Starting a Clothing Company While in College

Starting a Clothing Company While in College Photo by nodespt on flickr.com Start-Up Funding Starting a clothing company, next to film financing, might be the most high-risk business venture out there. Realistically, to even get an clothing company off the ground, it can cost anywhere from $500 to $2500, depending on what resources you have at your disposal. Start small Don’t overexert yourself by spending too much money early on.   Starting out, Id recommend placing small orders, and I would hold off entirely until you have buyers lined up. Sell to friends and family first and see what items are gaining traction. It’s wise to begin working out of your home, but there will come a time when there’s not enough room. Rather than spending money on office space or warehouse space, I recommend using a self-storage finder to locate an affordable storage locker in your area. Web Design In regard to my friends’ story, one of the founders was a professional graphic designer, so that covered a significant expenditure for them. Paying a professional to design and code your website can be expensive, but there are alternative options as well. BigCartel is definitely worth looking into; it does cost around $10/month to display 25 products, but the service includes a build in inventory tracker and an analytics tracker, which makes it easy to identify how many people are looking at each item. Screen Printing and Suppliers When looking for a screen printer, be sure to shop around for the lowest price.  Also, it’s important to wash the clothing several times before you place another order. In regard to suppliers, it’s important to think about the level of quality you want. As with most clothing items, the wholesale supplier (Gildan, Hanes, American Apparel, ect.) will dictate cost and quality. Legal Expenses When you start your clothing company, you should create an LLC (either an S corporation or C corporation).   I recommend retaining the services of an attorney who focuses on intellectual property law, but if you know a lawyer in a different field who is willing to work pro-bono, then by all means use their services. Attorneys can help out in many ways; in addition to the incorporation of the company, they can look over bank loans, as well as contracts with screen printers and suppliers. Starting a clothing company can be a daunting enterprise, so start small, get your friends to help, and tread carefully. John Donegan is a writer at SpareFoot.