# How to Raise Money to start my biz



## Deception (Jul 8, 2008)

I was wondering how I could go about raising some money to start my clothing line that will be somewhat like Affliction.


----------



## marcelolopez (Jul 16, 2007)

Baking some cookies and selling them to neighbors .
I used to finance my business a fraction of my paycheck, and on some cases my credit card.


----------



## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

lol Lemonade has a higher profit margin.  Just add more water.  

Anyway, that is a very broad question, it is almost like asking, "How do I get rich, like Bill Gates?"


----------



## pshawny (Feb 27, 2008)

1) Start saving
2) Take out a business loan
3) Borrow from family & friends
4) Start small & expand when possible
5) Pre-sell


----------



## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

*Hi. First thing to remember, is that over 70 percent of new business start ups, are no longer in business after three years. *

*With that in mind, you need a clear and structured business plan. You need to do market research to see how much things cost to buy and how much they sell for. Only when you've done that will you have some idea of how much capital you need to start a business.*

*Try to finance it all yourself. If it doesn't work out, then you don't owe anyone anything.*


----------



## knifemaker3 (Sep 8, 2006)

Save money by getting rid of anything that is costing you a monthly expense that you can live without, i.e cell phone, cable tv, internet, eating out, going to movies, etc. Then take that money and invest it in your business.

Many people want to have their own business but are not willing to give up a few luxuries to maintain their business. That's why so many go out after 3 years.

Anyway, that's the way I look at it.

Hope this helps and good luck!!!!


----------



## ShadowDragon (Aug 6, 2006)

This is a similar situation that I am in at the moment and as someone mentioned before, I have chipped in a little from my wage and a bit from a credit card. Im trying to avoid the credit card thing though, thats a terrible way to loan money, interest is terrible.

Right now I only have white tshirts, but im looking at branching into colour tees so the extra capital will be handy. But, I can only do it in small chunks and be patient, and slowly make gains forward from time to time and expand my stock gradually.

I figure its going to take a year or two to get up to a reasonable business-operating-speed and until that happens I aint quittin my day job.


----------



## DTFuqua (Jun 26, 2008)

Have you thought about starting a single color line to start with? That way, you could build one of the DIY screen presses and get familiar with the work involved and be making some cash as well. I wouldn't try making one of the multi color/station setups unless you are a very good fabricator and can make things with tolerances in the thousandths of an inch to allow for precise placement of each screen in the machine to line up exactly where the last one did. Other wise, the only other thing I can think of (I resisted saying it as long as I could) " get a job "


----------



## TripleT (Apr 29, 2007)

It sounds like you just have an idea at this point - so 99% of the time, your only chance of rasing money is family and friends.


----------



## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

*Being UK based I wasn't familiar with who Affliction were. Have now managed looked at some of their product range. *

*If you wanted to produce similar items, you would be looking at some very serious outlay. You then have to establish yourself as a brand and get your products in the market place. That would take time and as everyone in business will tell you, time is money.*


----------



## KirstWhite (May 31, 2008)

It sounds like you have an idea and a desire, but no practical experience in the industry. Are there any shops in your area that would be willing to take on an apprentice or intern? That can be a great way to learn how things are done and what your expectations should be. Also, maybe a business basics course at a local community college?


----------



## Sheepsalt (Sep 12, 2007)

+1 to everything said so far. First write a business plan... check out SCORE's website for more info on that.

In order to write a business plan, you'll need to know allot of details about the business you want to start. The SCORE's outline will walk you through that.

Most importantly, know your customer - who do you want to sell to? "Everyone" is not an acceptable answer. "21-31 year-old college-educated, career-minded, politically-active singles" is a closer description, for example.

Then, sell everything you own, live without luxuries like cell phones, cable, $5 coffee, x-box live subscriptions, whatever... if you're not willing to put EVERYTHING you've got into the business, no one else should invest. Plus, it will take everything before it's done, anyway, so may as well put it in up front.

Also know that almost every successful business person has come to the point at least once where they actually do lose EVERYTHING. Then they understand the cost, and re-enter knowing better what to do.


----------



## LampyB (Jun 22, 2008)

buy an allotment of just hats, or just one t-shirt design at first. sell all of your small inventory at a marked up value, use that money to buy more merchandise. do it a few times and you'll have a lot of money on hand...


----------



## jvanwest (Jul 3, 2008)

DREAMGLASS said:


> *Hi. First thing to remember, is that over 70 percent of new business start ups, are no longer in business after three years. *
> 
> *With that in mind, you need a clear and structured business plan. You need to do market research to see how much things cost to buy and how much they sell for. Only when you've done that will you have some idea of how much capital you need to start a business.*
> 
> *Try to finance it all yourself. If it doesn't work out, then you don't owe anyone anything.*


I agree with Dreamglass. A business plan is essential. You can't know where you want to go unless you have a plan. Winging it for any business is never good business. I think that's the main reason so many businesses fail - they fail to plan ahead. The T-Shirt business is no different. If you ask a successful sales person how they got to be successful, I would bet that it all begins with a plan. Who are you going to call this week, what is your goal, etc. 

Another thought - don't just think about the plan - write it down. I had a business coach tell me "The palest of inks is finer than the sharpest of memories". 

You might think you have a great idea but make sure before you invest your time, money and training that your target audience also thinks it's a good idea and they will be willing to pay for your product. 

Having this all worked out ahead of time will save you more in the end. Even Tiger Woods, the great golfer that he is, spends countless hours practicing and refining his game.

FWIW,


----------



## KirstWhite (May 31, 2008)

> buy an allotment of just hats, or just one t-shirt design at first. sell all of your small inventory at a marked up value, use that money to buy more merchandise. do it a few times and you'll have a lot of money on hand...


That's a horribly simplistic and unrealistic way to look at starting a business! I don't mean to "dis" you LampyB, but that's why so many "businesses" fail. A true business doesn't start off with one hat or shirt design and just sell them all and make a bunch of money. If it were that easy EVERYONE could do it. If I had a nickel for every guy who has come to my shop and had me make shirts for his new "clothing line"..... They last a couple of months, until all their family and friends have bought their shirts, then they have nowhere left to go with their "business" because they don't understand the full spectrum of running a business. 

Where will you sell this product? Who will you sell it to? What kind of margin will your market support? What kinds of other costs will you incur in selling the product you have purchased?

Plan to work and work your plan. It can be tough and there will be lean times, but if you deliver a quality product to your customers at a reasonable price then you're at a good starting point. From there its about smart business practices and a good marketing plan.


----------



## Sheepsalt (Sep 12, 2007)

KirstWhite said:


> Where will you sell this product? Who will you sell it to? What kind of margin will your market support? What kinds of other costs will you incur in selling the product you have purchased?
> 
> Plan to work and work your plan. It can be tough and there will be lean times, but if you deliver a quality product to your customers at a reasonable price then you're at a good starting point. From there its about smart business practices and a good marketing plan.


This is so key.


----------



## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

I suggest wearing your shirts. I wear my designs all the time. I have my website on the back of a lot my shirts. I always try to bring up my business if I can and always have business cards ready. If I go in a store and they have a bulliten board, I put up a few cards. i have my site in my window of my vehicle. P.R> is the key to success.If people don't know you exist, they can't buy from you. .... JB


----------



## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

*Think this guy summed it up best.*


*"Diligence is the mother of good luck." - Benjamin Franklin.*

*Running a business is a lot harder work, than many people give credit to. Raising the capital is just one small step along the route.*


----------



## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

Write a business plan. Get help from your local CoC and SCORE. 
Form an LLP/LLC or C Corp and sell shares or find an Angel Investor.
Follow your plan. 
QED


----------



## LampyB (Jun 22, 2008)

KirstWhite said:


> That's a horribly simplistic and unrealistic way to look at starting a business! I don't mean to "dis" you LampyB, but that's why so many "businesses" fail.


are you serious? the original question was "how do I raise money to start an apparel business?" so you can go with your route, an excellent way to get a business loan and start off in debt. very enticing to me. or if you have good designs (you should if it is going to succeed) you can order an allotment of one item. sell it and use the money to purchase more inventory. then all of a sudden you have a thousand dollars plus after a couple of tries. there's your start. now you can do whatever you want with that money to start the business. each individual allotment should be changed, ie hats, then one t-shirt design, then another, ect.

i'm not saying don't write a business plan, or skip out on any of the steps needed to start your business. this is a completely realistic way of raising funds for your startup, trust me it has worked great for my company. go ahead and get a loan and start in debt though if you want, it depends on what you want your company to do.


----------



## DTFuqua (Jun 26, 2008)

I'll say "Don't write a business plan". You might make a loose outline and be prepared to modify it as you gain experience with different aspects of the business. Start small and cheep. Find a set of plans to make a single station/color press and start learning. If you make a "business plan" and try to rigidly follow it, I believe you'll get a few surprises that you didn't count on or you'll spend a lot of money you didn't need to or even decide you don't like doing the work yourself. Start small and learn and keep your options open.


----------



## jvanwest (Jul 3, 2008)

DTFuqua said:


> I'll say "Don't write a business plan". You might make a loose outline and be prepared to modify it as you gain experience with different aspects of the business. Start small and cheep. Find a set of plans to make a single station/color press and start learning. If you make a "business plan" and try to rigidly follow it, I believe you'll get a few surprises that you didn't count on or you'll spend a lot of money you didn't need to or even decide you don't like doing the work yourself. Start small and learn and keep your options open.


OK, so a great rule might be to start off small (DTFuqua's plan) but at the same time, formulate a business plan and go to market strategy to take it to the next level. From that stand point, I think it's a strong starting point. There are some good templates on business plan writing. I have always felt that knowing where you are and where you want to get to by having a plan is crucial. How you get there is up to you. Not wrong, just different. 

FWIW


----------



## paradoxicon (Jul 13, 2008)

find some side landscaping jobs. thats what i did


----------



## DTFuqua (Jun 26, 2008)

Good post Jerry. You probably said it better than I did but its clear you got most of the idea. Also, don't let something you enjoy become to cumbersome and make you hate it. Take a little time. If your stuff is gonna make it, you'll get a good idea with the home made press. You'll also learn what it takes to do the work and put out a good product. You'll also figure out if you want to keep doing the actual hands on labor or concentrate more on designs and marketing. While getting all this valuable education and making even more valuable contacts, you'll have a minimum investment in dollars if it all gets you nothing but the experience. Good luck and get started.


----------



## TshirtGuru (Jul 9, 2008)

Great advice from everyone so far, but I don't think anybody touched the importance and heartbeat of the word CASHFLOW.

Although you might be concerned with gaining working capital to start your business, do not overlook the main function of proper cashflow to keep your business flowing. 

A business may have 100k to start a business with, but if they spread all that out and lets say they offer net 30, but they got soooo busy that most of their clients were net 30 accounts. Well, yes you made another 200k, but you won't be paid until next month! When I started, I heard the word cashflow, but never really understood it until I had to deal with it.

I started my screen printing business with $800 flat. Bought equipment for about $600. $200 left for inventory. Well I learned that when a customer wanted to order 100 shirts, I didn't have enough money to buy the blanks!!!! Don't put yourself in that position.


----------



## jvanwest (Jul 3, 2008)

A year or so ago we were looking at investing with Press-A-Print and I got a copy of a couple sample business plans for the promotional products market. I'm not sure if this will apply for your specific business but you can use this as a template to clearly identify what you want to accomplish and your plans on getting there. 

Don't get so caught up in the actual planning that it isn't fun. Your goal may not be to be the next big t-shirt printer on the block - you might just want to tinker with things and make a little money. You know what - that's ok. Your business is just that - your business. 

Set your self some attainable goals and then also some stretch goals. You will be amazed at how much you can accomplish once you have a plan in place. You may not want a full blown business plan. That's ok too! Remember that in all things, the efforts you put in to your business (good and bad) will be reflected in your results. 

Don't forget to also invest in yourself. Keep learning new things. Again, set yourself some yearly goals that you want to achieve. Go to trade shows (ISS is a great one). In my day job, we call these CPF's or Critical Performance Factors. I get yearly goals that I have to accomplish and I am measured on whether I meet these goals and objectives. 

Again, this is one man's opinion. Please take this in the spirit I am giving. I don't want to infer that I know everything - just that I am taking my experience in corporate America to my own home business as a blueprint on how I want to run it.

I wish you well on your journey.

Peace!

Jerry


----------



## dr8ggnbomb (Mar 7, 2008)

Clean out your garage and sell all your old junk on Ebay. One man's junk is another man's treasure.


----------



## Daniel Slatkin (Jun 25, 2008)

I prefer my banking friends in Nigeria which inundate my email with tons of offers daily. But what seems to work best is VC Captial, i.e. Visa Card, use it till it bounces!!! (LOL)


----------



## Sheepsalt (Sep 12, 2007)

$1,000 is nothing. Volcom actually started with $5,000 & got only $2,600 in sales their first year... but they didn't get to the national level by selling one item at a time. They grew in popularity - the popularity of the founders in their sports helped - then got major investors.

I strongly believe that if you want to start a real business you need a real plan. The plan is like a target that you want to hit, and if you're not aiming at something specific there's very little chance that you'll hit anything worthwhile. It's not something so rigid that it cramps your creativity or flexibility - it can be revised any time.

Volcom used their personal celebrity status and got lucky, but they knew something up front - who their customer was. I know we all like to think that if we just come up with the next sickest design that millions of people will line up to buy it, but in reality it just doesn't work that way. First you have to carefully identify your customer, then you have to create products that speak to that customer and market in such a way that said customer becomes aware of your products and is attracted to them. If you can do that, you can raise the capital you need to grow.


----------



## jvanwest (Jul 3, 2008)

Sheepsalt said:


> $1,000 is nothing. Volcom actually started with $5,000 & got only $2,600 in sales their first year... but they didn't get to the national level by selling one item at a time. They grew in popularity - the popularity of the founders in their sports helped - then got major investors.
> 
> I strongly believe that if you want to start a real business you need a real plan. The plan is like a target that you want to hit, and if you're not aiming at something specific there's very little chance that you'll hit anything worthwhile. It's not something so rigid that it cramps your creativity or flexibility - it can be revised any time.
> 
> Volcom used their personal celebrity status and got lucky, but they knew something up front - who their customer was. I know we all like to think that if we just come up with the next sickest design that millions of people will line up to buy it, but in reality it just doesn't work that way. First you have to carefully identify your customer, then you have to create products that speak to that customer and market in such a way that said customer becomes aware of your products and is attracted to them. If you can do that, you can raise the capital you need to grow.


I agree wholeheartedly!


----------



## TripleT (Apr 29, 2007)

Sheepsalt said:


> First you have to carefully identify your customer, then you have to create products that speak to that customer and market in such a way that said customer becomes aware of your products and is attracted to them. If you can do that, you can raise the capital you need to grow.


 
Well said.


----------



## DTFuqua (Jun 26, 2008)

Don't listen to the naysayers. You should be able to come up with $100 and you can start with that. Build a DIY press and find some screens and make two or three designs, however many screens you can afford, and go to wallmart and get as many Ts as you have money left for.The only advise most of these people are offering that you shouild listen to is "KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE", or customers. You can take a few shirts and turn them over into a couple of dozen and your on your way. If you have to, package them for cleanliness in a back pack and go to where the people your targeted the designs at hang out.


----------



## acityinside (Feb 21, 2007)

One thing we did that saved us a lot of money when starting was using cheap / free materials to build what we needed in our shop. For example - we made a darkroom, light tight, in the corner of our office / lounge room with old set walls from a play, some lockers from a school, and nails, screws, tools we found lying in an old building on our church's campus. We also found an old sink big enough to use as a wash out booth, a table that stored the mats you put on the ground for gym class that worked perfect as a screen drying rack, etc. Out of the whole dark room - I only spent $8 on the roll of black plastic to cover screen shelf when exposing and $3 on shelf brackets for our emulsion / degreaser / ink cleaner shelf. 

We are also printing inside of an old classroom trailer that was in terrible shape, we have 2 rooms, one is the shop (its like 30 feet by 30 feet) and the other is the darkroom in the corner, small office, and a lounge with our clothing company t-shirts displayed like a store, couches and stuff for people to come hang out. We pay a minimal fee for using it, so we could focus on spending our money on stuff that will make us more back.

We bought a used 6 color 4 station press in good shape - it was older and did not have micro registration, but it had a lot of features for registration that makes it easy to set up - and it wont budge out of registration at all when printing which is great. We happened to find 128 5 gallon buckets of plastisol ink and awesome colors (most are 1/2 - 3/4 full and all in perfect condition) for $625 so we grabbed that and transfered it into smaller quart sized deli takeout plastic containers for the shop, storing the big stuff somewhere else so we didnt clutter the room up. 

The business is myself, my wife, and our best friends - also a married couple. We mainly want to produce shirts we design / comission under 3 different companies, but also want to attempt at making a living off printing if it is possible. For right now though, we are doing small jobs to pay back what we've invested and to fuel our clothing companies. 3 of us have full time M-F jobs. We both saved some extra money to buy the press, a flash dryer, chemicals and supplies, and the ink. We each probably put in approx $2000 each to get to where we are now.

It's all about using what you have already / reusing older materials so you can spend the money you invest on good equipment that will last and all of the supplies. Then upgrade your stuff when the money starts coming in.


----------



## aoshi1 (Jul 10, 2008)

I am starting out as well, and I find that most of this start up capitol is going to come from me, myself, and I. well, my wife and I I should say. Once things are rolling, and I've something to show, I plan on sucking the life out of my family, and a few friends, lol. When I was young, I did some pretty stupid things to my credit that I am still applying for, so I am not sure if I can try to get a business loan or not. And I heard that government grants are almost like hell on earth. Overall, I am just putting in lots of overtime at work, and scrimping/scraping wherever else I can.

Also, I am living in an apartment right now, so the self-printing option is really available to me. But a house will be in the picture soon, then the real work will begin!


----------



## TripleT (Apr 29, 2007)

acityinside said:


> One thing we did that saved us a lot of money when starting was using cheap / free materials to build what we needed in our shop. For example -


Hey, acityinside - interesting story - where there's a will, there's a way, as they say!

I like your name, too - good luck!


----------



## acityinside (Feb 21, 2007)

Thanks! I was trying to create a name for the clothing company and my friend Lee was sort of intoxicated and the whole night I was with him he kept saying "Im a megaopolis - there is a city inside me" so that is where I got it from.


It was a struggle to get where we are now - the other couple we are working with got hit with major crap, one of their dogs had puppies (they couldn't afford to have her spayed) - and one of them was stolen, one got hit by a car, then one got parvo and it cost them $1000+ in vet bills and even by separating them 2 more still got it as well and both died. They were out of money so I had to put forth another $400-500 out of my pocket to get the final things we needed.

Not to get all cheesy and emotional - but seriously, if you want to do this stuff, don't give up if it gets hard, there is a lot involved and once its all taken care of, you will be fine.

DO NOT RUSH! Make sure you have everything up to its fullest capacity in function before you start printing shirts. Coating screens at night and storing them in a food pantry stacked on cans and them exposing them in a bathroom after wrapping them in a black sheet can start to get really overwhelming!


----------



## SBEMedia (Jun 26, 2008)

Applying for an SBA Loan is a good solution, even with less than perfect credit. This can work especially well if you can get your wife, best friend, significant other, etc., etc., etc., who is a woman and or other minority to have a 51% or greater interest in the company. As there are special funding sources for those particular types of ventures it can work well. This is the route I am taking right now and is working well. Just my two cents.


----------



## TripleT (Apr 29, 2007)

acityinside said:


> my friend Lee was sort of intoxicated and the whole night I was with him he kept saying "Im a megaopolis - there is a city inside me" so that is where I got it from.


Yikes! That's a T-Shirt design right there!

P.S.

You better keep an eye on him


----------



## aoshi1 (Jul 10, 2008)

DTFuqua said:


> Don't listen to the naysayers. You should be able to come up with $100 and you can start with that. Build a DIY press and find some screens and make two or three designs, however many screens you can afford, and go to wallmart and get as many Ts as you have money left for.The only advise most of these people are offering that you shouild listen to is "KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE", or customers. You can take a few shirts and turn them over into a couple of dozen and your on your way. If you have to, package them for cleanliness in a back pack and go to where the people your targeted the designs at hang out.


The DIY method is the way I am having to go, and I am even starting out in an apartment, but we are going to be getting into a house soon. This thread is going into my fav threads section, lots of really great info here.


----------



## thedarkknight (Jul 22, 2008)

Well I'm the the early stages of building my business. I have taken the route of e commerce rather than a store and doing small runs of half a dozen designs, ranging from T shirt to rash guards to sweatshirts.. As I'm aiming at a ever growing market. I decided to start small and then add to the label as we grew not over stretching ourselves in the first year...

Some may disagree, though Im no Volocm yet or RVCA, i have plans to hopefully get that big, But I want this business to grow slow and steady. as for investment had no money starting it, maxed out my card. And know hoping that family and friends will help me get the rest of the way.


----------



## guest29928 (Mar 30, 2008)

Daniel Slatkin said:


> I prefer my banking friends in Nigeria which inundate my email with tons of offers daily. But what seems to work best is VC Captial, i.e. Visa Card, use it till it bounces!!! (LOL)


I wonder if your banking friends in Nigeria know my banking friends in Nigeria? They're awfully generous, aren't they!? I look forward to their offers daily!


----------



## wanttobreakin (Jul 2, 2008)

ask friends and family!!!


----------



## Yazakisan (Jun 19, 2008)

Look into small business counseling in your area. In most cases there are small business centers that offer help for reduced to free costs (they are formed and funded by states and tax dollars). 

they usually help with all the legal stuff to writing business plans as well as other counseling and options for finding funding.

check it out.


----------



## Kurfuu Clothing (Jul 23, 2008)

Right now am at the exact level your at right now.....have an idea, but no capitol.....what am doing now is making 40 shirts....sell......and whatever profit u make.....save.....and make 40 more......am doing that right now.......it don't have to be 40......could be more......could be less.....depends on your budget....i plan on doing this till i save a large amout to give my company a big boost......


----------



## Yazakisan (Jun 19, 2008)

another option as well is pre-selling as mentioned a few times before. it can be a good way to generate revenue without having to have made a prior investment into your inventory. for example if it costs you $5 to produce a shirt you pre-sell 100 shirts at $10 dollars you have $1000 dollars in the bank and you only need to spend $500 to make the shirts, so you not only covered the cost but you also made a profit of $500 dollars.

that's a very simplified version of the process, but it covers the idea. should look into that too. also there's hundreds of books and articles all over the place with ideas on raising capital for your business, so you could look into that too.


----------



## LMtee (Jul 14, 2007)

I think the real deal is to work on your business plan... Yes !! plan everything !!
It might take you around a year to achieve this but it worth the hard work !!

If you are able to come with a strong business plan, I dont think it will be a real problem to get some investors... 

In this business you have people, like many of us, that start with little knowledge, not much money and big dreams.... some think it will be easy to start a t-shirt line and give up very quickly when they found how hard it is.... but others like me dont give up and work as hard as they can to achieve there dreams...

Taking Affliction like an inspiration is good but you might be better to start by finding something that represent you... you will invest a lot of time, money, hard work and.... yes a lot more of your time in this so you're better to invest all that energy in something that represent you....

By the way, all I can say is dont bother about the money for now, work on your business plan and take all the time you'll need to make it right... planing everything is really important, dont skip this part!!

Dont forget to follow your dreams and more important beleive in you, everything is possible !!

PG


----------



## Yazakisan (Jun 19, 2008)

LMtee said:


> I think the real deal is to work on your business plan... Yes !! plan everything !!
> It might take you around a year to achieve this but it worth the hard work !!
> 
> Dont forget to follow your dreams and more important beleive in you, everything is possible !!


Very well put PG, yes you need to focus on that business plan. Especially if you want some kind of foundation for the business. If you're a small business however you dont need a long elaborate plan at first. But your first plan should cover all the basics, if you're writing it for investors then make sure you include important things like: budgets, financial flow, profit margins, financial planning, succession planning, etc. Everything else you can write for yourself, but when writing it think about your mission statement first and foremost. Don't just write something that sounds inspirational and pretty, but make sure it has substance and meaning, make sure your message is being presented and give your business something to stand firm on.

A business plan is a very useful tool, and it sounds scary but when writing it you'll better understand the pitfalls and areas you weren't thinking highly about prior, you'll catch things you would have overlooked, and you'll have a better handle on your business as a whole.



> Taking Affliction like an inspiration is good but you might be better to start by finding something that represent you... you will invest a lot of time, money, hard work and.... yes a lot more of your time in this so you're better to invest all that energy in something that represent you....
> 
> By the way, all I can say is dont bother about the money for now, work on your business plan and take all the time you'll need to make it right... planing everything is really important, dont skip this part!!



he's right, not everyone is going to make a million dollars off of skulls w/ wings (mainly because a bunch of people are already doing that). If your artistic passion lies in the same genre go for it. A chef i worked under once told me "if you're thinking about being completely original with food, don't bother. Everything that's been thought of has been thought of, it's about taking those things and presenting them in a way no one else has thought of" In essence it's the underlying idea... maybe you like affliction style designs, well how can you present them better than affliction? (and trust me it's not as easy as adding more sequence and glitter)

however you also have to consider if your stuff looks to similiar to other companies stuff what's the point of buying your stuff when they already relate to established apparel?

sit down and plan it out well, if you plan your business well you'll always have a mold and model to build upon. also if you take the time to do it (whether it's a week or a year) investors will see and recognize that. don't be afraid to present them with the pitfalls (they know there are risks in business, but they want to know if you realize that or not). there are literally thousands of businesses trying to spring up everyday, the ones who will find funding and make it are those that are built on a sturdy foundation. you can't expect to sprout up out of nowhere, it's a small chance, it could happen, but it's better to have solidity to stand upon and behind.


----------



## Jhound44 (Jul 26, 2008)

Try taping into the largest souce of financing in the world even 3 times bigger than banks. That would be trade credit. Contact your supplier and ask for some terms. Which means they give you the merchandise and you pay them over time. Ask for a quantity that is reasonable, that you can sell in less than 90 days for example. Its easier to get good terms, low interest if you have a track record or business credit report that they can pull from Dun and Bradstreet which shows you have a propensity for paying your business creditors on time. This also keeps business expenses off your personal credit as extentions of credit aren't personally guarentee by your ss# but your tax id #.


----------



## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

Deception said:


> I was wondering how I could go about raising some money to start my clothing line that will be somewhat like Affliction.


I haven't read through the thread so apologies if this was mentioned but what you want to do is go out and get orders for the shirt first. Go out and sell 500, 1000, 5000, whatever shirts, get the order in writing. With an order you can get financed, someone will give you the money. You can probably get some or all the money upfront. Order the tees, deliver the tees, rinse, lather, repeat.

One of the more interesting books I read on starting a business the guy insisted that you should never buy something before you have sold it. Obviously you can't apply that universally but its worth considering.


----------



## identitylab (Jul 25, 2008)

Deception said:


> I was wondering how I could go about raising some money to start my clothing line that will be somewhat like Affliction.


 Just make sure you keep your day job untill your business is able to produce enough income to pay your self as an employee


----------



## jvanwest (Jul 3, 2008)

Jhound44 said:


> Try taping into the largest souce of financing in the world even 3 times bigger than banks. That would be trade credit. Contact your supplier and ask for some terms. Which means they give you the merchandise and you pay them over time. Ask for a quantity that is reasonable, that you can sell in less than 90 days for example. Its easier to get good terms, low interest if you have a track record or business credit report that they can pull from Dun and Bradstreet which shows you have a propensity for paying your business creditors on time. This also keeps business expenses off your personal credit as extentions of credit aren't personally guarentee by your ss# but your tax id #.


Most companies want you to be in business for 2 years with audited financials to extend net 30 day terms. 90 days - no company gives that to a startup - heck, you'll be lucky enough to get 30 day terms but most likely not better than that.


----------



## Yazakisan (Jun 19, 2008)

get the free money book by mathew lesko.. it's actually a good read  Amazon.com: Free Money for Entrepreneurs: You Won't Get Rich Working for Somebody Else (Free Money Books) (Free Money Books): Matthew Lesko: Books


----------

