Starting a small or medium clothing business is fun but also confusing because there are so many options out there.
Today we will guide you on how to choose products to sell, and then to name your business accordingly. This is the second Your Denim Business blog post; you may view the first one here.
Be as specific and realistic as possible about what you want to sell now and what you want to sell in the future, who you want to sell to and how you will sell to them. Thereafter, name your business accordingly.
You need to be specific about what you want to sell and who you want to sell to, because your marketing resources will be limited. The more time, knowledge, skills, experience and access to funding you have, the more you can diversify and broaden the variety of stock that you keep or advertise. This is because each item/style needs to be marketed to the right people in order to make sales, so if you have too many items to sell but nobody is viewing them then you will not make enough sales. It's okay to spend a little time and money on adding to your range so that your store appeals more to customers, but if you're just starting off, you should focus most of your time and money on something specific - depending on the size of your business.
Each product/style that you sell needs to be marketed using your time, effort and money. For example, if you have an online business, you need to take time to take/download pictures for each item, then to write/talk about them, and then to post them using organic posts or paid ads. If you do not have the time, energy and money to spend on many products, just focus on a select few. Too many small businesses just repost other items expecting many sales, but customers really love it when you put effort into your advertising and give it a personal touch, so select a few categories of clothing or even just one category and focus on that.
For example, Zalemart currently sells ladies branded denim jeans and we focus on advertising them. However, we do have a few other items to go with the jeans such as tops, shoes and bags but we do not focus on these products. We hope to add a much wider range of clothing in the second half of this year :)
Some ways to find a smaller niche in the denim business is focusing on small or plus size denims, or focusing on specific length jeans, or on a specific price range or condition of denims etc.
You have to start off by selling to people you can reach easily, especially if you do not make use of paid advertising. Posting on platforms such as your personal social media accounts can help you start your business, and people close to you are also more likely to be patient with you as you are still learning about operating your business. Besides public advertising, don't feel shy to contact people directly to advertise your products, as long as you feel they are your target market i.e. they are people who would be very interested in such products. If possible, open a small physical store or just have a safe place where people are able to fit/try your products if they wish - this creates much needed trust for your business.
Once you have more energy, time and money to diversify you can then start adding other products to your business.
The next step is to choose a business name based on what you are selling. This largely depends on your future plans for the business, because future name changes are not recommended. If you plan for the store to always be a denim store, pick a name that will suit a denim store but if you plan for it to be a general clothing store soon, then you can pick a more general name. Remember, although it's good to dream big, always set realistic goals and plans so that you are able to achieve them.
When picking a name, ensure that it is not taken on social media platforms and it is easy to spell and write after a customer hears it.
Click here to view a great video which helps you choose your business name
Once you have decided what to sell, and chosen a name for your business, please do ask us for our opinions and advice on your choices. We would love to guide you on choosing the best options. You can message us on WhatsApp : 073 112 8708
We hope you learnt from this blog and we look forward to sharing step number two with you - Marketing your products online.