How to start a small fashion business

If you love to flaunt your fancy threads starting a small fashion business is a fun way to turn your passion into a career. This guide will help take you through some of the simple steps you can take to get you started on making your small fashion business dream a reality.

Step 1: Choose a name

If you’re reading this guide, then there’s probably a high chance that you already have a name in mind for your small fashion business. If you’re still considering which name to use, you can go wild and pick just about anything, but there are a few things you should consider when choosing.

• Check if your chosen name already exists. If a company is already using the name, it’ll be on the government’s list of companies, which you can check (for free!) on their website.
• Check if it’s available as a domain name (e.g. yourchosenname.com).
• Consider choosing a name that’s unique and easy to spell (ASOS is a great example).

Step 2: Identify your niche

From the gothic dresses of Killstar to the athletic sportswear of Adidas, there's a niche for everything. With the fashion industry growing bigger every day and fast fashion brands like SHEIN now on the rise, it's important to decide on your niche and stick to it. This will help your small fashion business reach your intended target audience and help you build a well-grounded brand.

Being indecisive and not picking one niche can lead to consumers feeling confused about your brand identity so be sure to only choose one.

Here are a few examples of clothing brands and their respective niches:

• Hell Bunny (alternative)
• Nike (athletic)
• Holister (trendy)
• Dior (classic couture)

Using what you’re good at is another way to help you decide upon a niche. If you’re someone who enjoys drawing and making artwork (whether on a graphics tablet or using a pen and paper) you can consider making graphic prints for t-shirt designs. If you love sewing and are keen on details, you can focus on larger and more intricate pieces.

Alison Lowe  MBE, who teaches fashion entrepreneurship at the University of East London and has received an MBE for her services to the industry, says, 

Know your market - the fashion industry is very volatile and constantly changing so a new brand needs to ensure that they really understand the market and the challenges they have to overcome.”

Step 3: Identify your target audience

Once you’ve identified your niche, you’ll be able to figure out your target audience. Target audiences will have a huge impact on the direction you take your brand, the type of clothing you make and the advertising strategies you use.

Alison Lowe says “Know your customer - this means you need to know them in detail, who they are and what they do 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. If you don't know your customer, then you won't be able to sell - which means you have a very expensive hobby rather than a business”.

Here are a few ways you can help identify your target audience:

• What age range do you want your small fashion business to appeal to?
• What gender are you wanting to appeal to? Will it be women, men, or unisex?
• Are there certain brands you’re inspired by and want to emulate in your small business?
• What kind of price range will you be falling into?

By thinking about these points, you will get a better idea of who your target audience is and how you can focus on appealing to them more.

Step 4: The legalities

Now for the boring (but very important) bit, the legalities. Here are a few things to consider:

• Register your small fashion business with Companies House (for limited companies).
• Register your small fashion business with HMRC.
• Trademark your small fashion business.

Always be sure to contact your local authority or council to see what the legal requirements are for your business. There’s more help from the government about things like registering your business and tax.

The Prince’s Trust also has some useful information.

Step 5: Getting the products

Now for the fun part, the products themselves! You need to decide how you intend to produce your fashion essentials. Here are a few ways you can do it.

• Buy products from wholesalers (the easiest and lowest fuss way).
• Design your own products and have them manufactured (you must research suitable manufacturers, contact them and come to an agreement about prices, quantity, shipping etc.)
• Make your own products at home.

There are benefits to each of the above methods and reasons behind choosing each. If you just like a particular style and don’t mind having less creative control, buying from wholesalers may be the route for you. This way you can sell the products you buy on your website or another distribution website such as Amazon or eBay.

If you know what you want or have designs in mind, then contacting manufacturers could work. Selling on your own website or another site such as Shopify could be a great route for you. But remember manufacturers might only be interested if you order large quantities of your product, which could be expensive.

If you want full creative control, enjoy the process of making things, and have extensive knowledge of how to construct garments, making your clothing at home could be a good route for you. This way you can sell the garments on your own website or open an Etsy store.

Step 6: Pricing your products

When deciding on prices for your products there are a few things you need to keep in mind. An easy way to work out what to charge for your item is to work out how much it costs you to produce each item, this includes:

• Cost of any materials – if you’re making the item.
• Cost of manufacturing – if you’re using a manufacturer.
• The time it took you to make or design the item or the time it took to source the items.
• Cost of any website subscriptions/fees taken.
• Packaging costs – things like mailing bags, bubble wrap etc.
• Shipping – remember, sending clothes overseas will cost more.
• Fees and taxes – do you need to pay an accountant to do your taxes? Are there import/export taxes on your creations?

Once you work out the costs to make each item, you can add on a bit more to make your profit. Look at similar small businesses to yours to get an idea of how much to charge. When pricing, put yourself in your customers’ shoes and think about what you would pay for the item you’re making.

Step 7: Advertising

Now you need to spread the word and get people talking about your small fashion business, no one will buy anything if they don’t know it exists! Here are a few simple ways you can get started.

• Social media posts – making a TikTok or Instagram page can really help people discover your products while browsing and make it easier for them to share with their friends.
• Paid advertising - Facebook ads, YouTube ads, Google ads etc.
• Paid influencer partnerships – contact influencers and, if you can afford it, they’ll review your products and advertise them on their social media channels.
• Search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy.
• Making flyers and business cards.

Alison Lowe MBE says it’s important not to be too ambitious too soon. She says, “Don't overspend on either products or marketing! Start off small and test your market with a few pieces, then you won’t end up with an overproduction of garments that won’t sell. Don't rush into costly marketing, PR or paying influencers - you won’t get a return on investment in the early stages.” 

For more in-depth tips, see her book ‘How To Start Your Own Fashion Label: The Definitive Guide’.

We hope this handy guide will help you get started, if any of this sounds interesting to you and you want to enhance your skills, apply for our BA (Hons) Fashion Cultures and Business course. Good luck with your small fashion business venture!