Do you want to be the new Nike?
Everybody loves wearing the trendiest clothes and accessories, but what if you could create new trends that everyone would want to wear?
What Does it Take?
So… you want to start an apparel and accessories brand?
Starting an apparel and accessories brand is no joke, and the beginning is not going to be easy. Starting any new business takes work, dedication, and discipline to get your company off the ground. But after all the hard work is done, you'll be able to sit back and enjoy the hard-earned fruits of your labor!
5 Steps for Creating Your Own Apparel and Accessories Brand From Scratch
So you want to start a brand but have no clue what to do first. Good news for you, we have created 5 foolproof steps for starting your own brand.
The first step to creating a great brand is finding your passion. If you are going to spend relentless amounts of time creating a brand and marketing it to customers, you’re going to want to pick something you are passionate about. If you strongly dislike sports, don’t start a sporting apparel brand (duh).
Choose something that you wouldn’t mind spending hours a day engulfed in. If you love skateboarding, start a skateboarding brand. Take it from us; that’s a pretty rad passion! If you love animals, create a brand that has lots to do with your furry friends.
Whatever your passion is, be sure that you are honest and intentional with yourself when choosing to put your time and efforts into such a rewarding commitment.
So you know your passion, and you know what the theme of your apparel and accessories brand is going to be… perfect you’re ready for step two.
The second step to creating a successful apparel brand is to form a business/ marketing plan.
Forming a business and marketing plan is basically laying out the framework for how you're going to run your business and how you are going to market it.
You are going to want to plan out things such as:
- Products (What specifically are you going to sell)
- Pricing (How much you will charge to be profitable)
- Resources (Where you will get your materials)
- Goals (What do you want to accomplish in your first month, year, or two years)
- Sales (How and where are you going to sell your products)
- Audience (What is your target audience, and how do you market to them)
- Advertising (Will you use social media, a website, etc.)
Creating a business/ marketing plan is a vital step in creating a brand because it allows you to have a visual plan for how you are going to carry out the following steps.
So now you know your passion and have laid the groundwork for your business. This is where the fun starts; now it’s time to dive in. When starting an apparel and accessories brand designing and creating your products can look very different depending on your approach.
Maybe you go to a cheap thrift store, find plain clothing articles, and hand-press your designs on. Perhaps you order basic pieces online and then add your designs that way. Or maybe you create your designs digitally and pay an organization to create your pieces and send them to you.
Product creation can look different depending on what approach is taken to design products; however, at the end of the day, this step is about taking your visions and bringing them to life!
Marketing your brand is arguably the most important step in creating a successful business because if people don’t know about your products, nobody is going to buy them.
Just like creation, marketing can look different for everyone. A great way to market is to create a social media presence for your brand. Make your social media enticing, give discounts, and market to your target audience. A great way to get your name out there is to follow and connect with other brands that are similar to yours. On top of creating a social media presence creating a website is a no-brainer. You want to be able to direct people to one place to see all your awesome products at once; that is where a website comes in.
Marketing does NOT have to be just social media. Make flyers, business cards, or just have conversations. The purpose of marketing is to get your brand out to as many potential customers as possible, whether that be by social media, a website, physical advertising, or even dialogue.
For some people, marketing is the fun part, and for some people, marketing is the epitome of having a brand of business. Either way, it has to be done, so stop procrastinating and get to it!
Last but not least!
You have done every step, from designing your brand, creating your products, and marketing your business. Now it is really time for the fun part. Selling.
Most of the hard part is over. If you have been successful in your marketing endeavors, you should have customers coming out of the wazoo! This is your time to shine, you have put in hours of hard work, and it is time to let the work speak for itself.
Sell your products, give the people what they want, and have your customers coming back for more!
Now What?
Now you have all the tools to get started selling your apparel and accessories and living out your brand dreams. You know how to start, what to do in between, and how to finish (It's by selling btw).
What are you waiting for? Get to Funky Flies LLC Store!