Clothing Investors for fashion designers

[continued] A third and last idea for expansion is finding a financial backer or investor for your clothing line. Investors, sometimes termed angel investors, are always looking to let their money work for them but usually are very strict on what you must present to them for a plan. If your plan is not looking 100% lean/fit they will reject your proposal and you will be back at the drawing board. With an investor, your first appearance is everything so make sure you are giving your best shot. A full business plan should be presented with numbers everywhere, graphs, statistics, and history.

A method I’ve always though about but never tried was simply sending out a press release about your clothing line looking for investors to expand. As simple as that, I think it can help raise awareness of what you are trying to do in a good way but should be done before you actually need the funding so your options are open.

All of the above methods for raising capital for your clothing line have been used in fashion and found many success. It does take a person with business savvy to land deals so do your research about laying the proper business plan. For help with a clothing line business plan visit the Entreprenuer.com ‘how to create a business plan’ (click here) page.

Money for a clothing line is initially your responsibility, with little exception. You have to fund your clothing line’s start via your hard earned money or trade of services. Starting a new clothing line usually involves the costs of clothing garments, labels, shipping, promotion, web hosting, and print services. If you have planned well, you may even be able to pay for your trademark (USPTO.GOV) as well. You can be creative in how you fund your clothing line but there are usually few options.

Funding your clothing line by yourself is hard work. You will need to plan for upcoming seasons without looking for a return on current product to be most efficient. It takes time for your clothing line to build and you will probably end up spending more money than you make back the first 4 seasons / year.

As expressed in other sections of this clothing line help guide, you will definitely want to include the costs of promotions and marketing, which can run into the thousands for one year. Giving away samples, professional public relation services (press releases), and advertisements with popular publications will be costly. You will need to consistently pay each (aka flighted work) to get the best return from your money.