# Whats next? need help moving forward



## nofsapparel (Nov 16, 2011)

Hey Guys, my name is Jarred, I am new to this forum and new to the apparel industry. My partners and I have a secured Trademark, website ready to launch, several great designs to launch with and a printer sitting on go. Our problem is limited funding and lack of knowledge upon moving forward. We would like to make all the right moves, or atleast procede with as few beginner mistakes as possible. From what ive read and explored so far this forum seems to be full of knowledgeable people that have been there so to speak and know the ins and outs of this industry, any insight on how to move forward would be greatly appreciated!
(hope i posted this in the correct section, if not please let me know so that it can be corrected)

P.S. i realize this post is kinda vague so if anyone needs more information inorder to give helpful information please let me know.

Thanks!


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## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

Hi Jarred, welcome to the forums. It seems like the main thing holding you back is the money needed to build an inventory of shirts. Have you looked into print on demand services? Other than that, do you have a marketing plan? Have you thought about different distribution channels?


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## nofsapparel (Nov 16, 2011)

Hey Tim, thanks for the response! yes when we first started this venture we had an interrested investor for quite a large sum of money, but we couldnt agree on terms, seems kinda foolish now but still hoping we made the correct decision. What exactly do you mean by Print on Demand Services? We have some leads and connections to a few Rep Groups with relatively huge foot prints that specialize in the hunting and outdoor industries which is the first market we were going to launch one of our lines in since we are most familiar with it, but i did not want to approach them with our line until i had "all of my ducks in a row" so to speak, because im not really sure how that whole system works, and i dont want to blow any chance of doing business with them due to my own ignorance in reference to that subject. What we are hoping for with the Groups is that their reps will take orders for our shirts and and pay upfront, and then have the shirts printed and shipped to each individual store, thats me assuming i know what you meant by Print on Demand services. As far as a marketing plan we dont have a great one kinda playing it by ear. But we have talked with a Pay Pack and Ship company to do all of our distributing, not sure if thats what you meant by distribution channels or if you were talking abour Rep Groups & similar services of that nature.


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## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

A Print on Demand service would be like Zazzle, CafePress, Spreadshirt, etc. You upload your artwork to a "store front" and when a customer places an order, they print it and ship it out. This would be a good option if you wanted to sell direct to the consumer but didn't have the capital to build inventory to fulfill the orders yourself. But after reading the rest of your post, I don't think that's what you're looking to do.

The biggest challenge with using sales reps is that you are a new brand. Most reps are hesitant to work with new brands for a variety of reasons (no proven history of sales, hitting ship dates and quality control). But since you are targeting a very specific niche (hunting and outdoors), that may help you considerably.

Often times, retail stores will not agree to pay up front when placing a wholesale order through a sales rep. Maybe they will agree to pay a deposit, but they will want terms (such as net 30) for the balance. So even when selling through reps, you may still need capital to fund your production costs. That said, if you are working with reps that specialize in the niche, they may have the ability to get retail stores to pay up front.

Distribution channels are how and where the customer will buy your products (retail stores, your website, outdoor tradeshows, hunting events, etc). Seems like you are looking to primarily sell through retail stores. But it's always a good idea to get outside the box and think of different ways to make your product available to your target consumer. Here's a post I wrote that may help a bit: http://www.t-shirtforums.com/general-t-shirt-selling-discussion/t139525.html


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## platnumcn (Aug 5, 2013)

I dunno how many of those buyers would like to pay upfront to a startup busienss, even if the supplier is selling gold ... First thing, I would ask you is to look for some funds, whether from friends or financial institutions. If you do not have money, it is tough to plan ahead. Once you have the money, things will automatically fall into place.


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## sotare (Aug 12, 2013)

I would recommend going to the site howtostartaclothingcompay.com and reading the articles there. They have tons of useful information. 

It sounds to me like you want to launch this on a large scale. It would be wise to put together a marketing plan and full business plan/model before putting any money down or asking others for money. The more you plan, the more successful you will be. And also, you may want to think about how you can start on a small scale and expand from there. 

I would also suggest reading the books Purple Cow and The Dip, both by Seth Godin. His books are a valuable, and easy, read.


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