How to Start a Clothing Line – Step-by-Step Guide

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How to Start a Clothing Line Step-by-Step Guide

• BUSINESS

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• Have you been thinking of starting your own
  fashion business, but you do not know how to
  start a clothing line? Well, this is your chance
  to do what you want because we have curated a
  guide for you to teach you how to start a
  clothing line with no money. So, if you love
  clothes and have an eye for design, then keep on
  reading and by the end of our guide you will be
  ready to start a business

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1. Consider the Essentials Before Starting a
Clothing Line

• Before you start envisioning a super successful
  fashion clothing line you need to bring some
  factors under consideration
• Research the Fashion Industry 
• Fashion is not limited to just one single thing,
  and it keeps changing all the time. So, before
  you even start designing your clothes or choose a
  specific line of clothes to work on, get a clear
  point of view to create something different and
  stand out from the clutter to sell your products
  like fire.
• Do you want to start a business that offers
  repair services, or you want to start a custom
  printing business that delivers t-shirts in less
  than 48 hours? You must research to see what is
  already out there in the market, so you know what
  to offer.
• Your Role Within the Industry
• Ask yourself if you are willing to put in hard
  work in all the aspects involved in setting up a
  clothing line. Whether you want to do it full
  time or just start a side hustle it is always
  preferable to have some experience in several
  different areas such as manufacturing,
  accounting, finance, logistics, marketing, and
  retail and knowledge of locating the gaps in your
  service and ask for help. This will really set
  the tone and set apart a successful business from
  a passion project.

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2. Identify Your Target Audience

• Make sure to think about the audience that would
  like to wear and buy your clothes. Even if you
  want to target the audience around your age group
  you still need to be able to answer the queries
  about your customer persona. If your answers are
  right only then you will be able to inform your
  audience about your brand identity, the marketing
  strategy, and pricing models.
• Take a look at your targeted customer demographic
  and find out where your audience is located,
  their age, the gender they identify with, and
  their income to decide your business plan. Once
  you have done that you need to look at their
  behaviour, including how do they shop for clothes
  and what influences their decision, do they buy
  anything else when buying clothes and when do
  they make the purchases. All these facts will
  help you come up with a flawless plan.

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3. Develop a Unique Brand

• In order to come up with a unique brand, you need
  to articulate your values to make your clothes
  desirable and build your brand awareness and
  recognition over time. Some of the most cherished
  brand values are social, activist, intrinsic
  pertaining to inclusivity, the quality of your
  products, and other practical values.
• The most successful clothing brands have a key
  set of values that they follow to communicate and
  connect with their clients about their clothing
  design and brand identity. A successful brand
  identity consists of elements, such as making it
  memorable for your customers and making sure that
  no other brand is using it. You can use an
  Australian search engine to make sure that no
  other business has a trademark similar to that of
  yours. It is also important to make sure that the
  domain name you have chosen has not been used
  before and also note if the logo and symbols
  resonate with your brands values. Make your logo
  unique and easy to see whether it consists of
  shapes or texts
• Select a colour theme and keep it consistent
  throughout your marketing and website materials.
  Learn colour psychology to see what colour suits
  your brand the best, such as deep blue resonates
  with trust.
• Finally, choose a style and keywords to set a
  tone of voice to inform your customer about your
  brand story.

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4. Design Your Clothing Line

• Now comes the most important part of starting a
  clothing line from home i.e., to learn how to
  design clothes and make your brand identity
  reflect in your designs. Consider textures,
  colour combinations, and shapes when coming up
  with designs. If you do not want to play with
  mannequins and experiment with different types of
  fabric for your first launch then stick to basics
  such as A-line skirts or straight silhouettes
  made with denim.

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5. Establish Your Operations

• You can use different models to produce your own
  clothing line and sell it successfully. The
  easiest option for you to try is the print on
  demand whereby you print your designs on standard
  blank apparel. It is a good choice for you if you
  have a low budget, but its drawback lies in its
  lower profit margins.
• The second method is the private or wholesale
  label clothing line in which you buy clothing
  products from other people and sell them from
  your store. You buy clothes in bulk at a
  discounted price and then sell them at higher
  prices. There is one major drawback it does not
  let you customise your products.
• The last option is the custom cut and sew clothes
  which involves doing everything from the sketches
  to the manufacturing of the products. It has the
  potential to increase your profit margins but
  also costs a lot and takes a lot of time.

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• Research Manufacturing Options
• Regardless of how you decide to manufacture your
  products, do not forget to research your options
  and look into potential suppliers and their
  facilities. Plan your schedule ahead of time and
  be patient because it can take a lot of time
  based on the seasonal calendar and your launch
  plan. It is a nice option to ask the manufacturer
  to show you samples before going forward with
  mass production.
• Decide a Sale Channel
• So, have you decided how you will sell your
  products? You will need shipping and warehouse
  capacity even if you make a website. You can deal
  with the complexities of shipping if you have a
  large space, or you can resort to a third party
  pick-and-pack supplier. If you want to make a
  brick-and-mortar store, then you will need a good
  location and commercial rental landscape.

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6. Finance Your Fashion Business

• Once youve learned how to start a clothing
  business and have decided on a sale channel you
  can estimate the costs. Here is how can determine
  your businesss financing approach
• Costing Cost your products including raw
  products, finishing, and packaging. Do not
  overlook even the smallest of details.
• Determine your fixed costs Identify the costs
  you will have to deal with such as store rent,
  insurance, website fees, and warehousing etc.
• Price your products Bear in mind that when you
  price your products you must consider the cost of
  production, what your competing brands are
  offering, how much your targeted audience can
  pay, and your margin to earn some profit.
• Source funding Look at the savings you have and
  if they are enough for launching a clothing line.
  If you identify a gap, you can ask your friends
  or a bank to borrow some money.

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7. Come up With a Marketing Strategy

• Follow our guide below to come up with an
  effective marketing strategy
• Develop your goals
• Know your target market
• Perform a competitive analysis
• Formulate a unique selling proposition
• Come up with a pricing strategy
• Select marketing channels
• Design your marketing budget
• Follow these steps and everything will flow
  easily.

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8. Get Ready for Sales

• When you have done all the above-mentioned steps
  now you just have to make sure your website can
  accept payments
• You can opt for Square Online Store if you have
  made an online store to accept payments and enjoy
  both inventory management and Instagram
  integration. You can also make a checkout link in
  your existing site.
• For a physical store, you can customise the
  Square Point of Sale or Square Reader and Square
  Terminal to accept card payments along with cash.
  Besides, you can monitor your sales and customise
  stuff such as discounts.
• Lastly, if you are selling clothes online you can
  use Square Payments to make hardware and software
  solution your brand needs, including making
  invoices and accepting payments via mobile phones.

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Final Takeaway

• Starting a clothing line from home and from
  scratch is not everyones cup of tea, but there
  is nothing like the satisfaction you get once you
  make something of your own. So follow these
  steps, be patient and bring your design to the
  market. And do not panic, just take a deep breath
  because you have got this.