When you finally decided to give it a chance and make your dream come true - launch your own fashion collection, take a cup of coffee, open your Excel and make a finance plan!
Why do you need it? – To make your brand a successful business! It is not as difficult as it seems in the beginning.
What you need to understand:
- How much money you need to invest.
- How much you need to sell to start getting your money back.
- What is your BREAK EVEN POINT – the point when the revenue covers your costs.
I will talk about necessary investments in a separate post in more detail, while here I would like to focus on a BREAK EVEN POINT.
It happens very often that the business is not going exactly as you planned. Either the costs were underestimated or the sales are lower then expected. this causes a CASH FLOW GAP. When you started your operations, but the business is not generating any revenue yet. Usually, in the beginning, this gap is covered by the investments that you calculated and prepared for the launch of the business.
However, it may happen, that the investments are over, but the revenue is still too low to cover the costs. It usually happens by the 6th month of the business life. And, not every business can survive this period of time.
This is why it is important, to have a plan B, to think of possible tools how to speed up your cash inflow (for example, use marketplaces that can arrange a sale of your collection or switch to wholesale model, or, even launch a very simple product that has a much higher margin and can bring you cash faster). And, of course, you need to manage your costs very carefully.
The advantage of using One-Stop-Shop services is that it can save you a lot of money. There are always more risks when you are sourcing fabrics, printing, sewing and design from different parties. Here, you get everything in one place directly from the manufacturing.
If you need advice or have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me DM.
Manufacturing method
When you decided to launch an activewear brand, you need to choose a manifacture method.
Option One
Option one is to start designing your styles from scratch. In this case, you need to find a garment technician (pattern maker) who will develop you all the designs and tech packs. Then, you need to find a manufacturer who will be ready to make samples for you and produce the range.
What are advantages and disadvantages of these two methods?
Obviously, the first method is much more expensive and time consuming.
You need to count at least 1 year for collection launch. Usually, the first samples don’t fit perfectly well and need to be amended. Which will take other 3-4 weeks.
If you choose specific fabrics, an average delivery time is at least 4 weeks.
And, the MOQ (minimum order quantity) is 300pcs per style. So, add it to your finance plan!
The advantage here is, clearly, unique styles!
What I wouldn’t recommend is to make similar styles to already existing ones in the market! It will be too pricy and, usually, copies don’t succeed!
Method Two – is obviously, a great option for the first collection! You can choose from a wide range of perfectly designed styles! You can also select the best fabrics options offered for them! All these styles are already tested and will ensure 99% perfect fit!
So, to make a quick and more cost efficient collection – Method Two is a no brainer!