It’s 2019, and creating a new clothing line has never been as feasible as it is today. With a variety of tools and resources at your disposal, you can have a new website selling clothing online in a matter of days if you put your mind to it!
That said, it certainly pays to plan ahead before you jump in the deep end. From teens to grandmas and everyone in between producing and marketing their own products and services, the competition is certainly steep. It is also promising, though, as it shows that there are ways to make a successful clothing company no matter who you are as long as you have a good business plan behind you. You’d be surprised to learn how many famous clothing companies that gross millions in sales today started off as one person with an idea — just like you.
Creating a good business plan doesn’t simply happen overnight, though. There are a lot of daunting tasks that must be tackled in the initial phases to ensure your long term success. Here at Goodbye Blue Monday, our custom apparel company works with a variety of clothing companies nationwide, providing them with top-notch screen printing services and, of course, custom apparel for their clothing lines.
Tips For Starting Your Custom Apparel Brand
Identify Your Brand – What Is Your Brand? What’s Its Personality?
Unless your goal is to fill the generic T-shirt rack at Walmart and other convenience stores, your custom apparel line needs to have an identity. There needs to be meaning behind the name and purpose behind the product. When someone is digging in their closet and feeling a certain mood, they’ll bust out a certain article of clothing that portrays that mood. When someone has a certain event to attend and they want to portray a certain image of themselves, they’ll bust out a certain article of clothing that they believe portrays that image of themselves. When someone…well, you get the idea. Your custom t-shirt brand should convey a sort of personality — attitude, belief, and idea you feel is worth representing and that other people will too. Which leads us to our next step.
Identify Your Audience – Who Is Your Clothing Brand For?
Where many custom apparel companies fail from the get-go is thinking their audience is a large audience of people — even the entire world — when, in fact, it is not. If this is your mindset going into building a custom apparel brand, then landing a deal Walmart and similar stores aforementioned are the most promising odds for you.
Most successful clothing lines today that are worn by people of all backgrounds around the globe didn’t start off this way. For example, Quiksilver started out making durable board shorts for surfers in Australia — a fairly specific audience. From there, the company and brand grew into what it is today: clothing for anyone who enjoys a laid back, sun-filled day.
When starting your new clothing line, you must have this same approach. Identify the specific type of person who would enjoy and benefit from your product the most, as well as identify most with your brand. Whether this is skateboarders in southern California or soccer moms in the Midwest, choose the ideal buyer of your custom apparel and stick to them!
Find Honest Feedback On Prototypes
Your friends are great — they’ll do just about anything for you. They’ll throw you parties, help you move, or even bail you out of a Mexican jail after a wild night in Tijuana — unless they’re in there with you. What we’re getting at is, they will always support you, which could be a problem when it comes to using them as your source of feedback on your custom apparel design mockups.
While getting your friends’ feedback is certainly okay, you shouldn’t limit your feedback just to your friends. Get insights from experienced clothing designers, or you can even reach out to those who fit your desired audience to hear their thoughts! The more honest feedback you get on your brand, the better of an idea you’ll have on the direction you’re taking.
Make Quality Products
This one is a given, but having quality designs, quality materials, and most importantly, a quality printing service is imperative for succeeding with a custom apparel company. First impressions are everything when it comes to a clothing line, so if someone buys any clothing of poor quality, they are certainly not going to be coming back again for more. No matter what your brand’s personality is or the target consumer, quality is something that is a universal priority among buyers when purchasing custom apparel.
What’s the best way to ensure quality? Partnering with the best custom screen printing company of course! At Goodbye Blue Monday, we have state-of-the-art equipment and an experienced team ready to provide you with any variety of items for your clothing brand. So what are you waiting for? Reach out today.
Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket
We all love one hit wonders — from Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping” to the more recent, “Old Town Road”, but this is not something you want to become — especially in the custom apparel industry. While you may have one product that you think is your greatest idea ever and sure to be a hit, the last thing you want is to have your entire company’s success fully depend on one product selling. Ideas for your next clothing must always be on your mind, because people’s tastes change faster than ever today, and you must keep up or else be left in the dust.
Don’t Be Afraid To Fail
You’ve likely heard this in a Ted Talk or two as it is true of any entrepreneurial pursuit, but failure is almost guaranteed. While following the above steps will certainly increase your chances of starting a successful clothing line from scratch, you should never let obstacles discourage you! If you truly believe that you have a solid idea that can become successful, then make that a reality. Success doesn’t normally happen overnight. It happens through long hours and missed lunches. Believe in yourself and believe in your brand!
Whether you’re just in the contemplation stages of starting your own apparel brand or you are ready to rock and roll, we hope that these tips help you on your entrepreneurial endeavors into the wild yet wonderful world of custom apparel. When you need a custom screen printing company to provide you with high-quality finished products for your clothing line, you know who to call: your friends in Boulder — Goodbye Blue Monday.