Want help/advice completing my 2018 business plan

NAVIN · Jan 9, 2018

Hey Guys...

I've a plan to create my little fashion brand....

I want to create my own cloth brand and shop.
I've grouped with 3 member. First, my classmate , he has experience which type of cloth has high sellings in a certain month (cotton, woolen / summer,winter). His elder brother already runs a cloth shop and he will too help us, he has experience.
Second member will design cloths along with other person(they all design very good.. ) and we'll have almost 40-50 types of cloth design...
Third will help us throughout our project, he has high contacts, and will give us investor, and market our products.

My question is that, should we proceed with this plan or need to do more planning. Or if there is any error in plan.

Please help me making this plan more working and give us advice for higher success. I'm researching on it, & please give us idea to sell good ...

~thank you!

Edvin · Jan 9, 2018

Hi Navin,

I hope I didn't miss understand your question since the post title talks about 2018 business plan...

Looks like you have a great team; but, that is not same as a business plan.

The old-school entrepreneur will open-up shop and figure things out along the way.
As a matter of fact, my two brothers are extremely successful using that model.
However, they wouldn't do that again; that level of risk was exercised during their youth.
Today, they spend money just so they walk away before investing in a bad decision.

I would recommend you to take the time to find and complete a "business plan template"; even if you don't like it.

You are not necessarily coming up with a novel concept; so, use the existing information to help you plan all the logistics of the business before pulling the trigger. For example:

How can you find cloths brokers to put your products in large number of stores?
How can you supply them and what kind of demand do you forecast?
How much will you pay the brokers, designers, etc?
How will you stay innovative with your brand for long term?
How can you stay competitive and what will you compete on?
How long do you expect you and your team to work from home?

Competitors are a great resource for preparing your business plan:

Cost
Operations
Manufacturing
Marketing
Market penetration
Pricing strategy
Seasonality
Logistics (shipping/receiving, merchandising, etc)
etc

Create a financial forecast (accounting for all expenses) before you decide to go forward; after all, why would you do it unless it is profitable.

You need to have something tangent before giving-up part of your equity for an investor to help you grow.
Like I mentioned earlier, you are not doing anything innovative; so, no one will invest in you until they see a working revenue system in place.

There is alot to do; but, if you have the passion then you'll prepare and navigate around the landmines instead of reacting to them.

Good luck on your endeavor.

NAVIN · Jan 9, 2018

Edvin said:
Hi Navin,

I hope I didn't miss understand your question since the post title talks about 2018 business plan...

Looks like you have a great team; but, that is not same as a business plan.

The old-school entrepreneur will open-up shop and figure things out along the way.
As a matter of fact, my two brothers are extremely successful using that model.
However, they wouldn't do that again; that level of risk was exercised during their youth.
Today, they spend money just so they walk away before investing in a bad decision.

I would recommend you to take the time to find and complete a "business plan template"; even if you don't like it.

You are not necessarily coming up with a novel concept; so, use the existing information to help you plan all the logistics of the business before pulling the trigger. For example:

How can you find cloths brokers to put your products in large number of stores?

How can you supply them and what kind of demand do you forecast?

How much will you pay the brokers, designers, etc?

How will you stay innovative with your brand for long term?

How can you stay competitive and what will you compete on?

How long do you expect you and your team to work from home?

Competitors are a great resource for preparing your business plan:

Cost

Operations

Manufacturing

Marketing

Market penetration

Pricing strategy

Seasonality

Logistics (shipping/receiving, merchandising, etc)

etc

Create a financial forecast (accounting for all expenses) before you decide to go forward; after all, why would you do it unless it is profitable.

You need to have something tangent before giving-up part of your equity for an investor to help you grow.
Like I mentioned earlier, you are not doing anything innovative; so, no one will invest in you until they see a working revenue system in place.

There is alot to do; but, if you have the passion then you'll prepare and navigate around the landmines instead of reacting to them.

Good luck on your endeavor.

Thanks sir ,
This helped me a lot....
Your plan is awesome...

Ronnie McGhee · Jan 16, 2018

I want to add something which is also important - that "market the clothing line" entrepreneurs should start to consider following:

Build The Brand
Identify The Target Audience
Create An Online Presence

A clothing line is identified by its company name and logo, identify your audience, who is more potential to buy your product, email them, refer them, identify them by many options. A business without an online marketplace misses too many opportunities. E-commerce is growing rapidly as billions are spent monthly, i strongly recommend that create online presence. you have a lot to lose if you don’t move your business online.

I hope this will help you to grow you business when you start.

Thanks!

Small to Feds · Feb 21, 2018

Your equity arrangements as well as many other important factors will evolve by developing a business plan and an operating agreement as a team.

Develop a business plan together using the below tool kit:

How to Write a Business Plan

Free Business Plan Samples

Then develop the operating agreement, which is a separate document, not controlled or required by the state or the federal government, but very important to your company. It should be a simple, straightforward document you and your prospective partner(s) can draft yourselves, addressing such matters as % of ownership, how revenue will be distributed and other general matters, as well as who can commit the company in the form of credit cards, who signs checks on the company account and other administrative matters. Buying out a partner should also be covered as well as adding new members if the need arises down the road.

I have seen many enterprises fail or go through terrifically hard times due to lack of an operating agreement. The parties should sign it after a review by a lawyer. It should then be notarized and made an official part of the company file. You can download a generic operating agreement at the second, vertical, Box Net “References” in the Right margin of the site linked below:

http://www.smalltofeds.com

It is for an LLC but you could modify it for other types of corporations. You can feel free to borrow from the sample or supplement it as you see fit. It is fairly comprehensive in order to cover most business situations and there may be elements of the example you feel are not necessary.

Emma · Aug 6, 2018

Starting a new business is always exciting, but you should plan it carefully to make sure it’ll succeed. In every niche, you have experts that offer advice, support and needed software, for yours those are Niche Fashion Technology | Fashion ERP Software. They have a team that will find the best solution for your fashion business.

Log in