How Much Money Do You Really Need to Launch a Fashion Brand?
A few weeks ago you may remember I sent out a questionnaire to all of you, asking one question:
What is your SINGLE biggest challenge right now when it comes to launching your clothing company?
And not too surprisingly, most of you said the exact same thing…
“I don’t have any MONEY!”
(Or something along those lines.)
A lack of funds can be a huge problem for a startup brand that has the vision and dedication to succeed but simply doesn’t have tens of thousands of dollars to invest upfront.
Even more significant is the fact that many of us have a lot of fear-based thinking when it comes to money.
Whether it’s because of the way we were raised or a feeling of lack throughout our lives, many of us operate in a cycle of scarcity rather than abundance.
When it comes to building an apparel brand there’s also a lot of confusion around how much you really need for product development. We say we want to pay the people we work with an “ethical” wage but most of us don’t really know what that means.
In the second interview for Factory45 LIVE, I talked to Nicole Giordano, founder of StartUp FASHION, about the money topic that most people don’t want to touch.
In addition to answering questions from the audience, Nicole and I covered:
- How much money you should realistically expect to spend during product development.
- Our top recommendations for funding your first production run without the risk.
- Ways to determine your stage of business, develop a budget, create a financial plan — and STICK to it.
- The personal stories of how we funded our businesses from the beginning without going into debt.
- And other creative ways to raise money, with management advice about how to be less afraid to spend it.
The truth is, if you’re creating a physical product then it requires some money — there’s no way around that.
But whereas 10 years ago, you had to have all of that capital sitting in your bank account (or have some rich relatives), the industry has changed. There are now easier and smarter ways to start your brand with very little risk to your own finances.
Listen to Factory45 LIVE with Nicole Giordano of StartUp FASHION.
If you know someone who would benefit from attending Factory45 LIVE, please share the recording link.
P.S. The next Factory45 LIVE will be with Michael Riddering, co-founder of Trendly. : )
