Starting any business comes with its challenges, but when you’re working in the business of fashion, your brain is going a mile a minute, trying to keep all of those tiny aspects together, so you can create a brand that is dynamic and has that wow factor. While the end product is something to be proud of, how do we get there? And, more importantly, how much do these things cost? There are specific parts of a fashion business that are always going to be expensive, and here are the three most costly parts.
The Big Decisions
When you’ve decided to take that plunge and start your own fashion brand, any notion of job security goes out the window. Like any creative career, it tends to be that your passion for fashion will override any other key aspects. Be prepared to go without a lot of your usual lifestyle. Making the big decision to create a fashion brand, it requires a lot of sacrifices. Make sure you get your business plan together, do your research, and make sure that your product is market ready. This means go back to the drawing board again (and again and again)! If you are struggling when it comes to these basic parts of setting up a business, there is no need to feel ashamed; there are plenty of online resources, such as on entrepreneur.com, which breaks it down into easily digestible chunks.
Marketing Your Product
Once you have got your business set up, and have spent time acquiring some clients that will buy a handful of your garments here and there, this is now when you need to start thinking about transcending to the next level. This is where a fantastic marketing campaign comes into play. The great news is that a marketing campaign can improve sales no end, the bad news is that you have to invest a lot of money into it. There are plenty of resources for this, such as workingcapital.co that provide the best type of business loan or cash injection based on your length of trading and how much money you need. This is going to be a big part of acquiring the right marketing talent, and the best will always charge more. This is something you need to think about now, are you willing to invest more now for a better return later? Or are you willing to pay cheap now and take a gamble to see if it might work or not?
The Production Line
And not only is hiring staff a big expense to make sure that you meet demand but depending on the fashion items you are producing, they will be different costs depending on the quality of the material. Something like Japanese selvage denim costs around $7 a yard, while denim from Thailand costs around $3 a yard. And the average pair of jeans will require 3 yards of fabric, so it’s these types of costs that you need to think about at this important stage.
Fashion is expensive, but when people are paying for quality, they expect to pay a high amount. This is the same attitude you should have when investing in your business, so do you want to pay for a quality business or not?
Giada in the featured photo was wearing:
Zara Shirt, similar here and here and Jeans, similar here and here
