Key Fears of Starting a Fashion Line: How do I Break through the Fear Barrier and Launch?
Fear can be crippling, especially within entrepreneurship. My hope is that this series can truly help break down what those fears are, how to process them and what mindset and methodology to truly get you to launch your collection.
Not all fear is bad. Fear can be healthy, prudent, and motivating. Fear is your brain’s way of saying you don’t know something and you have something else to overcome.. Some fashion entrepreneurs can get frozen by their fear. They refuse to leave the safety and security of a 9 to 5 job and a steady paycheck rather than take a risk and pursue their dreams.
They can fear failure. Fear they won’t be able to support themselves and their family. They could be frightened that chasing their dream might make them look foolish or that their dream fashion line may be rejected by the market. All of these can be reasonable concerns that can give you pause, but they do not have to cause paralysis and stop you from starting your fashion business.
In this blog, I will explain why if you have a dream and an innovative idea for a fashion line, you owe it to yourself to explore the potential of starting a fashion business. If you can proceed with caution and gather knowledge, you may find out that you have a breakthrough idea. When consumers love your line, it could bring you more prosperity and freedom than you could ever achieve with a day job.
How do I Identify What I am Afraid of?
The best way to deal with fear is to face it. If you know something or several things are holding you back, identify what they are and develop strategies to overcome them. You may not know what your initial costs will be and fear you will run short of funds. You may be afraid of your competition - even though you may not know exactly who they are yet. You may not know how to approach vendors who can manufacture your line. Designing a website, social media, and eCommerce may completely baffle you and scare you from moving forward. It could be that you are terrified of quitting a good job and starting a risky new business.
All of these factors are valid concerns that can inspire fear in the heart of any entrepreneur. The difference between the fashion entrepreneurs that succeed and the ones that never get started is identifying specifically what is making them apprehensive. There are no issues or tasks that cannot be addressed and conquered once you have identified them.
The best strategy is to realistically make a complete list of what you need to know and do to create a new fashion business. This way you can launch your dream brand. It could be that at first, you may not even know what you don’t know. That can be very frightening. If so, your first step is to find out what you need to know. One good way to find out all the things you need to know to operate a successful fashion business is to check out our do-it-yourself blueprint, “The Fool-Proof Blueprint To Kickstart Your Clothing Line.” (HERE).
This book has everything you need to know step-by-step how to succeed as a fashion entrepreneur. After you read it, you will be light years ahead of where you started, and may even gain a lot more confidence.This will help overcome your mental hesitations and roadblocks. It gives you the information you need to know to identify what you need to learn and develop to successfully launch.
How do I Learn to do What I may not Know yet?
Never underestimate the importance of research, mentors, and professional experts. Knowledge is power, and when you know things, you will not fear them or allow them to hold you back. Extensive research can give you clarity that comes from knowledge. When you know who is in your niche or target market, how to reach them, who else is trying to sell to them and how they are doing it, and who are the best vendors to manufacture your inventory, you become well versed in your niche and your brand.
For practical knowledge seek out other fashion entrepreneurs, fashion mastermind support groups, and experienced mentors and consultants. Their depth of knowledge forged with solid hands-on experience can be priceless information that can help put you on the fast track to success. By sharing their previous mistakes, they can help you avoid them and accelerate your learning curve.
When you do not know how to do something, don’t be afraid to hire someone who is experienced and successful with the task. Building an eCommerce website, social media marketing, fabric sourcing, patternmaking, sample development, and clothing manufacturing may be tasks you might not be expert in. You can not only get them done faster but you’ll be more confident they are being done right. Hiring professionals whose business it is to do the tasks you don’t know how to do can be a very shrewd business practice.
One of the biggest mistakes a fashion entrepreneur can make is to try to “do it all” by themselves. This can take a lot more time and often ends up more costly with worse results than if a professional was brought in to do the work.
How do I Create my Business Road Map?
When you have a specific plan that lays out exactly what you need to grow from concept to launch, the idea of getting started is far less frightening. It is important to have a plan. That can mean a complete business plan, a thorough estimated budget and cash flow analysis, a project schedule, and an effective marketing strategy that specifies how you are going to create desire and urgency for your line. You need to know what developing and marketing your line will cost, and how you plan to sell it and fulfill it.
Planning and preparation are very effective ways to help eliminate fear. When you know exactly how you will launch, how much it will cost, and how you are going to sell it, you are armed with knowledge and a roadmap that you can monitor to check your progress and analyze what is working and what you need to do better.
If you need to approach investors, having these plans are essential in convincing them to invest their hard earned money on your dream. The preparation and planning you invest your time in planning very early on will pay huge dividends in reducing fear and successfully launching your fashion brand.
How do I Execute the Plan?
Plans are great to have, but only if you put them into action and execute your fashion launch playbook. Start at the beginning. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Do each task that needs to be accomplished. If you are self-financing your launch, it is best to complete as much of your plan as possible while you still have a steady job. This does not mean you have to do it yourself. Even if you use professionals, vendors, mentors, and experts, try to continue to work your day job as long as you can. You will be more financially stable and as you see your new business develop, you will have a lot more confidence that you will be able to survive the transition from paycheck to profits.
When you are executing a plan there are some tasks that can be done simultaneously, and other tasks that require another task to be complete before it can be started. It is a good idea to develop your eCommerce website and start building your social media following right away. By doing this, when you launch, your audience will be in place, energized, and ready to buy. Other tasks like pattern making and tech packs need to be completed before you can start manufacturing your inventory.
How and When should I Jump from Employee to Entrepreneur?
There is not one “right” rule for when you should quit your job and focus full time on your fashion business. In an ideal situation, you will have already started selling your product line and generating revenue that creates more earnings for you than your salary.
Unfortunately, life is not always ideal. When you are close to launching, spend most or all of your free time on the business, have an excited and eager target audience, it is a reasonable time to take the plunge. If you are confident that your brand will be accepted in the market and sell according to your projections, your business may truly benefit from your full time attention.
It is important to try not to “burn bridges” when you resign at your current employer. If your fashion launch doesn’t work out as planned, it is always a good strategy to have a back up plan. That can include returning to your previous day job. If you make a real effort to leave on good terms, train your replacement, and make it simple to understand your files and projects, you may be welcomed back.
If you are considering becoming a fashion entrepreneur and launching your fashion brand, you probably have many things that frighten you. The investment, the unfamiliar necessary tasks, and the overall fear of failure are just a few apprehensions that can hold you back. Fear is not all negative. It’s like an alert that signals you need to know more about something you don’t know yet. Healthy fear can motivate you to work harder and work smarter. Negative fear can hold you back, paralyze your project, and keep you stuck in a day job you don’t really love.
It is possible to transition from a paycheck to profits. Don’t be afraid. Don’t let fear scare you into paralysis. Identify your fears. Develop a strategy to address them and reduce them, and as you do, your confidence will build. When you do the required research and preparation, you can sleep better at night and hopefully, enjoy the positive earnings from the successful launch of the fashion line of your dreams.
Stuck on product Production? At V.Mora we can help you through the entire production process from designing, to sourcing and so on through our Production Development services. If you are in need of the following Development and Production services:
Sourcing
Technical sketches
Pattern Making
Prototype making
Sample Making
Fittings
Digitizing and Grading
Marker Making
Manufacturing
Please contact us at: vmorainquiry@vmora.com
