How to Start a Clothing Line With No Money or Experience

Everybody has a creative outlet. For some, it is writing, drawing, or painting. For others, it’s fashion design. If you’re a fashion-conscious person who has your own design ideas, you may be able to monetize your hobby just like any other creative endeavor.

You can do this by starting and selling a clothing line, which turns your ideas into physical products and then options them for sale at places where clothes are sold.

Thanks to the Internet, it’s possible to start a clothing line from the comfort of your own home. As a small business, you can find success, earn money, and see your designs in stores across the world.

In this guide, we’re covering the things you need to consider when creating your own brand. We have also included a step-by-step guide and frequently asked questions about the process.

While we’ve made the contents of this guide easy to digest, we have included references to supporting materials. These allow you to learn more about the industry and other business advice if you want to read deeper into this subject. Let’s start with the three things you should consider before starting your clothing brand.

Things to Consider Before Starting A Clothing Brand

1. Sweat Equity

Let’s start with sweat equity. Sweat equity is the labor and time investment that you put into your clothing line or any business for that matter. With many business ventures, even some of the most successful ones in the world, the founders had to put in work without seeing a dime.

If you’re successful, it will pay off later. That’s a problem for many of us, of course. Many of us work day jobs, so we need to be careful with our free time and remember that maintaining a side gig can be tough.

You need to decide if that’s best for your work/life balance or not.  Workaholics might be happy to dedicate every hour of free time to something that will pay off in the long run but, for most, progress will be slower. Fortunately, you can tackle your business at your own pace when starting out.

Where businesses scale and become publicly traded, it’s common for the original startup team to receive shares or stock options in return for their unpaid work into the business. Since you’re just starting out, you don’t need to think much about this type of sweat equity yet.

2. Business Challenges

As we’ve mentioned several times now, starting a clothing line is your own business. This means you’ll have to contend with the many business challenges that come with any startup, without even considering the challenges specific to the fashion industry.

So, what can you expect?

• You’ll need to find customers.
• You’ll need to market your business and increase brand awareness.
• You’ll need to manage capital and your company finances.
• You’ll need to figure out distribution for your products.
• You may need permits to practice your business.
• You may need to hire or commission talented employees.
• You may need to scale your business into a fully-fledged operation.

These are the typical challenges associated with a business. With clothing lines specifically, you’ll need to pay attention to the demand in the fashion industry. Certain sizes, colors, and designs will sell more than any other part of your product catalog, and you’ll need to make sure you have enough to meet demand.

Remember the 80/20 Rule and that it applies to fashion businesses too. From there, you should also remember rising production costs across the industry and the fact that a popular design won’t stay popular forever.

The fashion industry runs off of trends, after all. This means you’ll need to keep churning out designs to find further success, which might also need to beat designer’s block. Originality is also a concern; it may be hard for successful businesses to follow trends without stepping on a lawsuit. If you do find success, you may even see people counterfeiting or copying your own products!

If you’re creative but don’t have great business sense, perhaps you know somebody who does. Starting a business can be stressful, so you should only partner with a person you can trust and work well with. That said, some relationships can’t handle money being brought into the equation, no matter how strong your friendship is.

3. Following Your Passion

While turning your creativity into a business is challenging, you do have an advantage if you’re passionate about the fashion design industry. Before we get started with the rest of this guide, this is an invitation to consider how invested you are in the idea of starting and owning your own clothing line.

As we have covered, it takes a lot of work to build a startup, and starting a business can be daunting for the average person. If you’re passionate about what you’re doing, you can follow your passion to find success and stick it out when things get tough or stressful. If you’re doing this for a quick buck or as a flight of fancy, you may buckle under the pressure and waste your own time.

Only you know if you’re following your passion or not. If you’re here, you clearly have an interest in starting a clothing line, but you’ll find it much easier if your heart’s in it. In some cases, it’s possible to cultivate your passion and fall in love with something you started for other reasons.

Can a Clothing Brand Be Started from Home?

Entrepreneurs who intend to start a clothing line business can start their own clothing label from the very comfort of their homes on a small scale and service a customized market. On the other hand, big-time investors can open a clothing factory and dominate both the U.S. market and the international market.

The bottom line is that there is always a ready market for manufacturers of clothes. All a designer need to do is to ensure that he or she carves a niche for his business, as well as work hard to build a brand name that can be accepted beyond the city of operation.

The Clothing line business just like most businesses thrives on creativity, branding (media hype et al) and good business skills. Any aspiring entrepreneur can start a clothing line, as long as they are creative, they can get people to promote their brand and they have good business skills.

The starting size of this type of business doesn’t really matter as long as the business is built on the right foundation and with the right combination of skills and talents – after all, a world-renowned clothing line – Coco Chanel started from a little hat shop in a street in Paris and today they are all over the world.

What Does It Take to Start a Clothing Line Successfully?

One thing is certain, once you are creative, you will be able to come out with a unique style. In the clothing line industry, your signature is your style. Another important factor that counts in this line of business; is the brand name and perhaps the logo of the clothing line.

If you look at the movers and shakers in the clothing line trade, you will realize that they deliberately choose a name and create a logo that best communicates how they want people to perceive them. Once you are able to secure a good name for your clothing line business and then hire experts (graphic artists) to help you create a compelling logo; if you don’t mind, you can follow the trend in the industry.

How to Start a Fashion Brand: Step By Step

1. Understand the Industry

Beyond every reasonable doubt, the clothing line industry is indeed a money-spinning industry – just like the food industry and the real estate industry. Why is this so? Well, it is simple, clothes are amongst the top three needs of humanity.

Statistics have it that in 2010, American households spent an average of $1,700 on apparel, footwear, and related fashion products and services. In 2010 alone, the global market for textiles made from organically grown cotton was worth well over $5 billion; that goes to show how big the industry is.

Interesting Statistics About the Industry

In the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, France, and Italy, and in other parts of the world, people spend on clothes especially renowned clothing line brands, just to feel among and look trendy. For instance; Manhattanites spend the most cash on apparel in the U.S.; they spend an average of $362 per month whilst shoppers in Tucson, Arizona, spend the least on apparel; they spend an average of $131 per month.

In the united kingdom, consumers have an estimated £30 billion ($46.7 billion) worth of unworn clothes lingering in their wardrobes. The bureau of statistics stated that employment in the U.S. apparel manufacturing industry has declined by more than 80 percent (from about 900,000 to 150,000 jobs) over the past twenty years.

However, labor productivity in the U.S. manufacturing sector more than doubled from 1987 to 2010. Labor productivity also more than doubled over that period in U.S. textile mills and nearly doubled in the footwear manufacturing sector as well.

Is the Clothing Industry Evolving?

The fashion industry, especially cloth making business was not as easy as it is now. Before now, clothing was handmade based on demand by individuals. In the 20th century after the invention of sewing machines (industrial sewing machines), it became pretty much easier to produce clothes en mass.

Technology indeed is responsible for opening up the clothing industry. Clothes can now go through the various factory system of production and still maintain good quality and standard sizes. With that, it is easier for retailers to order and sell clothes at fixed prices in department stores and boutiques et al without stress.

Some of the leading labels in the fashion industry are from the United States of America. Although some of these clothing labels outsource the production of their clothes to other parts of the world; predominantly countries in Asia just in the bid to cut costs.

Some cities of the world are considered to be hot fashion hubs; they dictate what happens in the industry. The cities are Paris, Milan, New York City, and London. These cities are known to host fashion exhibitions. Designers who want to play on the global stage ensures that they exhibit their clothing collections to fashion enthusiast during fashion week in any of the cities mentioned above.

Recent statistics have it that an estimate of 232,000 people attend New York Fashion Week per year (116,000 each fashion week) and $20 million is channeled into the New York City economy during fashion week. As a fashion designer, once your brand is accepted in any of the fashion capitals of the world, it wouldn’t be too long before you become a globally recognized clothing label – brand.

What Opportunities Does the Clothing Industry Hold?

The clothing line industry is growing and there are opportunities for entrepreneurs to launch their own clothing line business from the scratch and still become a globally recognized clothing brands. The advent of computer and computer software brought leverage in the clothing line industry.

Designing clothes can be conveniently done with the aid of software, and a designer can reach out to the world market by putting up his products (clothes) for sale online; Instagram, YouTube et al are good platforms to promote this type of business.

2. Identify a Specific Need in the Market

Before you get lost in your creative process, you should think like an entrepreneur and consider what your brand would add to the industry. Every industry has a market and one of the most reliable ways to find success is to offer something fresh to that market, that nobody else is offering. There should be a demand for it too, you don’t get successful by offering something new for the sake of it, even in an industry like fashion.

As we said, you probably have some ideas already if you’re reading this guide. Don’t worry, nothing is stopping you from working backward from your design idea to figure out if there’s a place for it in the modern fashion market. With a small business startup, you may want to consider appealing to niche segments of the market.

The Internet has allowed communities to form around niche aesthetics that you could cater to, so that’s something to consider. When appealing to a niche, you will have fewer competitors. You may also have fewer customers but, since they’re loyal and recognize they’re in a niche, they may also be willing to spend more.

Identify a Specific Target Audience

We’ve already touched on target audiences in our section about identifying a need in the market but it deserves more detail. Your target market and your target audience aren’t interchangeable. A target audience can be a part of a larger market that you’re targeting. To find your audience, you should separate your average consumers into four segments:

1. Demographic – Identifying your audience based on age, gender, relationship status, and income level, and other personal details.
2. Psychographic – Identifying your audience based on social status, activities, interests, and opinions, and other voluntary lifestyle factors.
3. Geographic – Identifying your audience based on where they live, by local, state, and country. This is more important for storefront businesses since the Internet allows online businesses to sell products globally.
4. Behavioral – Identifying your audience based on how they interact with your brand, such as how often they interact with marketing material or buy from you, etc.

By segmenting your target market into these sections, you can better identify your ideal customer. This is a profile of the average customer that will be susceptible to your marketing. It details age, gender, income level, location, and other relevant factors.

3. Decide Which Niche to Concentrate On

Although everybody on planet earth needs clothes, that does not mean that designers can sell their clothes to everybody. There are segmentations in the industry that helps in defining the target market for any apparel manufacturing company. Entrepreneurs who want to start their own clothing line business can choose from a wide range of niche in the industry. Some of the niche in the clothing line industry are:

• Sport clothes
• Wedding Gowns / Bridal Wears
• Casual Wears (Jeans, Tee Shirts, Polo, Shorts, et al)
• Children and Baby’s Clothes
• Robes and Uniforms
• Cultural / Native Attires
• Corporate Clothes (Shirt, Pants, Jackets, Suits, Blazers, Ties et al)
• Underwear
• Female Dresses
• Male Dresses
• Costumes

The Level of Competition in the Industry

Despite the fact that there is stiff competition in the clothing line industry, a designer who has carefully studied the industry before launching his or her business doesn’t struggle to break even. The idea is to choose a particular niche in the industry that is still open in your location unless you have the financial resources to promote your clothing label and wrestle a portion of the existing market from the market leaders.

For example; if you live in the United States of America, Australia, Canada or the United Kingdom et al, starting a clothing line business and hoping to compete with established clothing brands will definitely not be easy even if you have enough financial resources to sustain a robust publicity and promotion of your brand.

Somehow, you would still have to pay your dues in the industry before your brand is accepted. The easiest route to take is to manufacture cheaper clothes that may be needed outside of the United States or better yet you specialize in making robes and uniforms.

4. Know Your Major Competitors in the Industry

There are several clothing line brands that started locally but have grown to become a global brand. Some of the internationally recognized cloth labels/designers are;

• Mark & Spencer
• Ralph Lauren
• Calvin Klein
• Gucci
• Tommy Hilfiger
• TM Lewin
• H & M
• Levi Strauss
• Dockers
• Louis Vuitton
• Atmosphere
• Mulberry
• Burberry
• Hugo Boss
• Adidas
• Nike
• Puma
• Old Navy

Economic Analysis

The fact that there are over 7 Billion people on planet earth means that there is indeed a very large market for the clothing line industry. For example; if everybody in the world owns a pair of trousers, one shirt, and one jacket it will translate to 21 billion clothes. Of course, the average person owns far more than a pair of trousers, a shirt, and a jacket.

If proper market research and survey is done; a clothing manufacturing company will not have to struggle to break even. The clothing line industry now relies more on mass market sales for them to make the kind of income that will sustain the business. The mass market takes care of a wide range of customers that cuts across both the rich and the poor.

In order to cut cost of production to the barest minimum, most clothing line manufacturing companies in the United States of America now manufacture their clothes in Asia; this is because it is far cheaper when compared to manufacturing in the U.S.

Most of the new clothing brands that are trying to catch – up with the market, ensure that they produce ready-to-wear clothes using trends set by leading fashion labels. What they do is that, they see the direction of the trend as established by renowned fashion brands before producing their own versions of the original look by making use of cheaper fabrics and simpler production processes which can easily be done by machines.

They can comfortably sell such products at a cheaper price to the masses who may not afford to purchase the original which is often way too expensive for the common man.

5. Decide Whether to Buy a Franchise or Start from Scratch

For entrepreneurs who want to start their own clothing line business, it is pertinent to note that there is no franchise in the industry. The closest we have are for clothing brand boutique franchises. As a matter of fact, it pays to start your own clothing line business from the scratch, and you can choose to start small and serve a specific market segment and then grow as you so wish.

The bottom line is that if you start your own clothing line from the scratch, you will have the opportunity to build your own brand and once it becomes well accepted in the market the sky is your limit.

6. Know the Possible Threats and Challenges You Will Face

There is hardly any business venture that does not come with its own fair share of challenges and threats. Clothing line business just like every other business has its own challenges and threats. One thing is certain; once the proper process is followed in setting up a business, overcoming challenges and surviving threats wouldn’t be a major issue.

This means it would surely be a hurdle that can be surmounted. Some of the common challenges that new clothing line brands face are-:

• Economic downturn
• unfavorable government policies (fiscal and economic policies)
• Competition
• Coming up with new designs constantly
• Finding a good place to site your new company
• Finding good manufacturers that strictly follows your specifications and keep to delivery time
• Keeping up with trends as the fashion industry changes very fast
• Lack of startup or operating capital
• Ever increasing cost of production
• Adapting to changes in latest technology
• Finding and keeping your good designers, as they are likely to be poached by bigger companies
• Distribution problems
• Fighting pirates and copycats
• Finding and convincing celebrities to endorse your brand at an affordable price

7. Write a Business Plan

Your business plan should outline and cover strategies on how you intend to manage your clothing line. The rule of thumb in writing a business plan is that you just try as much as possible to be realistic and never go overboard when putting figures on income and profits et al.

As a matter of fact, it is safer to underestimate when writing a business plan, than overestimate, so that you won’t be so disappointed when reality sets in. There are different areas that make up a business plan document. They include some of the following;

• Title Page – This is where the name, address, and contact information of the business is contained. This is more important if your business plan is going to be given to potential investors or partners but it’s also good to keep for posterity.
• Executive summary and Company’s descriptions: Here, you are expected to write about the concept of your business, descriptions of your company, your company’s vision statement, mission statement and where your company will be located.
• Industry Analysis – Speaking of the big picture, this section describes your company’s position (or planned position) in the industry and who the big players are, along with your potential competitors.
• Market Analysis – Define your target market and what they want, how large the market is, foreseeable changes to the market based on the economy, and how you will acquire and retain market share.
• Sales/Marketing Plan – Outline what products you’ll offer and their USPs if they have any, and where you’ll advertise your business. Also justify pricing and how profit will be made, along with distribution and shipping plans.
• Management Plan – Outline the organizational structure of the company, its ownership, and ownership percentages if there is more than one founder. List key executives, what they do, and how they will be compensated.
• Operating Plan – Describes business locations and possible required locations in the future, like warehouses, etc. Outlines staff, if needed, and their roles and training. Also outlines the manufacturing process and any equipment/machinery requirements, any raw materials required, and how they’re sourced.

Financial Plan – This part includes your business’ projected income statement, projected cash flow statement, and balance sheet projections. They’re all projections because you haven’t started yet but, if you have, you may have some numbers to work with already.

Other key components that should not be missing in your clothing line business plan are product offering

• SWOT analysis
• Marketing Plan and sales analysis / strategies
• Pricing
• Cost of starting a clothing line and financial projection
• Publicity and advertising strategy
• Budget and startup capital generation.

8. Choose a Suitable Location for your Business

When it comes to clothing line business, any location is ideal for the business -especially when other key factors have been taken care of. The truth is that, if you have enough space in your compound, you can start a small-scale clothing line business from your home.

The fact that you chose a location that is on the outskirt of town does not in any way stop you from selling your clothes nationally or even in the international market. The idea is to have a place that is cost-effective and can be ideal for the kind of business that you have chosen to do.

Some of the few factors that can influence the sighting of a clothing manufacturing company is closeness to cheap labor, closeness to source of raw materials and stable power supply amongst other factors.

If you study the trend in the clothing line industry, you will realize that some of the leading clothing line brands in the United States, Australia, Canada and United Kingdom prefer to setup their factory in countries in Asia where they can cut the cost of manufacturing. India, Thailand, and China are some of the most preferred destinations.

9. Start Designing

If you’ve reached this far without starting your designs, now is the time to start. You’ve probably got sketches and other ideas written down somewhere, now is the time to delve into them and take them seriously.

Everybody’s creative process is different, so we can’t coach you through this part. What we can do is remind you that you’re making a product for a business, so it should be some of your best work and take into account your targeted market/audience.

For example, if you have two ideas and you personally prefer one but the other is more appealing for your target audience, you should opt for the one that’s better for business. If you get established and find some early success, maybe then you can create some other alternative designs and market them to other audiences.

Remember that even when choosing the more business-appropriate designs, you should still be passionate about them. When you’re passionate about a job, you’ll do it well and see it through to the end.

10. Find a Clothing Manufacturer to Work With

If you’ve been following these steps, you should have some designs on a page. You need to take those designs and bring them into the real world if you’re going to sell them. You likely don’t have any way of doing that. You’re the idea person, after all, and so you need to find a clothing manufacturer who likes your designs and is willing to make them. From there, they can be sold and both you and the manufacturer can make some money.

When you’re establishing a supply chain, from manufacture to storage to shipping, it pays to be picky about who you do business with. If you hadn’t noticed already, the Internet has made the process much easier. You can search for networking events, local trade shows, online directories, or online forums where manufacturers advertise.

Once you get in contact, you can build a business relationship with them and then order a small sample of your designs. From there, you’ll get the clothing back and you get to hold your designs in your own hands. Remember that you’ll be low-priority with a small order, so you may need to wait.

If it’s affordably priced for you and the quality is up to your standards, you can then consider making a larger order and going ahead with your business venture. The price and quality are often related to where the manufacturer is based, whether they’re in the US or overseas.

Finding Clothing Manufacturers in China

• You can visit China to search for a clothing manufacturer or better still, you can employ the services of a professional agent to carry out the research on your behalf and connect you with a suitable clothing manufacturer
• Search for clothing manufacturers online on websites like Alibaba.com or MadeInChina.com
• Schedule an Interview with your selected clothing manufacturer and ask as many questions as you feel
• Evaluate the manufacturer to see how fast they respond to calls and e-mails and how willing they are to help
• Negotiate terms and sign contract
• Ask for samples
• Send your sketches to them
• Search for alternatives
• Sell your clothing brand and obtain feedback

11. Hire Employees for your Technical and Manpower Needs

The advent of industrial sewing machines and computerized system facilitates mass production of clothes. Good enough; some of the machines that are used in clothing manufacturing factory can be bought as fairly used, but if you have the money, it is better to purchase brand new machines.

If your intention of starting a clothing line business is to cover a large market, then it pays that you acquire/lease a factory or warehouse that can easily be converted to your clothing line business. But, if you just want to cover a specific market and you don’t intend to start big for obvious reasons, then it will be more economical to rent a facility for the business.

Basically, there are key employees that are needed when starting a clothing line business. You will sure need a fashion designer, tailor, factory worker / machine operators, sales and marketing officer and factory manager. On the average you will need an estimate of 15 employees for small scale clothing line company, 50 or more employees for medium scale clothing line business and over 100 employees for large scale clothing line business.

However, you must note that one key employee you must not compromise on is your fashion designer. This is because the uniqueness of your clothing designs depends on him.

Finding a Professional Fashion Designer

• You can hire a consultant to help you out
• You can get fashion designers through referrals
• You can do a search yourself on the internet (Jobsites and fashion magazines)
• Keep your eyes open for talents

When Hiring a Clothing Designer, you must consider the following:

• Your Budget
• He/she Must Possess Education and Training
• Experience is important
• You must look through the designer’s portfolio
• He/she must possess Sewing skills
• You Must Ascertain His Ability to use design software
• He/she Must Be Fashion Savvy
• He/she Must Have Knowledge of fabric

10. Get the Necessary Equipment

When it comes to purchasing your clothing line equipment, these are some of the machines, equipment and tools that we would need to start our clothing line business:

• Industrial sewing machines
• Pattern makers for crafting designs.
• Women and men dress forms used for garment building.
• Scissors
• Hole punchers
• Straight and curved rulers
• Pencils
• Measuring tapes
• Notches for marking seams.
• Pins
• Slopers
• Dotted pattern paper.
• Sewing machine needles
• Hand sewing needles.
• Threads
• Sketching books.
• Draping tools.
• Dressmaking Stick pins
• Muslin
• Style tapes
• Fabric shears
• Soft lead pencil
• Marking pen
• Pattern plotter.
• Pattern making software.
• Computer
• CAD tools for designs
• Digital drawing tools
• Digitizer board for pattern scanning.
• Heat transfer machines for T-shirts.
• Print tables.
• Racks
• Slat wall
• Mannequins
• Hangers
• Labels and Tags.
• Packaging materials
• Industrial pressing irons
• Supply of fabrics

The Service Delivery Process of the Business

The production process for mass production in a clothing line factory is a little bit different from small scale production of clothes. There are different stages that is involved and it is imperative to note that these stages have got to be started and completed meticulously, so that nothing is left haphazardly done. Here below are some of the stages involved;

• Sketching Stage

The first stage in the production of clothes / apparel starts with designing and sketching stage. It is the fashion designer that is responsible for designing the kind of clothes that the company wants to produce. At this stage of the production process, the designers is permitted to free – style and come up with a sketch that will be subjected to screening by a panel of designers.

• Pattern Making Stage

After the first sketch has gotten its approval from the panel of designer, the next stage is for pattern makers to develop the first pattern from the initial sketch. At this stage, the pattern maker can adopt a standard size and thereafter other sizes will be created.

• Sample Making

The next stage is for samples to be made from the pattern that was developed. The patterns that are developed goes through the sewing department for it to be coupled into apparel. At this stage, the pattern created will be stitched on calico or muslin which is an inferior quality of fabric and it reduces cost.

After this process, the sample garment will be subjected to review by a panelist of designers. If it is approved, it moves to the next stage and if not all the necessary adjustment and correction will be made.

• Mass Production Pattern

The next stage after the sample garment has been approved is to develop a production pattern which will be used for mass production of apparels. This is one of the important stages that must not be handled with levity. As a matter of fact, it must be handled by a very skilled employee.

• Grading

The other production sequence that will be followed are grading; the essence of grading is to develop patterns in different standard sizes (S, M, L, XL, and XXL et al). Grading a pattern simply means scaling a pattern up or down so as to create multiple sizes.

Thereafter; markers will be created on the fabrics; usually it is done with the aid of computer software. The next step is to spread the fabrics with the aid of spreading machines before the fabrics are cut to sizes.

After cutting to the required specification, the materials are then sorted out before they are transferred to the sewing and assembling department. What is more, once the clothes comes out the sewing department, they are transferred to the pressing and finishing department where the clothes will be properly ironed and packaged.

The final stage in the production process in a clothing line factory is to inspect the finished clothes in order to identify defects. Once a defect is identified, they will be amended before the clothes are finally packaged and shipped to outlets where they will be sold. At this stage, the clothes are sorted out based on sizes, colors, and designs et al

12. Choose an Appropriate Pricing Strategy

Speaking of sourcing responsibly, you’ll need to select a price point for your clothing that guarantees you make a profit. You’ll need to know how much you’re spending to get the clothes made before you can figure out how much you need to ask.

Your selected price point doesn’t exist in a vacuum, however, and your target audience may be scared away by the price. Different audiences will accept different price points based on how much disposable income they have, so you’ll need to keep that in mind.

Remember that you have other costs too, like marketing and distribution. That brings us to your marketing plans…

13. Write a Marketing Plan Packed With ideas & Strategies

You’re not selling anything if nobody knows you exist. That’s why you need to start marketing as much as you can. You’ll need a plan, which involves setting a goal and timeline for getting your first sales, and a budget so you don’t spend too much and sacrifice your profit. A marketing plan is important for measuring how successful your marketing campaign seems to be.

Marketing your clothing line business requires creativity and aggressiveness. No doubt there are competition in the clothing line market, but if your designs stands out, you will be able to attract a portion of the available market. One of the key strategies in marketing clothes is to create hypes around your designs.

Creating hypes around your clothing labels involves attending fashion expos, leveraging on the both online and offline media platforms to promote your clothing brands. Instagram and YouTube are some of the potent social media tools in promoting a clothing brand. Other ways you can promote your clothing line are:

• Host a fashion show
• Organize a flash mob and have models walk around the street in your designs
• Sponsor a Charitable Cause
• Discounts and Giveaways
• Organize contests
• Get newspapers and magazines to do a review of your clothing line
• Fashion bloggers
• Sponsoring influencers on sites like Instagram or YouTube, so they advertise your clothing during their content.
• Paid advertisements on websites where your target audience frequents.
• Consider making your own website instead of relying on e-commerce sites, so you can build an advertising platform on it too.
• Posting online under accounts in your brand name, to foster a community.

Another major leverage in marketing a clothing line business is to get well known celebrities in different fields to endorse your brand. The truth is that if a celebrity wears your clothes, he or she will definitely help you generate traffic to your clothing line brand.

If you are into sporty clothes production, get celebrities in the sports industry to endorse your brand, if you are into corporate clothing production, get successfully career people or diplomats to endorse your brand and if you are into casual wears, you can get actors or musicians to endorse your brand.

It is one of the easiest ways to get people to fully accept your clothing brand in the market place. It might be expensive but it will sure be worth the while in the end.

14. Set Sales And Distribution Goals

When it comes to sales and distribution, you should set realistic expectations for yourself and your fledgling business. With your price point considered, you should figure out how many products you need to sell before you make your money back and then become profitable. You should set a goal that you can feasibly reach.

Just like with manufacturing, you’re no distribution professional, so you should work with people who are. This means you establish distribution partnerships that enable you to store your products at warehouses and other storage facilities. Then, when orders come in, your clothing will get shipped to customers who directly buy from you or retailers who are selling your clothing.

15. Create a Suppliers/Distribution Network

Running a clothing line business requires that you enter into business relationship with suppliers of cotton and wools, supplies of threads, suppliers of stiffeners, suppliers of dyes, suppliers of packaging materials et al. One of the places where you can get to network with business partners is in chambers of commerce and industry, and fashion expos et al.

Another major business relationship that is required is the relationship with wholesale distributors and even retailers. The amount of cash in – flow in your business is determined by the numbers of wholesale distributors that you have.

One of the ways to attract loads of wholesalers is when you have very durable and quality products. Bottom-line is that no one wants to be responsible for retailing substandard clothes. This is why you have got to produce quality so as to have loyal wholesale distributors.

It is important to create a win-win business relationship with merchants and wholesalers if indeed you want your clothing brands to penetrate the market. You might want to sell below the average price in the industry especially if you are new so as to attract customers. It is no longer news that one of the ways to attract all and sundry to your business if you are new, is to keep the price lower than normal.

Where to Sell your Clothes Online

• E-Bay
• Craigslist
• Amazon
• Facebook
• Etsy
• Shopify
• Sell on Instagram
• Recruits affiliates to sell for you
• Promote your clothing brand on other people’s blogging platforms

16. Launch The Brand First, Then Seek Out Investments/Partnerships

We have pretty much covered the whole process but there is something you need to keep in mind. It’s much easier to find partnerships and interested parties when you already have a brand, so consider launching your brand and establishing an online presence first. Then you can iron out the practical, business-related details and use your pre-established platform as a bargaining chip to get your foot in the door.

You may want to consider a soft launch, where you start your brand and sell only a few of your planned stock. Selling in limited quantities that are handled by yourself, you can then demonstrate profitability and bring in other partners who can help with marketing and distribution.

17. Use These Tips to Run a Clothing Line Successfully

The success of any business is the combination of the daily activities that takes place in the organization. In order to run a successful clothing line business, it is important to create standard operating processes that runs on autopilot. This means that you have got to be ready to create systems and processes that can help your business scale.

Every day’s job should start by reviewing the previous day’s job, reviewing all the set targets and goals before setting a new target or goal for the day. If an organization must succeed, all hands must be on deck; everybody should be involved in promoting the brand of the organization.

It should not be left to the PR or marketing and sales department. Everyone have got to run with the vision and mantra of the business, so as to make great progress. Furthermore, the management of the organization should ensure that they review the operating processes from time to time in order to develop better and faster ways of doing things.

If it is possible, they can hire the services of business consultants to look into the process and then make recommendations on how best to carry out a job description et al. Recommendation could mean suggesting customized software for a specific process in the clothes production.

Having said all these, it is very vital to also state that one have got to have a very positive mindset whilst starting and running the clothing line business. This is because one of the fastest ways to attract success in any endeavor is by being optimistic. And optimism is one of the factors needed to run the clothing line trade.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is Starting A Clothing Line Worth It?

Sure, starting a clothing line business is worth every investment you can make into it.

2. What Is A Clothes Designer Called?

A Clothes Designer can be called a Fashion Designer, Creator Costume Designer, Couturier Costumer, and Clothes Designer Costumier et al.

3. Can You Make Money Starting A Clothing Line?

Sure, you can make money starting a clothing line. This is so because there is always a ready market for clothes. All a designer needs to do is to ensure that he or she carves a niche for his business.

4. How Do You Find A Clothing Boutique Vendor?

You can find clothing boutique vendors from online directories and offline directories.

5. What Is The First Step When Producing Your Own Clothing Line?

The first step when producing your own clothing line should include having an overview of your business, including an executive summary, and a clear outline of how your clothing line is going to start, grow and prepare to scale. You’ll also need to include the analysis you’ve done, to understand your target market and any competitors.

6. How Do You Determine A Target Market For Your Clothing Line?

You can determine a target market for your clothing line by following these steps;

• Look at your current customer base.
• Check out your competition.
• Analyze your product/service.
• Choose specific demographics to target.
• Consider the psychographics of your target.
• Evaluate your decision.

7. What Are The Key Segments Of The Clothing Line Industry?

• Haute Couture
• Ready to Wear/Pret a Porter
• Diffusion
• Bridge
• Mass

8. How Do You Create A Clothing Line?

• Decide on your niche.
• Register your business
• Secure the needed licenses and permits
• Build your budget and Business Plan
• Structure your business.
• Secure a production facility
• Purchase the needed sewing machines and accessories et al
• Create your designs.
• Create your brand and logo
• Start manufacturing.
• Test your product.
• Take you products to the market.

9. What App Can You Use To Design Clothes?

If you’re a designer, pattern maker, illustrator, student or passionate about fashion, Fashion Design Flat Sketch app is for you. Design flat sketches in seconds on your phone or tablet.

10. Can You Put Your Own Tag On Wholesale Clothing?

Yes, it is legal within given parameters to put your own tag on wholesale clothing. However, there are strict guidelines governing the practice.

11. How Much Does It Cost To Start A Clothing Line?

For small batch clothing production, you can jump-start it with $500. If you are thinking of a medium sized clothing company then $1,500 up to $5,000 should be sufficient enough. However, if you are thinking of a major clothing business then $20,000 to $50,000 is a perfect investment amount.

12. Which Business Model Is Best For Starting A Clothing Line?

Ecommerce Business Model – These days, ecommerce is the best place to start. It keeps startup costs right down, and core retailers and distributors are more likely to talk to you with at least some sales and brand recognition under your belt.

13. Where Do Boutiques Buy Their Clothes Wholesale?

• Bloom Wholesale
• Wholesale Fashion Square
• Tasha Apparel
• Mangolia Fashion Wholesale
• Wholesaler UK
• Citygoddess UK
• Direct Discount Clothing
• Cat Walk Wholesale
• Zaasmart

14. How Much Does A Clothing Boutique Owner Make?

The range for how much a boutique owner makes per year is incredibly varied. According to Payscale, the average retail store owner made around $51,000 per year as of 2018, with a range of $23,751 to $140,935+.

15. How Do Clothing Brands Become Successful?

Clothing brands become successful by expanding their market base, diligence, come up with unique designs and leverage on every marketing tools to promote and market their brands and products.

16. What Are The Key Customer Segments In The Clothing Line Industry?

• Gender-Related Segments
• Age-Related Segments
• Geographic Segments
• Behavior-Related Segments

17. What Are The Cons Of Drop shipping, If You Are Starting A Clothing Line?

• Low profit margins
• Highly competitive
• No control over supply-chain
• Legal liability issues
• Difficult to build a brand

18. How Do You Start A Brand?

• Research your target audience and your competitors.
• Pick your focus and personality.
• Choose your business name.
• Write your slogan.
• Choose the look of your brand (colors and font).
• Design your logo.
• Apply your branding across your business.

19. How Much Does A Clothing Line Owner Make?

PayScale notes that for 2018 the average retail store owner is set to make around $51,000 per year, with a range of $23,751 to $140,935 depending on location and on variables.

20. How Many Clothing Items Do You Have To Make For A Complete Line?

Some factories require you to produce a minimum of 100 items, others may ask for 500.

21. What Are Some Skills And Experiences That Will Help You Build A Successful Clothing Line?

• Good Marketing Skills.
• Highly Creative and Artistic.
• Strong Drawing Skills.
• Good Eye for Detail.
• Understanding of Texture, Color, and Quality Fabric.
• Strong Visualization Skills.
• Excellent Communication and Interpersonal Skills.
• A Good Sense of the Business.
• A Competitive Spirit.

22. What Are The Duties And Responsibilities Of A Fashion Designer?

• Producing concepts.
• Making sketches by hand or on computers.
• Developing patterns.
• Overseeing production.
• Analyzing trends in fabrics, colors and shapes.
• Sourcing suppliers.
• Selecting and buying fabrics and trims.

23. Where Can You Design Your Own Clothes?

5 sites where you can design your own clothes are;

• customink.com
• contrado.co.uk
• spreadshirt.com
• apliiq.com

24. How Much Can You Make From A Clothing Brand?

While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $82,500 and as low as $16,500, the majority of Clothing Brand salaries currently range between $25,000 (25th percentile) to $38,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $57,000 annually across the United States.

25. What External Factors Affect The Clothing Line Industry?

Resource macroenvironmental factors affecting the clothing industry include availability of resources, demand and production. For example, the scarcity of certain materials, such as leather, may force retail and wholesale clothing companies to sell more faux or substitute leather products, according to Duke University.

26. How Can You Sell Clothes Fast?

You can sell your clothes fast by displaying them in fashion fares, online stores and most importantly retailing at a competitive price.

27. What Are The Internal And External Factors That Affect Sales?

The economic cycle, niche markets, laws and regulations, and market positions of your competitors are the external factors that may impact your business. Also, the internal factors, such as your resources, product, marketing strategies, or anything that emanates from your organization, can affect your sales.

28. How Do You Get Influencers To Wear Your Clothes?

Come with unique designs, reach out to influences and negotiate with them.

29. Is A Clothing Brand Profitable?

In comparison to other parts of the supply chain, yes, being a brand is more profitable than being a factory. Because brands have higher markups.

30. Do You Have To Go To School To Make Your Own Clothing Line?

You don’t need to go to school to make your own clothing line. But trust me, going to a fashion school will give you an edge in the market place.

31. How Much Money Will You Need In Order To Launch Your Clothing Line?

For small batch clothing production, you can already jump start with $500. If you are thinking of a medium sized clothing company then $1,500 up to $5,000 should be sufficient enough. However, if you are thinking of a major clothing business then $20,000 to $50,000 is a perfect investment amount.

32. What Do You Need To Start A Clothing Line?

• Identify a need in the market.
• Develop a business plan.
• Identify your target audience.
• Start designing.
• Find a clothing manufacturer.
• Choose a brand name, logo, and market profile.
• Choose a price point for your items.
• Begin the marketing process.

33. How Much Does It Cost To Start A Clothing Line UK?

So, you could start your own clothing line for around £55 a month (plus other essential costs). However, if you want to differentiate your brand and sell unique products, your budget will increase.

34. How Much Do Clothing Lines Make A Year?

These figures were based on aggregated financial statements of clothing stores gathered from banks, credit unions and accounting companies. PayScale notes that for 2018 the average retail store owner is set to make around $51,000 per year, with a range of $23,751 to $140,935 depending on location and on variables.

35. How Do You Start Your Own Clothing Line For Free?

The best way to start a clothing line for free is to use the print on demand drop shipping method. With this model, you pay for products only when a customer orders something, you don’t need any inventory, and you’re not risking much if the product doesn’t sell.

36. How Do I Make My Brand Luxury?

Here are Five Steps to Build a Strong Luxury Brand;

• Identify a niche segment
• Position based on high levels of differentiation
• Emphasize the symbolic value
• Create perceptions of exclusivity
• Uncompromising delivery on superior brand promise

37. Why Does Every Clothing Line Need Professional Photography?

Every clothing line need professional photography because with good pictures of your clothes, it will be easier for people to be attracted to your products and then make purchase.

38. Do You Need To Pay Someone To Make A Logo For Your Brand?

If you need professional touch, it will be to your advantage to pay an expert graphic artist to help you make a logo for your brand.

39. How Many Pieces Do You Need To Start A Clothing Line?

When developing your collection, it is best to aim to have a minimum of 12 pieces/looks. If your budget allows, it would be great of you can have more than 12 pieces of course, as a larger collection will allow for better exposure and versatility throughout the collection.

40. What Clothing Brand Makes The Most Money?

Nike is the number one clothing brand in the world that makes the most money. Data released for 2020 shows that Nike made $36.8 billion.

41. Why Do Fashion Brands Fail?

Most fashion brands fail because they operate at a loss. This losing trend starts early on when they begin to develop their ideas into products and commit to manufacturing. Most small designers waste years not understanding how factories run their businesses and how they set their manufacturing prices.

42. Why Is Creating A Professional Fashion Website So Important?

Aside from the fact that creating a professional fashion website will portray you as a serious business owner, it will give you leverage in the market place and your customers can easily interact with you without visiting your office.

43. What Information Should You Include In Your Buyer Persona Customer Profile?

A buyer persona is a detailed description of someone who represents your target audience. This is not a real customer, but a fictional person who embodies the characteristics of your best potential customers. You’ll give this customer persona a name, demographic details, interests, and behavioral traits.

44. How Do You Create A Persona Profile?

• Step 1: Research your target audience
• Step 2: Narrow down the most common details
• Step 3: Create separate personas
• Step 4: Give your personas names
• Step 5: Start writing personalized emails

45. What Are The Golden Rules Of Logo Design?

• Lay a Solid Foundation.
• Sketch, Sketch, Sketch.
• Keep It Relevant.
• Make Brand Recall Your Priority.
• Make It Stand Out.
• Let Your Logo Speaks For Itself.
• Fill Colors At The End.

46. Aside From Clothes, What Can You Sell In A Clothing Boutique?

• Hair Accessories
• Kids Accessories

47. How Much Does Gucci Make A Year?

In 2020, Kering’s Gucci brand generated a global revenue of about 7.44 billion euros.

48. What Is The Average Markup On Boutique Clothing?

According to “Entrepreneur” magazine, even though there are no absolute rules for pricing boutique merchandise, small retailers use a 50-percent markup for their merchandise. This is known as the “keystone” and essentially means doubling the total cost of an item.

49. How Much Is Clothing Marked Up?

Typical markup on designer fashions ranges from 55 to 62 percent. If the wholesale price of a silk dress is $50, the retail price might range from around $110 to $130.