Fashion Observer Magazine Feb. 2014 | Page 6

If you do want to get into a fashion business there will always be opportunities as I do believe that the internet has made the pathway a little easier and certainly more cost effective in terms of getting your goods and brand speak out to market. So definitely look into this as the first pathway to introduce your clothing line. Regardless of whether you consider yourself to be a digital dummy or not, it is not negotiable to not up skill yourself technologically as we do so much of our research, customer promotion and engagement on the social media platforms. Our website is one of our strongest performing stores and I know that the statement - if you are not digital now you will not be relevant is VERY TRUE! Google is the new business card so make your business count in this space (I am extremely surprised people still proffer business cards when meeting as often the meet is initiated via email and phone so you have all the details you will need). Here are three simple steps to take when endeavouring to start up your fashion business dream 1. Firstly I suggest that you ascertain that the clothes/ collection that you are looking to design truly does have an end market. Have you really discovered a gap or are you just creating an extended wardrobe for yourself and your friends? Do you really think you can take something that has been done hundreds of times before and present it in a way that will re-engage a potential market and build you a sustainable business? Yes I know you possibly think there is a gap in the market but how well have you done your research 2. Always have your commercial hat on. Look at designing clothes that will sell across a broad demographic. Your measure of success is not the number of celebrities that ask to wear your clothes, it is and should always be money in the bank and to achieve this you need to sell clothes not lend them (NB: we don’t really have a celebrity culture in NZ and Australia). 3. Make sure that you know about the business of fashion. Remember that fashion is 80% about business and 20 % about the creative outcomes so take a small business course, or partner with someone that has this skill - Without this you are unlikely to succeed. And finally embrace failure! So many people never make a business start because they fear the what if and what others will think it and it all goes pear shaped. Whoever learnt to ski without falling over? There is no sigma in failure. In fact, quite the opposite. Failure is the foundation stone of success. Life and business are about risk so you will need to take them. Fail hard, fail often, try stuff. The brave may not live forever but the cautious have not lived at all - Richard Branson.