Why Is Producing A Small Production Run Expensive?
How Many Styles Should You Launch Your Fashion Brand With?
What is the ideal number of styles that you should offer when launching your fashion brand?
On one hand, you don’t want to invest in a big line until you get your proof of concept, but on the other hand, you want your line to look big enough so it will be taken seriously.
Is there a magic number you should be aware of?
How to Source Fabrics for Your Fashion Product
Sourcing the right fabrics for your fashion products is half of the battle in developing the perfect garment.
However, the process can be overwhelming, long and frustrating, especially for a new brand that is new to the industry and can't yet commit to high volume.
How can you make this process more effective and less complicated?
Below I've put a checklist of the steps and actions that you should take to help you with that.
Do You Know Your Customer?
...Like really know your customer!
Not what you think, wish or hope that they would be like, and not just the high-level details of their age, income level, and location but the specifics of their character, habits, likes and dislikes, priorities, what a day in their life looks like and more as if they were your best friend or a close family member that you know very well.
In fact, when you start a brand (or any business for that matter) the first question you should answer is WHO AM I SELLING TO?
Design with Production In Mind
“We are experiencing many issues with our production, can you help us with this?”
If I had a cent for every time that I heard that sentence I would probably be retired by now.
Most fashion brands (especially if they are new or small), assume that since production is the last part in the process they’ll just worry about it when they get to it, and rather choose to focus mainly on designing and making the perfect samples.
NEWS FLASH - that is the wrong approach.
4 Misconceptions About Launching a Fashion Kickstarter
What is an RN number, And Do I Need one?
You have probably noticed it on some garments that you bought.
It is a number, usually somewhere on the care labels, most likely with the letters RN# before it. As in the picture below.
An RN number or registered identification number is a number issued by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), upon request, to a business residing in the U.S. and engaged in the manufacture, importing, distribution, or sale of textile, wool, or fur products.
8 points for a SUCCESSFUL trade show for your fashion brand
I have received some great feedback to my last post on should you or shouldn't you do a trade show as a start-up brand.
I heard from designers who had similar bad experiences to mine, others that are contemplating if they should do a show and others who decided not to do one after they ready my article.
Just Do It!
What a great slogan.
I was never a fan of Nike (has to do with my favorite sport), but I do LOVE the message of this phrase and I do use it a lot!
Anyways, I’m not here to speak about that.
I’m here to speak about you and turning your talent and great ideas into a business where you can make money doing what you love!
What is Cash Flow And Why is It so Important for Fashion Brand?
When I first heard about cash flow in relation to my fashion business I thought to myself: What does it have to do with fashion??? I went to fashion school not accounting, right? ....Just checking.
And my ego added: I have a great style, people love my designs, they'll buy them and my brand will be successful...
As I mentioned before...I made quite a lot of mistakes with my fashion brand and paid heavily for them, the above was one of them.
What is cash flow?
Cash flow is the net amount of cash moving into and out of a business.
How Long Does it Take to Launch a Fashion Brand?
Last week we looked into answering the big question of How Much Does it Cost to Start A fashion Brand, this week we’ll tackle the question of How Long Does it Take to Launch A Fashion Brand?
Similar to cost, the time question does not have only one answer and the answer depends on different aspects of your brand, such as your product, your target customer/ market, your commitment and availability (time and money), your business concept, business strategy and more.
How Much Does it Cost to Start a Fashion Brand?
The importance of Consistency in Your Brand Development
This is a guest post by Eric Fitzgerald, an independent business consultant and the founder of Fashion Business Insider.
Like most aspiring designers, your sketch books are probably filled will lots of new and exciting design ideas that you want to someday explore in your collection. Having a platform to experiment with new ideas, fabrics, and silhouettes is the dream of any entrepreneurial designer. As much as creativity will help define your brand, remember that you’re also running a business and that brands take time to develop. Part of that development process is being consistent with what you offer your customer and how you offer it to them.
Consistency does not mean you need to be boring or basic. In fact, as an emerging designer, ensure that your product speaks volumes about who you are and what your brand stands for. Push yourself creatively and continue to innovate. But do so from a vantage point that is
The Secret to Being a Successful Entrepreneur.
Starting a business is a marathon.
As a business owner you must be mentally prepared to live with uncertainty and fear while pushing through obstacles for years on end.
Every successful entrepreneur will tell you that before they had success stories they had numerous unsuccessful stories. Bill Gates watched his first company crumble, Milton Hershey started 3 candy companies before Hershey’s, Walt Disney was told he lacked creativity and was forced to close his first animation company and the list goes on.
The ability to control fears and detach from the outcome is what sets successful entrepreneurs apart from other business owners. They are visionaries who have the ability to turn the
3 Fashion Business Tips Learned at The FFCNYC.
This is Jessie, I’m a production associate here at Human B.
This past weekend we attended the Freestyle Fashion Conference hosted by Open Source Fashion here in New York which brought out an inspiring group of industry professionals to talk about fashion and business. We spent the day attending and teaching workshop classes on subjects ranging from Pop-Up Shops to Data Driven Marketing Strategies.
I want to share a few stand-out moments from the classes for those of you who couldn't make it:
1. “Think about your personal brand socially versus professionally”. Across every industry, the
How Feasible is Your Vision?
Let's take a second to talk about the feasibility of your fashion business.
Before you jump all in to execute your vision it is really important for you to do your homework and find out how feasible your idea is.
Yes lots of times you will need the help of industry professionals which is where we can help, but even before that there is market research that you can probably can and should do on your own that will answer that question.
I thought the best way for me to address this subject will be to share an example of a general conversation that i often have with a designer on a feasibility consultation session.
Made in USA or Made Overseas
Made in USA or Made overseas? That is a production question that every brand find itself engaged in at one point or another. To better Illustrate the debate I chose to share a story of a brand I have been working with.
What should we do?
A couple of weeks ago i received an email from Cathy, 1 of 4 owners at NoNetz – who designs anti-chafe swimwear for boys and men. In her email she asked for my thoughts on the following: “Staying in Brooklyn, we get to decent profit in 7 years. Going overseas, we are highly profitable in 2 years. Producing overseas will cost us 75% less in labor...What should we do?"
Are You Afraid of Heights?
I took the first few weeks off and just came back from a visit to Melbourne.... yes, in Australia! My wife and I attended a wedding there and we loved it here. What a wonderful city! Lots of awesome things to see and do, lovely people, great food, great art, beautiful beaches and nice weather! (its summer there right now).
Trips always bring new experiences,so what i wanted to share with you today is one that i had on this trip which i thought will inspire you as you are looking to tackle new resolutions in this upcoming year.
A Small Win is Still a WIN
The new year is just around the corner and If you are like me than you most likely in the process of (or about to) reflecting on this last year’s achievements while setting up your new year’s resolutions.
For many years now I would have my yearly resolutions mapped out before the start of a year but it never really worked. It's only in these last 4 years that the process became fruitful with measurable results that helped improve my personal life and grow my business. So what made the difference you’re asking??? How can you do the same?
Two main points made it all different for me: