Fashion Incubator » Operations http://www.fashion-incubator.com How to start a clothing line or run the one you have, better. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:36:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Selling your design business http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/selling-your-design-business/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/selling-your-design-business/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:53:39 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=10789 Do you have any articles or information about how to sell or license a design? Although I have streamlined and have one full time helper, the business has grown too big for me to handle on my own and I am interested in finding out if there are any companies out there that would be interested in buying my designs and brand. I have a small business making xxx from post-consumer apparel. I've published several posts on selling your business which I'll link to as is appropriate to sort out these issues.
  • What is she selling? The business? A license? The brand? The designs?
  • How marketable are those elements as they would interest a buyer?
Background: Jody included a link to her website. Personally, I think her products are awesome (and you know how I resist making such pronouncements) and priced well (commensurate to their value) but there are two core problems that can affect the sale of businesses like hers. First the downsides: With respect to licensing -this isn't going to happen, or it shouldn't. Only someone who is really green would buy a license and these people tend to not have much money so its a zero sum game. If you are toying with the idea of selling a license, keep in mind the option is limited to celebrities or very well established brands. A license is only good for an add-on product, it's not a take-over of your primary one. In other words, Ralph Lauren can sell a license to a sunglasses manufacturer but the license is worth nothing if RL stopped producing -which is what Jody wants to do. So unless you're Beyonce, Martha Stewart or Hello Kitty, cross licensing off your list of options.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/selling-your-design-business/feed/ 8 Selling to department stores pt.3 (compliance) http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/selling-to-department-stores-pt-3-compliance/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/selling-to-department-stores-pt-3-compliance/#comments Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:47:37 +0000 Guest Author http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=10672 EDI BootCamp class I took from him. Without further ado, here's Jim: ---------------------- In part 2, Kathleen said “If you want to move up to another level sales-wise, the process and logistics of how you service those accounts will have to move up to another level first.” Very true, but you are facing something of a chicken and egg situation here. You can’t put the necessary processes and logistics in place without the cash flow from orders to support it, but if you get the orders without the ability to handle them, it can be catastrophic. So how can you deal with this successfully? Well, you can have a carefully thought out plan in place, know what it will cost and how long it will take to come up to speed. At this point, of course, you are going to have lots of questions. What is EDI and why do large retailers have all these 'compliance requirements? How is doing business with large retailers different than small stores and boutiques? Important stuff. For answers, you need to understand how large retail operations work.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/selling-to-department-stores-pt-3-compliance/feed/ 4 Legal changes affecting clothing manufacturers in California http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/legal-changes-affecting-clothing-manufacturers-in-california/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/legal-changes-affecting-clothing-manufacturers-in-california/#comments Fri, 30 Dec 2011 22:20:20 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=10642 california_state_seal1Today must be the day for legal stuff! Okay, primarily via Apparel News come these highlights of interest to California based apparel manufacturers. First is SB657, the Human Trafficking law (pdf) which states that effective January 1st, qualifying manufacturers and retailers are required to post specific details about their supply chains on their websites. I am unsure as to whether this applies to anyone reading this, there is a bit of confusion. The law broadly states that firms with 100 million in sales worldwide who have a "presence" in California are required to comply. Frankly, I doubt this applies to any of my visitors. Presumably anyone to whom this would apply had their in house counsel poring over the law well before now. The confusion arises because an earlier article in Apparel News says the law also applies to firms with sales in California that exceed half a million dollars or 25% of one's total sales -but this contradicts an article I read in Just-Style last August. Hmm. This is a bit too close for comfort. I doubt 25% of my sales are in CA but this expanded definition could be worrisome to many of you. Accordingly, I had my in house researcher (Mr. F-I, naturally, he's off this week) look it over. He says he doesn't see those definitions. Which ever the case may be, if you are required to be in compliance come January 1st but aren't, you probably have a bit of a grace period to unpack what the law says. Obviously we should discuss it in comments to narrow it down.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/legal-changes-affecting-clothing-manufacturers-in-california/feed/ 1 Selling to department stores pt.2 (EDI) http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/selling-to-department-stores-pt-2-edi/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/selling-to-department-stores-pt-2-edi/#comments Thu, 29 Dec 2011 22:24:13 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=10624 Selling to department stores pt.1, I mentioned the advantages and disadvantages to independents who want to sell clothing to department stores. Please read that first for context or little of this entry will make sense or will simply overwhelm you. Continuing on. In that entry I listed 5 things you need to know about selling to department stores and provided links to flesh out the topics. In many ways, the post was an amalgamation of the many entries I've written on how to sell in the big leagues. The one item on the list that got short shrift was EDI or Electronic Data Interchange. Today's entry is a start to correcting that omission. Toward that end, I took a web based class last month called EDI Bootcamp with Jim Wiebe. Jim is the go-to guy for EDI and small apparel wholesalers. EDI could be described as an electronic protocol and software based logistics management tool. You can't sell in the big leagues without it. In part, Wikipedia describes it like so:
For example an EDI 940 ship-from-warehouse order is used by a manufacturer to tell a warehouse to ship product to a retailer. It typically has a ship to address, bill to address, a list of product numbers (usually a UPC) and quantities. Another example is the set of messages between sellers and buyers, such as request for quotation (RFQ), bid in response to RFQ, purchase order, purchase order acknowledgment, shipping notice, receiving advice, invoice, and payment advice. [...] In some cases, EDI will be used to create a new business information flow [...in the case of] Advanced Shipment Notification (856) which was designed to inform the receiver of a shipment, the goods to be received and how the goods are packaged.
In short, EDI is a means to satisfying vendor compliance standards established by your customer.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/selling-to-department-stores-pt-2-edi/feed/ 3 Financing a clothing line: is it time to borrow money? http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/financing-a-clothing-line-is-it-time-to-borrow-money/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/financing-a-clothing-line-is-it-time-to-borrow-money/#comments Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:29:37 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=6989 it's a mistake to assign it that much power in your life. If you have the sense that money is the only thing standing in the way of you and your goals, consider reading a book called Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want. It could change your life (it changed mine). The majority of self-help books written over the past 25 years are based on concepts in this book but the original is best. For the rest of you considering a loan, this may not be so risky depending on the circumstances. So how do you know if it's time to take the step? Ask yourself these things:
  • How will the loan be repaid?
  • Have you borrowed a comparable sum for similar purposes?
  • What do you want the money for?
  • What is your risk aversion profile?
]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/financing-a-clothing-line-is-it-time-to-borrow-money/feed/ 3 Fit model measurements http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/fit-model-measurements/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/fit-model-measurements/#comments Fri, 10 Jun 2011 22:02:15 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=9568 fit_model_measurements_form_stylefileStyleFile has a new blog with short and sweet digestible bits. Case in point, a recent post provides a free download for forms you can use to track your fit model's measurements. Male and female samples are provided. If there were sufficient demand, I'm sure they would also provide one for children so do comment to let somebody know. Other useful notes on the site include what is a "send out", suggestions for pattern numbering (it's not just me...), fabric shrinkage, being careful to specify desired stitching, testing all fabric components that comprise your product and the like. All topics we've explored at length -but perhaps so lengthy or preachy you haven't read them. Such is life. Last but not least, StyleFile has a selection of videos showing you how to streamline your tech pack documentation. Even if you're not at the stage of needing software, it is good to keep downstream processes in mind.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/fit-model-measurements/feed/ 3 Business plans for funding are over-rated http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/business-plans-for-funding-are-over-rated/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/business-plans-for-funding-are-over-rated/#comments Fri, 27 May 2011 22:07:51 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=9509 Guessing the market: targeting for your business plan), now is when people are going to get mad at me. The size and spending of your market doesn't matter unless it is highly specialized. Here are some examples that require targeted data:
  • Product: Flight suits for female pilots. The number of women holding private pilot's licenses is important.
  • Product: Clothes for girls aged 7-14 who have Downs Syndrome (ditto special populations such as little people etc).
I know at least half of you think I'm wrong but projections mean nothing. Being able to define the size of a market doesn’t mean you're going to get any of that pie. Clothes aren’t cars, TVs or houses. Sure, it's possible to calculate a range of possible sales of technology items or durable goods but it's impossible to know how many high school girls will buy a short red knit skirt. Companies who can forecast this sort of thing are those who have a track record -which is where their projections come from plus or minus whatever other trend is going on in the market that they happen to know about because they have experience and established relationships. If you don't have these things, you're flying blind. Welcome to my world. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do this, not at all. My worry is that too many focus on meaningless numbers over which they have no control versus that which they do. Most of the time, market size doesn't matter. What they spend doesn't matter either. You may as well crib data from anyone else putting together a business plan because you don't know how much of that market you're going to get until people see what you have and have to have it.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/business-plans-for-funding-are-over-rated/feed/ 5 Review: The Spec Manual http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/review-the-spec-manual/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/review-the-spec-manual/#comments Tue, 15 Mar 2011 21:36:32 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=8982 spec_manual_coverNote: this review is of the first edition of The Spec Manual. I mistakenly purchased this instead of the second edition -but that's a whole other story. To prevent you from making the same mistake, all of the links in this entry are for the second edition. At close I'll include the publisher's list of changes. The Spec Manual is a textbook but could also be useful for entrepreneurs who are interested in doing a better job of garment measuring. Its focus is simple and direct; to enable a reader to detail attributes of garments for inclusion in a tech pack. There are about 10 chapters once you get past the fluff (croquis, 40 pages of them!). Handily enough, pages are perforated so you can rip out pages you don't need or want to scan. The book includes a CD with the croquis and spread sheets (Excel and pdf). Each chapter details how to measure a given type of garment using only one sample product type. I realize that can be a rub since product features vary so widely but in defense of the authors, the selected garment examples are very complex. If you were making a simpler item, you would skip the extraneous features that don't apply to you. The various chapters include how to measure a skirt, pants and shorts, vest, woven shirt, dress, bodysuit and jumpsuits, sweater, tailored jacket, outerwear and a belt (that last chapter is only two pages). The second edition includes a chapter on how to measure a bra. Okay, so maybe you read through the list of chapters and think it won't work for you but be as creative about developing your technical foundation as you are your styles. If you were making something like a short nightie with soft cups, you'd combine the appropriate attributes from the bra and dress chapters.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/review-the-spec-manual/feed/ 4 Getting things done when you’re not in charge pt.4 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/getting-things-done-when-you%e2%80%99re-not-in-charge-pt-4/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/getting-things-done-when-you%e2%80%99re-not-in-charge-pt-4/#comments Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:06:23 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=8509 two and three. Other related links appear at close or within the text. Recap of key points:
  • You can't change anyone other than yourself.
  • You can't persuade anyone to change.
  • Change behaviors and attitudes will follow.
  • You must be committed; existing conditions are no longer tolerable.
  • You are willing to pay the price (sacrifice) for change
Before I go into this case history of change, it would help to know I didn't have a grand visionary plan to take the company by storm or anything crazy like that. The company I worked for was doing one specific thing very wrong. While my goal was modest, it ended up changing the entire company, its culture, dramatically improved new product launches (up 25%) reduced product development costs by half and our defect rate was so low as to be immeasurable. Suffice to say that the 4 person repairs department was reduced to only one person doing repairs one afternoon a week. If you think the resulting company consensus was that I was great, you'd be wrong. I would have been fired if I hadn't quit first. It was only a year or so later that they (and I) realized the value of all I had done and tried to get me to come back. In other words, don't be delusional and do it for the sake of being a hero because no one is going to appreciate it in the short term. Only pursue your course because it is the right thing to do, not because anyone is going to love you for it because they may resent you instead. That's life. ]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/getting-things-done-when-you%e2%80%99re-not-in-charge-pt-4/feed/ 8 Getting things done when you’re not in charge pt.3 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/getting-things-done-when-you%e2%80%99re-not-in-charge-pt-3/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/getting-things-done-when-you%e2%80%99re-not-in-charge-pt-3/#comments Sat, 22 Jan 2011 00:11:00 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=8446 yesterday, I'll follow up with volunteers next week. Before I get into real life examples, I thought it would be appropriate to frame the first conflict of getting things done when you're not in charge by telling you the two key strategies of change -other than being committed to it. These are:
  • You can't change anyone but yourself.
  • You cannot persuade anyone to change.
#1 You can't change anyone but yourself. People's attempts to get others to change are legendary. It is hopeless. Whether you are the King of the world or a street sweeper, you can only indirectly change the behavior of others by changing yourself. Change occurs when others respond to the changes in you with changes of their own. It becomes a matter of tactics and persistence to attain your desired results. #2 You cannot persuade anyone to change. Forget nagging or lofty appeals; enduring change comes from changing behaviors. If you change behaviors, attitudes will follow. There is nothing of which I am more certain. Oh I know it rankles because this is anti-democratic and we want everyone to affirm our little plans don't we? If you can't move forward without the affirmation of a buy-in to change (yourself because that is all you can do) it really means your ego is on the line in seeking approval for your valuable ideas. You can't effect change if you ask permission. And if you're in a position of powerlessness, you have no leverage to compel anyone to change anything no matter how sunny your disposition. If you need affirmation and companionship on your journey, join a support group because change is hard, not fun, and nobody wants to go there. Any change centered support group that works (AA) is because behavioral change is the first requirement.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/getting-things-done-when-you%e2%80%99re-not-in-charge-pt-3/feed/ 3