Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hi!

I am a beginner, so I don`t have much information to share with you.  But one of the first things I did when I realized I wanted to open my own party store was go and visit party stores just outside of my town (I figured they would be more willing to talk to me if they knew I wasn`t a competitor) and asked them how they got started and if they had any advice.

Out of the three people I spoke with, two of them were extremely helpful, friendly and honest.  One of them was rude, unfriendly and very bitter.  But, I left knowing that I wouldn`t let what she said get to me.

My point is, go visit some shoe stores!  Preferrably, ones you wouldn`t be in competition with - they will probably be more likely to talk to you.

Best of luck, I think it`s a great idea!

To start a shoe or clothing line you're going to need these things:

1. Detailed sketches (or "flats") to show & give to contract manufacturer so they can make you a prototype and an approved final pattern after a few adjustments are made to the initial sample garment and pattern.
2. You're going to need to source you materials, whether it's leather, vinyl, silk or fasteners and so on. You get the ideal. Most importantly you want to make sure there's a continuity of materials in other words they are not going to be phase out or discontinued if you choose to offer item in more than one color. Keep track of these costs very important. Because you will need to get all of your materials to the contract manufacturer in order for them to make your production of shoes or clothes otherwise it delays your production.
3. Get samples made up first before proceeding to get a huge production made. Show samples to potential retailers and/or customers and get their feedback on what they do or don't like about the items or styles and make the necessary changes. You will also need to come up with your price point before showing the items to prospective retailers. Determine whether they're feedback is subjective by asking them appropriate questions.
4. When you get the final samples made you should also have line sheet (which you will make up) detailing the item, style number, description, wholesale price, color (& any alternative colors if applicable) and sizes the items are available in. The list sheet(s) should also have your company's address & phone number and minimum order per item/style, the order by date and expected delivery date at the top of every page.
5. Once you've gotten confirmed orders from retailers and/or customers then start the production but find out from the beginning from the manufacturer what their minimum order is and/or whether they can produce a small order for you and what its going to cost for them to make the items for you. So you can calculate this into your costs to determine your gross profit margin and net profit.
6. The contract manufacturer might be able to do the grading themselves or they might send this out to another contractor. Find out what the cost is for grading the item before hand if they contract it out. What grading basically entails is a master pattern maker will mark the pattern to increase or decrease the final size of the garment or shoe that you want to get produce by the manufacturer.
7. Finally once you've gotten some confirmed orders from retailers or made rounds doing a couple truck shows with potential customers and gotten several orders then make the garments otherwise you're sitting around with inventory that you got to make moves to off load.
8. Oh you want to get some photography photos of your items made to upload to your website if you're going to sell via the www.

Given the competition in the clothing business, the most important thing would be to strategize on how your company will be different from the others currently present in the market and how you are going to communicate this to your customers.

Hi there, DAYDREAMER. Having been in the business of clothing as well as in the sales and licensing of footwear for 18 years, I feel I can help paint you a quick and clear picture. First and foremost, having a clothing line is very different from the shoe business. In the vast majority of cases, clothing lines can still develop from within, however footwear is nearly always launched in a STRATEGIC ALLIANCE WITH SOMEONE ALREADY MAKING SHOES. To navigate the factories that make shoes, the margins, the overhead, is something you do not what to ever get involved with as it is like banging your head against a wall, because, without volume to give the factories from the beginning, and without strong dollars and credit lines behind you, factories are not interested investing the time and money in startup brands. This is a cold and bold statement, but a true statement.

If, however, you have talent in design and have the drive to succeed, this DOES NOT mean you can't get footwear companies already in the market to partner up with you and help launch your brand. In order to do this you need to understand a few things that you might not like. First and foremost, IF you manage to find such a partner, the odds are extremely high the equity split will be 49%-51% at the very minimum. That actually is a good thing as you want the people who already are succeeding at what you are doing to make the bulk of the financial decisions. What you have to fight for is CREATIVE AUTONOMY, that is to say, you control the design aspect of the line.

In order to put any of this into action, you need to DEVELOP A BUSINESS PLAN and get SENIOR GUIDANCE & SOME CONSULTING ON WHAT YOU ARE GETTING INTO BEFORE YOU BEGIN. I call this the 25K RULE. THE 25K RULE STATES THAT, IF YOU ARE GOING TO START A BUSINESS, YOU WILL NEED APPROXIMATELY 25K IN ORDER TO GET THE GUIDANCE YOU NEED TO DEVELOP A STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN, AS WELL AS DEVELOP A FULL BUSINESS PROSPECTUS THAT YOU WILL BE COACHED ON UNTIL YOU MEET AND GREET POTENTIAL PARTNERS. It is much less devastating to learn your lessons up front with a little cash to lose, than to build up your business and make a small mistake that costs $2.5 million dollars when the stakes are high. You need to set up everything and prepare yourself from the beginning. Especially when it comes to manufacturing! You need to be taught how inventory kills businesses, how to distribute your product and have insurance on the goods you ship, have credit firms in place to limit liability, and many many other things that are crucial to know before Day 1.

I would strongly recommend linking up with a consulting firm specializing in this sort of stuff, as well as hiring a company to develop and coach you through your business prospectus. My company offers both consulting and biz plan development and training as well as website development and a host of other services, so you are welcome to contact me to further the discussion. Irregardless of that, I hope this information has been valuable in the short time we had! I can be contacted at the below info...Good luck and maybe we will speak soon! Feel free to google me to learn more about me. My name is below as well.

MJ GOTTLIEB- mj@thelemonaideguide.com

website- www.thelemonaideguide.com

I am interested in starting my own shoeline for my customized designs of pumps. The is a very new area for me. I have been doing a lot of research on what would be the best avenue to take as it relates to starting a shoeline of customized pumps but I feel like I keep hitting a brick wall. Do you have any suggestions on where I would begin or what I need to do to establish my own shoeline of customized designs?

Well Ive nothing to say about this business. I too desire to open an online shopping store, but i am confuse, how ebay, amazone and other my favorite online shopping store running it. I just know that their is requirement of vendors and wholesalers connected with you to do kinda business. I know lot of online webstore and also prefer to do shop there. But i actually don't wanna do kinda business. I am looking for an online business, in which i can make money buy by just help kinda online store to sell something buy my reference to all online shoppers. I hope it will be legal and comfortable having not too much headic.

Online shopping store

you must consider few points before open your clothing line:

What is the name of your brand?

What type of clothing company are you?

What is your target demographic?

What is your price range?

and most important,,your theme of clothing  line!

Hi, personally I feel that before starting any business, one should have knowledge and experience of that field. So, he knows all pros & cons of it. You have to do research on shoes market and then develop your plan and strategies for your business.