hi friends!
today, i am having a hard time. this sounds so cliche, but i am beyond ready to take my business to the next level. however, i am overwhelmed with just HOW to do that. i've come across some predicaments and i'm having difficulty finding a solution. one of my main problems is... how do i sell my clothing wholesale? i know where i want to sell purusha, and i believe they would want me there too... but i am struggling with, how do i make money selling clothing at 50% off the price i sell it at? and to pay my seamstress and myself, and pay for fabric and supplies... then at the end i am just left with nothing. seems like a really shitty business plan to me. i watch a lot of shark tank (lol) and i know if i told them i was selling pants to a store for wholesale at $38 a pair, and i only made $8 off that, while the retailer made $39, they'd say "you're crazy", and "why not make your stuff in china?" UGH. frustrating.
i love selling online. i get to meet my customers and i've made an abundance of beautiful kind friends through etsy, facebook, and this blog. and i love that i can sell my clothing at a fair price, so i feel good about it and my customers do too. i fear with selling to retailers, i wouldn't feel so great. so i feel stuck. where do i go from here? how can i make selling wholesale a reality? or should i pick up another strategy? i know i will figure it out, but in the meantime, here i am. and i don't know where to go to grow.
feel free to offer any suggestions to my issues. lol. or correct me if i'm wrong. maybe those profit margins are just reality.
eh. first world problems, i know. i will work out, i believe in purusha. just gotta find the plan...
namaste.
I have no background in business at all, but I have seen lots of upcoming businesses use interns. I went to the University of Cincinnati, which has a large art school (DAAP). All of my friends in the fashion program had mandatory "co-ops", which were 3-month segments where they found a job in fashion somewhere in the US. A lot of company have a constant rotation of UC interns, and a lot of interns return to their previous co-op multiple times during their time at UC. Some people work for weird places, like Abercrombie, but a lot of them go to smaller operations, particularly if they hope to open their own line when they graduate, rather than working for a corporation. They might not be as experienced as professional seamstresses, but I know, at UC at least, they they take a sewing class! Interns usually expect to make anywhere from $8-$15 per hour, so they're inexpensive labor, but they are mostly paid in experience and letters of recommendation, and they don't need benefits or anything, as they're typically still on their parent's or university's insurance.
ReplyDeleteGood luck Hayley! Whatever you do, I'm sure Purusha will get bigger just because of the beauty of the brand! :)
Veronica Court
I think you will find that some of the most successful brands aren't the ones that sell wholesale. Or, even if they do, they also have their own retail stores (ie. Nike, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors). So maybe, it can be a combination of both. I love your commitment to manufacturing stateside. That said, you need to get your costs lower so that if you chose to sell wholesale, you can make margin on your own product.
ReplyDeleteAnd, keep in mind, the more control you have on your product (selling it yourself), the more you can keep with the purusha vision. Maybe its worth sending some product to magazines (yoga magazine, shape, etc) to try to get product placement and create buzz about the brand. Maybe it is conducting a yoga class on the beach to get some buzz going around town. At the end of the day, it is always most profitable to sell at retail yourself. That way, you get all the margin, rather than having to share it with another retailer...
Hayley, I can so relate to every single word you type. This has been my struggle. You know I put great detail into all my pieces. It is literally impossible for me to sell my garments/design at wholesale. It's just not worth my time.
ReplyDeleteAnd I already have sent samples abroad and to domestic apparel companies. Forget about replicating my designs in the US. First I couldn't afford the pricing of minimums (much higher in US) and then I would be priced right out of my target market. I don't want to deal with manufacturing out of the country. That in itself brings a whole new set of obstacles.
I'm too scared to take the plunge. I would need to invest $75.000=$90,000 for 5 styles. Those five styles I would then need to hire a salesmen (more profit going to salesman). I wouldn't even know what 5 styles to choose.
I'm so frustrated. We both know the demand is there but yet I can't move forward..
I sometimes feel like maybe i should just be thankful for where I am and enjoy the ride. Maybe I will always be a small DIY company.
You are younger than me and should pursue this dream. I can see there is so much potential. You have the vision.