Fashion Business

We definitely agree that the best kind of freedom that one can have (to earn a living) is to own a business. I have worked in corporate field for more than 10 years. It was surprising to see so many of my colleagues including me, dream about owning a business. The entire idea felt so good - you working for self, not having to report to anyone, being able to take a break whenever one wants etc. etc. Not to mention the thought of the possibility of being able to earn without limits. It all sounds and feels so dreamy and good. While growing up I would often hear my father wish he could start a business. He was in a very stable government job at a pretty good level so quitting a well-paying secure job was not easy. So was for me and the people around me.

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We wanted to own a business but didn’t have the courage to take the steps. More often than not people are baffled with the thought of the investment required to start a business, the uncertainty of things and unpredictability of growth and hence income. However a fashion business is one of the easiest businesses to start and it can be started from one’s home itself. A fashion business in customised clothes, designing and stitching for clients can actually start with as low as ₹50 – the cost of the measuring tape – to take your client’s body measurements.

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If you have the domain knowledge and plan to stitch the clothes yourself initially, then the investment will be required for few more equipment’s like different types of scales, pair of scissors, tailors calk, threads etc. In case you have a master tailor who can do it for you then only ₹50 investment is enough. Isn’t it amazing? After the order is completed you collect the money from your client and pay a portion of it to your master tailor and keep the profit. That closes the cycle of the order.

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Not having to invest in a brick and mortar shop front, machinery, raw materials and employees is what makes this business a very viable business model. In today’s day and age the marketing for your business too can be done free of cost with the use of social media, chat groups and youtube etc. Marketing is the most important step in a business. If done effectively it is what pulls the customers to you.  

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Eventually when the business starts growing one can start building and setting up the different systems that are essential for a business like accounting system, sales and marketing system etc. With increase in business the increase in investment is easier to manage. When done properly and consistently it can actually grow very fast if your service is good, timely and gives the customer value for money. My business grew from ONE person (myself) to Two and then eventually to Five employees. The space requirement kept increasing and we moved places THREE times in seven and a half years to accommodate the growing demand.

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So in case you are still wondering about the investment I hope your questions have been answered in this article. The advantage that I had when I started my fashion business was that of domain knowledge. Domain knowledge is knowledge of a specific, specialized discipline or field, in contrast to general (or domain-independent) knowledge. In fashion industry domain knowledge would be Fashion Designing. Its knowledge helped me a lot in understanding the steps of garment construction, understanding the body types and grow from ZERO to ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED customer base in seven years who were my repeat buyers. It helped me to design garments that were very complex and a normal tailor or seamstress wont touch.

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If you too want to learn fashion designing then join me and a group of fellow students who too are designers, through my e-course on fashion design. You can do this from the comfort of your house at your convenience.

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Click on the button below to gain instant access to the course for just ₹120.