It’s one thing to have passion for designing great wears, it is another thing to turn your passion into money. Turning your passion into a very profitable business is something you need to learn.
Granted, running a business is usually associated with some level of risk, as you are investing time, energy and money.
However, since the fashion design business is growing by the day, using these techniques, you can grow your fashion design business within a considerable amount of time.
Have the mind-set of an Entrepreneur
Global fashion statistics tells us that there is even a bigger prospect for more growth. According to fashion research company Euromonitor International, the global apparel and footwear market reached US$1.7 trillion in 2017.
latest report has it that as at the third quarter of 2018, the market has gone up to US$3 trillion, that is 2 percent of the word’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The fashion design industry is broad. As a business person, you are to decide the area of fashion that best suit your ideas.
Here are some tips that can help you to succeed in the fashion industry;
To successfully build a fashion design business, you must have the mindset of an entrepreneur. You must be ready to leave your comfort zone which may be your fashion house, to meet up with people to exchange ideas. `
You must be ready to meet up with people who know the business to exchange ideas with them so as to benefit from their experience. You need to discover how the industry work.
You need to build wide range relationship with the big players in the industry. Manufacturers, investors, buyers, these are the big players you need to exchange ideas with, so as to engender your own growth in the industry.
Know your clients
If you don’t know who your clients are, it will be so difficult for you to move forward as a fashion designer.
Always bear in mind that the fashion design industry and market are so vast, hence the importance of identifying who your real audience is.
What do they usually love putting on? what is trending amongst your target segment of the society? What quality of materials do they usually love? What is their purchasing capacity? Getting answers to questions like these will help you to build a dependable customer profile.
After getting the details of the preferences of your target audience, you need to address them in your advertising designs and other material that you will put out in the public space.
It will help to attract your target audience. Make sure that your advertising designs highlight some fashion solutions that will prompt your target audience to patronize you.
Start little with a single product
It is usually advisable that you start up with a single fashion product. Many people delve into the mistake of going into different products at the inception of the business.
It is not just a good strategy. It involves a lot of time, energy and resources, which your business may not with-stand as a start-up. Remember, there is an adage that says; “Jack of all trade, master of none”.
If you try to delve into too many fashion design products at the same time, it may breed confusion which is capable of hindering you from being an authority on any of them.
Start with a single product, grow into an authority in it. In the future you may begin to think about going into other areas.
Set the right prices
Setting the right prices will assist you to run a fashion design business successfully. Find out how much your competitors are charging for similar products. How much your customer is willing to pay.
Calculate how much your business would spend on raw materials and manufacturing, then set-up your price with minimum profit attached to the cost of production.
All over the world, businesses don’t thrive on instant gratification but on turn-over.
create a website
Today, people shop for visually everything online. Most of the big clients that purchase goods and services with huge financial powers are domiciled online.
Most of the big players in the fashion industry are all online, competing over customers. Why should you be left out? You need to create a website for your business, to enable your business to be visible to a wide range of audience.
Creating a website alone will not drive you the needed traffic to compete online. You must build a user-friendly website that is aligned to business.
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An e-commerce website which has all the special features that make online shopping easier will not be a bad idea.
Your design, articles, graphics and navigation are all very much paramount to driving traffic to your website.
You must invest in learning digital marketing skills. Digital marketing will assist you to know the techniques that will enable your website to rank high on search engines.
The higher you rank on search engines, the easier it is for people to discover your business online.
Create a brand identity
Your vision for your business should be clear to you and your staff. It helps in building a brand identity that is unique and different from that of your competitors.
As a start-up fashion designer, what you are presently doing must be clear to you, just as what you intend to achieve in the future through your business must be writing somewhere in your brain.
There should be no room for deviation. You should be doing something unique in the industry. Something that no other person is doing.
Your business graphic logo should be speaking fine of your business. The combination of colours, symbols and images on the logo should convey a positive message about your business.
Promote your brand on social media
Today, Social media is a powerful medium for advertising. Majority of your target audience are either on one social media application or the other.
Facebook, twitter, Instagram, WeChat, your target audience are playing around these social media applications on a second basis.
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Today, for you to reach a wide range of audience, your business needs to be on social media. Social media reach is simply without boundaries.
Distribute flyers and brochures
flyers and brochures are very good marketing tools for business. It tells people that your fashion business exists, the quality of wears you deal on and general knowledge of your brand.
If distributed appropriately, it will help you the reach more audience.
Act on Feedback
As a business owner, you need to create a feedback channel. Not all the feedbacks you get will be favourable to you and your business.
When you get negative feedbacks, do not feel bad. Work hard to correct the issues raised. In the long run, it will help you and your fashion design business to grow even bigger.
When you receive positive feedbacks, do not allow it to slow you down, rather see it as positive motivation to even drive you towards more success.
Finally, before setting up a fashion business, make sure you know much about the business.
Know your target audience and make sure you have enough capital to steer the business through the turbulent times that are sure to come at the initial setting up stage of the business.
Create your brand identity. be very active on social media. Utilize every promotional avenue available to you to enable you establish brand identity and authority, then, you can be assured that the sky will surely be your starting point as a fashion designer.
Author: Egbo Jerry C.
