If you are passionate about fashion and would like to start your own business, it is worth giving it a try. The industry continues to expand, and it welcomes newcomers who have great editions that will introduce something exciting and fresh.
The problem is finding your feet in such a competitive market. It is easy to get discouraged if things do not go your way. On the other hand, you will not know whether you can make it unless you do it.
This article will provide you with some pointers. Use the tips below to increase the odds of succeeding with your clothing business.
Tip #1 – Consider Hiring a Professional Designer
The question of whether you need a professional designer is not that simple to answer. For example, if you decide to start a print-on-demand business with the intent to sell custom t-shirts, it is possible to manage without a professional’s help. After all, you may not have the resources to hire someone who will cost you a lot of money.
Thankfully, you can design unique products with Printify’s mockup generator. The tool is free to use, and it should be enough to create the first product designs that you will add to your store.
Once the business picks up and you can afford to hire more staff, a professional designer could be something to consider. You might even be able to purchase a high-quality Prestige R2 DTF printer and print the clothing yourself with practice.
Tip #2 – Appeal to Younger People
60% of millennials in 2019 preferred to shop online. If you are planning to create an online store, appealing to younger people could be a solid approach. Targeting a demographic that prefers to do their shopping on the internet would increase your odds of selling more clothes.
Besides, it would narrow down your niche. Developing a store that focuses on a specific demographic rather than everyone would mean less competition to deal with.
Tip #3 – Figure Out Who Will Manufacture the Clothes
The pros and cons of manufacturing clothes yourself and having a reliable supplier should be pretty clear.
The first item on the list is cost. Purchasing a sewing machine and materials are expensive. Besides, you cannot guarantee that the business will succeed, so your investment may go to waste. Not to mention how much it would cost if you were to hire seamstresses.
Meanwhile, running a dropshipping business means working as a middleman who does not have to bother with manufacturing clothes because they will come from a supplier.
Next, we have efficiency. If you have limited staff, it would be too hard to produce enough clothes if the demand suddenly increases. On the other hand, having reliable suppliers should not cause problems with fulfilling the needs of your customers.
Tip #4 – Work on Your Website
Hire a professional website developer so that you do not end up with a mediocre site that will cause more problems than it does good.
Besides obvious elements like social media buttons, an FAQ section, product pages with detailed descriptions, and an intuitive UI, a website should also be mobile-friendly.
Smartphones and tablets make roughly half of all internet traffic. Therefore, failing to optimize your website for mobile devices would mean losing many potential clients.
Once the website is up and running, add the products and start promoting your business. The customers will not come themselves.
Tip #5 – Look for Multiple Marketing Channels
Advertising can be difficult, particularly if you lack the resources. However, there are ways to promote your store with minimal investments.
Start with search engine optimization. Organic traffic should be your priority, and ranking high on Google, Yahoo, and Bing would mean a constant influx of new website visitors who may turn into customers.
Besides SEO, social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are also worth a shout. You can grow your profiles by organizing giveaways and posting interesting content that receives a lot of engagement.
Once your efforts pay off and you make your first sales, reinvest that money into other marketing channels, like influencers and PPC.
Tip #6 – Keep Tabs on Competition
Pay attention to your competition. The competition may be a step ahead of you because they were the first to use new technology, or they were keeping a closer eye on trends and built their strategy around that.
Since you are a newcomer, you need to be constantly learning. Otherwise, it will not be too long before other stores that sell clothes will leave you even further behind.
Tip #7 – Add New Products
There might come a time when you notice stagnation in your sales. When that happens, introducing new products is usually a good way to fix the problem.
This is where hiring a professional designer could come in handy. Someone with fresh ideas ought to give your store a big boost and attract both new and old customers back to the store.