The fashion industry is an unforgiving one and a large percentage of fashion startups don’t make it. Even if you’ve got great designs, that’s only one small part of what makes a fashion startup work. Beyond that, you need all of the normal skills that any business owner needs to survive. In the early days, any mistakes that you make can set you back or, in the worst cases, kill the business entirely. To help you kickstart your new fashion business, make sure that you don’t make any of these mistakes.
Good Ideas Don’t Always Make Good Products
When you’re sketching out designs for new pieces and they look great, you’ll find yourself imagining just how amazing they’ll look when you’ve put together a prototype. But you should be prepared for disappointment sometimes because good ideas and concepts don’t necessarily translate to good products when they get made. If you’re basing your entire business plan on some designs that you’ve done, you might end up finding that you’ve got nothing if they don’t work when you actually make the clothes. You should always try to make a preliminary version as soon as possible so you can be sure that it actually works for real.
Underestimating The Importance Of Design
On the other hand, you can’t underestimate the importance of the design process. People often think that they’ll be able to make a successful fashion business because they’ve got good entrepreneurial and marketing skills. While it’s important not to put all of your efforts into design you won’t get anywhere without it. If you don’t have the creative flair to come up with fresh and unique ideas, there’s no reason for customers to come to you instead of your competitors.
Legal Considerations
When you’re focusing on coming up with creative designs and marketing them properly, it’s easy to forget about all of the nuts and bolts and legal aspects of running a business but if you neglect that stuff, you could land yourself in serious trouble. Paying tax properly is one of the major ones that people forget. You need to make sure that you’re paying all of your business taxes and giving your employees the right w2 forms so they can fill out their own tax returns. If you haven’t got an accountant, you can use online services to get a free w2 form and keep track of your finances for you.
Missing Seasons
Fashion is a seasonal business and most lines are only relevant for that particular season. When you’re trying to introduce new lines you need to put them on the market at exactly the right time. If your time management is poor and you rush into things before your ready, you’ll run into trouble. If for example, you don’t get your summer collection out until August, you’ve only got a month or so before people start moving onto winter stuff. You need to start planning at least a year ahead and make sure that all of your lines are ready far in advance of the new season.
The fashion industry isn’t going to be an easy ride but if you avoid these common mistakes, you can make it.
