5 Steps to Launching your Fashion Brand 2020

If you are planning to start your fashion business in 2020, I would say wait no more and get started right away. You can either do it by yourself or you can partner with a Fashion Startup Studio

. If you plan to do it yourself, I’ll just break down the steps for you:

Step 1: Figure out your niche.

This is a very critical step that most aspiring fashionpreneurs often overlook. This means you have to narrow down your Brand as much as you can. Some examples could be Swimwear for Plus Size Women, Jackets for Bikers and so on… I hope you get the drift

Create a Buyer Persona: Stalk your dream customer, find out as much about her as you can. Include every little detail. Some details to include while creating your buyer persona could be:

1. Name: Create a Fictional name character
2. Designation/Occupation: List down exactly what industry she could be working in, her profile, her salary, and as much detail as you can figure out
3. Hobbies/Interests: Figure out what she likes, her interests and her hobbies. Where does she hang out online and offline? Which influencers she follows on Social.

Once you have all these details figured out, you will be well equipped to make decisions regarding the direction of your business.

Step 2: Sourcing

Figure out where will you’ll get your initial production done. A lot of people suggest sourcing from China, but I wouldn’t recommend you that at this stage.

The best way to start off would be to get a small batch produced by a local manufacturer. Even if it costs you a little more, I would recommend doing that. You can monitor the quality and learn the basics of garment production.

Step 3: Branding

This is one of the most important steps in the entire process. The branding & storytelling need to be absolutely on point if you are to make an impact with your fashion startup.

Some of the steps in the branding process include:

1. Developing a Brand narrative
2. Developing your Branding Guidelines
3. Crafting a Story for your brand. Try and be as authentic as you can be.

Step 4: Your Tech Stack

If you are planning to launch an e-commerce portal, Make sure you keep the following points in mind while creating your website.

1. Use Shopify as your platform: We have tested multiple platforms and have found Shopify to be the most user-friendly and feature-rich to use. You can easily scale your website with them. No wonder celebrities like Justin Bieber, Kylie Jenner, and Drake use Shopify for their brands.
2. Make Sure You Install Google and Facebook pixels. This will help you target and retarget your website visitors
3. Google Analytics: This gives you a bird's eye view of where your website visitors are coming from and how are they interacting with your site.

Step 5 : Marketing and Social Media

Well, in this day and age you can’t really succeed without having a well structured Social Media Strategy. Most fashionpreneurs when they start out, randomly try out FB/Instagram Ads, posting on Pinterest and often get disappointed with the results.

You have to work out a strategy based on where your potential customers are (remember the buyer persona we created in the beginning). Do a thorough research and then create your social media strategy.

I know it can get overwhelming when you’re starting out, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out. All the Best for your venture and feel free to reach out to me in case you have any more questions

Onwards & Upwards

Tam