Here are a few great tips to starting your own clothing line and a few points to keep in mind.
“Here are some tips that may help some of you starting a clothing brand.
1. Do research. Tons of it! Figure out your target market and your competitors, and read everything you can and soak all of the information you can. You’ll probably only remember 25% of what you read, but that is 25% more then you knew before. Now with the internet, free information is in front of your finger-tips.
2. If you’re not a designer, but have ideas, try looking for a freelancer designer. A skilled freelance designer should be able to take your sketch or idea and create your vision. Although hourly/project rates are important to look at, one major aspect that is commonly missed is the designers communication skills.
3. Focus on branding. Longevity of a brand consists of customer loyalty. Believe it or not, it’s not all about how cool your design is. Choose a theme or style for your brand and stick with it.
4. When looking for a manufacturer or screen printer, be honest and realistic. (before you contact a printer, make sure you have a good idea of what you want & what you need).
5. Although freshly starting brands are afraid to print more than 1-2 designs to start with, if you have the capital, try to print at least 5 different designs. Imagine this from a customers stand point…A customer may “enter” your store whether it is your website or a physical retail, and there they see 1 single design stacked on a table.
This doesn’t show much confidence and may turn the buyer off. I see this happening a lot with newer brands that launch a website with only a couple of designs. Remember, visitors take a glance at your website for about 5 seconds before they decide if they want to stay longer.
6. Re-invest your profits into more designs and more shirts. This part should be placed into your business plan. This simple part of business is over-looked by start ups.
7. Patience is key when starting a clothing brand.
8. Figure out a marketing plan. Don’t figure since you have great designs that customers will seek you out. It’s Vice Versa! You need to keep plugging away and reach the consumer. Put it in front of their face day in and day out. Once again, be patient, it could take awhile. One important thing: Talk, Talk & Talk. Simply talking about your brand can stir up interest.”
Thanks T-Shirt Forum for the great advice.
If you are interested in Starting Your Own Clothing Line…Contact www.brandedscreenprinting.com