How do you get started in starting your own business?

Step 1: Find a customer who has said they will pay you a specific amount of money to solve a problem for them.
Step 2: Do not move forward until you've done step 1. Don't set up a website. Don't take on inventory. Don't talk to suppliers. Find a customer first.

The point in finding the customer first is that you figure out how you can make money. Unless if you have a customer who wants to give you money, you don't have a business, you have a hobby. Most successful businesses first started with purchase orders and contracts that the entrepreneur then figured out how to fulfill. It is a lot easier to find products to sell to paying customers than it is to find paying customers who want to buy your inventory.

Hi Maranda,

Good question (and great goal). I'm not in the fashion industry so I'd like to take a stab at offering some insight from a slightly different perspective. I've been in the business world for over 30 years and have owned several companies in that time. While there are certainly many paths that lead to business ownership, I'd like to offer three items for your consideration. First is that owning a business is not nearly as 'romantic' as it sounds. I've seen a number of people who are excellent in a given field (like graphic design, baking, construction, dentistry) buy or create a company only to find out that besides focusing on their passion/talent, they also have to deal with vendors, accounting/finance issues, marketing and advertising, ERP systems, etc. The point is, business ownership entails way more than just a knowledge or passion for a product or skill--it entails ALL aspects of business. You don't have to be in accounting to gain an understanding of accounting practices in your industry. So perhaps gaining experience or at least insight into the various disciplines it takes to run a successful company might be a good place to start

The second consideration I'd like to toss on the table is be sure that there is a need for whatever business you are creating. A friend of mine was a tremendous baker and opened up a custom cupcake baking company. Her cupcakes we incredible--both artistically and tasting! She worked a lot of long hours and invested both time and money into her business only to find out that there really isn't a large need for custom artistic cupcakes in her geographical market. A business must fill a need that the market recognizes as a need, and fill it at the correct value point--at a volume which can sustain the business. Mathematically I suppose a watered-down simplistic equation might look like this: Market recognized need + Company that can fulfill that need + Price that is market acceptable + sustainable profit margin = Viable Business Option. So as you navigate the initial stages of your career, keep an eye on the market place, and ask questions like "is there a better way to fill _ need". Or listen closely when you or a trusted coworker says "I'm surprised nobody is doing __".

The last consideration is based on an article I read sometime ago--and for which I really wish I could remember to give the author credit. But it's basically a call to find your BS/Happiness quotient. EVERY company/job/industry/etc has crappy elements or things about it that need to be tolerated. So when looking to start your own company, consider which aspect of the fashion industry you have enough passion for to put up with the BS that comes along with it. Programmers, coders and journalists often have to fight tight deadlines. But many of them don't mind staying up for 24 hours straight in a coffee unfused frenzy working to meet their deadline. Point is, the crappy aspects are bound to come, if you find something your passionate about, you'll put up with a lot of BS to make it work. If you find that, your chances of creating a long-lasting business will greatly increase.

Everybody's path (and definition) of success is different, so while I can't offer you any concrete, practical advice, I'm hoping the thoughts above will help you as you gain experience in your career and shed some light on some points to consider as you learn the industry.

Best of luck!

Craig Allan

Please visit www.score.org for the specific questions you will have to answer on financing, marketing, pricing and competitors, plus links to your local SCORE mentors who can help you with those answers!
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