Fashion entrepreneurship looks so glamorous on the outside, but anyone who has their own fashion business knows that it can feel overwhelming and lonely. Here are 10 How Fitting podcast episodes featuring the relatable and inspiring stories of fashion entrepreneurs to support your mindset and sustain your mental health as a fashion business owner.
You want to keep a high level of quality for your brand and want to feel in control of doing so. There are things you can do as the brand owner to stay in control of product quality even if you aren’t technical, can’t open your production files, or don’t know how to sew.
When doing anything for the first time – including starting a fashion brand, it is inevitable that mistakes can be made. But, many mistakes can be avoided. These are the four most common mistakes I’ve seen new brands make and what you can learn from those mistakes in order to avoid them in your business.
There are many reasons why I think fit is important. It is certainly important for your customers. It is important to me as a patternmaker, too, as I care about making quality and well-thought-out clothing. Fit is even important when you look at the business side of running your brand.
These last five years has taught me so much about business. And, specifically, about fashion business. Today I’m reflecting on the top five things I’ve learned that have made a difference in my business (and the businesses of my clients, colleagues, and podcast guests) that I think can make a difference in yours as well.
It takes a lot of knowledge of your customer, research and expertise, and sometimes trial and error to get the perfect sizing for your brand. How will you know when it might be time to improve your sizing? If any of these five things occur, you might need to give your sizing an update.
Many business owners fund their startups with their time and passion in the beginning – and sometimes this is necessary, but I want to make the case for why paying yourself as the business owner will benefit your business in the long run.
There are many aspects of ethical fashion and they are all important issues in this industry that go back to our values and business ethics. But I think there is another important aspect that gets left out of the ethical fashion conversation – good fit.
Design may be the fun part, but costing is what makes sure your business is making enough money to cover your expenses, pay your people, and make a profit. Target and actual costs each serve different purposes, but both work toward the same goal of keeping your customers happy and your business profitable.
Finding the right factory for your fashion brand is kind of like dating. There are a lot of good ones out there – and a fair share of bad ones – and it takes time to find someone that is the perfect fit for you. So, how do you know when you’ve found “the one”?