As a new DIYer, I’m already confident enough in my talents to start thinking about branding, so I sat in on Boaz David’s Fashion Business and Branding class, which takes place here at Mood. I made sure to take notes so I could spread the word to all my fearless fashionistas out there, ready to leave their mark on the fashion industry.
Basically, Boaz pushes practicality in all matters of business. If you want a successful business, you must think business. Surprisingly, that doesn’t just mean putting on a pantsuit, as I previously believed. Here are Boaz’s key points to starting a successful fashion brand.
Boaz’s Business Key Points:
- Re-examine your target customer and target market.
- Do you know them well enough?
- Are you giving them a good reason to buy your product?
- Is your price point right for them?
- Look at your budget and monthly expenses.
- Are you spending on the right priorities?
- Do you need to develop as many styles?
- Do you have ways to reuse patterns, styles, fabrics, prints etc that you already invested money on in previous seasons?
- Use ourbudget sheets to help track your budget.
- Is your product selling? No matter how much your friends and family love your designs or how much attention you get from media, what matters is the bottom line
- Consider testing some product ideas on a small scale first before jumping into a new concept, get feedback, see what works, fine tune it and then go and expend on it.
- Go over your cash flow and prepare for bad days.
- Are your sales projections realistic?
- Are you accounting for enough cash to sponsor you next development?
- Your next production?
- Do you have cushions in case things don’t work out?
As you can see, Boaz means business. And, if you’re interested in owning a fashion company, so should you. Practicality is the pinnacle of success in this industry, but it can be hard to know what’s the right move when it comes to business. The most practical move you can make right now? Stopping by one of Boaz David’s Fashion Business and Branding class, and don’t forget to take notes.
Are you interested in starting your own fashion brand? Tell us about it in the comments!