Love expressing yourself through fashion and think you have what it takes to start your own brand? While it’s certainly a great business idea for fashion lovers, it’s worth remembering that you’re not alone. There are plenty of fashion hopefuls who are looking to start their own brand. Your ideas probably won’t be unique and you’re going to have a hard time standing out from the crowd. While there are definitely many successful home-grown fashion brands, there are also plenty that have tried and failed, never seeing a single sale or even making enough profit to cover the initial startup cost.
So here are a few questions that you should ask yourself before you decide to start your own fashion brand.
Do you have a message or a style focus that you want to share?
One of the best ways for a fashion brand to stand out is to have a unique message or a style focus that is different from others. For example, Uniqlo is a huge international brand built on its roots as in Japanese casual wear. Today, Uniqlo is active in many countries and is the go-to choice for Japanese-inspired casual wear. Similarly, Nike and Adidas have built entire brands on sportswear. They’ve both become the standard choice for sports fashion and few brands can touch their level of popularity.
So before you start a brand, ask yourself if you can bring something new to the table. It doesn’t even have to be unique or different, but as long as it’s something you truly believe in and is inspired by your own personal experiences, your audience will recognize the effort you’re putting in and will appreciate your brand.
Will you be able to focus on quality over profit?
It’s extremely important to offer a high-quality product to your customers. If you don’t, then it’s going to be difficult to justify the cost that you’re charging for your products. For example, if you’re working with quality blanks like comfort colors t-shirts, it’s going to be much easier to please your customers and give them something worth wearing. However, if you’re using really cheap blanks that fall apart after the first wash and the colors fade almost immediately, then they’re going to be disappointed and tell others how bad your brand is.
Make sure you focus on quality, even if it means raising the prices of your shirts. If you can offer a good product, then your customers will be more than willing to pay for it.
Are you ready to take criticism from random people?
Lastly, don’t forget that you’re going to be taking criticism from random people. You’re going to see nasty messages in your inbox now and then, and people are going to say that your designs aren’t good. It’s important to take on some of this criticism, but it also shouldn’t impede your artistic vision. Make sure you’re ready to listen to these people but don’t take it personally and let it ruin your designs or message.
