Is It Possible To Start Your Own Clothing Line On A Budget?

Not every aspiring business owner has an adequate amount of capital to start up their goals. But with enough perseverance and great budget skills, you can do this despite the low capital. You may ask, how so?

Tips & Budget Techniques

Manufacturing & Raw Materials

You must always keep in mind that manufacturers and merchants charge less if you avail a bigger quantity of their product in one purchase. With that, you get the idea that loyalty to a specific company equals more discounts for your future purchases. But how do you choose the right manufacturer amongst the many? With the advent of the internet, canvassing and researching problems are things of the past. A lot of different sites and platforms provide you with this service now. An example of this would be Sewport. Don’t forget that fabrics, labels, packaging, prints and other raw material should also be considered.

As you pick your desired merchant, always keep in mind that quality is as important as quantity. Also, don’t let discounts given by merchants fool you into rush buying a huge bulk of material which might only end up as a waste of your limited capital in the future. Always research whether there is substantial enough consumer demand for these materials before opting to buy them.

Once you’ve confirmed that enough people are potential buyers, start off production slowly. Do not manufacture a large amount of product during your first few weeks. Test the waters and wait if the consumers pick up and ‘bite’ the new product. Once enough demand is assured and established, that’s when you could opt to increase your production amount.

Logo & Item Design

When working on a budget, put your artistic skills to the test. Research a bit on the theory of logo design so that you can incorporate this during your brand’s logo creation. Freelancers can actually do the job if you’re bad at these types of creative projects, so you can opt to hire one and make sure they know how to conceptualize your brand’s theme into an image. Usually, standard design artists don’t charge that much, but of course, professional graphic artists charge a higher fee.

As for the design, try to be hands-on with your project, and again, instead of hiring someone for apparel design, you can research on your own and ask people you know or the internet for feedback. There are a lot of free resources online, so take advantage of that!

Overhead Costs

If you don’t have enough money to set aside for an official office location, why not put up your headquarters at home? It’s accessible to you, it minimizes electricity, water, and internet expenses, and you have fewer transportation costs.

As for your employees, you cannot minimize pay as they may leave your team. You cannot exactly do everything yourself, especially if your company is growing. So just hire enough people to satisfy demand and to increase overall productivity. If you stress too much about your business you may end up shutting it down.

Photography & Modeling

Cameras are accessible to everyone. You may not feel professional when taking photos from your phone, but with proper lighting, some editing, and a well-projected model, you can do without having to hire expensive photographers.

You can ask a friend to model, or perhaps you could do it yourself. Short courses on photography are available online. The lack of a professional camera shouldn’t be a hindrance to making your website visuals look fresh and upbeat.

Website & Online Shop

You don’t really have to buy an official domain when you’re just starting your clothing business. A number of small brands start by selling their products on an Instagram page, and this is often successful. Facebook and other marketing dedicated apps are readily available as well. All you have to do is post your products, share your page to the right places and groups on the internet, and then wait for traffic to set on your page.

If you want a different platform you can avail domains provided for free by blog websites. It’s easy, they often have free website templates, and you can customize it to your heart’s desire. Who needs a website designer when all of these free resources are at the tip of your hands. Of course, after your brand has settled, it would be more professional-looking if you have your own domain, but worry about that later.

Cheap Marketing Methods

Coupons and discounts increase the possibility of consumer sales. The consumer psychology of getting things at a cheaper price now compared to later is actually quite useful. Freebies can also increase your popularity.

One of the most effective ways of marketing nowadays is by sponsoring YouTubers. You can opt to send them a generous amount of freebies and hope that they review and share your clothing product with their audience. Of course, you must make sure that the type of audience they cater to can also be your target buyers.

Find a content creator who closely matches your brand’s theme. Bloggers can also be sent materials, and you can ask for a review in exchange for the product.

Where To Toss In Money?

Manufacturing & Customization

If the type of business model you choose requires more clothing customization, this would need more funding. Non-uniform products need more time to create as well. If the fabric used is not of the usual type, it may be more difficult to find manufacturers for this.

Once your business progresses and your market amount to a huge number of people, it’s time to try to mass produce and spend more to meet demand. Don’t forget to ensure quality control, as this is vital for bulk orders where there may be unforeseen damages to some of the orders.

Business Licensing

Make sure to obtain the required papers for your business ventures. You are investing in your brand, so follow the law and make sure that your line is not forcibly closed in the heat of popularity. Obtaining business permits can help you in the long run. These decrease material tax and help you add on sales tax to your products, which you return to the state.

Delivery Services & Distribution

You need to ensure that the products get to your consumers, and so you need to spend money on that. You can give out your clothing products at a discounted rate to distributors so they could do the selling. Retailing the products yourself could also be done, but you have to spend much more on store renting, designing and managing.

Product Launch & Additional Advertising Methods

To increase the noise you want to generate about your clothing brand, you can organize product launches and events. This is definitely going to cost you, but if you need your brand to increase in popularity, this is a way to introduce yourself. You have to spend money on the venue, food, decorations, speakers, freebies and more advertisements, so make sure your wallet is filled enough to handle the cost.

Other ways of advertising include billboards, video projects, internet ads and even sponsoring known celebrities.

Human Resources

As your clothing line gains traction, you’ll need more and more people to do work for you. Hiring an official branding agent can make your company stand out in terms of logo, website, and marketing materials.

Strategic advertising, good publicity, social media utilization, and other branding techniques are this person’s responsibilities. You would also need an accountant to manage the financial aspect of your company. A product manager can do the manufacturing requirements for you, like getting fabrics and materials, filing product quantities and needs, preparing product deliveries, and managing the creation and distribution aspect of your company. With all of these people, you now act more as a manager.

Conclusion

Planning, researching, and canvassing are the essential things to do in order to be successful in budgeting for a limited available capital. Before going for the next financial move, strategy and analyzation should be done in order to get the best from your limited amount of resources available. You do not need to be super professional with your company’s look at first. You just have to establish your niche and your consumer demand to ensure that your business will run smoothly.

You can opt to increase production once you are sure that there is a viable amount of people who are potential customers. Ads are needed to establish consumer count and to make your brand known. There are a lot of cheap ways of advertisement, and as a budgeteer, you should take advantage of these. As your company gains traction, don’t be afraid to shell out more capital for investment. Just make continue to make sure that every move is calculated, and benefits overrule the risk of failure. All in all, enjoy the process of business development. Happy selling!

 

__________

Sharing is caring!