If you have started a fashion business of course you are not expected to start making money straight away, but getting paid is important.
We understand that businesses can be seen as investments for the owners, and are usually created out of love and so they are likely to pour a lot of resources into the business without getting much back.
Simply put, if you do not get paid there is not much you can do with your business. You do need to create a road map of some sort which will enable you to know how you will get an income.
It can be easy to get caught up in the magic of having a fashion brand, but it is a business.
If your fashion passion is your hobby then a return on investment (ROI) may not necessarily be important for you, but if you have plans of running the business full-time with it being your main source of income then you must receive an income from your business.
Fashion businesses typically demand a lot of resources poured into them, whether it be by time or finance, and so you need to make sure that you will need a good source of cash flowing in to help it to continue.
As we detailed in our post "Power Of 1" when creating a fashion brand you do not have to create a large collection and that you can maybe start with one key garment for you promote and sell.
This way you can test the market and gauge your audiences responses. After all you are creating your brand with your customer in mind and so giving them what they want is paramount.
If your business has already started trading you need to keep on top of your finances. For example; you are selling wholesale and your buyer is late with making payment as per your agreement, this may then in turn make you delay your payments to your suppliers, creating strained relationships.
As a business you need to make sure that you can insulate yourself as much as possible with regards to finance. We cannot express how important cashflow and budgeting is. One day you may get a big order where there will be a lot of cash, and the next day you have no income, but you still have bills to pay.
Give your business the best start you can, it will hopefully pay dividends in the long run.
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