusiasts.
Keep in mind that it will take some time to capture the market and then compete with the giants in your industry. And so, have patience with the process.
With over two decades of experience in the software technology arena, having worked in multinational and SME companies in India, USA and Singapore in the capacity of programmer to CTO – I felt now was a good time to give back to the world what I have learnt in this journey. Even if it ends up benefitting a few of my readers by giving them insight or solving a technical issue, I think I will have achieved my mission!