Читать книгу Launch a Kick-Ass T-Shirt Brand - T-Shirt Magazine - Страница 11

Planning ahead is an absolute necessity for creating a t-shirt brand. Jumping into the industry without a plan is a surefire way to ensure that your brand will not be successful. The first step is to make sure that you aren’t starting a clothing business for the wrong reasons. Many people think that starting an independent clothing company is an easy way to make quick money. However, this mindset is an incredibly inaccurate representation of the independent fashion industry.

Running a brand requires extremely hard work that won’t reveal payoffs until months, sometimes years, down the line. This market has become so polluted and saturated with brands that it takes passion, dedication and time to create a unique identity that sets itself apart from all of its competitors.

In the end, you’ll notice that the success of your brand all comes down to one word: passion. Everyone is passionate about something, whether it is baseball or computer programming. Your brand will absolutely not succeed if being a clothing brand owner isn’t your passion. So, how do you know if this is really your passion before you’ve even jotted down notes and ideas? Well, what got you to this point so far? Why are you reading up on starting a t-shirt brand? If you are spending the time to do as much research as possible, then you are on the right track.

Do you buy clothes from other independent companies and think of ways to improve their products? Do you spend night and day thinking about design and name ideas? If so, then creating a detailed business plan for your future brand is the next path to take.

The business plan for your brand is basically going to be your step-by-step map in the creative process. You want to cover as many things as possible so that you will be better prepared once your plan becomes a reality. I will use my business plan for my brand as a guide for this section.

The first steps I took included writing down hundreds of brand name ideas. Taking the time to pick the perfect brand name can be an extremely long and frustrating process. The method that I used was to write down any words that came to mind when I thought about what I wanted my brand to represent. I had always been a history buff and I wanted to incorporate that passion into my brand.

Some people can find history to be quite boring, however, so my goal was to create a brand name with a contemporary feel that would stand out. After jotting down hundreds of words, I then looked for some outside help. I threw out name ideas to personal friends, family members and to people on t-shirt community websites.

After taking in all of their feedback, I found my final name to be Vicious History. You may not come up with your brand name the way I did, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Don’t be afraid to test out your ideas on your peers, as getting outside opinions is very important.

The next step I took was listing design ideas and potential artists. Make sure that your design ideas revolve around a central theme that represents your brand. Nothing is worse than releasing your newest collection only to realize that the products don’t relate with each other.

Design ideas can be tricky to put into words, so print out pictures and articles that inspire the look you are going for. There are thousands of graphic artists out there, so make sure you do your research and hire the ones who have the style you are looking for (that is, if you’re not creating the designs yourself).

The next step is to take into account the type of shirts you will be using, and the method of having them printed. Just as with artists, there are loads of blank t-shirt companies, so go with the ones that have your preferred styles, fits, colors and prices. If you aren’t printing the shirts yourself (which is most likely the case, unless you’re a screen printing specialist), shop around for quotes from screenprinters and decide on the best option based on your business plan.

The last section of the business plan should account for shipping, handling and accessories. Chances are, if you are starting a brand, your start-up capital isn’t going to be very much. This can be a bit limiting until your company starts to grow, but always try to put free items, such as fliers and stickers, into your budget. Figuring out your shipping method can be pretty intimidating and confusing at first.

In your business plan, write down your shipping methods step by step until everything looks right. Take into account packaging, scales, shipping supplies and postage methods. Before you launch, it’s always good to test your shipping methods by sending a package to yourself or a relative to ensure you won’t encounter any problems.

The final section of my business plan included all of the necessary financial information. Planning your costs and expenses is a very important step that you shouldn’t overlook. Jumping into a business without doing any sort of financial research will only slow your business down and reveal your lack of professionalism. Request quotes from graphic artists, web designers and apparel companies and incorporate them into your business plan so you can compare prices and make the best decisions for your brand.

I have seen companies in this industry with starting budgets ranging from several thousands of dollars to only a few hundred dollars. Some of these businesses have succeeded, and others never made it past their first year. Don’t worry about other people’s budgets or whether or not yours is large enough to compete. Building a successful clothing brand doesn’t depend solely on money. It requires countless hours of dedication and passion.

With that being said, don’t rush to launch your brand if you can’t cover many of the important expenses right off the bat. If you are at that point, spend more time raising the necessary amount of funds before you pull the trigger. The moment you launch your brand, it will be out there for everyone to see, and you don’t want to give a poor first impression. It will be easy for consumers to notice that your brand isn’t very professional, and that will greatly reduce the chance of them purchasing something from your store.

So much more goes into planning a successful brand than just ideas for cool-looking t-shirts. You need to develop a brand image that encourages the consumer to purchase a product. Having a clean and user-friendly website, professional product photos, high-quality garments and exceptional customer service are just a few of the things that contribute to a powerful brand image.

The most important step to take prior to launching your brand is doing large amounts of research. You can never do enough research for your brand; there is always quality information out there to help build your brand.

Regardless of the amount of research you do or the quality of your business plan, you are going to make mistakes. The mistakes aren’t what matter in owning a business; what matters is your ability to recognize and correct them in order to promote continual growth within your company. Having a diehard passion for your brand and learning from experience is what will lead to success within the independent clothing market.

Chaz Matses is the owner of the brand Viscous History

(www.ViciousHistory.com)