Between company’s that are going out of business and those not launching you will have less competition starting in rough times.

You have an advantage over larger companies because your overhead is much, much lower.

Vendors and manufacturer’s have more time to work with you and actually want your business.

Consumers are shopping for that special item, therefore buyers want newness. In fact, as I’m sure everyone knows, the main lament about NY Fashion Week was lack of innovation.

Speaking with industry people in NYC, they suggested to go for it, just be very careful and get credit card numbers when buyers place orders.

Kristin

DH being the card he is- joked with the local BofA vice president yesterday -’ hey, how about a personal loan’ – she asked if he was serious? (Thankfully, we do not need one right now). He has an excellent credit rating and was told “maybe in 4-6 months, right now we are granting NO personal loans, not even to those with excellent credit”.

I believe that we as a nation tend to take a more internalized or even downright isolationist view when in crisis. We turn to local, American made goods and services. Buy American is not a cry it is just a quiet murmur. Go shopping and watch people look at the hangtags and watch their reaction to price, where made, and what their comments are. Yesterday, I spent an hour at a local mall doing just that as my best friend shopped. I heard people commenting on garment quality and I cannot remember the last time I heard that. They used to say either Wow or Ow, decid to buy or not on the emotion they felt when looking at the garment. Now they look more carefully.

I picked up a beautiful pair of hand made shoes made off shore at a Zappos outlet for $57.00 that I know I will wear more than 1 season. The shoes were originally over 250 bucks.

Can or should a start up – start? Maybe, arrange your contacts, prepare your designs, get your patterns made, and find and price your supplies. Make a budget and a business plan. Work this out as if you were going to start dumping your money in tomorrow- But, don’t spend one penny you do not have on hand above and beyond the cost of housing, food, and basic necessities like utilities and ugh… insurance.

IF you have cash on hand, use that budget and fit your spending to what is available. You cannot expect some angel to drop out of the sky with bushel baskets of money and credit cards are OUT as they are excessively expensive to consider as an LOC.

The reason I brought up the shoes is so you also consider if you can afford to eat a return on a significant portion of your “sale” or bite back a big discount if you are lucky enough to place a big order. The merchants are going to want “better terms” where you carry more risk than ever. Zappos was cutting their loss on unsold inventory- not just making me a good deal.

Follow Kathleen’s GREAT advice – produce what you sell not what you hope to sell. Line your ducks up for next season or the year after, but really take the time to know how deep the water is before diving in.

Kaaren

I do have to say, do not plan on starting a business unless you have some solid funding. Most banks won’t even go near a new business loan application right now. You have to be creative and resourceful to secure financing. I just had a meeting with my banker and she says I was lucky to have secured a business line of credit last year, because I wouldn’t have been able to get it if I asked for one now.

If you have read everything on this blog and Kathleen’s book, have some type of financial resources, and are ready to work your tail off for a very long time (without pay of course) – then maybe, just maybe you are ready to take the next step.

This reminds me of the time I went to have a hamburger at a fast food chain the first day of business after a huge e-coli scare…

My logic was that with so many people getting sick, they would double and tripple check every piece of food being served :-0