I often get asked what the ideal budget is for starting a new brand and truth is, there's no such thing as 'ideals' in this industry! Unless you've got millions, there's always things that you will have to compromise on, especially at the start and the best way to decide what you need to invest in is by looking at your business plan. Don’t have a business plan yet? It doesn’t need to be fancy, but to stand a chance of success in my professional opinion, you at least need to know what kind of business model you’ll use. Need help with that? Click here to learn about my Fashion Startup Course.
This post covers some of the costs assosiated with starting a fashion business. The list is long, but don't panic! It's unlikely that you'll need all of these things for your particular plan and chances are you'll be able to do some of the work yourself - I just wanted to make sure that I cover a lot of bases and include things that a lot of startup and small businesses don't think of. Also keep in mind that you don't have to spend a huge amount on a lot of these things, for example a website. Some people charge £10k+ for a website, but if you're happy to put some effort in you can create a website for as little as £18 a month, like me.
Day-to-day expenses
These aren't necessarily things that you pay for often, perhaps even just once a year, but these are items that contribute to the day to day running of your business;
Phone
Internet
Computer
Software (such as Excel, Word, Canva), etc.
Electricity (obvious but a lot of people forget about it!
Car/ fuel/ transport
Insurance - super, super important.
Legal fees - definitely not a regular expense, but something you’ll definitely need before you launch. If you don’t have a lawyer right now, I’ve partnered with Natalie Puglisi as she has a lot of great templates and services to help business owners. Click here for my affiliate link and see what Natalie has to offer.
Accountant
Product expenses
These expenses all contribute to the cost price of your garments + include the components you need to make a finished product for sale;
Trend reports
Visiting events/ trade shows/ seminars/ suppliers
Designs (more on that here)
Technical drawings (read about those here)
Tech packs (article on what they are and why you need them here)
Patterns (you might not need these if you work with a factory, they may include them in the production price)
Samples (as with the patterns, these may be included in the production price)
Fit model
Production cost - labour
Fabrics
Dying/printing
Trims, eg thread, ribbon, elastic, buttons, zips, clasps, etc
Labels, eg woven labels, size pips, card labels possibly with ribbon, kimbles or pins, barcodes
Hygiene stickers if producing swimwear or lingerie
Packaging, including poly bags, garment bags, hangers, shipping boxes
Transport from the place of manufacture to you
Taxes + customs fees may be applicable if the stock is made in another country
Quality control inspections
Stock preparation, eg steaming, scanning in, distributing
Warehousing if you are using a company to store your stock and send out orders
Marketing and Sales expenses
Marketing is one area where you could literally spend limitlessly, but if you're a small business keep in mind that some of the best marketing methods, such as PR (getting featured in magazines/on websites) and social media can be done for free, you just need to put some effort in!
Branding design
Website
Business cards/ flyers/ promotional leaflets
Social media scheduler
Advertising, such as Facebook, in magazines, on blogs, influencer marketing, etc
Photography
Model
Hair/make up artist
Lookbook
Events such as press launch, pop-up shop, fashion show
Travel to sales meetings
Line sheet
As I said, I know this is a long list but please don't feel disheartened, there's a good chance that you don't need all of these things and I'm sure that you can do some of them yourself, without having to hire outside help. The reality is that I’ve had some successful clients launch a brand with $40,000 and other successful clients had less than $1000 to invest - you can make either budget work, you’ve just got to be intentional about where you’re spending.
If you'd like some help identifying which expenses you need to budget for and which aren't so important for your brand, I'd love to help you with this. My signature Fashion Startup Online Course helps you to avoid the common pitfalls that new brands fall into, helping you to save time and money in the process. Click here to learn more.
PS - wondering what an affiliate link is? This may mean that I’ll earn a commission if you decide to buy something, but this is at no extra cost to you and it helps me to keep providing free content like this. Rest assured, I only partner with companies who I truly believe can help you!
Pickleball outfit inspiration……